St. Maarten Delegates Earn UNESCO diploma in Digital Education Transformation

GREAT BAY--The St. Maarten National Commission for UNESCO announced that Marvio Cooks and Marcus Nicolaas have successfully completed the Digital Talent for Educational Transformation and Innovation Diploma Course, developed under the Regional Alliance for Educational Transformation and Innovation (ARTIE) by the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP-UNESCO), in collaboration with the UNESCO Regional Office in Santiago and the UNESCO Office for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The diploma program formed part of a series of open ARTIE events aimed at training strategic leaders in digital policy development and implementation. The course provided participants with an overview of regional digital education policies and UNESCO reference frameworks, while examining the challenges and opportunities associated with digital transformation across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Marcellia Henry, Secretary-General of the St. Maarten National Commission for UNESCO, said the completion of the program strengthens St. Maarten’s engagement in regional cooperation on digital education policy and supports the country’s broader efforts to build institutional capacity, policy coherence, and innovation leadership.

Participant feedback highlighted the program’s impact and relevance. Marvio Cooks, Policy Advisor at the Cabinet of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (ECYS), emphasized the importance of institutionalizing digital transformation. He said the course provided a framework for moving away from fragmented, short-term technology initiatives and toward building digital education as a durable national infrastructure. Cooks noted that anchoring the National AI in Education Policy (NAIEP) in UNESCO’s “Six Pillars” supports a shift away from the “investment-abandonment cycle” of the past and toward a model grounded in institutional capacity and data-driven governance. He added that the program reinforces a focus on empowering teachers and students to thrive in an increasingly digital world.

Marcus Nicolaas, ICT Teacher at Milton Peters College and ICT Representative of the St. Maarten National Commission for UNESCO, said the training was particularly meaningful because it reflected the realities of St. Maarten and the wider Caribbean and Latin American region. He noted that as a Small Island Developing State with complex socio-economic and governance dynamics, St. Maarten needs education planning that is technically sound, financially feasible, and rooted in local context. Nicolaas said the diploma strengthened regional collaboration around shared challenges, including limited fiscal space, human resource constraints, migration, language diversity, and social inequality, while respecting national differences. He also expressed gratitude to Course Supervisor Fernando Salvatierra, whose guidance supported the translation of theory into practice, and said the program culminated in an implementable policy document grounded in St. Maarten’s context.

The St. Maarten National Commission for UNESCO said it looks forward to supporting the participation of additional national representatives in future regional training initiatives. Cooks and Nicolaas are available to share their knowledge and experiences in support of continued digital transformation within the education sector.

Photo caption: L to R: Marcus Nicolaas and Marvio Cooks.

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