As the Caribbean region marks International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) 2024 International Girls in ICT Day, which carries the theme “AI for Development: Girls Shaping the Digital Future”, leading regional telecommunications provider Liberty Caribbean has issued a urgent call for collective, accelerated action to address widespread gaps in artificial intelligence access, adoption and technical capacity across Caribbean communities.
Organized annually by the ITU, this year’s global observance sets out a clear mandate: to inspire and equip more women and girls to build careers in information and communication technology (ICT), with a specific focus on fast-growing AI-powered emerging fields. The push for greater female representation in these sectors is rooted in a broader goal of building truly inclusive, sustainable socio-economic development across the globe, and small island regions like the Caribbean are no exception.
In her remarks for the observance, Liberty Caribbean Chief Executive Officer Inge Smidts stressed that closing the Caribbean’s AI gap must move from a long-term planning goal to an immediate regional development priority. “AI must become a regional development priority to unlock new possibilities across our economies. This cannot be something we observe from the sidelines,” Smidts said.
She emphasized that meaningful progress does not happen through passive interest: it demands intentional, cross-border collaborative action to move the region from casual curiosity about AI to large-scale, practical deployment across industries. “Countries that apply AI responsibly and ensure inclusive participation in their transformation efforts will be best positioned to grow and create opportunity,” she added.
Smidts went on to note that as digital technology increasingly becomes the backbone of global economic decision-making, future prosperity for Caribbean nations will hinge on how effectively regional stakeholders turn widespread digital access into measurable productivity gains. “We must build this future intentionally, with full representation of our societies at the centre, ensuring that women, girls, and underserved communities are not only included, but empowered to lead, innovate, and shape the direction of that growth,” she said.
As a leading regional connectivity provider, Liberty Caribbean — which operates consumer brands Flow and BTC, along with B2B service provider Liberty Business — has already laid groundwork for this regional shift through consistent, long-term investment in resilient, future-proof digital networks and cloud-based platforms. Beyond infrastructure, the company is rolling out targeted initiatives to upskill regional workforces, promote ethical, responsible AI innovation, and ensure that broader AI adoption delivers tangible, measurable benefits for residential customers, local communities, and national economies across the region.
Internally, the company has already begun integrating AI-powered automation into its core operations, a move designed to boost back-office efficiency and deliver a more seamless, responsive experience for its customer base across more than 20 Caribbean markets.
Sashagay Middleton, a B2B Sales Account Executive based in Antigua and Barbuda, framed the shift as a deeply local issue, noting that digital technology is no longer a distant future concept but an integral part of daily life across the Caribbean. “Technology is no longer something that belongs to a distant future, it’s part of how we live, work and connect every day in Antigua and Barbuda,” Middleton said. “As we mark International Girls in ICT Day, we are reminded of how important it is to encourage girls to see themselves as creators of technology, including AI, not just consumers. When girls are empowered digitally, the entire country benefits.”
Through ongoing investments in universal connectivity, accessible digital skills training, and inclusive talent development pathways, Liberty Caribbean is working to ensure that future Caribbean innovation is led by homegrown talent — including the women and girls who will shape the sector’s next chapter.
A 150-year-old regional institution, Liberty Caribbean (formerly C&W Communications, now operated by Liberty Latin America) provides broadband, mobile, video and voice services to residential customers across more than 20 Caribbean markets via its Flow and BTC brands, while its Liberty Business division delivers enterprise-grade connectivity, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity and data center services to private businesses and government agencies across the region, supporting long-term digital economic growth.