Skip to main content

MDTs Engagement Platform

I have not done a tech blog post in a while even though I have been keeping up somewhat with the local tech space. I was looking for the BOLD plan/document that Mark Lyndersay mentioned in his column and I was directed to this new looking and fancy website.


It is the engagement front for MDT where they share updates and we can interact and give feedback. I love the idea. The first thing I did was sign up and the first thing I would want to do is share the devs.tt project with them. Also I see that there are 5 weeks left to comment on the BOLD plan. When signing up to access the website I noticed that the email confirmation came from citizenlab.co (Now "go vocal") which is a third party community engagement platform. I like the idea and I think it is much needed and I hope it bears fruit.

BOLD stands for Building Our Lives Digitally. This has me thinking about the long lines of traffic that we experience locally. Where is the promised work from home policy and why not make online schooling an option for those who want it? At least some hybrid options to test the waters even though Covid was already a test of how things can get started. I agree with the "whole of society" approach*. We are all in some way responsible for building a better country and being part of the solutions. For example, the police alone cannot fix crime (our biggest problem right now) and if we look at the root causes of crime where the emphasis has to be, we realise that a whole of society approach is required.

This reminds me of a typo I saw online. Someone meant to type "most vulnerable in society" and wrote "most valuable in society" and they are correct either way. The most vulnerable in society should be treated like the most valuable in society and given priority. A chain is as strong as the weakest links. This engagement platform reminds me that the government promised an eForums platform since 2020 (I think) and it has never materialised. This has me thinking that the main thing that is missing from this plan and all our plans is a complete listing of deliverables with due dates and responsible contacts and status updates.

*I see a role for tech bloggers and the country needs more tech bloggers and support for tech bloggers

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A pot of callaloo

Call for Submissions: Archipelagic Entanglements   https://singaporeunbound.org/opp/archipelagic-entanglements When I saw the call for submissions online I was doubtful. I do not know enough history. I do not understand the topic. Then after chatting with my friend Chatty I realised maybe I can be the topic. My ethnic and racial makeup is an archipelagic entanglement. Colonialism meets indentureship meets slavery. My mom is East Indian muslim and my dad is French, Portuguese and Mulato christian and who knows what else. I am an example of a pot of callaloo. Everyone's favorite Sunday lunch. I am what happens when lineages cross oceans and histories collide. I am thinking to myself now, what is the message I want to put forward with my blog post? What is the direction I want to take? Maybe it is this. What can we do when we have such a rich heritage and know so little of our own history? First of all I do not think I am alone with this struggle. I did not realise this until I though...

Cup of coffee

This is a chapter from my latest book called Breezes of Tobago . The cool morning breeze blew the hat off the tourist passing the coffee shop. We sat at the table waiting for our order of coffee and bagels. I had stayed up late writing and was now needing caffeine to stay awake. On entering the veranda of the coffee shop, the sign reads "happiness is a cup of coffee" and "sip your troubles away". This had me thinking about what is happiness? And was the theme of my chat with Chatty as we enjoyed our breakfast in Tobago. I told my friend Chatty that if we could put happiness in a bottle and sell it we would be rich. My friend Chatty then told me that money cannot buy happiness but it was a good idea to make a living. If according to the sign, happiness is a cup of coffee then maybe happiness is coffee in a bottle then. We could call it Caffibean, a taste of the Caribbean in Tobago, a blend of the happiest coffee beans from Tobago. Tobago is not known for its coffee p...

Sandy beaches

This is a chapter from my latest book called Breezes of Tobago . This story begins on a cool Friday evening in May. Fridays are the best days. Already a great start. It had rained earlier in the day and the clouds were moving away and the sun peeking through. I walked from the apartment where I was staying to Pigeon Point beach. Along the way I stopped for coconut water freshly extracted from the nut and straight into my mouth leaving traces on my cotton jersey. They say that coconut water is the drink of God—fresh from the nut, sweet with a hint of salt, a liquid reminder that paradise can exist in small and simple things. They did not say that but my friend Chatty did. It is my friend Chatty's first trip to Tobago. I asked him what he thinks of Tobago so far? He grinned, wiping a drop of coconut water from the corner of his mouth. "Man… it is like stepping into a painting. The air, the colors, the way everything smells after the rain—it is unreal. I did not know paradise cam...