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  • “Leadership for Learning “ The National Symposium on School Leadership and Learning Networks opens in Kigali

    “Leadership for Learning “ The National Symposium on School Leadership and Learning Networks opens in Kigali

    {Thursday, 21 November 2013 marks the opening of the National Symposium on School Leadership and Learning Networks organized by the Ministry of Education (WDA and REB) in partnership with VVOB, the Flemish Association for Development Cooperation and Technical Assistance in the field of education.
    }

    The two-day event will bring together leaders of the education sector and academicians from across the country and abroad to discuss new developments and approaches to School Management and School Leadership.

    Effective School Management and School Leadership are essential factors towards quality education, and are a prerequisite to Rwanda reaching its goal of becoming a knowledge-based economy in line with Vision 2020 and
    EDPRS II.

    For the past 10 years, MINEDUC has successfully partnered with VVOB to enhance the levels of school management in primary and secondary schools nationwide.

    MINEDUC has led the way in institutionalizing School Management and School Leadership. A SM&SL Unit has been created within the Rwanda Education Board (REB) as part of the Teacher Development and Management Department (TDM).

    Also 30 Schools of Reference (one per District) are now operational and support peer-to-peer learning among schools of the same district.

    A certification framework for head teachers has been put in place and the College of Education (ex-KIE) of the University of Rwanda (UR) will soon launch an accreditation programme for head teachers that is in line with validated professional standards.

    In support of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), a
    School Management and Training Unit was also created within the Workforce
    Development Authority (WDA), to enhance the capacity development of leaders and trainers in the field as well as insure quality management of production units.

    But now, recent academic empirical evidence has shown that the quality of school leadership is the most important school-related factor influencing pupils’ achievement, second only to the quality of teaching.

    Therefore the aim of the Symposium is to bring together a wide variety of educational experts and practitioners to begin to define the best techniques adapted to the Rwandan context to develop core competencies of effective school leaders. Two concepts at the heart of the Symposium – leadership (Ubuyobozi) and Peer-to-peer learning (Itorero) – are already deeply rooted in the Rwandan culture.

    {{DATES AND VENUE:}} The Symposium runs from Nov 21-22 at the Umubano Hotel, Kigali.

    {{PARTICIPANTS}}: The meeting will be attended by dignitaries from MINEDUC, REB, WDA, HEC and other relevant Ministries. District and Sector level high officials, representatives of IPRCs and Head Teachers of 30 district Schools of Reference are expected to attend, as are representatives from the University of Rwanda/ College of Education and Teacher Training Colleges.
    International organizations active in the education sector and members of the Rwanda Education NGO Coordination Platform (RENCP) involved in promoting School Leadership have also been invited to participate.

    {{TOPICS OF PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS:}}

    • School leadership in theory and practice
    • Professional standards for School Leaders
    • Effective School leadership through peer to peer learning/Learning networks.

  • US ambassador to China to step down early next

    US ambassador to China to step down early next

    {The American ambassador to China said Wednesday he will step down from his post early next year to rejoin his family in Seattle.}

    Gary Locke said he informed President Barack Obama of his decision when they met earlier this month.

    Locke, who is married with three children, took up the post in August 2011 and was the first Chinese-American to hold it. His father was born in China.

    Locke said in a statement that he was proud of what the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in China have accomplished, including increasing U.S. exports to China, promoting Chinese investment in the U.S. and reducing waiting times for a visa to three to five from highs of 70-100 days, which has “significantly increased” Chinese business and tourism travel there.

    He said that during his tenure embassy officials advanced American values by meeting with religious leaders and human rights lawyers and visiting Tibetan and Uighur ethnic minorities in Tibet and Xinjiang.

    As a former U.S. commerce secretary and two-term governor of Washington state, boosting trade and maintaining smooth relations between Washington and its biggest foreign creditor were seen as his priorities when he became ambassador.

    Yet less than a year into his tenure, he was earning respect from the human rights lobby for his role in the drama over blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng, who escaped from house arrest, sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and later moved to New York. At one point, Locke was photographed holding Chen’s hand as they entered a hospital.

    He was popular among ordinary Chinese from day one, with a photo of him wearing a backpack and trying to use a coupon to buy coffee at Seattle airport widely posted on the Chinese Internet. It contrasted with Chinese bureaucrats, who have aides attend to such minor tasks.

    He attracted overflowing audiences to his speeches at Chinese universities, and huge crowds showed up when he visited his ancestral home in the southeastern province of Guangdong.

    Locke said U.S.-China relations continue to grow stronger despite a complex relationship. “I remain confident in the ability of our leaders to manage differences and increase cooperation in areas of mutual concern to the benefit of not just our two great peoples, but the entire world,” he said.

    Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Washington Post

  • Deschamps will not be to blame if France fail – Platini

    Deschamps will not be to blame if France fail – Platini

    {The former Bleus star insists it is the players who must stand up to be counted as they attempt to overturn a 2-0 deficit to Ukraine in Tuesday’s World Cup play-off}

    Uefa president Michel Platini believes Didier Deschamps will not be to blame if France fail to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

    Les Bleus have a mountain to climb ahead of the second leg of their play-off clash on Tuesday after losing 2-0 in Ukraine last week, but Platini insists it will be the responsibility of the players to fight for their spot in Brazil.

    “I have always supported all the France national team coaches,” Platini was quoted as saying by L’Equipe.

    “I am not really the type of guy who pays much attention to the role of the coach.

    “Didier will not be responsible for anything, regardless of whether France win or lose. The players are the ones who determine the outcome of the game.”

    Deschamps was part of the France side which infamously missed out on qualification for World Cup 1994 after losing their final two matches to Israel and Bulgaria.

    The second leg of the tie between France and Ukraine takes place at Stade de France on Tuesday.

    goal.com

  • At least 10 killed in explosions near Iranian Embassy in Beirut

    At least 10 killed in explosions near Iranian Embassy in Beirut

    {Two explosions struck Tuesday near the Iranian Embassy in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, killing at least 10 people, wounding scores and causing wide damage to the mission and nearby buildings.}

    The mid-morning blasts hit Beirut’s upscale neighborhood of Janah, a Hezbollah stronghold. One explosion blew out the large black main gate of the Iranian mission, damaging the three-story facility. It was not known if anyone inside was hurt.

    Debris was scattered on the street and cars were on fire as people ran away from the chaotic scene. The second blast was meters (yards) away from the embassy building.

    The explosions killed 10 and wounded more than 30, said a Lebanese security official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. An Associated Press photographer counted at least five bodies after the blasts in south Beirut.

    AP video showed firefighters extinguishing flames from vehicles, blood-spattered streets and bodies covered with sheets on the ground. A charred motorcycle stood outside the embassy gate.

    It was not immediately clear what had caused the blasts, and reports varied. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said one of the blasts was carried out by a suicide attacker on foot while the second was a car bomb.

    An armed guard of the Iranian embassy told AP that the first blast was believed to have been carried out by a suicide attacker who rode a motorcycle and blew himself up outside the gate. The other explosion, which caused much more damage, was a car bomb, the guard said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media.

    Heazbollah’s Al-Manar TV said 17 people were killed while Iran’s Press TV put the death toll at 15.

    There have been several attacks the past few months, including with rockets and car bombs, against Shiite strongholds in Lebanon in what Syrian rebels say is retaliation for the militant Hezbollah group’s open involvement on the side of President Bashar Assad’s forces in the civil war in neighboring Syria.

    “We tell those who carried out the attack, you will not be able to break us,” Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Mikdad told Al-Mayadeen TV. “We got the message and we know who sent it and we know how to retaliate.”

    Hezbollah’s Al-Rasoul al-Azam hospital called on people to donate blood, saying they need all blood types.

    Iran has been one of Assad’s strongest supporters, supplying him with money and weapons since the Syrian crisis began in March 2011.

    An Aug. 15 car bombing in a Shiite stronghold of Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Beirut killed 27 people and wounded more than 300. A less powerful car bomb targeted the same area on July 9, wounding more than 50.

    {{AP}}

  • South Sudan ‘deeply regrets’ UN harassment

    South Sudan ‘deeply regrets’ UN harassment

    {South Sudan said on Monday that it “deeply regrets” dozens of cases of harassment and threats against United Nations’ staff by its army and police.}

    The government of the world’s youngest country has faced pressure from the UN Security Council and the United States over beatings of UN staff and other incidents in recent months.

    UN leader Ban Ki-moon complained in a report last week of 67 cases of “harassment, threats, physical assault, arrest and detention of United Nations staff” and seizure of UN vehicles between May 7 and November 5.

    In one case on October 19, a female UN staff member was “severely beaten” in the capital, Juba, and then detained following “a traffic encounter with a military pickup carrying armed uniformed men,” said Ban’s report.

    Diplomats said the case involved a convoy of South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir.

    “We deeply regret both the character and the number of incidents that have occurred,” South Sudan’s UN Ambassador Francis Deng told a Security Council meeting on his country.

    “The government is seriously committed to ending these violations. Orders have indeed been given toward that end and to hold those responsible accountable,” Deng said, adding that the country’s young army needed more training and “sensitization.”

    The United States approached South Sudan’s UN mission last week and China made a similar complaint on behalf of the Security Council.

    UN representative to South Sudan, Hilde Johnson, said she had warned the South Sudan cabinet over the incidents at a recent meeting.

    “I expressed grave concern over this worrying trend,” Johnson said. She added that President Kiir had “expressed dismay” over the harassment of UN and diplomatic staff.

    She said the government had issued written orders to the Sudan People’s Liberation Army and the police last week, which included a warning that off-duty security personnel should not wear uniforms nor carry guns.

    The UN mission, UNMISS, has 7,600 troops and police in South Sudan, which broke away from Sudan after a two-decade-long civil war in which two million people died.

    There have been a series of incidents involving the UN since South Sudan became independent in July 2011.

    The government expelled a UN human rights investigator in October 2012 accusing her of writing “false” reports about army abuses.

    Two months later, South Sudan’s army shot down an UNMISS helicopter killing all four Russian crew on board.

    AFP

  • Uganda: Urban Boys performance set crowd on fire

    Uganda: Urban Boys performance set crowd on fire

    {Rwanda night is a festival that usually takes place in Kampala, the hitting Rwandan artist is always invited.
    }

    This hot night takes place in “Club Rouge” and this time the invitation fell on the popular Rwandan group “Urban Boys”.

    It was on 16th of November when the urban boys managed to hit the stage at Club rouge in Kampala.

    Speaking to IGIHE, Safi from Urban boys said “we performed for both Rwandans and Ugandans in Kampala and they expressed appreciation to our performance. It’s our first time to perform like this in Kampala “added Safi.

    “We didn’t manage to do any other projects like making new songs or featuring other artists from there, because we were supposed to perform at the “Tour du Rwanda “which is currently going on”.

    According to the information on the ground Urban Boys performed with Ray Signature while Knowless performed with Chameleon and other popular musicians in Uganda during last year’s Rwanda night.

    The group expresses appreciation as most of their songs are being played and liked on Ugandan televisions.

    Some of these popular songs include, “Take it off,” “Barahurura,” “Kelele”, Kubita and others.

  • Mandela ‘stable but critical,’ South African president says

    Mandela ‘stable but critical,’ South African president says

    {Anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela is in a “stable but critical” condition, South African President Jacob Zuma said in a statement on Monday.}

    “Madiba continues to respond to treatment,” he said, referring to Mandela by his clan name. He added that the health of the former president remained much the same as his last visit in September.

    “President Zuma conveyed the well wishes of all South Africans and those of the peoples of the world to the Mandela family and assured them that nations are united in their thoughts and prayers for him,” the statement read.

    However, his ex-wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, told South Africa’s Sunday Independent newspaper this week, that the 95-year-old remains “quite ill” and unable to speak because of tubes in his mouth to clear fluid from his lungs.

    “The bedroom there is like an ICU ward,” the newspaper quoted her as saying, adding that Mandela used facial movements to communicate.

    The Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Winnie, a fellow anti-apartheid campaigner, were married throughout his 27 years in prison when tuberculosis weakened his lungs.

    Mandela was admitted to hospital in Pretoria on June 8 with a recurring lung infection attributed to the manual labor he was forced to perform during his time behind bars.

    He was discharged to his Johannesburg family home in September after it was reconditioned to allow him to receive intensive care from the same team that treated him in hospital.

    Zuma will open the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory Public Facility and the Permanent Exhibition on the Life and Times of Nelson Mandela near his home, later tonight.

    NBC News

  • Libya regional official escapes assassination

    Libya regional official escapes assassination

    {The military governor of Libya’s Benghazi has escaped an assassination attempt that killed a member of his entourage and seriously wounded another.}

    Eastern Libya, and particularly the city of Benghazi, has been hit by a wave of attacks mostly targeting security officials.

    “The motorcade of Colonel Abdallah al-Saati, head of the joint security room and military governor of Benghazi, was attacked as he passed through the Al-Hadeq area, leaving one dead and one seriously wounded from his entourage,” Colonel Abdallah al-Zaidi, security forces spokesman, told AFP news agency on Monday.

    Benghazi’s joint security room is a body grouping together all the different security bodies operating in the eastern city.

    “Explosives experts are currently combing the neighbourhood to determine how the convoy was attacked and the amount of explosives used in this blast, which was heard in most areas of the city,” Zaidi said.

    Nearby cars were badly damaged by the blast, he said.

    Bombings and shootings in eastern Libya have killed more than 100 army and police officers and judge.

    Libya’s fledgeling government is struggling to build up a professional police and army to counter the rising violence there.

    Aljazeera

  • Nyamagabe: Collaboration between local leaders and public remains unpredictable

    Nyamagabe: Collaboration between local leaders and public remains unpredictable

    {Residents of Nyamagabe District, Gasaka Sector were surprised as one new settler who had just shifted to that sector started digging on the road that had been constructed by the village residents and this kept on destroying the road continuously}.

    The road connects Nyamagabe district to other areas around the district

    In Interview with IGIHE, one of the settlers confirmed Manirareba Boniface bought land and built a house, 4 meters beside the road where he had planned to operate a Bar Business.

    Later on, these buildings came to block the road as cars which carry tea failed to find their way as the road had been blocked by the construction.

    Currently, local leaders are continuing to sensitize the residents to construct the Road again as it’s the only road that connects the residents to the main road which heads to the city of Huye.

    He added,” after constructing this road, we had started constructing a school and demanding for a hospital. But as we find drawbacks we are being told of working on the road in the next monthly social community work. Therefore, we find it hard for us to work on other stuff since what many people constructed was destructed by one person”.

    According to the residents, they had informed the issue of the road which was destroyed, to the local leaders who never acted as Boniface claims the local leaders gave him the land and authority for construction.

    As the state of affairs was aggravating, Local leaders decided to ban Boniface from continuing with the construction activities, but they said Boniface’s house will not be demolished

    Residents put all the blame on their leaders as they watched someone destructing the road they built and no measures to support them were taken.

  • Indonesia slams Australia PM over spying

    Indonesia slams Australia PM over spying

    {A diplomatic row between Australia and Indonesia has deepened, with both sides refusing to back down after allegations emerged that Australian intelligence services had spied on the Indonesian president.}

    Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono accused newly elected Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott of dismissing his country’s concerns in a statement on Twitter on Tuesday.

    Abbott, in office since September, rejected calls for an explanation, describing surveillance by Australian governments as “reasonable intelligence operations”.

    The latest flare-up followed Australian media reports, quoting documents leaked by former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, that Australian spy agencies had tried to tap the mobile phones of Yudhoyono, his wife and senior officials in August 2009.

    Reports last month said Australia’s Jakarta embassy had been part of a US-led surveillance network to spy on Indonesia.

    “I … regret the statement of Australian Prime Minister that belittled this tapping matter on Indonesia, without any remorse,” Yudhoyono wrote on Twitter. He did not say to which statement by Abbott he was referring.

    “These US & Australian actions have certainly damaged the strategic partnerships with Indonesia, as fellow democracies,” he added.

    Indonesia, he wrote, “demands an official response, one that can be understood by the public”.

    The statements came a day after the recall of Indonesia’s ambassador to Australia.

    Aljazeera