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  • The 18th Commemoration of the Tutsi genocide

    The week marking the 18th edition of the commemoration of the genocide against Tutsis in Rwanda beginS April 7 by the broadcasting of music and meditation songs on all the airwaves and on national television during this period.

    Jean De Dieu Mucyo the president of the Rwandan Commission for the Fight against Genocide made the announcement.

    “During this period no person is authorized to perform marriages, and everyone should avoid the holidays or any other event of its kind,” the source said.

    Among the events planned during this period, it is expected that a minute of silence will be observed throughout the country while the national flag be flown at half mast in honor of the hundreds of thousands victims of this tragedy of 1994.

    A “Flame of Hope” that will shine until next July will be lit earlier in the day by the head of state, Paul Kagame, the genocide memorial site at Gisozi, a hill overlooking the city of Kigali are buried approximately 300,000 Tutsi genocide victims.

    The 18th commemoration of the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda will be under the theme “Remembering the genocide against Tutsi in learning from our history and building a better future.”

    During the genocide, more than one million Tutsis were murdered by Hutu extremists who controlled the political and military power at the time.

  • Call for an Open, Inclusive World Bank

    We live in a time of historic opportunity. Today more people live in fast-growing economies than at any time in history, and development can take root anywhere – regardless of whether a country is landlocked, just emerging from conflict or oppression, large or small.

    If we build on this, we can imagine a world in which billions of people in developing countries enjoy increases in their incomes and living standards. Given our collective experiences, successes and resources, it’s clear that we can eradicate global poverty and achieve in our lifetimes what for generations has been a distant dream.

    My own life and work have led me to believe that inclusive development – investing in human beings – is an economic and moral imperative. I was born in South Korea when it was still recovering from war, with unpaved roads and low levels of literacy.

    I have seen how integration with the global economy can transform a poor country into one of the most dynamic and prosperous economies in the world. I have seen how investment in infrastructure, schools and health clinics can change lives. I recognise that economic growth is vital to generate resources for investment in health, education and public goods.

    Every country must follow its own path to growth, but our collective mission must be to ensure that a new generation of low and middle-income countries enjoys sustainable economic growth that generates opportunities for all citizens. As co-founder of Partners in Health and director of the World Health Organisation’s initiative to treat HIV/Aids, I will bring practical experience to the World Bank.

    I have confronted the forces that keep more than 1bn people trapped in poverty. I have worked in villages where fewer than 1 in 10 adults could read or write, where preventable diseases cut lives short and where lack of infrastructure and capital held back entrepreneurs. In all those villages, the local people knew where improvement was needed.

    But for change to happen, we need partnerships between governments, the private sector and civil society to build systems that can deliver sustainable, scalable solutions. And as we work for global prosperity, we must draw on ideas and experience from around the globe.

    My message is simple: an era of extraordinary opportunity requires an extraordinary global institution. I want to hear from developing countries, as well as those that provide a big share of the resources to development, about how we can together build a more inclusive, responsive and open World Bank.

    A more inclusive World Bank will have the resources to advance its core mission of poverty reduction. It will have a governance structure that provides legitimacy and fosters trust and confidence.

    The Bank has recently achieved a historic capital increase and begun an ambitious programme to modernise its operations. It has also taken important steps to increase the voting power and participation of developing countries.

    If I am entrusted with the responsibility of leading the World Bank, I shall ensure this continues. If the World Bank is to promote inclusive development, it must give developing nations a greater voice.

    A more responsive World Bank must meet the challenges of the moment but also foresee those of the future. The World Bank serves all countries. My focus will be to ensure that it provides a rapid, effective response to their needs. I will come with an open mind and apply my medical and social-science training to take an evidence-based approach.

    Finally, a more open World Bank must recognize it does not have all the answers and listen closely to its clients and stakeholders. I have led a world-renowned higher education institution and I will ensure that the World Bank provides a platform for the exchange of ideas.

    It is already working more closely with a diverse array of partners and it can build on these changes. The Bank has taken significant steps to become more transparent and accountable: it must continue on this path of openness.

    Opportunity is nothing without action. In the coming weeks, I look forward to hearing the views of the World Bank’s constituents – clients, donors, governments, citizens and civil society – as we forge a common vision to build an even stronger institution, prepared to meet the world’s needs in the 21st century.

  • Rwandan Wins US$ 50,000 of Inspire Africa

    A Rwandan has emerged winner of the US$50,000 in the ‘Inspire Africa’ competition Sunday.

    Clarisse Iribagiza was ranked first after establishing a telephone program while at the same time helping young operators.

    Iribagiza feuded with iron fists against Davis Musinguzi and Emmanuela Gonahasa, both from Uganda.

    After 13 weeks, 24 winners of the Commonwealth of the East Africa have exposed a variety of ideas on trade especially in agriculture, developing a program of mobile telephones, entertainment, construction, education, industrialization etc.

    Participants in this competition were chosen by an advisory board of experts from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. They toured the sub-region of East Africa in carrying on business as market research, economics and management by television.

    During the ceremony attended by various authorities, the Prime Minister, Dr. Pierre Damien Habumuremyi pledged the support of the Rwandan government in this project that is timely.

    “Inspire Africa”, he said, comes at time when Rwanda is facing the fight against youth unemployment.

    He asked the winners in this competition to demonstrate their experiences and knowledge gained by “Inspire Africa” to develop their countries.

    Musinguzi Davis, who made the final, also held the promise of 50,000 U.S. dollars by the telecommunications company “Warid” of Uganda to implement its project to improve health services.Different companies have pledged $ 15,000 to Emmanuela Gonahasa to assist its project capacity building in small children.

    Clarisse Iribagiza, champion of the competition, is program director of telephony called HeHe Ltd and is part of the association ‘i-hills “of young entrepreneurs working in ICT.

  • Birding Tour Guides Conclude Training

    Last week birding tour guides were awarded certificates after three weeks of training at Kitabi College of conservation and environment management at Nyungwe.

    The event took place at Serena hotel. According to the chairman Tourism Chamber Edwin Sabuhoro, the three weeks study were aimed at training tour guides gain capacity on meeting and interacting with birds.

    “Some of them see the birds, know them and hear them but did not have extra knowledge about them. The main essence was to train them to get more experience and represent the country’s purity in cultural tourism to increase revenue”, he said.

    “Where there is tourism there is guiding”, said Manzi Kayihura chairman Rwanda Tour and Travel Association under tourism chamber.

    “Guides had to get more knowledge on how to manage the needs of clients to have standards in every aspect of tourism; birding is very important in the tourist target market and requires high capital to improve the quality.

    There are tourist organisations around Nyungwe which creates a high experience and it requires high capital to improve the quality,” said Manzi.

    One of the students and a tour guide Noura shabamungu said, “it was enjoyable learning more on birds though it required more material.

    This is going to increase the number of tourists who have been going to neighbouring countries. We have acquired general knowledge about Rwanda and customer care reactions,” he said.

  • kLab Logo Competition Winner Announced

    kLab, the open innovation space located in Kigali’s ICT Park in Telecom House, Kacyiru will in May 2012 open its doors to young and dynamic innovators and entrepreneurs aimed at promoting, facilitating and support the development of innovative ICT solutions by nurturing a vivid community of entrepreneurs and mentors in Kigali.

    Recently, kLab held a competition among potential members and designers to develop its logo.

    Several people participated in the competition via kLab’s Twitter account (@klabrw) and Eugene Rwagasore, a graphic designer with Nyaruka emerged as the winner.

    A graduate of KIST in Computer Science, Rwagasore’s passion for graphic design and programming emerged after secondary school.

    Rwagasore entered the kLab logo competition because of his desire to create something meaningful and long-lasting in Rwanda’s emerging ICT market.

    In line with the Government of Rwanda’s objectives, kLab’s goals are to support the development of ICT in Rwanda and to make Rwanda a focal point for IT in the region.

    kLab was developed with the support of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology in the Office of the President, the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), JICA, the Private Sector Federation (PSF), and the Carnegie-Mellon University Rwanda.

    With its location in the ICT Park, kLab members will benefit greatly from being part of the country’s first innovation incubator.

    In this space members will develop the projects and businesses that will form Rwanda’s ICT industry, under the guidance of experts and mentors from around the world.

    Visit kLab’s website, like kLab on Facebook and follow on Twitter @klabrw

  • Teachers to Learn Story Writing, Storytelling

    Education Development Center (EDC) is supporting the Rwanda Education Board (REB) in organizing its initial Writer’s Workshop at Nyamata, Bugesera.

    More than 30 primary school teachers will attend the Workshop to improve their creative writing skills and produce engaging stories for use in classrooms across Rwanda.

    The three-day event begins Monday, April 2nd and will be the first of its kind in the country.

    As part of the Ministry of Education’s “Rwanda Reads” campaign, language specialists from REB, the Curriculum and Pedagogical Materials Department, VSO volunteers, and representatives from EDC’s Language, Literacy and Learning (L3) Initiative will assist teachers in learning the fundamentals of powerful storytelling and how to instill a love of storytelling in students.

    Workshop participants will eventually receive copies of all the stories created, so they can begin building a library of read-aloud books for their classes.

    By organizing this Writer’s Workshop and future ones like it, EDC hopes to nurture a culture of self-sufficiency by training teachers and communities how to produce low/no-cost instructional materials for literacy.

    Participants will learn the importance of storytelling in helping students understand texts and create their own – both inside and outside the classroom. It is expected that new public-private partnerships will be made to publish and distribute these reading materials, benefiting local economies.

    With greater access to written works, literacy rates will improve as Workshop graduates continue to encourage a culture of reading among other teachers, students, and the public at large.

    The first Writer’s Workshop will be held at Cafe de Nyamata, with all 36 participants sponsored by the EDC/L3 Initiative. Head teachers and P1/P2 English and Kinyarwanda teachers from Butereri, Kindama, and Rugarama Primary (in Ruhuha sector); Rugando, Ngenda, and Kigarama Primary (in Nyarugenge sector), and the two sectors’ education officers will attend.

    Over three days, Workshop facilitators will guide educators through the five steps of the writing process – from generating ideas and producing a first draft, to revising and polishing it for publication.

    The end result will be more than 30 original stories already written, and many more appearing in the future as teachers pass these lessons along to their students and help them become authors.

  • Ethiopian MPs On Study Tour in Rwanda

    A delegation of Ethiopian Members of Parliament is in the country to acquaint themselves with how Rwanda managed to recover from the 1994 Tutsi Genocide and stabilising its economy as well as position itself at the forefront in upholding gender equality and women empowerment.
    mpz.jpg
    The Rwandan Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Aloisea Inyumba (see Photo in suit standing) has received the visiting delegation including Senior Political Leaders of women MPs of the Leadership Parliamentary Caucus from Ethiopia.

    The delegation is on a working visit in Rwanda to share experiences with their Rwandan Parliamentarians’ counterparts.

    At the meeting which was held at Primature on March 29th 2012, the head of the delegation, Hon. Roman Gselessi explained that Rwanda was chosen for this visit because of its good record in women empowerment and gender equality, equity and gender mainstreaming.

    In addition, Rwanda has similar parliamentary structures – bicameral type of parliament and economic structure – as Ethiopia and both countries are found in the same region and have a similar cultural set up.

    Hon. Inyumba explained to the MPs that good leadership and a sustainable political will have led Rwanda in taking these humble strides.

    “As you recall, this nation was completely destroyed in 1994. The reconstruction of every aspect of life started almost from scratch. The challenges of rebuilding and restoring the State were enormous.

    But as a society that was once characterised by unequal social, economic, and political relations between men and women, we struggled to ensure that men and women, boys and girls enjoy equal opportunities in order to realize their full human and productive potential for the sustainable development of the country”, the Minister said.

    The visiting MPs were also briefed on the ongoing women and girls’ month which brings all stakeholders to tackle issues like fighting malnutrition especially for women and children, economic empowerment of women, girls’ education and fighting violence against women and girls.

    The delegation is due to visit the National Women’s Council, the Gender Monitoring Office, Profemmes Twese Hamwe, Rwanda Women Parliamentarians, COOPEDU and Isange One Stop Center.

  • Pastor Bazaramba Convicted to Life in Jail

    Pastor Bazaramba Francois has been convicted to life imprisonment sentence over the 1994 tutsi Genocide.

    The National Public Prosecution Authority of Rwanda says that, yesterday 29th March 2012, the Helsinki Appeal’s Court in Finland convicted Pastor BAZARAMBA to jail for life.

    The Helsinki Appeal Court last year September 2011, came to Rwanda and stayed for 30 days hearing witnesses and visited crime scenes in NYAKIZU, after BAZARAMBA had logded an Appeal challenging the Porvoo District court of Itä-Uusimaa which had found him guilty and convicted him to life imprisonment sentence on 11th June 2010.

    The Appeal Court found guilty of genocide committed against Tutsi in BIRAMBO, CYAHINDA, RUSHUNGURIRO, MARABA, and KIBANGU in former NYAKIZU Commune and again handed him a life imprisonment sentence.

    Francois BAZARAMBA is the former Pastor at CYAHINDA Baptiste Church and Director of NYANTANGA technical School in NYAKIZU Commune former BUTARE Prefecture.

    The National Public Prosecution Authority of Rwanda welcomes this decision by the Finnish Appeal Court.

  • Airtel Launched

    Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”) today announced the launch of its operation in Rwanda, expanding its footprint on the African continent to 17 countries.

    Airtel has already said that it will invest over USD 100 million in its operations over the next three years and generate direct and indirect employment opportunities.

    Commenting on the launch, Mr. Manoj Kohli, CEO (International) & Joint MD, Bharti Airtel said, “We are delighted to launch our operations and bring Airtel to the people of Rwanda. We believe that Rwanda is an extremely promising
    market and this launch further strengthens our footprint in eastern Africa.

    It will be our endeavour to bring world-class and affordable services to our customers in Rwanda and add value to the economy. We would like to thank the Rwandan government for giving us this opportunity, and we are committed to contributing to their aim of bridging the digital divide in the country.”

    “The government welcomes Airtel into our country. We are looking to partner with the private sector to provide good quality, accessible and affordable telecommunications services,” says Right Hon. Dr. Pierre Damien Habumuremyi, Prime Minister, Rwanda.

    Dr. Habumuremyi added: We are especially excited about the prospect of connecting Rwanda with the rest of the East African region and, indeed, with the rest of Africa. As Rwandans begin engaging in business ventures and looking for regional partners, telecommunications companies – like Airtel – that are able to provide access to a pan-African wireless network, become a crucial part of expansion.”

    Airtel has also partnered with IBM in a move that will enable the teleco to offer superior customer experience in Rwanda. The partnership will see IBM deploy and manage the information technology (IT) infrastructure and applications to further support Airtel’s goal of providing innovative mobile services.

    “As part of our strategic services agreement, we are happy to assist Airtel with its entry into the Rwandan market and ensure the very highest levels of support,” says Steve Martin, IBM Vice President and Senior Project Executive, Airtel Africa.

    “Rwanda is an important market for IBM and we are actively strengthening our local presence and increasing our ability to serve our customers and partners in the country.”

    Ericsson, the world’s leading provider of services and technology to telecom operators, was selected to manage the network from end-to-end, including OSS/BSS solutions and managed services.

    Lars Lindén, head of Region Sub-Saharan Africa for Ericsson, says: “This solution is using the latest Ericsson portfolio, and will be the first Airtel network designed as an all-IP solution. That means Airtel will be able to provide advanced services to its subscribers, expand quickly to accommodate quick growth, and keep operating expenses down.”

    Additionally, this launch has set a record. Lindén adds: “The inaugural call was placed on the system on March 7. It took just 83 days to build this network from the start – the fastest Greenfield launch in history in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

    Rwanda is among the fastest growing telecom markets in Africa and, according to the National Statistics Institute of Rwanda, mobile penetration in the country was at 38.4% as of July 2011.

    The rapidly growing private sector – which includes telecommunications infrastructure and ICT–presents many opportunities for the development of the industry and the country’s economy.

    In fact, according to the World Bank, each 10 per cent of broadband penetration results in a 1.3% increase in per capita GDP growth in developing countries.

    Airtel was awarded the license by the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA) last year to operate 2G and 3G GSM mobile services. Currently, the Airtel brand is present in both Francophone and Anglophone markets across the continent.

  • MTN Inaugurates ICT Lab at Rusumo High School

    MTN Rwanda Friday inaugurated an ‘ICT School Project’ at Rusumo High School where a fully connected lab with 36 computers was opened under the flagship of MTN Foundation, the company’s corporate social responsibility program.

    MTN officials including Zulfat Mukarubega, a board member of MTN Foundation, visited Rusumo High School where they officially opened the lab.

    Paul Mugemangago the Senior Manager, Legal and Corporate Affairs at MTN Rwanda said, “MTN supports education and ICT as part of our corporate social responsibility. Within education this project termed as ‘ICT School Connect’, is designed to enable teachers and pupils in secondary schools gain practical skills on the usage and understanding of ICT and how it can add value to their lives.”

    “Since the project was inaugurated in 2010 it also allows them have access to Internet in their own locality and premises. This is a way of MTN Rwanda empowering young people so that in the future they can become of economic relevance to the country,” he added.

    Already 6 high schools from different provinces have benefited from the project. They include Essa High School in Musanze, Ste Bernadette in Huye, Kabarondo High School, Kanombe High School, ESG Rubavu and Gihundwe high School

    Overall MTN Rwanda has donated over 250 computers in these schools, across the country with more 5,500 students and 300 teachers benefiting from the project to leverage ICT in education in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC).

    During the year 2010/11 about Rwf150 million has been spent on ‘ICT Connect School’ projects. In 2012 two more schools are scheduled to benefit from the same project.