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The Caribbean Knowledge and Learning Network, CKLN, is an inter-governmental Agency of the Caribbean Community, CARICOM, established to assist Caribbean member states enhance their global competitiveness by upgrading and diversifying the skills and knowledge of human resources through greater regional collaboration and connectivity.
CARICOM Secretary General visits CKLN
St. George’s, Grenada, January, 24, 2012
Mr. Ken Sylvester, the Chief Executive Officer and of staff of the Caribbean Knowledge and Learning Network, CKLN, welcomed the Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), His Excellency Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, to their offices in Grenada.
Ambassador LaRocque was pleased to visit the agency, the only CARICOM institution based in Grenada. The CKLN came into being because of the global recognition that information and communication technologies (ICT) are central to the new world economy. Ambassador LaRocque stressed that ICT is the backbone of regional development and an important facilitator of the integration process and noted that the Prime Minister of Grenada embraces ICT as a vital tool in Grenada's development as a Knowledge Society.
The Secretary General was supportive of the major project being undertaken by the CKLN on behalf of the political leadership of the region - C@ribNET - the region and the world’s newest research and education network that will become operational by the end of February this year.
C@ribNET is a regional broadband fiber optic network that will support collaboration between tertiary and regional institutions in the Caribbean as they develop courses and programmes that will be available to a wider Caribbean citizenry.
C@ribNET … On Track!
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The regional network, C@ribNET is on track to be up and running by the end of February 2012. According to Mr. Eriko Porto, CKLN's Consultant for Network Engineering Services, everything is proceeding smoothly, telecommunication circuits commissioned by LIME for the C@ribNET backbone are now complete. These circuits, assembled in a ring topology, link Trinidad and Tobago, Miami, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. With the backbone in place, the international circuits connecting C@ribNET to other Global Networks - Géant, Internet 2 and RedCLARA - are also complete. “We are following a detailed schedule for deploying equipment for the access nodes in the respective countries, and activation is expected early in January. So we are on target, and C@ribNET should be ready for use in the region by February 2012.” |
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NREN Development in the Region
National research and education networks (NRENs) are formal entities that use advanced networking technology and services for research and education, knowledge transfer as well as international cooperation.
The CKLN is actively addressing the lack of NRENs in the Caribbean, as these will be the major users of C@ribNET. Over the past few months, the Tertiary Units of the respective Ministries of Education in Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica have begun engaging the relevant institutions in order to develop the nucleus for NREN establishment in the respective countries. These Units have taken on the responsibility of coordinating and working with institutions such as universities, community, technical and other colleges, libraries, as well as health and culture organisations. They are moving ahead with the necessary governance, financing and registration processes with the intention of having their NRENs registered in early in 2012.
CKLN’s next major initiative in this arena is to facilitate the countries in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to start conversations with relevant institutions in member states towards developing an OECS REN. Initial feedback from government representatives in the OECS, as with the other countries, indicates strong support for this process.
More information on NREN development can be found on this website (under C@ribNET).
