E‐Government Infrastructure Programme This Programme involves projects which seek to assess and upgrade the current e‐government infrastructure, such as the government backbone, with a view to providing cost‐effective facilities that allow cross‐agency sharing and collaboration. In one of the key projects of this Programme, the telecommunications infrastructure of government will be upgraded to support both voice and data. This infrastructure will be capable of supporting a single VOIP network for all of the public sector, including overseas Missions, High Commissions and offices. This single VOIP network has the potential to significantly impact the cost of all of government communications, including voice. It will include the creation of policies for central ICT procurement and standards to promote interoperability. Initiatives will be undertaken to revise existing legislation and standards for all of government, and to establishment effective cyber‐ security measures. Special emphasis will be placed on equipping this ICT infrastructure with the capacity to mitigate and respond to national emergencies and disasters. ICT Refurbishment and Maintenance Programme This initiative will implement ICT refurbishment and maintenance centres, including PCs, peripherals and mobile devices, for subsequent deployment in communities of need. This Programme will have a heavy training component as it is intended to produce ICT entrepreneurs and maintenance and support individuals who will become available to build and support the ICT sector and the use of ICT by businesses. It may provide opportunities for retired technical persons to contribute to national development by providing training services on a voluntary basis. Individuals will be trained in refurbishing, replacing and even modifying products to meet specific local needs. This refurbishment process will require comprehensive data collection to capture best practices and innovations worthy of patenting. 4.3 Education The Programmes in this sector have the common aim of transforming education through ICT so that individuals and by extension St. Lucia can become competitive and function effectively in a technologically dynamic and knowledge‐based world. The two Programmes, Connected School Programme and the Smart Education Programme, are intended to introduce connectivity and ICT into the school system and build the capacity of all its stakeholders to utilise its enabling capabilities. [23]