Contact: Tricia Balthazar tbalthazar@canto.org + 1 (868) 329 4207

PRESS
RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Trinidad & Tobago cops
top 3 spots in CANTO/Ericsson Caribbean
i-Create e-Content Competition

Anand ‘Jerry’ Persad
an ICT Entrepreneur from Trinidad & Tobago is the winner of CANTO’s first
ever i-Create e-Content Competition
2010-2011. The annual competition which was launched in October of 2010
rewards the most creative and innovative e-Content developers in the
Caribbean.  The competition was staged in CANTO member countries and received
over 60 registrants from Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Dominica,
Ghana, Jamaica, Suriname, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent & the
Grenadines and Trinidad & Tobago.

Persad captured
first place from a pool of 20 entrants with his submission coined: ‘eTecK Kiosk Application’ entered under
the e-Culture Heritage and Tourism category. The site objective includes
providing information and investment opportunities in Trinidad & Tobago to
potential investors in the international and regional market. The ever thankful
Persad was ecstatic upon hearing the news and attributed his winnings to his
wife (Janice Persad) who encouraged him to enter the competition.

The second place went to Trinidad &
Tobago Corporation CMG ltd. with their submission Trinidad Tunes. The company described the site as the
first legal website to feature music for download, from Trinidad & Tobago
and the Caribbean, with an ever-expanding catalogue.

Third place and best mobile
application went to Khafra Murray also of Trinidad & Tobago with his mobile
application named: Triniberry.  This is a blackberry based application which offers a platform for mobile
information services relevant and useful to citizens of Trinidad and  Tobago.

Phil Tevreden out of Suriname came in
fourth place with his entry titled Srananpoku.com
which is an online service for Surinamese music aimed at the Dutch market.

Nine experts in the
field of ICT and Telecommunications sector were selected as Judges from
Barbados, Belize, Jamaica, Suriname, St.Vincent & the Grenadines

Trinidad &
Tobago and USA. The submissions were judged in the following categories ranging
from relevance of the application, quality and
comprehensiveness, ease-of-use, functionality & design, quality of design,
value added through interactivity & multimedia, quality of craftsmanship
and strategic importance to the region among others.

CANTO thanks its platinum and headline sponsor, Ericsson for assisting with the main
prizes and providing the Android OS training necessary to assist with the
development of some of the mobile applications.

Other invaluable sponsors included
National Information and Communication Technology Company of T&T (i-GovTT),
Ministry of Public Administration (Trinidad & Tobago), University of
Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) and Illuminat.

The top three winners will be
flown to Paramaribo, Suriname where they will attend the prestigious Ericsson i-Create e-Content Award Ceremony
on the 11th of July at CANTO’s 27th Annual Conference & Trade
Exhibition (CANTO 2011).

For more information on CANTO
i-Create Competition and CANTO Conference & Trade Exhibition visit www.cantoicreate.com and www.canto.org/cant02011 respectively

End

CANTO
is recognized as the leading trade association of the ICT sector for shaping
information and communication in the Caribbean. Founded in 1985 as a non-profit
association of 8 telephone operating companies, CANTO has now grown to over 110
members in more than 32 countries.  A Board of Directors appointed by the
membership directs policy of the Association. This strategy is executed by
the staff of a permanent Secretariat based in Trinidad and Tobago.