IN many respects, our small size as a country places us at a disadvantage. Large countries and organisations can make significant savings in their dealings and purchases, often referred to as the economies of scale. In this era of global climate change, you should be familiar with the term SIDS, for Small Island Developing States, which references our own vulnerability. If we constantly regard our size as a disadvantage, then our lamentations might distract us from recognising the few occasions where our size actually offers some substantial benefits.
We are small enough to have practically rubbed shoulders with decorated and accomplished persons of international stature who emerged from among us. What a source of inspiration! To hazard a short list of our heavyweights and giants: our eternal Nobel Laureates; sportspersons like Levern Spencer and Daren Sammy; champion bodybuilder Rick Wayne, former PM Kenny Anthony, and a host of talented scholars, musicians, poets, and artists too numerous to mention.
These cross-cutting attributes of our small social fabric are mentioned to frame the recent news of the successful police actions in capturing the latest car thieves. While some headlines attribute this police success to social media, it seems to be a fact of our small size. No thief, crook, or ne’er-do-well can hope to outrun the impacts of their criminal activity, when there is limited room, literally, to manoeuvre. Of course, the tool recognised was ICT-based social media, but it could have easily been something less high-tech, since the environment is what makes the difference. In fact, when we experience service that is less-than-stellar in our daily undertakings, we may appeal directly to an influential and well-known person who could intercede on our behalf. You probably could not do that in a larger place where you do not know the influential persons!
Armed with that info, that our small size gives us benefits, what else could we do that a larger place would find difficult? Maybe providing country-wide WiFi for all? Sounds ambitious, until you realise that other countries are well on their way to delivering similar services. Delightfully oxymoronic, but being small might make us great!
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About the Author
Dr. Lyndell St. Ville is an ICT Consultant based in Saint Lucia. His expertise includes systems analysis, design, and capacity building.
Theme: large impact of small change