Rwanda is hosting a two-day summit starting May 8th, 2017 to discuss how Africa can use the internet to advance education, innovation and job creation as presented in a report done by Internet society.
The meeting that brought together Rwanda (Ministry of Youth and ICT) in partnership with UNESCO was aiming to gather various organizations working on Internet and development across the region to find synergies and create opportunities for coordination and collaboration.
Different experts including government and inter-governmental organization officials, business and educational leaders from throughout continent were attending to this summit which took place in Kigali.
The conference is part of a global series of Internet Development conferences organized by the Internet Society with the aim of furthering the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that aim at tackling the world’s main development challenges by 2030.
Dawit Bekele, Africa Regional Bureau Director for the Internet Society explained that a skilled workforce that can use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) effectively to solve Africa’s problems will also determine Africa’s competitiveness in the global economy.
“And policy makers have a critical role to play in creating the necessary ecosystem for integrating ICT in education,” Bekele noted.
Opening officially the summit, The Minister for Youth and ICT Jean Philbert Nsengimana welcomed participants and shared important views on how Rwanda is ready to boost internet ecosystem in all sectors especially in education and business.
“Rwanda is the right place because it is the country that believes the most and probably works the hardest to realize the power of internet. Consistently, world economic forum report on the global information technology report has been ranking Rwanda as number one in the world to the government’s success in promotion of technology, this is something we cannot do alone as government, it is something that is owned and promoted by all the players in the ecosystem,” Nsengimana noted.
The Minister thanked all participants attended to the summit including members of academia, researchers, telecom industry, members of civil society community, leaders of innovation hubs and labs to come to contribute to this dialogue in Rwanda, the country that works the hardest to realize the power of Internet.
“The power of Technology, the power of Internet to empower communities and to improve access and quality to education by giving all kids the chance to dream big and realize their dreams, to help farmers improving their productivity and get the best value out of their efforts,” Noted Nsengimana.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we are here to create partnerships because we cannot realize that power by working in silence and working alone; so, I hope that over the next few days, we are going to build those networks, establish these links and to tackle all the challenges,” Nsengimana added.
However some experts in the summit said that there is a need to connect the next one billion with internet; Nsengimana advised them to not only think about how to connect the next billion, but the last billion.
He said that one billion of internet users are not enough as nearly four billion people in Africa do not use internet.
“Because you know that if you just connect the next billion, very few millions of that billion will be in Africa, you know that the next billion is already covered with 3G or sometimes 4G networks, they are in urban areas, they are mostly concentrated in China, India, Mexico, and in some other places like south America, very few people in the next billion are in our rural areas in Africa, so, think harder, let’s do more, let’s be more, let’s dream more, let’s work harder and together,” Nsengimana recommended.
Peter Wallet, UNESCO country representative embarked on the role of ICT in education in line with Rwanda’s 2020 vision.
“One of the reasons for which we are here is to examine the role of the Information Communication Technology and the role we can play in accelerating, leveraging and promoting access to quality education. ICT is indeed a potential to transform education and to support knowledge creation in unprecedented manner,” Wallet said, adding that digitalization of education process has a potential if effectively undertaken to play a key role in achieving SDG4.
“It has a potential to shake business and usual education practices, a successful integration of ICTs in teaching and learning requires rethinking of the role of education, it helps learners and institutions get learning materials. Rwanda, our host country in this important event is really in this area, Rwanda’s vision 2020 is to move Rwandans from Agriculture-based economy to knowledge-based society and a middle income country,” added Wallet.
He also stressed that it is in this line with UNESCO’s goals where the vision 2020 places ICTs on the heart of transformation and use of ICT in education to achieve in African region.
“Rwanda’s ICT in education policy is to further access, equity, quality and relevancy as key principles underpinning Rwanda’s education policies,” Wallet noted.
Regional Internet Development Dialogues were held last year in Asia pacific and Latin America.
By Elias Hakizimana
Minister for Youth and ICT Jean Philbert Nsengimana addressing participants to the summit (Photo/Courtesy)
