the path to sustainable development must be carved out by creating avenues for our people to exploit fully their skills and talents. The creativity for which we are renowned must now be allied to an entrepreneurial spirit, innovation and productivity. That is a sure way of achieving the competitiveness so necessary to fuel economic growth.”
This is the vision articulated on Thursday by Ambassador Irwin LaRocque as he addressed the opening ceremony of the 26th Intersessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
The two-day Meeting is now underway in Nassau, The Bahamas, and will place focus on leveraging the Region’s human, cultural and natural assets for development. Other matters that will engage the attention of the Heads of Government are Regional security, reparations, the composition and financing of the Marijuana Commission and the financing of the CARICOM Secretariat and Regional institutions.
In his remarks, Ambassador LaRocque pointed out that the challenge of moving the Region out of the current period of low growth required new critical thinking about integration including, what could constitute economic growth poles.
Having agreed on these areas, the orientation of our education and training would have to be redirected to provide the necessary skills. The use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) both as a facilitator of that change and as a sector in its own right is a vital factor,” he said.
He also called for attention to be placed on the exploration of previously under-utilised areas with economic potential, such as culture and sports. Within those areas, he said, there were strong possibilities of addressing youth unemployment -one of the Community’s most pressing problems.
According to the Secretary-General, the natural affinity of youth to the digital age presented another “splendid opportunity” for their involvement and opens possibilities for both employment and self-employment. The Single ICT Space in CARICOM, he added, would provide an ideal platform to enhance the opportunities for those digital citizens and entrepreneurs.
