CIF Home > Past Events > Caribbean Internet Forum 2007

Logistics

The Caribbean Internet Forum 2007 was held in St. Lucia from November 5 - 7 at the St. Lucia Bay Gardens Hotel, Rodney Bay.

Theme and Background

The theme of this year's Caribbean Internet Forum (CIF) is 'Harnessing the Internet for Caribbean Development'. The Forum will look at the policy decisions made by the Caribbean community at large in facilitating access to and promoting development of the Internet within the region and will propose mechanisms for ensuring that the Internet is harnessed for the development of Caribbean Peoples.

The 2007 Caribbean Internet Forum recognizes that the Caribbean and other developing regions face several barriers to the effective utilisation of information and communication technologies (ICTs). These challenges include the availability of infrastructure and the costs of access, the level of technological capabilities for exploiting the advantages of the Internet, and inappropriate or inadequate policy and regulatory frameworks.

The main objective of this year's Caribbean Internet Forum is to address these key issues with participation from stakeholders including regulators, policy-makers, small and medium sized enterprises, telecommunication providers and other stakeholders. This year's Caribbean Internet Forum follows on the heels of the successful joint CIF-IV and Caribbean Internet Governance (CIG) Forum held in Grenada with full participation by regional institutions such as the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL), and the Jamaica's Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR). One key outcome of the 2006 Forum was the drafting of a report on Internet Governance. The Draft Report has been completed by the CTU.

Agenda and Presentations

Day 1, November 5, 2007: National ICT Policy frameworks
Introductory Session 9:00 am - 10:00 am
Registration 8:00 am - 12:30 pm Participant registration process  
Welcome to CIF/Introduction 9:00 am - 9:15 am   Mr Courtney Jackson, Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), Jamaica
Welcoming Address 9:15 am - 9:25 am   Mr Titus Preville (Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Commerce)
Introduction of keynote speaker 9:25 am - 9:30 am   Mr Donnie DeFreitas, ECTEL
Keynote speaker 9:30 am - 9:50 am   Mr Philip Cross (ITU)
Review and roamp for CIF 9:50 am - 10:00 am
  • Summary of last CIF (Grenada)
  • ICT goals met last year
  • Goals of this year's forum
Dr Lee McKnight
Coffee Break 10:00 am - 10:15 am
Workshop I: Investment in the sector 10:15 am - 12:00 pm
Introduction 10:15 am - 10:25 am   Facilitator: Mr Courtney Jackson (OUR, Jamaica)
Key elements of a national ICT policy strategy 10:25 am - 10:45 am   Mr Burchell Crooke, Director of Technology, St. Kitts
Model for a National ICT Policy plan 10:45 am - 11:05 am   Mr Rick Findlay Public Sector Transformation Group
National ICT Policy Frameworks: OECS 11:05 am - 11:25 am
  • Summary of elements of national/regional policy frameworks
  • Summary of implementation status
Mr Donnie DeFreitas (ECTEL/GOPA)
Society, culture, & technology: Policy Framework 11:25 am - 11:40 am
  • technology to communicate from a social and cultural perspective
  • policy to foster innovation and creativity
  • Student demo - use of technology
Ms Armelle Chatelier, Consultant Mr Kimothy Augustin, 4th Form, Sir Ira Simmons Secondary School
Mr Milan Charles, 1st year student, Sir Arthur Lewis Community College
Summary/Discussion 11:40 am - 11:55 am
  • Key elements of policy strategy
  • Way forward
Facilitator: Mr Courtney Jackson (OUR)
Sponsor - National Development Corporation 11:55 am - 12:00 pm   National Development Corporation
Lunch Break 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Workshop II: National ICT Policy Frameworks 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Introduction 1:00 pm - 1:10 pm   Mr Peter Norville, ECTEL
Investing in the sector: Caribbean telecom market 1:10 pm - 1:30 pm   Mr Thomas Soja, T. Soja & Associates
Investing in the infrastructure: New and emerging technologies 1:30 pm - 1:50 pm   Mr Farooq Hussain Consultant
Investing in the sector: issues/opportunities 1:50 pm - 2:10 pm   Mr Pinkley Francis, Antilles Crossing
Summary/Discussion 2:10 pm - 2:30 pm Investment in the infrastructure: issues/opportunities Mr Peter Norville, ECTEL
Coffee Break 2:30 pm - 2:45 pm
Workshop III: Policies to support infrastructure 2:45 pm - 4:15 pm
Introduction 2:45 pm - 2:55 pm   Dr Kim Mallalieu, University of the West Indies (MRP - Telecommunications)
Telecommunications policy & strategy for development 2:55 pm - 3:15 pm   Dr Heather Hudson, University of San Francisco
Status of current infrastructure 3:15 pm - 3:35 pm   Mr Derek Browne Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM)
Implementing policies for deployment in region: issues/opportunities 3:35 pm - 3:55 pm   Dr Lee McKnight, Syracuse University
Summary 3:55 pm - 4:15 pm
  • Implementing policy frameworks: barriers/opportunities
  • Training/knowledge transfer
Dr Kim Mallalieu, UWI (MRP - Telecommunications)
Open Discussion/Wrap-up 4:15 pm - 4:30 pm   Facilitator - Mr Courtney Jackson

Day 2, November 6, 2007: Regional ICT Policy frameworks
Introductory Session 9:00 am - 9:30 am
Registration 8:00 am - 12:30 pm Participant registration process  
Roadmap for forum (day 2) 9:00 am - 9:30 am
  • Summary of previous day items
  • Goals/objectives for second day of forum; introduction
Mr Courtney Jackson, OUR
Workshop I: Regional Infrastructure 9:30 am - 11:00 am
Introduction 9:30 am - 9:40 am   Dr Lee McKnight
Towards regional coordinated policy frameworks: model 9:40 am - 10:00 am   Mr Donnie DeFreitas, ECTEL
Regional infrastructure: technologies 10:00 am - 10:20 am   Mr Scott Marcus, Consultant, WIK-Consult
Presentation of Internet Governance document (draft from Curacao conference) 10:20 am - 10:40 am   Mr Nigel Cassimire, Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU)
Summary/Discussion 10:40 am - 11:00 am   Facilitator: Dr Lee McKnight
Coffee Break 11:00 am - 11:15 am
Workshop II: Information Access 11:15 am - 12:45 pm
Introduction 11:15 am - 11:25 am   Mr Nigel Cassimire, CTU
Domain name administration: St. Lucia & Antigua 11:25 am - 11:45 am   Dr Patrick Lay, nic.lc & nic.ag
IP addressing 11:45 am - 12:05 pm   Mr German Valdez, LACNIC
Regional Internet policy 12:05 pm - 12:25 pm   Mr Pablo Hinojosa, ICANN
Summary/Discussion 12:25 pm - 12:45 pm   Mr Nigel Cassimire, CTU
Lunch 12:45 pm - 1:45 pm
Workshop III: Building regional capacity 1:45 pm - 3:35 pm
Introduction 1:45 pm - 1:55 pm   Mr Courtney Jackson
Current status - regional e-Learning initiatives 1:55 pm - 2:15 pm   Ms Candia Alleyne, CKLN
Integration of technologies: mobile technologies 2:15 pm - 2:35 pm   Dr Kim Mallalieu UWI
Knowledge management in a digital environment 2:35 pm - 2:55 pm   Ms Sandra John, ECLAC
Open source tools for eLearning 2:55 pm - 3:15 pm   Mr Gerry George
Mr Richmond Felix - Public Sector ICT & e-Government unit
Summary/Discussion 3:15 pm - 3:35 pm ICT Policies to support regional learning initiatives Mr Courtney Jackson
Coffee Break 3:35 pm - 3:50 pm
Open Discussion/Next Steps 3:50 pm - 4:20 pm   Mr Courtney Jackson, Mr Donnie DeFreitas, Dr Lee McKnight
Closing 4:20 pm - 4:30 pm   Mr Courtney Jackson, Office of Utility Regulators

Contact Information

Dr Diana Anius
Project Coordinator, e-Government project
Government of St. Lucia
Bridge Street, Castries
St. Lucia
Tel: (758) 459-0859
Fax: (758) 453-1519
Email: policy@ict.gov.lc