IGIHE

Category: Science &Technology

  • First Genetically Modified Humans Born

    {{The world’s first geneticallymodified humans have been created, it was revealed last night.}}

    The disclosure that 30 healthy babies were born after a series of experiments in the United States provoked another furious debate about ethics.

    So far, two of the babies have been tested and have been found to contain genes from three ‘parents’.

    Fifteen of the children were born in the past three years as a result of one experimental programme at the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science of St Barnabas in New Jersey.

    The babies were born to women who had problems conceiving. Extra genes from a female donor were inserted into their eggs before they were fertilised in an attempt to enable them to conceive.

    Genetic fingerprint tests on two one-year- old children confirm that they have inherited DNA from three adults –two women and one man.

    The fact that the children have inherited the extra genes and incorporated them into their ‘germline’ means that they will, in turn, be able to pass them on to their own offspring.

    Altering the human germline – in effect tinkering with the very make-up of our species – is a technique shunned by the vast majority of the world’s scientists.

    Geneticists fear that one day this method could be used to create new races of humans with extra, desired characteristics such as strength or high intelligence.

    Writing in the journal Human Reproduction, the researchers, led by fertility pioneer Professor Jacques Cohen, say that this ‘is the first case of human germline genetic modification resulting in normal healthy children’.

    DailyMail

  • Google Kenya site compromised

    Global technology giant Google has been the victim of a cyber-attack.

    On Monday morning, their Kenyan domain google.co.ke did not have the usual doodle and search bar, instead the page splayed a black background ‘hacked’ stamped in red across it.

    The hacker who identified himself as TiGER-M@TE also said that he was from Bangaldesh, a country in South East Asia.

    When a user visited the page the hacked screen spiraled in as some foreign music played in the background.

    News of the cyber-attack spread on social media causing the site’s to link shoot to the top of the trends.

    Social media users attached screen shots of the site and the images have gone viral.

  • Kenya IT Audit Reveals Poll Machines Were Faulty

    {{In Kenya, a local Information Technology (IT) firm, Next Technology, has produced an audit report that provides never-heard-before detailed insights into the many things that went wrong during the March 4, General Election.}}

    The Next Technologies report on the collapse of the electronic results transmission system during last month’s elections is the first independent account of the failures on a national scale.

    In a report that reads like a sensational catalogue of things not-to-do, Next Technologies details the failures starting from the national tallying centre at Bomas in Nairobi to the polling centres in the various counties.

    The report says that IEBC’s computer system was incomplete and untested before the elections that were marred by the catastrophic failure to transmit results electronically, according to a technical report just released.

    The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) contracted NEXT Technologies to carry out an assessment and provide national IT support to for the elections.

    The sheer lack of preparedness is revealed in the report that noted that one of the two main servers required for the elections was not installed until a day before the election and it was therefore not tested.

    {{Faulty equipment}}

    The report’s findings paint the picture of an overwhelmed IEBC desperately struggling with technology in the final hours ahead of the election and its field staff — many untrained or ill-equipped for the task — oblivious of the technological nightmare that awaited them on March 4.

    “It is the view of this completion report based on observations during the first round of the elections that the development of the system was incomplete by the time of election,” reads the report.

    The report adds: “This can be attributed to the noted system behaviour characterised by the different system components which were intended to function as a whole seeming to have been functioning in isolation which led to the system being unstable and unable to fulfil user requirements especially in the transmission of the bulk of the results.”

    readmore..http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000081518&story_title=Kenya–IT-audit-report-reveals-what-went-wrong-in-the-polls

  • US Digital Library Brings Culture, History Online

    {{A new “digital public library” set to launch this month aims to provide an alternative to Google for those looking for American cultural information online.}}

    Visitors will be able to view, for example, letters penned by George Washington, a copy of the Declaration of Independence in the handwriting of Thomas Jefferson, and ambrotype and daguerreotype images of Abraham Lincoln.

    The Digital Public Library of America site dp.la will launch April 18 with more than two million objects – including digital renderings of photos, books, manuscripts and other items from places such as the Smithsonian Institution, along with museums, libraries and historical institutions around the country.

    “We are bringing together the richest of America’s archives and museums, and making them easily searchable for teachers, scholars, journalists and others,” said Dan Cohen, the DPLA executive director.

    Thomas Jefferson’s 1790 letter accepting his appointment as secretary of state to Washington is among the documents.

    One can find Matthew Brady’s early Lincoln photographs and historical maps of the Americas from the David Rumsey Map Collection.

    The site created through the impetus of Harvard University’s Berkman Centre for Internet and Society is modelled after the Europeana library in Europe and the Australian National Library’s Trove project.

    Cohen said DPLA can be used as a search portal for researchers, as an alternative to a search engine like Google because it is a self-contained site with many objects that might not be available by Web search.

    “I think we are going to have a lot better descriptions that won’t come through in a Google search,” Cohen told AFP. “It will be a far superior experience.”

    For students as researchers, DPLA can be an alternative to Wikipedia, because the new library will be a primary resource.

    “Wikipedia is a secondary source, but we are going to have the stuff,” Cohen said. “But I think Wikipedia will be a great partner.”

    For now, the library is not duplicating the efforts of Google Books – a project digitizing millions of works which has provoked controversy – but will “explore models for digital lending of in-copyright materials,” according to the DPLA website.

    Cohen said DPLA will be “a lot more comprehensive” than Google books, with “the full array of materials including music, photography, all kinds of art and manuscripts.”

    He said the material will be online “in an open fashion, and not a gated fashion.”

    Cohen said the site will be mobile-friendly and enable people to use their locations to find information such as “what New York City looked like in the 1840s” or “finding things in your area.”

    An advantage to the library is that it will include materials which may not be on the Web but “sitting on hard drives” in local museums or historical societies, Cohen said.

    “We are knitting together those collections,” he added.
    Cohen said that in addition to being a portal, the new library will be “a platform that other people will be able to build upon,” particularly software developers and researchers.

    A joint project with Europeana will tell the story of European emigration to the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries with photographs, manuscripts and other documents.

    Carl Pforzheimer, the Harvard University Library and a member of the DPLA steering committee said the exhibit “inaugurates an alliance that will multiply the benefits of the Internet for generation after generation, everywhere in the world.”

    Materials for the exhibit come from the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, the National Gallery of Ireland, the Jewish Museum of London, the Royal Library of the Netherlands, the Saxon State Library and the Norwegian Photo Archives.

    The project has received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and private philanthropies including the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and Knight Foundation.

    The Digital Public Library is raising funds and is “open to other kinds of partnerships,” Cohen said.

    Cohen is leaving his position of history professor at George Mason University, saying he will be concentrating on “the greatest digital history project of all time.”

    agencies

  • Russia Moves Up in Networked Readiness Index

    {{Russia has moved up two positions in the Networked Readiness Index, according to the Global Information Technology Report, published annually by the World Economic Forum and the INSEAD business school.}}

    The index measures countries’ ability to exploit the opportunities offered by information and communications technology and the impact of ICT on the competitiveness of nations.

    This year, Russia is in the 54th place, ahead of Azerbaijan (56), Georgia (65) and Ukraine (73) but behind Estonia (22), Lithuania (32), Latvia (41) and Kazakhstan (43). At the top of the list are Finland, Singapore and Sweden.

    Russia’s position has improved since 2010, when the country was in the 80th place. The movement is driven by 3G mobile broadband usage (20th place) and a growing number of Internet users (56th place).

    With the rollout of 4G technology, mobile broadband use in Russia is set to grow even more.

    “2013 is a year of infrastructure rollout,” Michael Hecker, MTS’ vice president for strategy and corporate development, said on Thursday. Next year will see a wave of 4G-enabled smartphones and users will be billed for how much data they use rather than for how many phone calls they make, he added.

    The report highlights the importance of Internet connectivity for the economy. Experts from Deloitte suggested that mobile broadband availability and high 3G data usage in Russia added 1.4% to gross domestic product per capita growth annually.

    While more people are using the Internet, the country ranks low on online businesses transactions (107th place), intellectual property protection (125th place) and political and regulatory indicators (108th place).

    Igor Kaloshin, CEO of Intel’s Russian subsidiary, said on Thursday that Russia needed to build a more favorable climate to encourage innovation and to allow start-ups to introduce new technology.

    Yekaterina Osadchaya, a spokeswoman for the Communications and Press Ministry, called for removing excessive regulatory and administrative barriers to stimulate the development of network operators, Vedomosti reported Thursday.

    The authors of the report suggest that developed IT infrastructure, together with a favorable environment, would drive innovation in business, as well as in healthcare and education.

    “Despite initial concerns that ICT would hasten the deployment of resources towards developing countries, the benefits of ICT are now widely recognized as an important way for companies and economies to optimize productivity, free up resources and boost innovation and job creation,” said Benat Bilbao-Osorio, a co-editor of the report.

    This year, the Networked Readiness Index includes 144 countries, measuring their ability to utilize the opportunities offered by information and communications technology.

    The BRI is compiled with the help of publicly available data and an annual opinion survey conducted by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with 167 research institutes and business organizations.

    {The Moscow Times}

  • Ancient Creature Mixed Human, Apelike Traits

    {{Scientists have gained new insights into an extinct South African creature with an intriguing mix of human and apelike traits, and apparently an unusual way of walking.}}

    But they still haven’t pinned down where it fits on our evolutionary family tree.

    It will take more fossil discoveries to sort that out.

    The human branch of the evolutionary tree, called Homo, is thought to have arisen from a group of ancient species called australopithecines.

    The newly studied species is a member of this group, and so its similarities to humans are enticing for tackling the riddle of how Homo appeared.

    It’s called Australopithecus sediba (aw-STRAL-oh-PITH-uh-kus se-DEE-bah), which means “southern ape, wellspring.” It lived some 2 million years ago, and it both climbed in trees and walked upright.

    Its remains were discovered in 2008 when the 9-year-old son of a paleoanthropologist accidently came across a bone in South Africa.

    A 2011 analysis of some of A. sediba’s bones showed a combination of human and more apelike traits, like a snapshot of evolution in action.

    That theme continues in six papers published online Thursday by the journal Science, which complete the initial examination of two partial skeletons and an isolated shinbone.

    Jeremy DeSilva of Boston University, lead author of one of the papers, said the fossils reveal an unexpected “mosaic of anatomies.”

    “I didn’t think you could have this combination, that hand with that pelvis with that foot… And yet, there it is,” he said.

    DeSilva said he has no idea how A. sediba is related to humans, noting that the different traits argue for different conclusions.

    Among the new analyses, the ribs show the creature’s upper trunk resembled an ape’s, while the lower part looked more like a human’s.

    Arm bones other than the hand and wrist look primitive, reflecting climbing ability, while earlier analysis of the hand had shown mixed traits.

    The teeth also show a mix of human and primitive features, and provide new evidence that A. sediba is closely related to early humans, said Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg of Ohio State University, a co-author of a dental analysis.

    It and an older South African species, A. africanus, appear more closely related to early humans than other australopithecines like the famous “Lucy” are, she said.

    But she said the analysis can’t determine which of the two species is the closer relative, nor whether A. sediba is a direct ancestor of humans.

    Another study found a mix of human and apelike traits in leg bones, and concluded that A. sediba walked like no other known animal.

    Its heel was narrow like an ape’s, which would seem to prevent walking upright, but the more humanlike knee, pelvis and hip show A. sediba did just that, DeSilva said.

    When people walk, they strike the ground with the heel first. But that would be disastrous from A. sediba’s narrow heel bone, so instead the creature struck the ground first with the outside of the foot, DeSilva and co-authors propose.

    The foot would react by rolling inward, which is called pronation. In people, chronic pronation can cause pain in the foot, knees, hip and back, said DeSilva, who tried out the ancient creature’s gait.

    “I’ve been walking around campus this way, and it hurts,” he said.

    But the bones of A. sediba show features that evidently prevented those pain problems, he said. The creature apparently adopted this gait as a kind of compromise for a body that had to climb trees proficiently as well as walk upright, he said.

    {(AP)}

  • Black Pepper Shows Promise in Breast Cancer, Vitiligo Treatment

    {{British and United States (U.S.) researchers have found that black pepper could provide a new treatment for breast cancer and the skin disease, vitiligo.}}

    Botanically called Piper nigrum (uziza in Ibo), black pepper is of plant family Piperaceae.

    Vitiligo is disfiguring in the darker racial ethnic group as a result of the sharp contrast between the normal skin and the de-pigmented skin.

    U.S. researchers have confirmed that extracts of black pepper stops the proliferation of cancer in humans. They found that black pepper and its constituents like hot pepper, exhibit anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer activities.

    The study published in Natural Product Communications is titled “Inhibitory effects of black pepper (Piper nigrum) extracts and compounds on human tumor cell proliferation, cyclooxygenase enzymes, lipid peroxidation and nuclear transcription factor-kappa-B.”

    Cyclooxygenase (COX) is an enzyme that is responsible for the formation of prostanoids, which are each involved in the inflammatory response. COX is implicated in the production of fever, inflammation, and pain.

    Lipid peroxidation or oxidation of lipids is a crucial step in the pathogenesis of several disease states in adult and infant patients.

    Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-KB) is an ubiquitous rapid response transcription factor in cells involved in imune and inflammatory reactions.

    The United States researchers at the Bioactive Natural Products and Phytoceuticals, Department of Horticulture and National Food Safety and Toxicology Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, concluded: “All compounds derived from black pepper suppressed TNF-induced NF-kappaB activation, but alkyl amides, compound 4 from black pepper and 5 from hot pepper, were most effective. The human cancer cell proliferation inhibitory activities of piperine and alklyl amides in Capsicum and black pepper were dose dependant.

    “The inhibitory concentrations 50% (IC50) of the alklylamides were in the range 13-200 microg/mL. The extracts of black pepper at 200 microg/mL and its compounds at 25 microg/mL inhibited lipid peroxidation (LPO) by 45 to 85%, COX enzymes by 31 to 80% and cancer cells proliferation by 3.5 to 86.8%.

    Overall, these results suggest that black pepper and its constituents like hot pepper, exhibit anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer activities.”

    The British researchers from the Department of Pharmacy, King’s College London, in a study published in Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology concluded: “Piper nigrum, therefore, contains several amides with the ability to stimulate melanocyte proliferation. This finding supports the traditional use of P. nigrum extracts in vitiligo and provides new lead compounds for drug development for this disease.”

    Melanocytes are pigment-producing cells in the skin of humans and other vertebrates.

    The study is titled “Amides from Piper nigrum L. with dissimilar effects on melanocyte proliferation in-vitro.”

    Until now, melanocyte proliferation stimulants are of interest as potential treatments for the depigmentary skin disorder, vitiligo. The researchers discovered that black pepper’s water extract, and its main alkaloid, piperine, promote melanocyte proliferation in-vitro.

    The study, by King’s College London, also appeared in the British Journal of Dermatology.

    The British researchers found that a crude chloroform extract of black pepper containing piperine was more stimulatory than an equivalent concentration of the pure compound, suggesting the presence of other active components.

    They wrote: “Piperine (one), guineensine (two), pipericide (three), N-feruloyltyramine (four) and N-isobutyl-2E, 4E-dodecadienamide (five) were isolated from the chloroform extract.

    Their activity was compared with piperine and with commercial piperlongumine (six) and safrole (seven), and synthetically prepared piperettine (eight), piperlonguminine (nine) and 1-(3, 4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-decane (10).

    “Compounds six to 10 either occur in P. nigrum or are structurally related. Compounds 1, 2, 3, 8 and 9 stimulated melanocyte proliferation, whereas 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10 did not.

    “Comparison of structures suggests that the methylenedioxyphenyl function is essential for melanocyte stimulatory activity. Only those compounds also possessing an amide group were active, although the amino component of the amide group and chain linking it to the methylenedioxyphenyl group can vary.”

    The King’s team examined the effects of piperine, and its synthetic derivatives, when applied to the skin of mice, either alone or followed by Ultra Violet Ray (UVR).

    Used alone, piperine and two of its derivatives stimulated pigmentation to an even, light brown colour within six weeks.

    Combining the treatment with UVR the skin became darker still. The effect was achieved much faster than using UVR treatment alone, and lasted longer.

    In addition, the combined therapy gave a much more even pigmentation than UVR alone, which can often result in a patchy appearance.

    The researchers believe that piperine stimulates the production of the skin’s pigment cells, called melanocytes.

    Previous studies showed that the fruits and seeds are used to cure dyspepsia (indigestion), diarrhoea, cholera, piles, urinary problems, boils, rheumatism, toothaches and headaches. Black pepper is also used to stabilise the womb in women after birth.

    Indeed, ground black pepper is one of the most commonly consumed spices. Black pepper has been shown to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antimutagenic (stops changes in genetic material) properties and helps improve digestion.

    Black pepper is a dietary source of vitamin C, vitamin K and manganese. The spiciness of black pepper is due to its piperine content.

    Piperine has been shown to significantly increase the bioavailability of selenium and beta-carotene, among other nutrients.

    Black pepper and piperine have been shown to inhibit the development of carcinogen-induced colon and lung cancers in laboratory animals.

    According to dermatologists, vitiligo occurs when melanocytes, the cells responsible for skin pigmentation, die or are unable to function. The cause of vitiligo is unknown, but research suggests that it may arise from autoimmune, genetic, oxidative stress, neural, or viral causes.

    The incidence worldwide is less than one per cent. The most common form is non-segmental vitiligo, which tends to appear in symmetric patches, sometimes over large areas of the body.

    It has been shown that the incidence of breast cancer in Nigeria is increasing just like in other developing countries and those advanced countries that used to have a low incidence.

    Oncologists have shown that several factors are responsible for this increasing incidence, but the most important are increasing average life expectancy, increased access to diagnostic facilities, empowerment of women which is increasing women’s ability to make independent decisions about their own health care, increasing westernisation of dietary, physical activity and obstetric and gynecological factors among others.

    Black pepper (Piper nigrum) and hot pepper (Capsicum spp) are widely used in traditional medicines.

    Although hot Capsicum species extracts and its active principles, capsaicinoids, have been linked with anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities, whether black pepper and its active principle exhibit similar activities is not known.

    The American study evaluated the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities of extracts and compounds from black pepper by using proinflammatory transcription factor NF-kappaB, COX-1 and -2 enzymes, human tumor cell proliferation and lipid peroxidation (LPO).

    The capsaicinoids, the alkylamides, isolated from the hot pepper Scotch Bonnet were also used to compare the bioactivities of alkylamides and piperine from black pepper.

    Results of a study published in the West African Journal of Medicine by researchers at the Dermatology Unit, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, showed that the diagnosis of vitiligo was made in 186 (2.8 per cent) patients, with a slight female preponderance.

    The epidemiology and clinical profile of vitiligo patients at the dermatology clinic of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) showed that vitiligo affected all age groups: the youngest presented at age one and the oldest at 86 years of age.

    The face and the limbs were the most affected parts of the body. Fifteen (0.81 per cent) patients presented with features suggestive of associated autoimmune disease like, Type 1 diabetes.

    The researchers concluded: “The frequency of vitiligo in this study is similar to those obtained in previous studies from different parts of Nigeria. The patients will benefit from other modalities of management apart from the medical management offered hence a designated centre for management of vitiligo will be a respite to them.”

    Current treatments include corticosteroids applied to the skin, and phototherapy using UV radiation (UVR) to re-pigment the skin.

    However, less than a quarter of patients respond successfully to corticosteroids. And UVR causes a re-pigmentation that is spotted and patchy and in the long-term could lead to a higher risk of skin cancer.

    {Nrguardian}

  • South African Airways Launches New Mobile Service

    {{South African Airways has launched two new mobile applications that provide customers access to comprehensive travel and airline information using smart phones and tablets.}}

    SAA’s head of global sales development and alliances Mr Marc Cavaliere explained:

    “This new service will go a long way in giving travellers easier and instant access to information whilst in transit or away from a computer.

    The new functionalities are also helpful especially for passengers who are always on the go such as business travellers. This is another way of ensuring convenient travelling for our valued customers.”

    He said with the latest mobile functionality, information such as flight arrivals and departures is now available at passengers’ fingertips.

    Passengers can also search for information on special fares, view Voyager status and miles, use a currency converter, or even get an updated 10-day forecast of the weather at any destination that SAA flies to.

    Travellers can download the newly developed mobile applications for their iOs or Android smartphones and tablets from the applications.

    “As a global airline, we consistently seek ways to make flying with SAA ever more convenient.

    Our customers now have the option of by-passing the queues and breezing through the terminal by using either mobile check-in, on-line check-in, or print-your-own boarding pass features.

    This is the type of service that air travellers have come to expect from Africa’s most awarded airline,” said Mr Cavaliere.

    {wirestory}

  • Male Sex Hormones ‘Drive Breast Cancer’

    {{US scientists say they have found a new target to beat breast cancer – male sex hormones, or androgens.}}

    The University of Colorado team discovered that many breast cancers possess androgen receptors on their surface, and that male hormones like testosterone fuel the tumour’s growth.

    Drugs to block these receptors could offer another way to fight the disease, a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research heard.

    They plan clinical trials to test this.

    Dr Jennifer Richer and colleagues say more than three-quarters of all breast cancers possess androgen receptors and therefore might benefit from anti-androgen therapy.

    This type of treatment is already used for prostate cancer.

    {{Hormones}}

    Experts already know that some breast cancers grow under the influence of female hormones, like oestrogen and progesterone.

    The widely-used breast cancer drug Tamoxifen works by blocking oestrogen receptors to halt these cancers.

    Dr Richer’s research suggests male hormones are also important drivers.

    And adding anti-androgen drugs to our armoury against breast cancer could improve treatment success.

    They found many breast tumours possessed both oestrogen and androgen receptors.

    These responded to anti-androgen therapy in the laboratory.

    Patients who who relapse while on Tamoxifen but who also have androgen receptors might have the most to gain from this new type of treatment, according to Dr Richer.

    She said: “We are excited to move towards clinical trials of anti-androgen therapies in breast cancer.”

    Dr Emma Smith of Cancer Research UK said: “It’s still early days for this research but there’s growing interest in the androgen receptor’s role in breast cancer as a potential new route to tackle the disease.

    “Cancer Research UK scientists are among those working on whether targeting this receptor could help treat both those women who develop resistance to other treatments and those who have fewer treatment options.”

    {BBC}

  • Microsoft4Afrika Initiative Launched in Rwanda

    {{Microsoft Corporation on Wednesday, April 3, launched its 4Afrika Initiative in Rwanda.

    This continental initiative set in motion by Microsoft aims to actively engage in Africa’s economic development to improve its global competitiveness.}}

    By 2016, the Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative plans to help place tens of millions of smart devices in the hands of African youth, bring 1 million African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) online, up-skill 100,000 members of Africa’s existing workforce, and help an additional 100,000 recent graduates develop skills for employability, 75% of which Microsoft will help place in jobs.

    During the launch of Microsoft4Afrika Initiative, Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana said, “Microsoft you’re very welcome to Rwanda.

    We want to make a successful story through Microsft4Afrika Initiative you have all government support, private sector and the civil society support. We’re a country on the move.”

    “The world has recognized the promise of Africa, and Microsoft wants to invest in that promise. We want to empower African youth, entrepreneurs, developers and business and civic leaders to turn great ideas into a reality that can help their community, their country, the Continent, and beyond,” said Fernando de Sousa, General Manager, and Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative.

    “The Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative is built on the dual beliefs that technology can accelerate growth for Africa, and Africa can also accelerate technology for the world,” he added.

    The goal of the 4Afrika initiative in Rwanda is to disseminate affordable smart devices built specifically ‘4Afrika’ with an AppFactory aimed at encouraging application development by Africans for Africans.

    The initiative will also run an education platform aimed at developing technical and entrepreneurship skills as a means of improving employability especially for youths.

    The Government of Rwanda (GoR) has identified two lead programs for possible collaboration with Microsoft within the 4Afrika initiative.

    “The Viziyo program is designed to increase citizen-access to smartphones and the Smart Village program built on the concept of replicating digitized model villages across the nation as a means to achieve Rwanda’s goal to become an ICT-driven economy,” explained RDB’s Head of the Department of ICT, Patrick Nyirishema.

    The Government of Rwanda and Microsoft4Afrika will work hand-in-hand to provide the appropriate services needed to achieve the shared vision of increased accessibility for all.

    {Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana officiating at the launch of Microsoft4Afrika}