Speech Of Achim TILLESSEN, Head of Section Economics and Governance - - PDF document

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Speech Of Achim TILLESSEN, Head of Section Economics and Governance Of The Delegation Of The European Union To Rwanda For A joint CHAIN-REDS / eI4Africa Workshop

• rganised under the aegis of the European Commission (EC)

and in co-location with UbuntuNet-Connect 2013 November 13, 2013 Lemigo Hotel, Kigali - Rwanda Dear DG for Science, Technology and Research of the Ministry of Education, CEO Ubuntunet, Organiser of the event, Distinguished guests It is a great honour for me to join all of you, distinguished guests, to give an opening address for the joint CHAIN-REDS / eI4Africa Workshop organised under the aegis of the European Commission (EC) and in co-location with UbuntuNet-Connect 2013. As the Transform Africa Summit was concluded a few weeks ago in Kigali, the importance of leveraging broadband to transform communities, governments and the private sector in Africa was put

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under the spotlight and it set the pace on formulating a new agenda for the use of ICTs for the development of Africa. Today, we are now focusing on how that broadband connectivity can allow the creation of e-infrastructures which are infrastructures of communication, computing, data repositories, and all associated software and services that are in fine enabling researchers to create virtual research communities at national, regional or global scale. e-infrastructures represent a key element to prevent brain drain in research and education, but is not only beneficial for the technology research elites: the RENs (research and education networks) in developing countries can also provide capacity for many other services of public good. The European Commission through its DG CONNECT has recognised that broadband connectivity has become a basic infrastructure in a modern society, just like roads, electricity and water. The European Commission has also acknowledged the importance of working with regional organisations. This is why our ICT policy for development focuses on three key areas:

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• Establishment of a regional e-Infrastructure (ie. based on

AfricaConnect)

• Harmonisation and alignment of the African policies and

regulatory frameworks of e-communications and media

• ICT capacity building for reducing the digital divide

'Connectivity' therefore is the main thrust of our strategy for Africa's entry into the global digital economy and networked society. The European Commission has aligned itself to the call of the UN Broadband Commission in stressing the importance of advanced communication networks as vital contributors for the Millennium Development Goals and the fact that developing regions stand to benefit in particular because broadband networks reduce the barriers of distance and location, allowing researchers and educators to locally create a proper working environment and therefore helping to reduce the brain drain in developing regions. The "State of Broadband 2013"1 report of the UN Broadband Commission also shows several ways in which broadband is improving the lives of people around the world, in m-health, education and m-learning, m-payments, training, innovation and the acquisition of new skills.

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1 www.broadbandcommission.org/Documents/bb-annualreport2013.pdf

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An "African e-Infrastructure" on top of broadband-enabled RENs can be a catalyser in several domains: for science and education (e.g. instantaneous sharing of knowledge, virtual collaborations within and between continents, and remote access to Massive Open On- line Courses2, scientific resources and instruments), for developing

• ther services generating added value in public and private activities

in society, and for fostering innovation and competitiveness in the telecommunication market. This is why the European Commission strongly supports initiatives such as CHAIN-REDS and eI4Africa because these programmes will ultimately enhance the quality of education and research across regions and they will help build strong partnerships among various national as well as regional research networks across both the African and the European continents. I strongly believe that these initiatives will contribute to enhancing mutual understanding in an increasingly global economy in which countries such as Rwanda are building strong partnerships with the European Union. I will take this opportunity to congratulate Rwanda's consistent pursuit to becoming a knowledge-based economy and the

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2 MOOC: A massive open online course aimed at large-scale interactive participation and open access via the web

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translation

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that commitment in heavily investing in e- infrastructures to achieve its Vision 2020. I wish you all fruitful discussions. I thank you, MURAKOZE.