PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD – Trinidad’s Ministry of Public Administration held a session entitled e-Government, Sharing the Vision on Friday, May 9 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port of Spain.
The event brought together Chief Executive Officers from the Private Sector as well as Senior Government Officials to explore the extent to which Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is transforming the way in which Government does business and provides services to businesses, civil society, and private citizens.
The session‘s objectives were to:
• Brief participants on many of the critical ongoing ICT development initiatives within Government that significantly enhance the ability of the private sector, special interest groups, and ordinary citizens to gain access to government information and services;
• Solicit discussion and feedback as to the most effective utilization of ICT in Government over the next three to four years on such topics as the importance of e-readiness; the legal and regulatory framework necessary to enable the effective utilization of technology, including telecommunications; public access to ICTs; and the connected community; and
• Outline some potential ICT business opportunities and synergies that will benefit government, the private sector, and general citizens alike.
The basic premise of the event is that the successful adoption of ICT is a critical success factor for Government’s national development planning activities, and in particular for the implementation of the Vision 2020 Operational Plan.
In this regard, Government has developed fastforward, the National ICT Strategy. Phase I of fastforward, which focuses primarily on connectivity, is about to be completed, and work will soon commence on Phase II, which will concentrate on usage and applications.
A comprehensive and holistic strategy such as fastforward cannot succeed without the support of major national stakeholders. The current session, e-Government, Sharing the Vision is therefore the first of a number of events that will seek to engage all citizens of Trinidad and Tobago in shaping the national vision for ICT in Government.
Contributions from the Honourable Prime Minister and the Honourable Minister of Public Administration reinforced presentations on some of the major ICT programmes and initiatives within Government. Trinidad and Tobago’s agenda to increase national capacity for innovation in ICT was also outlined and reinforced by case studies showing emerging ICT Applications within the Health, Education, Entertainment, and wider Government sector.
