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Veteran telecommunications technician Phill Hardstaff has been appointed to head the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s (SPC) regional ICT projects, which includes the much touted Digital Strategy.
As SPC’s ICT Manager, Noumea-based Hardstaff will oversee the functions of the SPC ICT Section and will be responsible for the development of ICT policies and strategic initiatives within the framework of SPC’s Corporate Plan and the Section’s own strategic plan; and for the resources of the Section, in particular its staff.
“Phill’s appointment comes at a particularly interesting time: the role of the SPC ICT Section and its Manager has expanded considerably over the last few years,” said SPC director general Jimmie Rodgers.
“SPC now plays the lead role in the implementation of the Pacific Plan Digital Strategy (PPDS).”
SPC, he added, currently coordinates three major projects under the strategy:
1) facilitating consultations among Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) on a new submarine cable network;
2) implementing the roll-out of the new pan-Pacific, low-cost, satellite-based Rural Internet Connectivity System (RICS); and
3) coordinating the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative in the region.
“Under PPDS, SPC will also work with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) to assist countries in their reform agendas in relation to the policy and regulatory environment in the ICT sector,” Rodgers said.
He said there are plans to establish a specific unit to manage and coordinate the implementation of PPDS.
“This unit will need to be resourced appropriately to ensure that the current ICT support to SPC programmes is not unduly affected. Another major role of SPC’s ICT Section is to assist SPC member countries and territories in the development of national ICT capacity. This support takes place through attachments at SPC, regional and in-country training and technical assistance,” said Rodgers.
