Second Digital Dialogue Focuses on Work, Opportunities in Post-COVID Caribbean

Following the hugely successful inaugural CARICOM Digital Dialogue, the CARICOM Girls in ICT Partnership will host another regional virtual session on 27 May 2020.

For this discussion that begins at 10 am and concludes at 1pm, business leader, and author, Mr. Wayne Christopher Chen, LLB, JP, will be the featured speaker. The topic, ‘Jobs, work and opportunities in the post-COVID Caribbean’ is important at this time since the Region, like the rest of the world, is examining the challenges, opportunities and solutions available, as we emerge from the first wave of the COVID19 virus.

The CARICOM Girls ICT Partnership held its first Dialogue about a month ago on 23 April to mark International Girls in ICT Day 2020. Thousands tuned in to the event that was held under the theme ‘Regional Resilience of ICT, STEM and Youth’. The featured speaker was Barbara Reynolds PhD.

The Partnership aims to develop policy by 2021 which will support four stakeholder groups: Students/ parents; Teachers; Employers; and Academia. Specifically, the Partnership seeks to examine inequity and means to bridge that divide; challenge perceptions regarding male and female participation in STEM, and by extension, ICT; develop coherence in the sector and at the same time build and leverage partnerships in the ICT Sector across the Caribbean Community.

The Partnership comprises Ministries of ICT, Youth, Education and Gender in CARICOM Member States and Associate Members, and regional and international organisations. Those organisations are: Guyana Animation Network (GAN) Inc, European Union – Guyana, STEM Guyana, Women and Gender Equality Commission (WGEC) – Guyana, Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE), University of Guyana, University of the West Indies, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), CARICOM Youth Ambassadors corp. (CYAP), Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Caribbean Association of National Telecommunications Organization (CANTO), and Caribbean Cybersecurity Centre (CCSC).

CARICOM Ministers responsible for ICT had endorsed the partnership in November 2019. They recognised that a regional partnership was a good initiative to advance the work to attract more youth of the Region to ICT and STEM careers to support CARICOM resilience.