Aimed at raising awareness among the young population as an effective apparatus for social and economic development, the Government on Friday launched the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) roadshow.
Starting from Monday March 13, the roadshow will provide hundreds of secondary school students from Regions 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 with a platform for ICT dialogue, knowledge sharing and awareness, exploring emerging technologies and inspiring others to create new tools and improve Guyana’s technology frontier.
Delivering the feature address at the launch, Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips said globally, the digital transition is moving at a fast pace and the ICT roadshow is vital to the government’s quest of bridging the gap.
“Guyana is developing at a terrific rate…People out there are aware of that and everybody wants to be part of what is being offered…This roadshow is an important aspect in our quest of bridging the gap,” ret’d brigadier Phillips said.
The Prime Minister noted that the Government is making investments to ensure the nation is up to date with technology.
“We want invest in all the hardware like building the ICT hubs and installing the computers and having the connectivity but unless the people know how to utilize the technology that becomes available to them, it means that the whole task, the whole project will be incomplete,” he said.
“This is the information age, this is the age of social networking, this is the age of artificial intelligence. Unless you are knowledgeable about ICT it is difficult for you to work in the public but also in the private sector. It is difficult for you as far as I am concerned to even exist in Guyana today,” ret’d brigadier Phillips added.
The roadshow will see ICT professionals and influencers from the University of Guyana, the Telecommunications Agency and the Industry and Innovations Unit, serving as panelists and engaging in meaningful conversations about various ICT thematic areas.
‘Hundreds of fourth, fifth and sixth formers will be sensitized about information and communications technology which can serve as a mean to motivate them to pursue education and careers in technology related fields or at a minimum develop an appreciation or ICT,” Jennifer Persaud-Boodhoo, Outreach Officer- Industry and Innovation Unit at Office of the Prime Minister said.
This year the ICT roadshow will be run from March 13 through 27 and is being observed under the theme ‘Today’s Youth, Tomorrow’s Digital Innovators’.
