(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Recognising the importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to a country and its people’s development, Guyana, like other Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), has put plans in place to rapidly improve access to computers and the internet for its nationals.

This was revealed by that country’s Minister of Education Mr. Sheik Baksh when he delivered the feature address and declared open the CARICOM Secretariat-hosted ICT Festival for children at the Guyana International Conference Centre on Friday May 22.

Mr Baksh said the vision of President H. E Bharrat Jagdeo for Guyana was to equip each household in the country with a computer. He added the country is moving speedily to equip children with computers connected to the internet.

The Minister informed that Guyana is working with a number of development partners and private sector companies, at the national, regional and international levels in seeking to make the President’s vision a reality.

He informed the students that through the internet, distance learning is being pursued and this mode of learning is becoming increasingly important but connectivity is imperative.

He reminded that even though130 million persons in Latin American and the Caribbean have access to computer, there are still many countries where nationals do not have computer access. He noted that as Guyana is a vast country, there are many rural and hinterland communities where computer and internet access remain a challenge.

The Minister said his Ministry was pleased to partner with the CARICOM Secretariat and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) to stage the first ICT festival. It is intended that the festival will be held in other CARICOM Member States. The festival is being held under the theme ‘Protecting Children in Cyberspace’ and is comprised of five workshops, four for children ages 9-14 and one for adults.

The workshops for children are on ; producing music, making a music video, creating a website and news production. The one for adults deals with safe internet use for children.