MIAMI FLORIDA:--- For the first live event in two years, the Opening Ceremony of the CANTO 37th Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition 2022, more than 300 guests arrived at the Fountainebleau Miami Beach.
The conference's theme, "Enabling the Digital Evolution," was reiterated by Ms. Teresa Wankin, Secretary General, in her opening remarks. She also reaffirmed CANTO's commitment to meet the needs of the Caribbean Community with a primary focus on Digital Development, Enablement, and Improvements that will result in digital transformation. She highlighted the incredible opportunity for knowledge sharing to strengthen ICT that this conference presents with all the appropriate people and businesses in attendance.
Following her heartfelt remarks, Mr. David Cox, Chairman of CANTO Caribbean, graced the stage with his presence. He thanked all stakeholders and attendees for their support during the previous two years of turbulence and said that it demonstrated the resilience of Caribbean people. In addition, Cox expressed his sincere gratitude and honor at having Guyana's prime minister deliver the keynote address at this auspicious event. Noting that Guyana is a significant member of the CANTO Caribbean family, he expressed his eagerness to learn more about Guyana, especially at this moment when the nation is undergoing incredible change.
Cox continues to hold the view that "CANTO's greatest value is that it is a unique market for ideas," as he has stated in previous contexts. The goal of CANTO is to provide a forum where ideas can debate one another, not to tell people what to think. Our mission is to inform, enlighten, challenge, listen, and ultimately to encourage the growth of our people.” The chairman, the board of directors, and the staff at CANTO sincerely hope that these conference facilities will fulfill that goal.
After that, the keynote address was given by Hon. Brigadier (ret'd) Mark Anthony Phillips, M.S.S, Prime Minister of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. He began by highlighting the significance of CANTO and its mission to provide solutions and initiatives that will allow for the realization of this year's theme and to facilitate shaping the ICT industry in the Caribbean Region and the Americas."
Mentioning the widespread use of ICTs for service and product delivery in the post-pandemic era. They will enable us to socialize, plan and collaborate in the workplace, as well as carry out many of the other tasks that we were accustomed to doing in person. Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic has firmly established the value and influence of ICTs in our lives.
In addition, he pointed out that the internet has drawbacks. As the national COVID-19 Task Force's chairman in Guyana, he witnessed firsthand the harm misinformation can do to the public good as they dealt with vaccine hesitancy and other types of skepticism about science-based public health measures. In response, made a request to the conference's telecommunications operators, content providers, and regulators to look into policies that support and guarantee responsible Internet usage while still maintaining the universally accepted principles of freedom of speech and freedom of expression as their basis.
Hon. Brigadier (ret'd) Phillips addressed the issue of the digital divide, pointing out the harsh reality that less than 50% of Caribbean residents have access to the internet, and that, during the worst of the pandemic, those without internet access were essentially unable to access financial, governmental, and other essential services. For some people, a lack of meaningful social interaction made mental health problems worse. And the outcome was a nearly complete, if not total, loss of incomes and means of subsistence for many of those for whom participating in economically enabled by technology was not feasible.
The answer, according to Prime Minister Hon. Brigadier (ret'd) Mark Anthony Phillips, is for governments to commit to creating the required infrastructure to make it possible for everyone to use ICTs. His government is committed to this sentiment and has liberalized the telecommunications industry on October 5, 2020, ending a 30-year monopoly on fixed landline and international long-distance services. For residential customers, the value added tax on Internet data has been eliminated. This action has increased consumer disposable income and decreased the service's effective cost, both of which should lead to an increase in demand for the operator's services. He also stated “We have made more spectrum available to the industry, especially in the critical 700MHz band, to increase coverage and enable the deployment of LTE and later generation networks.”
The introduction of robotic applications, the use of drones in agriculture, apps for reporting public incidents, tax collection, e-health, e-banking, and other new technologies are now all a part of digital evolution, he said. He also noted that our service providers are moving from 4G to 5G services and that artificial intelligence (AI) engines drive many back-office operations.
With a closing ceremony on July 20, 2022, the CANTO 37th annual Conference and Trade Exhibition continues at the Fountainbleau Miami Beach. Canto members, government ministers, and speakers from across the region from all facets of ICT are present to support the extensive networking, discussion, and idea-sharing needed to close the digital divide.
