IT in Caribbean: Barbados the Leader?

[Historian]

Jamaica Observer (business report)http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Barbados-best-of-Caribbean-in-Global-IT-Report_11342589

Barbados best of Caribbean in Global IT Report

Saturday, April 28, 2012

BARBADOS narrowly edged-out Puerto Rico for the highest position among Caribbean countries in the 2012 Global Information Technology Report (GITP).

Placing 35th out of 142 in the GITP ranking, Barbados was marginally ahead of Puerto Rico which copped the 36th spot. Both countries were given favourable reviews for their telecoms and information technology programmes.

The GITP 2012 Living in a Hyper-connected World is published by the Swiss-based World Economic Forum (WEO), an independent non-aligned organisation that seeks to shape global and industry agendas.

It commended Barbados and Puerto Rico, arguing that their strengths outweighed their disadvantages.

"Both economies boast environments conducive for entrepreneurship and benefit from relatively robust ICT infrastructures, although mobile coverage in Puerto Rico (123rd) remains insufficient," the report said.

"In the case of Barbados, the strong skill base (10th) results in a large individual uptake of technology (24th) and offsets the high costs of using ICT (102nd).

"On the other hand, Puerto Rico needs to further develop the skills of its population (78th), which currently negatively affects the uptake of technology by individuals (53rd) added the report.

The two islands placed well among 142 countries worldwide, leading in the Caribbean, Latin America and elsewhere, ahead of Chile, 39th; Brazil, 65th; South Africa, 72nd; Mexico, 91st; Peru, 106th; Venezuela, 107th; and Indonesia, 80th.

Among the English, French and Dutch-speaking nations and territories of the Caribbean, Barbados and Puerto Rico outdistanced Trinidad and Tobago, 60th; Jamaica, 74th; the Dominican Republic, 87th; Guyana, 90th; Belize, 119th; and Haiti, 142nd.

No African or Eastern European country did as well as Barbados and Puerto Rico when it came to the availability of the latest technologies and the business and innovation climate.

The ten nations with the best records were Sweden, Singapore, Finland, Switzerland, Netherlands, Norway, the United States, Canada and Britain.

The lowest-ranked countries were Lesotho, Madagascar, Burkina Faso, Swaziland, Burundi, Chad, Mauritania, Angola, Yemen and Haiti.

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Barbados-best-of-Caribbean-in-Global-IT-Report_11342589#ixzz1tKaTREZA

[Islandman]

No surprise here.

But we are still winning cricket and CARIFTA so.....

[Don1]

No surprise here.

But we are still winning cricket and CARIFTA so.....

Swimming next!!!

Forward!!!!

[Historian]

True, but....

No surprise here.

But we are still winning cricket and CARIFTA so.....

The problem is that while some athletics coaches are doing their very best (with limited facilities) in the areas that they are qualified and in return reaping outstanding rewards, the same cannot be said of the other sectors and players in our society.

Sports success and educational success can -- and should -- exist side by side. Unfortunately, this has not been the case in Jamrock.

[Islandman]

Agreed

[Assasin]

Don't follow the hype. Yes we must do much better in education but it shouldn't have to do nothing with our sports and music.

A few years ago my sister had a party and she went to imaculate and when I started to spin some late 80's tune, the girl them put down some dancing that had nuff people surprise and if it was done by ghetto girls it would be evil but guess what these were all lawyer, doctors, MBA working at some big institutions.

Personally I am happy I can still go out and kick too ball and play "too chune" fi take off some of the stress. We can exploit all the talents at the same time. People like Dr. Kingley "fowly" Chin was A student, leading DCup scorer and also on the TT team and once was a part of the celebrated Buff Bay quadrel group that toured locally and internationally and there are many others.

Bolt wining and two dancehall hit shouldn't stop education. We shouldn't even be talking about sport and music at the expense of education. As a matter of fact we should be using sports and music to enhance the kids education. If we had music in schools maybe the kids would have spent a little longer in school learning that art.

football has taught me discipline to work with others I wouldn't have. I learned to win and lose as a team and help me to finish college with a 2 year scholarship.

[Islandman]

There is no question that sports and other extra-curricular activities when put in thier right place can be of great benefit to a student or anyone else for that matter.

I am not questioning that, I am questioning the priority that we as a society give those things while we do not have the basic things that a society needs to function in place. My view? We should be more embarassed about the things that we trail the region in than we are proud of what we lead the region in.

Thats why Cayman, Bahamas, Turks, Bdos and all the rest of those likkle half-acre islands can tek such liberty with us, because our people want to go to thier countries, they don't really want to come to ours.

[Assasin]

That is true but you think we put priority on sport and other activities for most part? If you check most of those other countries maybe spend more on sports as a percentage of their GDP. The fact is we are lucky or god grace us with some really good talent. For most part we haven't even maximize those talent on a local level.

An example is if we spend a little time with some of these athlete to get good SAT scores we could double the amount entering uninversity in the states. The biggest problem with Jamaica is that our political leaders and government let us down and we continue not to ask them for better.

Check the sponsorship level of the sports and you will see that it is no priority either and stadium is empty when we have games. Sports is not really our priority, the only reason Bolt is in the news is because he is wining. For a long time the talent of Bob Marley was looked down on. When Bolt was having a bad time nobody wanted to see him. Ask most Jamaican today about Reggae Boyz and they have no idea. The NPL league has been going on and off without sponsors, swimming pools closed, music is taken out of schools.

The neglect is all around not only in education. Not every baller looking to Ricardo Gardner of Ricardo fuller. Some have given it up for education and others try harder to get a SAT score to get into a US college(Pity that we don't have a formaly program to inform more). Not because we now have few high profile camp but the neglect is rampant in sports and other areas.

Give thanks to people who give back on all level but for too long I have been seen this comparison with sports and music and education as if it is a bad thing to get involved with sports or music, leave the arts and sports while concentrate on education. Let us phrase it better if you want to make a definative statement about that. If you ask me we also need to spend more time formalizing music and sport education as well as improving sciences, tourism, technology and languages etc.

As I see it we have a lot of work to do on all front. Just going to my 6 and 5 year old games show me how far we are behind on that front as well.

[Exile]

Good post Sir....totally agree...its not ven that the money not spent it is how it is distributed....spent on the wrong things...

[Islandman]

I love to see youths involved in many activities and would certainly encourage more of that. It produces a more rounded individual. What I hate to see is a student athlete who can hardly put together a decent sentence in an interview.

I do think that we are over-invested emotionally in national sports though, we just don't have the money to match our heart. Music is a bit different.

Most countries love their national sportsmen, music and all that but it seems to me that the most successful nations define themselves by their excellence in areas other than those, although they may be very good at a few. When we talk about our great achievers and achievements, the vast majority are in sports and music.

[Assasin]

I-man these ahtlete who can't put a statement is not unique to us. A friend of mine who was very brilliant in the science and got A level couldn't pass O Level English or communication.

If you notice most of the American ahtlete have spent time in college and may have done a communication class or two, and may even have speach therapist working with them. When Bibi went to England we laughed at his interview but it was no different from a kid from the midlands, Scotland or a youth from London talking Cockney.

The funny thing is when Sir Alex just took over Man U, sometimes i couldn't understand a word he was saying with him thick accent. I think sometimes we are too hard on our own. When Bolt just started off he wasn't the best in giving interviews but as time went on he got better. Last year when Mattocks was drafted all Jamaicans were talking about was that he was cocky and how he was dressed, while everybody else was talking about his talent and his 3+ GPA. He was dressed no different from many others who have been drafted but somehow we choose negitive things.

Yeah I would like them to do better interview but for some it is not that they are dense but rather they haven't practise much. I know you know some kid who did school challenge from your school who could have done better but say they were nervous once in limeght or think they weren't properly prepared for the media.

[Don1]

The problem is that while some athletics coaches are doing their very best (with limited facilities) in the areas that they are qualified and in return reaping outstanding rewards, the same cannot be said of the other sectors and players in our society.

Sports success and educational success can -- and should -- exist side by side. Unfortunately, this has not been the case in Jamrock.

nicely done Historian!!

Don1 2.0

[Don1]

Jamaicans place far too much emphasis on sport and music... Period

This is a device or reaction to make up for failure in more important pursuits...Period

[Islandman]

Not saying they are dense at all, just that they sound illiterate. I am not that much concerned on whether they are A or B students, just that they sound like some kind of a student.

Some of the US college sports programs are also horrible in this regard, even worse in fact when you consider how much money they make off these "students" that play sports for them.

[Assasin]

"Some of the US college sports programs are also horrible in this regard, even worse in fact when you consider how much money they make off these "students" that play sports for them."

Thanks I am glad you realise that.