BELTRAIDE today hosted the launch of its first Digital Connect Center in San Estevan, Orange Walk. It's meant to be a space to provide entrepreneurs, youths and elders with the tools to undergo business building, digital skills and literacy training.
The hope - however fanciful - is that rural entrepreneurs will be able to use the centres to connect to BELTRAIDE's Virtual Knowledge Center platform to access training materials for enterprise growth and innovation.
PM Briceno was back in his home base as the speaker at the launch of this very first centre, and here's what he had to say about bringing San Estevan into a space of easy internet access outside mobile phones:
Hon. John Briceno, PM and Area Rep, San Estevan, OW
"To me it's very important to be her to celebrate the opening of the digital connect center."
"Computers represent knowledge, computers or the connection are the connection to the rest of the world. You could be here in San Estevan but know what is happening in Beijing, know what is happening in Taiwan, know what is happening in India, In Mexico or in the Toledo district, something that we had no clue about what is going on. So, this digital connect center that we are putting here I think is taking us to another step into a digitization strategy of the government of Belize."
"So, it's important also for the librarians to try to guide our young people to guide them into the right direction into these areas and certainly be able with what Beltraide is offering to them because then they could learn a lot more than what they are learning in school."
Nara Garcia, CEO, Office of the Prime Minister and Investment
"This digital connect center will serve the public in this area with access to business and digital tools necessary to reduce the digital gaps that many rural communities face. The digital connect center is part of the Belize Trade and InvestmentDevelopment service and E-governance efforts to support digital inclusion and build business and digital capacity across the country under the national digital agenda for the year 2022-25 called toward a digital Belize."
"These centers will address one of the main issues our communities face limited access to information."
Mrs. Rosy Chan Tun, Chairlady, San Estevan Village
"I am truly overwhelmed with gratitude today. This is a special moment for the village of San Estevan, having a technologically well-equipped area is just a dream for us and we know that dreams don't come through everyday, however today we are witnesses of this fulfilled dream."
BELTRAIDE'S Digital Connect Centers are part of the Building Resilient MSMEs- Accelerating Digitization Project, in collaboration with the E-Governance and Digitalization Unit (EGDU), the United Nations Development Programme.
