Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ministers responsible for Information Communication and Technology will meet later this week to fine-tune strategic measures aimed at addressing the sustainability and development of these sectors within the framework of the regional integration process. Proposals regarding the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) are expected to feature prominently in the deliberations.
The Ministers will be convening their second special meeting in Georgetown, Guyana, 7 February 2003. These deliberations will be preceded by a special round of talks involving officials of the Information, Communication and Technology sectors scheduled for 5 February 2003. A one-day Information and Communication Technology Policy Seminar under the theme “CARICOM Connectivity Agenda ICT for Regional Development” has been planned for 6 February 2003. The seminar will specifically address this major agenda issue which the Ministers will have to advise the Community leaders on. They will be seeking a Declaration to go forward with to the upcoming meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government.
The Ministers will be following-up on deliberations they initiated at the first special meeting held in Antigua and Barbuda in May last year which emphasised the vital role of the media in the integration process, as it relates to achieving the objectives of the Caribbean Community. The Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) had presented a proposal which examined the existing state of regional broadcasting and offered options for the sustainability and development of the sector.
At the Georgetown Meeting, the Ministers will consider a refined version of the proposal and make appropriate recommendations regarding the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) for consideration by the Conference of Heads of Government which is due to convene its Fourteenth Inter-Sessional Meeting later this month.
The Ministers in their deliberations will be discussing the Broadcast Development Fund and Regional Defamation Laws among the range of issues listed for the one-day meeting. The Broadcast Development Fund is also a proposal by the CBU.
The Ministers are also expected to consider a Draft CARICOM Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Policy document. This is in addition to a Preliminary Report they will receive from the Expert Roundtable convened by the CARICOM/UWI-CIS on the Community Guidelines on E-Commerce, Statistics on Information and Communication Technology.
