Successes Of UPP’s ICT Revolution

Connect Antigua & Barbuda Initiative

Under this initiative, several distinct programmes are forming the basis for the rapid usage of computerized technology by all Antiguans and Barbudans. These programs include:

• Community Computer Access Centers and Empowerment Centers - hundreds of computers and high-speed Internet via broadband technology have been deployed in ten primary schools and nine empowerment centers. Each week, fifty-five IT classes are conducted.
• Mobile IT Classrooms - five Toyota Coaster buses have each been fitted out with seventeen touch-screen computers with high-peed Internet access. This component’s revolutionary nature achieved regional acclaim with the awarding of 2008 Connect the Caribbean Project of the Year.
• Community Technology Officers and Zone Coordinators - dozens of secure jobs have been created to service the Centers in all public primary schools.
• Multi-Lingual Studies Programme – the UPP Administration is promoting multilingualism as a goal for the entire Nation. Using the world acclaimed Berlitz software series, several centers offer English, Spanish, French, and German as second languages.
• Technology for Physically, Visually and Otherwise Challenged – the Adele School, the School for the Blind, and the School for the Hearing Impaired have all benefited from new technologies as hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of new hardware and software have ensured that no one is left behind in the ICT revolution.
• Technology for Institutes of Higher Education – laptops on loan, as well as high-speed Internet are now available to every student at the Antigua State College, the Antigua & Barbuda Hospitality Training Institute (ABHTI) and the Antigua and Barbuda Institute of Continuing Education (ABICE). The UPP Administration is already providing high-speed Internet at the College and at the Institutes and is committed to partnering with the private sector to provide high-speed Internet at the homes of each of the students.