SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY – TECHNOLOGY & GOVERNANCE) - Sint Maarten's Parliament spent the 2025–2026 year under the theme "Building Digital Trust: Exploring a National AI Strategy."
It launched an AI Workgroup, joined a ParlAmericas study visit on AI in Chile, attended a Caribbean AI workshop in Anguilla, and launched a new website. The foundation is laid — but the strategy itself has yet to be published.
For a small island legislature of 15 members and a 12-person secretariat, the Parliament of Sint Maarten made an ambitious declaration for 2025–2026: it would lead a national conversation on Artificial Intelligence and digital transformation.
The theme — "Building Digital Trust: Exploring a National AI Strategy and Further Development of an Open Parliament" — anchored every major ceremony of the year, from the September 9 opening to the June 2026 Anguilla workshop.
What Parliament Actually Did
The report documents a series of concrete steps. On October 7, 2025, cybersecurity expert and business leader Gregory Richardson briefed Members of Parliament on AI strategy, national AI frameworks, and the Open Parliament concept. The session opened a year-long dialogue.
From January 21–23, 2026, secretariat staff traveled to Valparaíso, Chile, for a ParlAmericas study visit on AI and digital transformation in parliamentary operations. Participants explored AI-driven tools, cybersecurity, ethics, and institutional readiness.
The Secretary General and the Communications and Media Interactive Designer made the trip — two of the institution's twelve staff.
On May 13, 2026, the Presidium formally established the Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Workgroup — the institutional vehicle for Parliament's modernization.
The Workgroup was charged with guiding Parliament through "digitization, digitalization, and full digital transformation" and promoting "responsible, transparent, and ethical use of AI." Its first identified priority: a Document Management System.
From June 21–24, 2026, Parliament President Wescot-Williams and Member of Parliament (MP) Ardwell Irion attended the Caribbean AI Workshop for Members of Parliament in Anguilla, organized by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK. Discussions covered AI in parliamentary work, cybersecurity, misinformation, and digital transformation.
The AI Workgroup was established in May 2026 — near the end of the parliamentary year — and its work is described as ongoing.
The Document Management System remains a "priority identified" rather than an implemented system. Governor Ajamu Baly's September 2025 address to Parliament specifically mentioned a "National AI in Education Policy" — but no adoption of such a policy is recorded in the report.
Sint Maarten also recognized six individuals and institutions for their digital contributions at the parliamentary year's opening reception — Ms. Ife Badejo, Mr. Ricky Sydney, Mr. Gregory Richardson, the St. Maarten Science Fair Foundation, the FAVE School Board, and SZV — a signal that digital talent exists on the island.
