USF Celebrates 17th Anniversary With Several Activities

The Universal Service Fund (USF) will host several activities to commemorate its 17th anniversary, beginning on May 15.

The Fund will celebrate the milestone over a week, under the theme ‘Broadening Access Through the Use of Technology’.

Human Resource and Administration Manager of the State-run agency, Shanique Cornwall, made the announcement at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ held on Thursday, May 12 at the agency’s headquarters in Kingston.

“The theme is significant because we want to chronicle how the USF has undertaken initiatives to broaden access to information and communications technology (ICT) within the Jamaican space, as well as look at future opportunities that will guide us in further broadening access to the Jamaican people,” she explained.

Ms. Cornwall informed that the USF will examine issues such as five and 10G technologies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. She said these will affect how the agency rolls out future ICT projects.

The USF is observing almost two decades of bridging the digital divide in Jamaica. This is done through the provision of ICT tools to actualise the Government’s vision for a knowledge-based society.

The celebrations will get under way with a church service on May 15, commencing at 9:30 a.m. at the Emmanuel Apostolic Church on Slipe Road in Kingston.

“It will feature several invited dignitaries, to include the Minister of Science, Energy and Technology (MSET), Hon. Daryl Vaz; and former Ministers who had oversight of the Fund, including Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams,” Ms. Cornwall said.

Custos of Kingston, Hon. Steadman Fuller; Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, and others are also expected to attend.

Two events have been planned for Monday (May 16). The first is an islandwide ICT school tour, which will conclude on Wednesday, May 18.

The other is a Twitter Space discussion that will focus on cybersecurity in the digital age. It is expected to explore trends, threats, security, and mitigation measures associated with cybersecurity. Speakers from the US-based company Fortinet, Jamaica Cyber Incident Response Team (JaCIRT), Flow, Digicel and the Jamaica Computer Society have been confirmed for the event.

On Tuesday (May 17), there will be the inaugural ICT lecture and workshop. This will be hosted in collaboration with the University of Technology’s School of Computing and Information Technology.

“It will be an educational experience that examines varying perspectives on the impact of technology in enabling access to information and the link between Universal Service Fund initiatives and bridging the digital divide,” Ms. Cornwall said.

The penultimate event of the week will follow on May 19. This is the launch of the Port Maria public Wi-Fi facility at the Claude Stewart Park at 2:30 p.m.

On Friday, May 20, the celebrations will culminate with an invite-only awards dinner. At this event, the USF will salute several persons who were integral in the success of the Fund over the years.

The USF is an agency of MSET and is mandated to provide Internet access to Jamaicans, especially the unserved and underserved.