REMARKS BY THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CARICAD – DEVON ROWE AT THE LAUNCH OF THE TOOLKIT ON INNOVATION AND DIGITAL GOVERNMENT FOR PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY WORKSHOP — February 23 & 24, 2021 I greet you in my capacity as Executive Director of CARICAD. Welcome to this example of innovation in innovative times. Let me say a heartfelt thank you to UNDESA for reconfirming our strategic partnership through this programme. I thank Director Juwang Zhu and the team with whom we have interacted, including Adriana Alberti, Jonas Rabinovitch, Anya Thomas, Dimis Michaelides, Huiwen Tan and others. The CARICAD and UNDESA partnership is one of CARICAD’s oldest and most enduring. We treasure this partnership. In a similar vein, I wish to express heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Jennifer Britton of the CARICOM Secretariat for her deep interest, support, and advocacy for the programme. I wish to also thank our colleagues from the Caribbean Telecommunications Union for their suggestions which have served to improve this intervention. The planning, organising and delivery of this programme has reflected not only our common interests and intentions but our common commitment to delivering improved service for the people of our region and the world. This programme falls squarely within the boundaries of the priorities of all our institutions. Colleagues and participants, you may have grown tired of hearing this, but it bears repeating, the Coronavirus Pandemic and the subsequent COVID-19 crisis have created a different world. The sense of certainty and predictability of systems, procedures, and processes with which we all lived with previously, has been replaced by uncertainty and anxiety. The uncertainties and anxieties exist at all levels of our human experience, including at the organisational and individual levels. This new reality should propel us into taking additional positive actions. Technology has emerged as one of the biggest positive forces in our current situation. Indeed, many people now regard technology as the operational essential of organisations. Colleagues we all serve as public officers, whether at the national, regional, or international level. The people whom we serve, who we work for, to whom we must report and account to, and also those people we work with, all have one thing in common, they expect us to deliver desired Results more efficiently. It is my hope that while we will promote technology-based systems, procedures and processes, we will also keep the focus on people. So, as we focus on a commitment to innovation with technology as the driving tool, we recognise that it is people who will provide the values-based competence for ethical decisions. It is people that we will be calling upon to deliver the Transformational Leadership and Implementation required to effect truly, enduring, resilient and responsive transformational change. I am grateful that several of our member states accepted the invitation to participate in this collaborative activity between UNDESA/ CARICOM and CARICAD. It is important to note that as a result of the significant contribution by UNDESA this intervention is being delivered at no cost to our governments. We are confident that your investments of time and effort will be well worth it. On the CARICAD side, I wish to thank the members of the team for their contribution to the total team effort. In closing, let me pledge CARICAD’S support for the programme and our continued partnership with UNDESA. Thank you. 5
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