WSIS TalkX: Improving connectivity by using (satellite and terrestrial) radiocommunications in small island states and developing countries


ITU

Session 226

15:00–16:00 (UTC+01:00), Friday, 12 March 2021 WSIS TalkX

This panel explores the initiatives of small island states and developing countries in improving connectivity by using radiocommunications. It delves into the expansion of essential radiocommunications infrastructure and how it can be used to expand connectivity to people and to things. It explores the use of space and satellite services, as well as terrestrial, fixed and mobile, licensed and unlicensed services to build the foundations of the digital era.

Panellists
Mr. Mario Maniewicz
Mr. Mario Maniewicz Director of Radiocommunication Bureau (BR) International Telecommunication Union Moderator

H.E. Mr. Chad Blackman
H.E. Mr. Chad Blackman Ambassador Permanent Mission of Barbados to the United Nations, BARBADOS

His Excellency Chad Blackman, is the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Barbados to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva.

Ambassador Blackman has worked in the international development sector for over fifteen years, and has engaged as an international trade law specialist and development consultant respectively.Prior to his tenure in Geneva, he was Legal Consultant in a Caribbean Law Firm, where he led on issues international trade and data protection laws.

Currently, Ambassador Blackman is the Chair for the Trade and Environment Committee in the World Trade Organization (WTO)[1] and former Chair of the Trade and Development Committee.  He chairs the SIDS Group in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Americas Co-ordinator for the Government Group in the ILO, and is a UN International Gender Champion. He is an Associate member of the London based, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Ambassador Blackman, has both LLB Law and LLM International Trade Law from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom. 
[1] https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres20_e/pr853_e.htm


Mr. Apollo Knights
Mr. Apollo Knights Director National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC) (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)

Mr. Knights has spent the last two decades working in the public sector in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and specifically in the area of   telecommunications development, regulation and policy. Prior to joining the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC) as its Director in 2002 he was the Telecommunications Officer in the Ministry of Communications and Works and was deeply involved in the telecommunications liberalization process within the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

His expertise covers a wide area including management, emergency communications, numbering, universal service and access, policy development, and digital transformation.  Mr. Knights believes in practical solutions to problems and tries to have his work benefit the citizens he serves here at home and the wider Caribbean region.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, a Master’s Degree in Telecommunications and Networking and an MBA in International Business.


Dr. Maria Myers-Hamilton
Dr. Maria Myers-Hamilton Managing Director Spectrum Management Authority, Jamaica

MANAGING DIRECTOR – MARIA MYERS-HAMILTON, Ed.D.
Dr. Maria Myers-Hamilton, Ed. D has been a pioneer in the field of Information Technology and Communications for over 30 years. Maria is the current Managing Director at the Spectrum Management Authority (“the SMA”), the regulator of Spectrum Radio Frequency, where she has spearheaded several initiatives, including the implementation of the Spectrum CAP, the Spectrum Pricing Policy, the Spectrum Management Framework, the Amateur Radio Operators Exam and the online Radio Technician (Class B) Course. Maria currently serves as the Vice Chairwoman of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), an inter-governmental organization dedicated to supporting the development of the Caribbean information and communications technologies (ICT) sector and Sub-Committee Chairwoman in the National Council on Education, where the focus is on addressing the issues impacting the education process. Additionally and under Maria’s leadership, the SMA team implemented the allocation of the radio frequency spectrum for Jamaica in keeping with the National Frequency Allocation Table (NFAT).
Prior to assuming the position of Managing Director of the SMA in January 2018, Maria was involved in several ICT based engagements in both the public and private sectors. For a period of close to three (3) years, Maria served as Director of Information Systems at the Jamaica Public Service Company where she led a team of seventy (70) members and completed thirty-five (35) ICT projects, on time and within budget. Also, Maria served as Senior Consultant at Lignum Systems Co. Limited, a firm that provided a wide range of I.T. consultancy services to both public and private sector companies.
In the mid 2000’s Maria served as Director, Records and Information Management, Registrar General’s Department; Manager, Business Development and Research at Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), prior to which she was employed to RBTT Bank (Jamaica) Limited in the post of General Manager – I.T. / Chief Information Officer during 2001–2004. During the period 1998–2001, she shared her expertise as Group MIS Manager / Team Lead for Union Bank IT Transformation, with the Financial Sector Adjustment Company Limited (FINSAC).
Dr. Myers-Hamilton holds a Doctorate in Education (Ed. D) in Instructional Technology & Distant Learning from the Nova Southeastern University’s Fischler School of Education. She is currently the Director of the Jamaica Autism Support Association and Trustee Chairperson of e-Gov Jamaica Pension Fund. Her previous directorships involved the use and promotion of technology include e-Gov Jamaica Limited, Cross Sectoral Coordination - Early Childhood Commission, Jamaica Electronic Transmission (JETS) Company.


Mr. Kirk Sookram
Mr. Kirk Sookram Deputy Chief Executive Officer Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago

Kirk Sookram holds and was recently appointed to the position of Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago. He has been employed with the Authority since its inception in July 2004, starting as a Telecommunications Engineer, working his way up the corporate ladder to Executive Director Technology and Engineering and, in 2020, to the position he currently holds.

Kirk is a national of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. His qualifications include a Bachelors of Science Degree (with Honours) in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of the West Indies and a Masters of Science Degree (Distinction) in Operational Telecommunications from Coventry University, United Kingdom. During his tenure at the Authority, he has specialized in spectrum management, wireless technologies, telecommunications regulation, ICT and broadband development, cost modeling and policy development.

Kirk also held the position of the Chairman of the Caribbean Spectrum Management Task Force established by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union during the period 2016 – 2020, during which time he led the CTU preparatory work for the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference, 2019.


Ms. Aarti Holla-Maini
Ms. Aarti Holla-Maini Secretary General ESOA

Aarti Holla-Maini has been Secretary General of the ESOA since 2004. She is a Member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Space, the WEF Global 5G Coalition Network and the WEF Essential Digital Infrastructure & Services Network.

Under Aarti’s leadership, ESOA & its member CEOs lead the effort to showcase the benefits of satellite communications for a more inclusive and secure society - vital to bridging the world’s digital divide, achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and realizing the 5G ecosystem.

Since joining the association, Aarti has led the expansion of ESOA from a European association to one that represents the interests of 21 global and regional satellite operators. She reports directly to their Chief Executives.

Aarti has 23 years' experience in the aerospace industry, starting at Daimler-Benz Aerospace/EADS (now Airbus) in Germany. In 2000, she moved to Brussels, representing Airbus interests in the European satellite navigation program: Galileo. 

Aarti holds a Masters of Business Administration from HEC, France & Stern Business School, NYC, USA. She qualified as Solicitor of the Supreme Court in the UK in 1995, holding a 2:1 graded LLB Hons Law with German Law degree from King's College, University of London & the University of Passau, Germany. Aarti is of British-Indian origin and holds British and Belgian nationalities. She lives in Brussels, has 3 children and speaks 5 languages.