Philipsburg:--- Monday was World Telecommunication Day and UTS visited the teachers of the Sister Marie Laurence school to present each member of the teaching staff with a BlackBerry Smart phone, courtesy of UTS and Research In Motion (RIM), manufacturer of the Smart phone devices. 'Teachers fulfill a very important role in our community because they are charged with the education of our children.' Says UTS Marketing and Communications Officer, Ivy Lambert. 'This is sometimes an under appreciated task and we thought it would be nice to use World Telecommunication Day to recognize a group of teachers and show them that their hard work has not gone unnoticed.' The phones were presented in a general assembly with all students and faculty of the school. Students in attendance were equally as thrilled by the surprise as the teachers themselves.
'We are certain that having these devices will allow the faculty to make even more efficient use of their time and focus even more on the fine job they do with our kids.' continues Lambert.'When we contacted RIM about working together on this, they were on-board right away.' Each year Telecommunications Day is on May 17 and the day is used to recognize the important role of information technology in our society. The theme of Telecommunications Day for 2011 is 'better life in rural communities with ICT's. 'For us this means bringing ITCs to sectors that normally may not be able to invest in such technologies.' Lambert continues. 'What better group to single out than the teachers at a public school in a neighborhood like Middle Region. More information on World Telecommunication Day is available on the ITU website at http://www.itu.int.