Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Oct 31, 2025

deCastro Addresses Information Society Ministerial Conference

deCastro Addresses Information Society Ministerial Conference

Junior Minister for Tourism Hon. Sharie B. deCastro is leading a delegation at the Seventh Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Hon. deCastro is leading the delegation on behalf of Premier and Minister of Finance, Hon. Andrew Fahie. The three-day conference concludes tomorrow, November 26.

In an address at the opening ceremony on Monday, November 23, Hon. deCastro explained that in March 2020, when the Territory, confirmed its first cases of COVID-19, the Government had to develop an immediate response to prevent community spread. She said further consideration was given to the economic impact of the measures taken to prevent the disease from spreading.

The Junior Minister said that it became evident that a post-COVID-19 environment would necessitate the digital transformation of Government and the Territory, a top priority on the Government’s agenda.

“For the Virgin Islands, we recognise that digital transformation must go farther, than e-services; it must enable the collection of relevant and timely data that can be used for management and policy decisions. It must be people-centred in order to genuinely impact the lives of the people of the Virgin Islands for the better,” Honourable deCastro stated.

She further added, “Therefore, the transition into e-Government will be accelerated so that we can enhance the services available online: e-billing, online payment and online bookings and eCommerce.”

The Junior Minister said looking at digital transformation of Government means going beyond the initial work undertaken to consolidate public-facing websites and developing some online service delivery. She said for the Virgin Islands, it means focusing on:

Enabling automation of our operations, yielding operational efficiencies, such as reduction of transaction costs, with an impact on productivity.

Enhancing the delivery of public services and the experience by ensuring they are customer-focused Improving the way our citizens, residents, businesses and tourists interact with Government, and, access to information whilst promoting transparency, accountability and giving our people a voice Impacting human relationships and behaviour by facilitating social inclusion and communication and Ensuring the digital space is accessible, safe and secure for everyone.

Honourable deCastro said the areas of focus will support the Territory’s economic and social development even in the absence of the National Sustainable Development Plan (NSDP), which is currently being developed under the leadership of the Premier’s Office.

She said as the Government of the Virgin Islands continues to move forward in this New Regular living and working with COVID-19, its vision is to transform the Territory into a leading regional economy through innovation, entrepreneurship and local and foreign investment by 2025.

The Junior Minister further explained that the vision for the Digital Transformation of the Territory is being led by the Premier’s Office. She said and that the digital transformation of Government aligns with the vision for the transformation of the Territory and mirrors the wider Public Service Transformation Programme vision of delivering the digitalisation of Government ensuring it is respected, trusted, and efficient, and, puts people at the centre.

The virtual conference was organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Government of Ecuador. Countries represented include Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Chile, Peru, Barbados, Uruguay, among others.

The leaders are analysing the role of digital technologies in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and are debating the policy priorities on digital matters and defining a new digital agenda.

The high-level discussions include digital technologies in recovery; universalisation of digital technologies for social inclusion; policy coherence and digital integration in Latin America and the Caribbean; productive transformation and skills in the digital age.

Other areas to be discussed include the potential of digital technologies for changing the dynamics of production in SMEs; data innovation for measuring the digital economy; the rise of e-commerce amid the pandemic and future challenges; Latin American Economic Outlook 2020: digital transformation for building back better; and, women's autonomy in the digital economy.

The other members of the local delegation include Senior Policy Analyst Lizette George, Director of Information Technology Mrs. Annabelle Skelton-Malone and Director of Communications Arliene T. Penn.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×