Three members from the Ministry of Public Service and Government Information Technology Services (GITS) were presented with their recently certificates, having completed a workshop on ISO/IEC 27001 organized in Taiwan last year. They are Mr. Darcel Joseph, Mr. Kentus Eugene, and Ms. Janelle Biscette, two of whom successfully attained the international certification. It was a first for Saint Lucian engineers.
The ISO/IEC 27001 standard provides a global framework for information security management, and certificate-holders are recognized by international cyber-security system. Those who earn the certification are qualified to help institutions to identify cyber risks, strengthen internal controls, and, consequently, maintain the safety and security of the digital system.
During the ceremony, the Training Division of the Ministry of Public Service also received four smart boards from the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to assist in the public sector’s empowerment and capacity building efforts.
As the Ministry strives to stay in tune with the latest technological advances, the smart boards will enhance the quality of learning by making training sessions and workshops more dynamic and accessible in facilitating presentations, collaborative learning, and more effective communication in the classroom.
The official handover ceremony was held at the Ministry’s Training Division at Union on Thursday afternoon, March 12, 2026, where the equipment’s significance was underscored, given the heavy emphasis on Government’s need to improve its delivery of services to citizens.
H.E. Nicole Su, Taiwan’s Ambassador to Saint Lucia, said the ceremony celebrated two important milestones in the continued cooperation between Taiwan and Saint Lucia in digital transformation. She explained that Taiwan has been honoured to work closely with the Government of Saint Lucia to promote digital transformation, human resource development, and institutional capacity building.
“As technology continues to reshape the way governments operate, the importance of equipping public service officers with modern tools and practical skills has become increasingly clear,” she said. “In this regard, these interactive smart boards represent more than the equipment itself: they are an investment in improving learning experiences within the public service. We would like to congratulate the achievements of the outstanding engineers and officers who participated in the workshop on ISO/IEC 27001 and successfully earned their certificates.”
Ambassador Su noted that despite the two-week workshop in Taiwan being very demanding and challenging, it facilitated the very first batch of engineers from Saint Lucia to earn the prestigious globally-recognised certificate.
Ambassador Su thanked Hon. King for his leadership, vision, and continued support for digital development of Saint Lucia and the empowerment of the public service. She also thanked Ms. Verna Khadoo, Director of the Training Division, for her commitment to the capacity building for public service officers; Mr. Marlon Narcisse, Director of the Division of Public Sector Modernisation, and Mr. Desmond Astwood, General Manager of Government Information Technology Services (GITS), for their dedication and efforts in advancing Saint Lucia’s digital infrastructure of the government system. The workshop participants also came in for high praise.
Noting that the empowerment of people and investing in proper infrastructure are equally important, Ambassador Su reaffirmed Taiwan’s commitment to collaborate with Saint Lucia to build a digitally safe and secure future where people are free from cyber-attack and enjoy the benefit of information technology.
Hon. Stephenson King, Senior Minister for the Ministry of Public Service, Transport, Information and Utilities Regulations, shared that Saint Lucia has seen a strengthening of the diplomatic relations and friendship with Taiwan over the years.
“The Republic of China (Taiwan) has engaged itself in numerous sectors in this country, making significant contributions to our own development: in education, agriculture, physical development, community development, public sector modernization, and infrastructure,” he explained. “In all of those sectors, your Government has come to the front and to make its own contribution to the development of our people and our country.”
In the more recent years, Hon. King added, the Government of Taiwan has escalated their contribution by providing assistance in the area of technology, including by attempting to modernize the Department of Transport with its own licensing system to modernize and make it more efficient. He added that two secondary schools in his Castries North constituency, namely St. Mary’s College and St. Joseph’s Convent, had each benefited from a retrofitted a computer lab generously donated by the Government of Taiwan.
Hon. King said the smart boards will enable better workshop presentations in teaching public officers who continue to advance their knowledge and understanding of what it means to be trained, educated, engaged in continuing education, retooling and reshaping themselves to be able to serve the people of Saint Lucia more efficiently.