The Honourable Maxie Cuffie, Minister of Public Administration and Communications and Shelley-Ann Clarke-Hinds, Executive Manager, External ICT Relations, will represent Trinidad and Tobago in the Ministerial Meeting of Electronic Government of Latin America and the Caribbean and the Annual Meeting of Red Gealc.

The Honourable Maxie Cuffie (in the picture), Minister of Public Administration and Communications and Shelley-Ann Clarke-Hinds, Executive Manager, External ICT Relations, will represent Trinidad and Tobago in the Ministerial Meeting of Electronic Government of Latin America and the Caribbean and the Annual Meeting of Red Gealc.  

Minister Maxie Cuffie

BACKGROUND 

Parliamentary representative for La Horquetta/Talparo Area 

Appointed as Minister of Communications on September 11, 2015 

On March 17th 2016, Minister Cuffie was reassigned as Minister with responsibility for Communications to Minister with responsibility for Public Administration and Communications.

CAREER HIGH

• GHTS

Chief Executive Officer at Integrated Media Company Limited 

Government Information Services Limited (GISL) as its Chief Executive Officer for three years

Advisor, Policy and Media Research at the Ministry of the Attorney General 

Sport Reporter at the Express Newspaper in 1983 

Editorial role by leading the Sunday Guardian and then the Trinidad Guardian at Trinidad Publishing Company

Head of News and Current Affairs and Sunday Express Editor from 1998-2003 

ACCOMP

• SHMENTS

Minister Cuffie successfully reversed the circulation slide and maintained the number one market position for CCN and took the TV6 network to over 500,000 viewers for the first time since its establishment in 1991. 

He was awarded the One World Broadcasting Trust Fellowship for senior Commonwealth Broadcast Executives.

Won an award as Sunday Express Editor for producing one of the three top Commonwealth newspapers. 

EDUCATION

Minister Cuffie is the holder of:

Master in Public Administration (M.P.A.) from the Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge U.S.A.

Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Economics and Accounting from the University of the West Indies (Mona Campus).

He has also received training in the Economics of Information, Media Industries and Systems (while enrolled at Harvard University). 

Shelley-Ann Clarke-Hinds

Mrs Clarke-Hinds served as an Officer in Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign Service for over fifteen years during which she held a number of positions including Charge d’Affaires a.i. and Deputy Permanent Representative of the Trinidad and Tobago Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Geneva and Deputy Director of the Multilateral Relations Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Her career to date has involved representation of the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in various regional and international fora including the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Caribbean Telecommunications Union, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Telecommunication Union.  It was during her assignment as one of the country’s primary representatives in the preparatory process for the World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS) that her interest was sparked in Information and Communication Technology as an enabler for development (Development (ICT4D). This facilitated a course change in her diplomatic career to the position she now holds. 

Mrs Clarke-Hinds holds the following academic qualifications:

Masters, Public Policy and Management (MSc), University of London 

Graduate Diploma in International Relations (Hons), University of the West Indies (St. Augustine)

Bachelor of Arts, (BA) in History and Government (2nd Class Hons), University of the West Indies (St. Augustine)

She also possesses a range of diplomas and certificates from diverse international organisations including the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the United National Commission for Trade and Development, the Diplo Foundation, the International Telecommunications Satellite Organisation and the Andres Bello Diplomatic Academy of Chile.