That's the problem. Thank you very much. bring it on. okay. So we're streaming live on Facebook. Yup yes. Welcome back everybody. Thank you for joining us at the March for Science Media Zone today is going to be filled with amazing speakers insightful initiatives but I gotta be honest. This conversation is very very exciting. We're gonna be discussing how the island territory of Anguilla has excuse me proactively developed an innovative platform that not only provides its citizens with comprehensive understanding of the pandemic that were experience. Globally but access to needed services and support that will help them adapt in real time to the changing circumstances on the ground. I'm just so excited and honored that we're being joined by a number of incredible people including excuse me, the Minister of Health. no excuse me. I'm sorry mister Foster Rogers, the permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Doctor Isha Andrew and the Chief Medical officer and Miss Tahira Banks, the Co founder and creative director of The. Digital agency They've joined the media zone to speak on their work in Anguilla and how they are working to beat cover Keene and how important it was for the island to implement a multi-pronged approach of both medicine messaging for our viewers. We have pin the link to this incredible platform at the top of the comment section. So if you go down in the comment section, you'll see that link and I just really full to have you all here and I wanna jump right in and we're gonna start with. a question and then we're gonna do a great demo but I just wanna start with mister Rogers Mister Foster Rogers, who again as the permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health. This question is for you just to start with Covid- 19. How are things in Anguilla and if you could please share the state of your community with our bodies with that's watching today. Thank you very much. I'm good morning to you and good morning to Worldwide audience of global audience, I wanna thank you for this platform to be able to share with person's worldwide. how our Little Island is called being with and how we want to move forward coexisting in the 19 because suddenly reason mission we have and maybe sometime before covid- 19 other result, nobody or even after resolve globally, we have been evidence that information then it may be a I'm sort of disease some infection that may come up so I think that discussion should be not only how we have technical but how we call coexisted covered. I'm going forward because obviously most of the literature saying that it will be with us and for a while, let me apologize for the Minister of Health who could not be here, The honorable Evan's Matt Rogers is currently in what we call the House of Assembly, the parliament you can come. In Europe in the USA, what they're dealing with important matters of the budgets for 2020, and of course, that's very important and I'm only with regard to government functioning, but even if the response it's critical that we have all the government institutions on board when we when we are dealing with, I think today we gotta split up our presentation and two bids. I will be able to some of the back of the terms of our. economics upcoming demographics and so forth and doctor Andrew Chief Medical officer will be with some of the issues of responses and what we've done it going forward. I think some people nobody because we are a little island in the Caribbean Sea. In fact, we're not too far to the Eastern Puerto Rico. It's about 20 miles to the East of Puerto Rico and about 12 miles North of Saint Martin, which people are popular people know about we have a properly so. 13 and 15000 people and our tourism, mostly almost 80 percent of our tourism in 90 percent is based on tourism economy is based on tourism that was established back in the 19 eighties from basically an agreement economy in the sixties and seventies we moved into tourism in the eighties and that means to me, it means the economy with some financial services and some banking and some captive insurance. Between 80 and 90 percent of the economy is based on tourism, you can imagine the impact that cover 19 is ad on anguilera because indeed we've had to close our borders. We've had to do many things that are geared and give us some time to come to grips for the situation and grown and we forget to believe that inaccurate for lack of a better word angle so to do that we are close on bonus, so sometimes it takes talk and what's happening here. had a negative impact on tourism of course in addition to our borders the other countries around the world who ah being impacted by terrorism was so stories of countries like US in Europe Canada themselves I'm not gonna open the travel right now. come try the bottles open so impacted very very negatively In addition, they had to be behave very limited associate ground to be with a lot you know and they make, but we've had to make some tough decisions early on to protect the little item. We have for the minimum resources to ensure that we can manage to us. It kinda is basically the toys and best and our demographics and angle mostly 90 percent off from African heritage about three or four percent about lessons from US occasions and they're about and about mixtures other five percent so we have mostly African background here in Angola because of course, you know those islands that was mostly trade back in the day we of course mostly ah we have mixed religious identity is but it's most of Christian society ah but in that way that that's basically what is tourism base mostly have act African heritage most crucial society what do have other you know villages as well so just Muslim and they can do those things as well so with that People have a little idea of the scope and the skills of the island element very small island, very small open economy Barrel room in that regard we've had to put in place response in that mirror the the son of what's happened on grown to ensure that we protect Angela and just to let you know. Finally our hospital is just. Three beds would be about there's a general answer them with 30 - three beds that do for the three beds with the injured all of our health issues. and, of course we've had to make special arrangements or informal want to have some covered cases that need a hospitalization. We've had a special isolation unit set up just for that. so we can cover those as well over that I I hope your global audience has a better idea. The scope and the scale of the island and the response and a necessity to protect vulnerable small economy. Thank you so much mister Rogers. I just really appreciate again. I'm with us and your perspective and and It's. To now kick it over to Tahira, who's going to walk through a brief demonstration and some some additional information that's very, very helpful So Tara Oh definitely and thank you again Rania for the opportunity to be a part of this discussion. we're looking forward so what we're going to share right now. I'm going to share my screen and What I'm sharing right now is actually the can you see the screen? Yeah. Okay. Great looks. good. Awesome. Okay. Nice. So so this is actually the Beach covered 19 website that we developed and what what we what we knew from the very outset in developing this platforms was that we wanted something that really had to really work as a people sorry, I'm getting a. A bit of Echo we wanted something that spoke to maybe mister Rogers If you guys can meet your mic that might be helpful, We wanted to develop a platform that spoke to who you are as a people and really had a lot of positive overtones and that one with that was comprehensive and that covered all of the different considerations that the population here in Anguilla dealing with as a result of Kobe so again. Very positive message to begin with a message from the premiere which would be the equivalent of your President mental health, which is a an important consideration. I know one of the conversations I would have had with with Matt was how just two years ago, Angelo would have dealt with Hurricane Irma and we would have had to overcome that and deal with the challenges related to that and so to overcome that and and and move forward in a positive way and and and be on a. a very Progressive trajectory and then to have to face culbertson that that could be quite psychologically destructive and so our teams and mental health again at the Ministry of Health and Social Development, they worked to develop a mental health hotline and different mental health resources, and we wanted to ensure that that was front and Center on the site as well, of course, having information on the facts related to Colvin on the island getting information linking you to the status globally like more information on the status of Anguilla And then information on key things like what is social distancing. What does that mean? This is a new term before January or February, I never knew what that meant and then coming down and and giving you a comprehensive overview of what is taking place in health care. what it how can you get help you know if you need to report something what is the status as it relates to employment? in terms of the assistance, we have a number of two different well in terms of public service to individual assistance programs, but there are number of private sector organizations that are. So facilitating their own support programs here in Anguilla and and those have been very helpful as well. Education What is happening in education? What is the status of the schools? parents need this information and students need this information and then travel and tourism. I know mister Rogers would have shared that tourism is the life blood. It's the economic driver in Anguilla and so we wanted to ensure that persons around the world and specifically persons in Anguilla were clear on what is the status of travel? What is happening as it relates to tourism and which of our ports are open. So as you which are closed so it's. You can see our main ports, the Clinton International Airport, which is our airport and the Point Point Ferry Terminal, which is our support for those those are actually closed, but the Road Bay port, which is our cargo port that is still currently open and then what is happening as it relates to festivals and individual events. you know angle as a society, we have a lot of events especially coming going into the summer months and and people wanted to know at the very outset like what is happening are these principles? Are these canceled and so we wanted to give that information and then bills and financing or bills and finance what is the government's position on price coaching? what is the status on food supply? We are an island and we do rely on you know different other different countries, other countries to import our products in many of the products that we use here in island. So what is the status of imports coming into the island of cargo movements and then again? Updates from the banks, you know people have loans what is there a program in place to facilitate repayment of those and then the utilities agency so a very comprehensive look at what is happening in Anguilla and and how all the different areas that may make me affect an individual. We wanted to ensure that the site covered that and then provided updates consistent updates on a daily basis. as to you know whether it's statements from the premiere and governor or it's a you know updates from the ministry of health or updates from the bank or updates on this whole just consistently providing information on the side and I think the final thing I'll share is it's not like just yet but I will be live in the next few days we have actually been working very closely with the ministry of labour ah because what they are gonna be doing is having their application form for the unemployment assistance that is Be available on the site for persons to sign up and request more information or I'm sorry Request assistance apply for assistance so. A micro overview of the site. And I just have to say a this site is so incredible and interactive and I mean really amazing and. There's a lot of behind the scenes that always happens with the develop these kinds of developments right, so I would love to just for you to hear it to just share a little bit with us kind of the behind-the-scenes story about that about how this amazing website came to be and things like you know how many government agencies were involved. How long did it take wait? What was the motivation you know for friends creation any of those behind the scenes nuggets you wanna share with us. We'd love to hear about it. Absolutely. You know something. a bit further. I think she's being part of modest about the signature of this. can you get closer to the microphone a little bit? Please just so we can hear you better and then to hear if you can maybe unshaken the screen should we can see everybody. Okay. good. Yeah there. we go. Thank you so much for that. This is going into a discussion about practical things that we make a difference and rewarding insurance. We're gonna be a more of a technical discussion, but I'm happy to get into the meat of the matter. Is you need to this communications strategy and effort, which I think is so cutting edge, especially for small islands and for the Caribbean in general, As usually we're working with the same constraints we go by double guidance lot of bands on anything we do in public health is always premised on a risk communication and communication strategies right where I think we've always traditionally felt short in our ministries work with technical where we were struck from. Sources we always get it right, but then we tend to only be speaking to ourselves. We've always had a problem reaching the the The Masters. It's always been a struggle what I noticed early on the colleagues and health all around the Caribbean and all around the world who are dealing with my social media and misinformation all kinds of things were running behind or use our resources and we weren't reaching them. Sometimes you are not getting on top of stories in real time. Sometimes a Horseman older the stables and you have to be doing this damage control and we've had a great team on the. And then, in one of our discussions where we are bringing storming, I believe it was a PBS actually brought into the discussion that possibility of this. this communications experts have been on board and I mean that's it for us. As then I really been changing. you have persons that are qualified to do this kind of thing persons that have brought our communication strategy into the 20 -first century. We think it's cutting edge and we think it's something to that is a best practice. no matter what happens with this pandemic and realizing a very good place right now and we believe this communication Platform have been Central to that it's enabled centralization information is unrealized effort. It's reaching the public on their terms. We will not have tattoo to do all of these creative stuff, so it's been phenomenal. I'm about to go. I went to an exceptional his communications workshop and I became a detective because quite frankly when the the the woman who's very well qualified she came from the States known and she talked about having to actively manage media websites because we say, Oh, we're we're engaging social media. We mean we just put up our first release on our Facebook page and she had said this. Have to be managed on underestimate this and this is where I thought we'd never get there in the Caribbean. We're so busy and we're so resource shop so I she lost me a bit. They're quite frankly and having gone through this. I really understand what she was saying. I always believed it, but this has shown that we can do it and this is extremely essential to any effort and they should be the way going forward. I mean, I think there should be no turning back from something like this with all the help speak on all the usual stuff we talk about this is going to reach the people and continue to assist us in helping to reach the people and I think it's been an exceptional and unifying local effort and having the public behind us and the public confidence and that is no small small small achievement. I would like to plug that in before the hero continues. alright. are you ready? Yes? I when I mentioned in my meeting that we needed experts, you're already contacted me, You're not ready. That's what I was gonna share why don't we want to why don't we let to hear it share a little bit and then we're gonna we have some more questions that are actually gonna dig in to some of what you were saying as well. so yeah, we're definitely coming back but I'm gonna get a little bit of the behind the scenes from to hear it and then we're gonna jump into some more. okay. Okay. Yeah and You guys. thank you Doctor Isha for putting that giving that technical perspective, I do sometimes set sell sell us a bit short, but the I think we can be reached out to mister Rogers actually and I I do wanna again highlight the Ministry of help for their Progressive thinking. Sometimes you know people have this thing Mobile government that they don't necessarily wanna move on things a certain way, but they moved on it really quickly. It was Friday the thirteenth ironically, and I was I was actually very afraid I was. I was very afraid I I went out to the parking lot here at our office and it was just pacing because. I felt like read it was gonna come here and we didn't have any control over what was what what was going to happen as a result of that and so I I came back into the office and I spoke to the team and I said we I would like to reach out to the Ministry and I'd like to offer them our support and services, and it's not something that we're gonna make money off of. but it's something that is essential and I want us to do this and then I reached out to mister Rogers and he said. You know what I'm gonna discuss with my team and I'm gonna call you back and sure enough. he called back and we came in for. Meeting on that, I think it was the Monday Monday or Tuesday, and by Thursday or Friday, we had the site life. We worked with the Ministry of Health, leading the way the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Tourism finance, Everybody was on board in terms of getting information to the site. private sector stakeholders. everyone was on board and getting information to the site and it has been a phenomenal team effort, which again speaks to who we are as a people in Anguilla just resilient. hardworking and and willing to come together in the face of crisis to see let's get this done. Absolutely. thank you so much and just another kind of a technical question. given you know, we're learning new things every single day and so after the website was initially launched have their been any significant revisions or updates or you know the updates based on feedback that has come or new information that has also come just as like I said. We're learning things every day yet well, one of the. That we really wanted to focus on in the development of this was to ensure that it was technically accurate because this is this is a situation that you cannot you cannot, make the mistake and and put out you know misinformation so you want to ensure it was technically accurate, but as time has gone on, we have made additions to the site. we we incorporated a timeline because we thought it was important for the public to have a broader perspective as to when the Ministry actually started, I mean we know the Ministry started their efforts from in January, You know to inform the public as to what we. Taking place with cool bed so just illustrating month by month what the response effort has been and again, the the functionality with labor is also a a new piece and we'll continue to build on this as the government as the needs of government continued to expand. we're here to support. Thank you so much for that insight and just you know a willingness to talk about updating is where cuz we're all learning and sometimes I think we've seen that there are people who may not want to admit that we're all learning together I would I would love to just speak to Doctor Isha and mister Rogers a little bit both about well if if any have you had the opportunity to. Green lessons and and things that have been learned through this process that are unique to island communities and could be shared with other governments to respond to this pandemic and have those conversations that's happening. Suddenly, I think for all perspective the main driver for us was to get ahead of the stories and they get ahead of the narratives, social media and smaller islands can be helpful, but it can also be very destructive. We have had situations where a simple voice note on what's app about incorrect information on covered cases, Angle would sweep the island less than 10 minutes and have a. You know a crisis situation and I grew up with almost a public emergency, so we are the Ministry level had to be dealing with that on a daily basis and addition to dealing with the technical stuff, we added, Responding to social media bad information, we had to respond to people who were very some of them very malicious. We have to be responded to fake news and that took us away for me, which was protecting the. So we wanted to be the driver of a narrative and not responding. We want people to respond to us rather than respond the people so this whole idea of the response because when when I came to us, she already had the website almost done she was walking while we were up and down and she saw what was happening what she got to us, We had minimal work to do together up the site up and running. That's right the second up in three days because when she got us by the Monday and she showed us what she had done, there wasn't much left to do. So since so since she came on board and and that's a weak prayer to her coming on board, we are already met with a spokesperson who was gonna be the face of our response, but that sports folks person needed a medium through which to respond and let me brought them together. So the first minute we had on a Monday we brought in our spokesperson with the hero and we blend the door. Two things together and it has worked so well, so the message that we would like to other islands to get you need to get in front of the message you need to control the narrative. you need that responded to you rather than respond to people and you need a very trusted voice in the community who people respect who can be your face because as opponent Secretary as Chief medical officer, we cannot be out there on a daily basis dealing with the media. so you need somebody. To represent you who knows the technology formation who can learn rather quickly and who can basically answer questions if stuff come up, I need that possibility and not only monitoring what people say on Facebook and other things, but responding as well and give that personal authority to respond on your behalf, real time right mechanism that put together all levels that a lot of the response so quickly. I just I feel like I keep wanting to be like, yes yes, but I don't wanna interrupt everything you said, is so important and so spot on and I just I know I keep saying this but Cannot express enough the appreciation you know to hear a for your innovation but to both of you for the willingness the willingness ever just the willingness to jump in in this way so quickly and and so I just have another hero here. On you know, sort of in the vein of all of this have you spoken to any other chins about replicating this effort in other Nations by chance. Right and thank you, I do wanna to highlight I know we're talking about me but I do wanna highlight the team and my partner Gino Steve Webster, who's actually the I have no coding skills or no technical skills. I'm good at things like this but the team behind the board, Gino and Ariel and Cornell who have been working overtime and working through the weekends to ensure that we are on top of of of Angola's Kobe 19 response, I do wanna highlight them though I am the the on camera here today, but yeah we have we have. Reached out to we reached out to two or three islands in the Caribbean but again they everyone. It's it's not angel a right now, but what I will say is that we're we're hopeful and we're hopeful that platforms like this will will will will highlight the importance and the value you know messages from Doctor Alicia and and PS Rogers will highlight from a government perspective the real value in. Like this so that even if they don't do it with someone like us their people could still have the benefit of a platform like this the same way that that we have have kept had that and I will yeah and and I think what you've helped to do and your team of course is to show the value ad and the benefit and how important it is and again in partnership with the ingredient government it just you have something to really point to and say, look like this is working so. On that note, I just want to see if there are any closing thoughts from you before we jump over to see if there are questions so mister Rogers. If you have any closing thoughts and then we'll jump over to Doctor Aisha. So I just want to say publicly at I think that we should have. I feel like I have a responsibility to the wider network of CMO and technical officers to really bring our cross so important. This is this is a game changer should not be underestimated is bringing ministries of health into the 20 -first century in terms of communication should not be underestimated and we really need to this is the way to go. I mean I I would be happy to to impress that upon my politics has been a huge part of the effort I mean, and it's that's I mean they're gonna be cushion. Any the installation effort anything going forward anyway, this plays out this is critical and it's doable. I didn't think so two years ago, they show that we can do it and it's essential that's been a main part of what they are strategy here and it's been phenomenal. We have actually seen the issues of fake news and malicious by sports and what's that we have seen them gone from a from three or four week to almost zero since our website. they're putting fix stuff. They recognize that this is the official information we can get individual Ministry and because we have our spokesperson engaging the public and responding Facebook and in real time, it will recognize hey, we can waste time with fake news and and what's that we're gonna come to this website and people have been so pleased that you know can have a medium to engage the Ministry that we we don't even get this fishing. Anymore regarding bad news post have covered is a you know it was really crazy the first few weeks, but after this website went up and I will communication strategy. It's it's almost no to the point where it's Monday. That's so so good to hear it makes me hopeful to hear any any final thought from you. Oh no just to again. Thank you guys for the opportunity to be a part of this discussion and just to reiterate what mister Rogers shared you know for from a communications perspective. I think that fake news and misinformation is the biggest threat that any brand Organization or country faces and so platforms like this, it really empowers government to to. To empower people with the truth, and I think that mister Rogers shared something that was very important and tight back to our initial strategy when we set out to or when we reached out to the Ministry and that we knew that with the site we needed, we wanted it to be three things We wanted to be. We wanted it to be visual in very simple because we love clean design. we wanted it to be modern but to also incorporate the traditional media because that is still extremely important in Anguilla all of the individual. Media outlets like Freedom, Anguilla the William Newspaper Classic feminine all of those guys and we and we wanted it. excuse me to have integrity and so that is why you work with a non-partisan and a person in the community like mister Bernard Watley, who has that that kind of clouds and cashier who people look to and respect and they're not gonna say Oh, this is just some some mouth piece for the Ministry. They're gonna say this is someone that is if they're saying something they stand behind it and so all of those things can. Together quite nicely in Anguilla and and I do believe that outside of what the Ministry has done and what what we have been able to do combined with the the the the natural togetherness of our people. We've been able to see real success here in Anguilla and I'm very thankful for that. once again, I just cannot, thank you all enough for your time and your efforts and your leadership, which is so I'm not telling you anything you don't know so desperately needed in this time so lots of really positive comments from our chat from the comments on the Facebook live stream. so I hope you'll have a chance to go look at those but just once again. Thank you to mister Rogers Doctor Aisha and Miss Tahira Banks for joining us. this has been such. And insightful conversation and I am thrilled to announce that to hear us and the premiere of Anguilla, the honorary Victor Banks will kick off our Island Resilience Forum this Saturday morning so just a couple of days from now Saturday morning and the registration link is going to be in the comment section. So we hope that everyone can attend that form as well where we will continue this wonderful conversation. Thank you so much everybody. We're gonna take a short break and then the March for Science media zone will return to everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Bye.