Since Facebook rebranded as Meta in 2021, the Metaverse has generated much discussion globally. With it came a level of intrigue among many … What is the Metaverse? Is it new? Simply put, the Metaverse has been around for some time and is an online 3D space where virtual interactions can take place. Persons can work, shop, conduct business meetings or even socialise in the Metaverse.
In 2021, the Government of Barbados announced it would establish an embassy in the Metaverse, making it the first country in the world to do so. In 2022, St Vincent and the Grenadines declared its plans to host the first Carnival in the Metaverse.
The Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), in partnership with the Government of Barbados, will host a webinar, Traversing the Metaverse – A Caribbean Perspective, on Monday 31st January 2022 from 9:00 am to TIME, AST.
The webinar will examine the economic, social and cultural opportunities for different stakeholders, including governments and the private sector. It also seeks to educate and raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges for, in particular, small island developing states (SIDS).
“The Metaverse is an exciting immersive digital space where persons can operate in all aspects of their lives, in an online setting. The possibilities are endless. As the organisation that is driving digital transformation in the Caribbean region, the CTU recognises the need to explain the Metaverse from a conceptual and contextual perspective and to articulate how persons can benefit from it.”
Rodney Taylor, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union
Secretary-General Taylor further added, “Key terms such as virtual, mixed and augmented realty, blockchain, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), crypto-currencies, and others will be explored in an effort to raise public awareness of key terminology.”
The webinar is open to the public but will specifically focus on key stakeholders such as ICT policy makers, economists, technologists, entrepreneurs and academia.
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