Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 20th, 2011 (SKNIS): The Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports, Information Technology, Telecommunications and Post will be rolling out a number of new programmes in 2012 to enhance digital literacy and ultimately move towards an E-Knowledge Society in St. Kitts and Nevis.
 
Honourable Glenn Phillip announced that the Department of Telecommunications recently negotiated with internet service provider LIME to provide Wi-Fi access to all community centers in St. Kitts.
 
“It means that our housewives, our elderly, our students – who have a laptop, but their parents cannot afford internet access (in the home) – they can now go to a community center and do research, do their homework etc,” Minister Phillip remarked.
 
This step is to be followed up by the introduction of a national training initiative to teach residents to use Microsoft Office programmes including Word, Excel and other software.
 
Minister Phillip explained that these were important components in order to facilitate the “start of a digital revolution.” The provision of laptops to all high school students in St. Kitts and Nevis was also cited and appreciation was extended to the Government and people of the Republic of China (Taiwan) for partnering with local Government in the One-to-One Laptop Project.
 
The Minister highlighted the high rates of broadband and mobile penetration in the Federation and explained that there is a world of opportunities waiting to be seized.
 
As such, a mobile application development workshop will be held from January 17 to 20, 2012. Facilitators are expected to share industry skills in creating apps for Apple, Android and BlackBerry smart phones and tablets.
 
“We do not want our citizens … to just be end users of technology. When I say that, you should not just have a cell phone only to text or talk. We think that our people should be creators and innovators of technology,” he explained. “Tourists visit the island. They (participants) can create an app to show where to eat, what sites to visit, whatever their creative minds tell them. We also will be teaching how to create ringtones professionally in this workshop,” the technology minister announced.
 
Those interested in learning marketing and business related skills to further their application proficiency can opt for training in an entrepreneurial workshop to be held in collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat. A separate workshop will focus on the hardware components where interested individuals will learn how to troubleshoot and repair personal computers.
 
Other activities highlighted include increased public sector services offered online, exploration of universal Wi-Fi internet access, communication using internet protocols (VOIP), and the establishment of a Wide Area Network which would essentially connect all of Government’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) operations and services. 
 

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