Wed | Jan 1, 2025

Connected Caribbean Summit makes the case for functional, tangible regional integration

Published:Monday | December 30, 2024 | 12:10 AM
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A cross-section of speakers and attendees pose for a family picture at the Connected Caribbean Summit in Miami Florida earlier this month.
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A cross-section of speakers and attendees pose for a family picture at the Connected Caribbean Summit in Miami Florida earlier this month.
PM Dickon Mitchell accepts the Connected Caribbean Leadership Excellence Award after opening the Connected Caribbean Summit. With him are summit co-convenors (from left) Bevil Wooding, Petipha Lewis, Rodney Taylor, and John Curran, CEO and president of Ame
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PM Dickon Mitchell accepts the Connected Caribbean Leadership Excellence Award after opening the Connected Caribbean Summit. With him are summit co-convenors (from left) Bevil Wooding, Petipha Lewis, Rodney Taylor, and John Curran, CEO and president of American Registry for Internet Numbers.
Eminent Caribbean jurist Sir Dennis Byron (centre), a featured speaker at the Connected Caribbean Summit with Commissioner of Police Atlee Rodney of the Antigua and Barbuda Royal Police Force (left) and Deputy Commissioner of Police Richard Stewart of the
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Eminent Caribbean jurist Sir Dennis Byron (centre), a featured speaker at the Connected Caribbean Summit with Commissioner of Police Atlee Rodney of the Antigua and Barbuda Royal Police Force (left) and Deputy Commissioner of Police Richard Stewart of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
Grenada PM Dickon Mitchell listening to the proceedings at Connected Caribbean Summit 2024 in Miami, Florida.
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Grenada PM Dickon Mitchell listening to the proceedings at Connected Caribbean Summit 2024 in Miami, Florida.
Richard Wall, chief technology officer of Caribbean Agency for Justice Solutions with Jon Phillips, executive director of Washington DC-based Development Solutions Agency after the memorandum of understanding signing between both agencies at the Connected
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Richard Wall, chief technology officer of Caribbean Agency for Justice Solutions with Jon Phillips, executive director of Washington DC-based Development Solutions Agency after the memorandum of understanding signing between both agencies at the Connected Caribbean Summit.
Superintendent Dahlia Garrick of the JCF making a point in the Justice Forum at the Connected Caribbean Summit.
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Superintendent Dahlia Garrick of the JCF making a point in the Justice Forum at the Connected Caribbean Summit.
Jamaican Customs Brokers team acknowledge their presence at the opening of Connected Caribbean Summit in Miami. (From left are) Clive Coke, immediate past president of the Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association of Jamaica (CBFFAJ), Vice-Preside
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Jamaican Customs Brokers team acknowledge their presence at the opening of Connected Caribbean Summit in Miami. (From left are) Clive Coke, immediate past president of the Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association of Jamaica (CBFFAJ), Vice-President Ann Brown-Chang and customs broker, Dermot Morris.
The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) is one of the key Summit partners. In this photo are (from left) Rodney Taylor, CTU secretary general; Nate Davis and Leslie Nobile, senior directors, ARIN; Claire Craig, research director, CaribNoG, and Mi
Contributed
The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) is one of the key Summit partners. In this photo are (from left) Rodney Taylor, CTU secretary general; Nate Davis and Leslie Nobile, senior directors, ARIN; Claire Craig, research director, CaribNoG, and Michael Abejuela, general counsel, at ARIN.
PM Dickon Mitchell of Grenada at Jamaica Constabulary Force’s tech display at Connected Caribbean Summit. He is received by Superintendent Orette Bascoe of the JCF Technology Branch under as Corporal Paul Brown (right) looks on.
Contributed
PM Dickon Mitchell of Grenada at Jamaica Constabulary Force’s tech display at Connected Caribbean Summit. He is received by Superintendent Orette Bascoe of the JCF Technology Branch under as Corporal Paul Brown (right) looks on.
Sean Hinds, manager of User Experience at Teleios Systems, Trinidad and Tobago, with Bernadette Lewis, secretary general of the London-based Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation during the APEX Academy Masterclass on Artificial Intelligence at the
Contributed
Sean Hinds, manager of User Experience at Teleios Systems, Trinidad and Tobago, with Bernadette Lewis, secretary general of the London-based Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation during the APEX Academy Masterclass on Artificial Intelligence at the Connected Caribbean Summit.
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The Connected Caribbean Summit, now in its third year, has been hailed as a highly organised event with compelling ideas and presentations that rekindled hope for the prospects of an integrated Caribbean bloc for improved trade and business.

For businessman Dermot Morris and his colleague customs broker Ann Brown-Chang, the conference was unlike any they have ever attended. “The summit was well organised, timely, with smooth-flowing sessions – mirroring the efficiency required for business to be more competitive in our Caribbean space,” said Brown-Chang. “The speakers were on point. My only wish is that the sessions could’ve been longer and repeated, so that everyone could get a chance to attend each session,” she added.

Sharing his perspectives, Morris was visibly emotional as he described how the Connected Caribbean Summit rekindled the passion he felt for Caribbean integration and solidarity when he studied abroad. “Living and studying in New York City, you come to value your West Indian culture for guidance and the bolstering of your identity. Upon returning home to Jamaica to work in the family business, I gradually lost the zeal for Caribbean activism as there was not much need for it,” opined Morris. “Totally unexpectedly, this summit has put the fire back in my belly, and I am actively thinking about what role I can play to advance Caribbean integration, especially on the business side of things,” said Morris.

Besides a strong turnout of businesspeople to the four-day summit (December 9-12) opened by Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, also present were senior leaders and top professionals from government, justice and law enforcement, as well as the ICT and data governance sectors, among other stakeholders. The annual event is organised by a team of regional leaders under the banner of the Connected Caribbean Foundation.

Lead convenor of the summit and advocate for regional integration and digital transformation, Bevil Wooding, described the event as being intentional in setting specific targets, timelines, accountability, and action plans to accelerate further transformative action for Caribbean development for 2025. “We have committed to establishing a Caribbean Digital Knowledge Hub to centralise resources and best practices, initiating mentorship and internship programmes to build human capacity across sectors, and tracking the commitments made by partners at the summit in specific areas of development,” said Wooding.

The Connected Caribbean Summit was hosted by the Caribbean Agency for Justice Solutions, the Network of Caribbean Chambers of Commerce , and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union , in partnership with regional and international organisations, including the American Registry for Internet Numbers, Congress WBN, the Caribbean Network Operators Group , and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Commission, Arkitechs, and the Unit Trust Corporation.