Minister responsible for Economic Affairs & Telecommunications Franklin Meyers, says that the effective use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) holds the potential of boosting economies, improving health care delivery, enhancing education and learning processes, and strengthening democratic processes for country Sint Maarten.
"On World Development Information Day, which is observed globally on October 24 annually, every nation is committed to build a people-centered Information Society, where everyone can create, access, utilize and share information and knowledge.
"This enables communities to achieve their full potential in promoting sustainable development and improving the quality of life based on the use of ICTs.
"My vision is to establish Sint Maarten as an advanced information society in which Information and Communication Technology tools are the key drivers of economic and societal development. I would like to commend all those who already work in the ICT area. From this day on, we need to collaborate as a Sint Maarten nation to create a better future and well-informed nation by promoting economic growth through information technology," Minister of Economic Affairs & Telecommunications Franklin Meyers told the Government Information Service (GIS).
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 1972 instituted World Development Information Day to draw attention of world public opinion to development problems and the need to strengthen international cooperation to solve them.
The Assembly decided that the date for the Day should coincide in principle with United Nations Day, 24 October, which was also the date of the adoption, in 1970, of the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade.
The Assembly felt that improving the dissemination of information and the mobilization of public opinion, particularly among young people, would lead to greater awareness of the problems of development, thus promoting efforts in the sphere of international cooperation for development.