“I was really shocked!” exclaims Asabi Rawlins, evidently still in disbelief, “But I’m excited. It’s always a good feeling to win something.”

The 16-year-old student of Naparima Girls’ High School has placed fourth in the 4^th Annual World Telecommunications Information Society Day Essay Competition held by CANTO, the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organisations.

Based in Trinidad and Tobago and founded in 1985, this non-profit organisation strives to present a forum through which issues of concern to telecommunication industries throughout the region may be addressed. The competition was launched to commemorate World Telecommunication Information and Society Day, which took place on Monday, the 17^th of May.

In order to win the competition, teenagers Caribbean-wide were asked to write an essay on the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on their society.

Asabi, who hails from Union Village, Claxton Bay, was the only contestant from Trinidad and Tobago who has placed in the top four. In recognition of her win, bmobile and BLINK, on behalf of CANTO, will award her with a Blackberry cell phone.

Though Asabi’s win came as a surprise to her, she laughingly explains that her parents received the news with nonchalance. “They were proud,” she says, “but they know that it’s not an unusual thing for me.” When one hears of Asabi’s feats, it becomes easy to understand why they would have reacted that way- when your daughter has received an award for Junior Achiever 2009, has decided to take 12 subjects at the CXC level, and was once featured in a newspaper article under the headline “The Chosen One,” it is expected that any other achievement would be received with an exasperated nod of the head.

Yet Asabi still manages to find the time to engage in several other extra-curricular activities. Presently, the teenager is involved in various environmental and youth initiatives, especially those committed to “mitigating climate change.” The ambitious young woman also loves to debate, has started to learn German, and writes articles for an online youth organisation based in India.

In fact, it was when Asabi realised the extent to which she depended on Information and Communication Technologies in order to participate in her various interests that she became motivated to write the essay.

Information and Communication Technologies, or ICTs, refer to the channels through which digital information is stored, sent or received. ICTs therefore take the form of the cell phones, personal computers and Internet technology.

“I was a bit naïve to the term,” The teenager humbly admits. Once she conducted her research, however, she realised that Information and Communication Technologies were crucial to the functioning of her daily life.

“When I told my friends that I work for an Indian-based company, they asked me, ‘Does that mean you will have to travel to India?’ I told them no, that I can communicate with them via e-mail,” she confidently states. “I always try to keep up with new initiatives in technology. A lot of the people I need to communicate with are all over the world. ICTs are a really important thing for me, personally.”

“All across the globe,” she writes, “Information and Communication Technologies are playing an instrumental role in the improvement of our lives. The incredible resource must only be capitalised upon in the future so as to further our positive development.”

Asabi speaks confidently and quickly, her words as clear and strong as those used in her award-winning essay. “I am seriously considering pursuing a career in international law or international relations,” she admits, and immediately one wonders who could disagree with such an ideal career path. It is no surprise when the bright young student confidently admits that she is “really passionate about expressing my opinion.”

One should never, however, mistake her confidence for arrogance- Asabi admits that she still has not told her teachers or classmates about the competition. She and her friends were writing their examinations for CXC when the bright young student had heard that she had won, so she wisely decided to keep the news to herself.

Asabi’s present aim, however, is to ensure that she shares the knowledge she has gained through entering the competition with everyone she knows. She is prepared to speak to them on ICTs and its impact on their lives, as well as to encourage them to represent their country by entering similar essay competitions.

“I will continue to read and be enlightened, and to teach other people,” she declares. “I will take any chance to put Trinidad’s name out there.”