YOUTH URGED TO SUPPORT SENIORS AS CARIBBEAN PUSHES FORWARD DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Basseterre, St. Kitts, October 01, 2024 (SKNIS): Strategies to push forward Digital Transformation in the Caribbean are being discussed by delegates participating in the Caribbean Telecommunication Union Information and Communication Technology (CTU ICT) Week taking place in St. Kitts and Nevis from September 30 to October 04, 2024.

At a press conference on Monday, September 30, the Honourable Hassel Bacchus, President of the CTU, said that while most of the energies to improve digital transformation are focused on young people, there is a need to ensure the older population is not left behind. He called on the region’s youth to embrace this responsibility.

“We worry a lot about the older people in our societies, how are they going to adapt to this technology? We can expose them to it and we can do a number of things but the young people represent the bridge to them,” he stated. “Children and grandchildren are the people that the elderly look to to do things for them as they get older.”

Honourable Hassan, who is a Senator and Minister of Digital Transformation in Trinidad and Tobago, indicated that there will be many opportunities for young people to be exposed to the latest information and communication technology (ICT) and be certified in many areas through various programmes. The aim is to keep pace with their peers in more developed countries while driving growth and sustainable development across the region.

Honourable Hassan stated that we cannot afford to foster an attitude of self-interest; instead, we must embrace the idea that our actions have a direct impact on one another.

“I don’t want the young people of the Caribbean or any generation in any way to get the idea that they will see about themselves and the other people will see about themselves. They also have a responsibility to help, guard and guide the elderly through this transition that we are building lest they be left behind,” Honourable Hassan said

CTU ICT Week 2024 is being held under the theme “Bridging Technologies for a Sustainable and Inclusive Future.”

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