The Ministry of Digital Transformation opened its seventh ICT Access Centre in Belmont, North Trinidad. The centre is located inside the newly re-constructed Belmont Community Centre, which was officially re-opened on Friday May 27 by the Minister of Sport and Community Development, the Honourable Shamfa Cudjoe and the MP for the area, the Honourable Stuart Young.
Speaking on the partnership with the Ministry of Sport and Community Development which enabled the expansion of the AccessTT initiative into Belmont, Minister of Digital Transformation, Hassel Bacchus said that “one of the most positive things about today’s reopening is that it is the product of great teamwork.” He thanked the Ministry of Sport and Community Development for the opportunity to have a presence in the Community Centre, remarking that the Access Centre was opened in eleven days. “Belmont is the newest addition to the MDT’s Community ICT Access Programme; it is a small but rapidly growing network of Centres that provides members of the public with access to Digital Technology.”
The ICT Access Centre consists of a Cyber Café, which has 10 stations, equipped with desktops, webcams and headsets, and free Wi-Fi internet access. Residents will be able to use the Centre for personal and professional use, and staff hired from within the community will also be on hand to offer guidance/ support on usage of computers, surfing the internet, accessing Government services and free printing services.
In his address, Minister Bacchus said the Ministry continues to be “laser-focused” on achieving its mandate of a digital society, where everyone has access to affordable ICTs. More centres are scheduled to be opened in the upcoming months in Gonzales, Roxborough, Tacarigua, Maraval and Cascade. These are in addition to eighteen (18) ICT Access Centres which will be opened later this year in various communities across Trinidad and Tobago.
Minister Shamfa Cudjoe urged the residents of Belmont to “get up and come to the Centre”, reminding them that citizens have resources, including free devices and digital technologies at their fingertips. Minister Young also echoed the sentiments of his Ministerial colleagues, extending a special invitation to the elderly and the youth of the community to make full use of digital literacy assistance at the ICT Access Centre.
More facilities will be added to the Access Centre at Belmont in the coming weeks, including a multi-media Training Room, where meetings, and virtual training sessions can be held.
The new Belmont Community Centre also boasts a children’s library outfitted and managed by the National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS), a gym, laundry, kitchen, and a complete auditorium with seating capacity for 164 persons.
