Nepad to launch e-scholls project in Rwanda
The Rwandan Government, CISCO Systems, Microsoft and NEPAD e-Africa Commission, will launch the NEPAD e-Schools Demonstration Project on 5 October 2006 at Muhura School, Byumba. The launch, which will cover six schools across the country, makes Rwanda the fifth country to launch the Project after Uganda, Ghana, Lesotho and Kenya.
HE President Paul Kagame is expected to officially launch the project at a ceremony that will be attended by senior government officials from Rwanda, diplomats, development partners, private sector representatives, CISCO Systems Consortium, Microsoft, other participating companies and NEPAD/AU officials.
The NEPAD e-Schools Project falls under the auspices of the NEPAD e-Africa Commission – the NEPAD Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Task Team responsible for developing the NEPAD ICT Programme and implementing related projects.
The launch is scheduled as follows:
Date: 5 October 2006
Time: 08h30 – 13h00
Venue: Muhura School, Byumba, Eastern Province, Rwanda
Major media events
1. Launch ceremony and remarks (5 October 2006)
2. Photo opportunities during and after the launch
3. Press conference (4 October 2006, time and venue to-be-confirmed) – this will involve the Minister of Education, NEPAD, the CISCO Consortium, Microsoft and Muhura School administration..
4. Other personal interviews (before, during and after the event)
About the NEPAD e-Schools Project
First announced in 2003 at the Africa Summit of the World Economic Forum in Durban, the NEPAD e-Schools Project focuses on providing end-to-end ICT solutions that will connect schools across Africa to the NEPAD e-Schools network and the Internet.
Solutions also include the provision of content and learning material and the establishment of health points at schools.
In each country, the programme aims to transform all African secondary schools into NEPAD e-Schools within five years of implementation start date and all African primary schools within ten years of implementation start date. In total, more than 600 000 schools across the continent will enjoy the benefits of ICT and connectivity to the NEPAD e-Schools Satellite Network upon completion of the project.
The partnership with private sector companies, created by the commission for the purpose of fulfilling the objectives of NEPAD ICT Programme, is known as Information Society Partnership for Africa’s development (ISPAD).
The CISCO Systems and Microsoft Consortia, and a number of other private companies are sponsoring the Demonstration Project, consisting of six schools in each of the 16 participating countries, for a period of 12 months. Participating countries are: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda.