Despite stories within the local and international media that seem to paint Jamaica’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector in a bad light, there are great things happening within the industry – some being powered by Grassroots Communities such as Slashroots, ICT4D Jamaica, the Jamaica Design Association, and Kingston Beta; while others are being powered by persons within the public sector, as well as private sector companies.
The Good News
The latest good news within Jamaica’s ICT sector comes in the form of the World Telecommunications and Information Society Day – ICT Policy Conference. This conference is organized and will be hosted by The Mona School of Business, University of the West Indies (UWI), is scheduled to be held for the period May 17-18, 2011 at the Executive Seminar Room, Faculty of Law, UWI, and will be chaired by Professor Hopeton S. Dunn – Director of the Caribbean Programme in Telecommunications Policy and Technology Management (TPM) at the Mona School of Business, as well as current Chairman of the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica.
Purpose of the Conference
In light of local and international media reports about the state of Jamaica’s ICT sector and the importance of ICTs in driving business and economic growth, the conference seeks to provide practical, innovative recommendations, as well as best practices for ICT policy making and regulation within the Caribbean. To this end, the conference aims to bring together practitioners in the field of Information and Communications Technology as well as academics, policy makers, and regulators, in order to discuss ICT related issues and strategies. It will also highlight important research work being done at the Mona School of Business through the Telecommunications Policy and Management Programme.
Discussion Areas
Among the issues to be discussed are the findings of the Jamaica Broadband and ICT Indicators Survey; the policy, corporate and individual implications of Jamaica’s performance in the World Economic Forum’s Network Readiness Index; the feasibility of number portability; the reformation of competition policy to include mergers and acquisitions; tax reform for computer equipment importation; as well as the enhancing of internet access and revisiting its cost.
Further Information
For more information and registration details, visit http://ictpolicyconference2011.coe-msb.org.
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