Samoa/NationalICT

NATIONAL ICT POLICY

Samoa has a national information and communication technology (ICT) committee chaired by the CEO of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications. Members of this committee include key ICT experts and representatives of various government institutions. The committee has established a website (see www.e-samoa.ws) which outlines policies and strategies for Samoa. The Samoa ICT Policy Vision is “information and communication technologies for every Samoan.” It follows the guiding principles outlined in the Pacific Islands Information and Communication Technologies Policy and Strategic Plan – a regional ICT strategy agreed and signed by the Ministers of Communication of each Forum member country. The vision for Samoa includes statements of guiding principles in each of four areas of development: human resources, infrastructure development, cooperation between stakeholders and appropriate policy and regulation. Policy statements developed within each area with respect to implementation are:

Human Resources: ICT will be used to inform and connect the population of Samoa and ensure that it benefits from flexible and appropriate education, training and experiences.

Infrastructure Development: Appropriate ICT infrastructure [will be developed] to support development for Samoa.

Co-operation Between Stakeholders: Easy access to information through ICT will strengthen co-operation between stakeholders while advocating the Statement of Economic Strategy (SES) championed by the Government of Samoa to ensure good governance, development in the private sector and improvement in service delivery.

Appropriate Policy and Regulation: Easy access to information through ICT will strengthen co-operation between stakeholders while advocating the Statement of Economic Strategy (SES) championed by the Government of Samoa to ensure good governance, development in the private sector and improvement in service delivery.

Strategies to implement the ICT policy include:

(a) promoting greater awareness of ICT;

(b) developing and retaining a knowledgeable workforce in ICT;

(c)developing and maintaining training policies and programmes to ensure ICT resources are properly managed; providing equal access to ICT, bearing in mind the need for measures against inappropriate use;

(d) developing ICT infrastructure to promote universal access;

(e) addressing affordability of ICT technology;

(f) and continually evaluating ICT plans and their impacts.

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