St. Vincent & the Grenadines National ICT Strategy and Action Plan

The National ICT Strategy and Action Plan was finalised in September 2012.

From the Introduction

".. SVG’s ICT Strategy and Action plan in line with the WSIS action line items focuses on, among other things, ICT infrastructure, access, capacity building and economic development. Additionally, SVG’s Strategy and Plan is well timed to benefit from this global emphasis being placed on ICT and can expect significance guidance and insight from
other global bodies such as OECD and non-OECD governments, private sector actors, civil society organisations, regional and international organisations as they work together to
accomplish the goal at hand.

In a Caribbean regional level, CARICOM in collaboration with its stakeholders has developed a Regional Digital Development Strategy (RDDS) which addresses the implications of international treaties, regulations, standards and trade agreements, and pressing development/digital divide issues, e.g. WSIS. The broad Caribbean regional goals included
commitment to: Collaborative leadership, Research and Innovation for Sustainability, and Key social and economic development measures and objectives.
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Therefore, the broad policies and strategies to be outlined in the updated National ICT Plan must include:

• Streamlining the existing telecommunications regulatory process for more cost effective regulations of utilities (and possibly energy) and enacting the required legislation and regulations to embrace ICT
• Ensuring there is a robust modern nationalnext generation and regional ICT infrastructure which does not just meet, but exceeds international standards and the demands of investors in order to attract and draw them and to bolster our level of competitiveness. It must include the redundancy and innovation which can help to leapfrog any unnecessary stages and enable national development
• Ensuring a high percentage of households,government agencies, schools and businesses have access to adequate broadband access Leveraging the increase in mobile telephone penetration through the use of a suite of mobile government applications and e-government initiatives to improve efficiency of government and bring significant service improvements
• Enhancing the use of ICT in all sectors with an emphasis on education, health, agriculture and tourism
• Complementing the expansion of broadband access with increased access to computers at tele-centres, schools and community facilities, and implementing strategies which increase personal computers or laptops for students
• Ensuring that computer and internet usage is safe by addressing issues of cybercrime
• Empowering business and trade through the use of ICT in e-commerce
• Expanding training at all age levels with emphasis on bridging the digital divide by using ICT in education, the creation of skilled workers and advance training to produce ICT engineering and knowledge workers
• Facilitating the creation of local content, new appropriate software applications and the creation of a Vincentian and regional knowledge economy
• Developing and becoming known for an ICT export sector which feature the export of unique ICT and electronic goods and the export of ICT services

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