FOCUS ON GUYANA’S FIRST PEOPLE ICT hubs being completed in more remote communities

The Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Hub initiative continues to be expanded across Guyana, reaching an increasing number of Guyanese youths.

The creation of ICT hubs in the hinterland was rein - troduced by the PPP/C government, after taking office in August 2020. The ICT Hubs will be established in communities which would not have had facilities before and the hubs will be equipped with a minimum of 25 computers.

Currently, many of the very remote villages still use the traditional form of communicating via radio sets. These sets are old and have not been repaired or replaced over the years.

Before 2015, the PPP/C Government had started a programme aimed at modernising Guyana through

ICT. This programme saw ICT labs being constructed and equipped in several communities and schools in the hinterland. Moreover, the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) programme was created in aid of ensuring that every Guyanese, throughout the country, has access to information technology.

The PPP/C Government has committed to prioritizing Information and Communications Technology as a strategic catalyst for accelerating economic and social development across Guyana; particularly in the hinterland. Reducing many disparities between the hinterland and coastal areas necessitates the use of technology, a critical tool which the new government is looking to afford persons in indigenous communities, through the establishment of the ICT hubs.