The call was made yesterday in the Rwanda Media Dialogue and the celebration of Africa Day of Information in Kigali.
Recently, the Rwandan based TV station, Royal TV was closed and owners claimed financial constraints.
Different media houses; print and online were closed at different times all citing financial constraints.
In the discussion on the development of African media in ICT-led World, The Chief Executive Officer of Radio1 and TV1, Charles Kakooza Nkuriza said that without the government’s intervention many media houses would close.
“If nothing is done in the next three years, many media houses especially TVs will close, private sector itself could not finance our media,” he said.
The Executive Secretary for Rwanda Media Commission (RMC), Emmanuel Mugisha said that though Rwanda’s private sector is not well versed with the role of advertisement, a way through which media could generate revenues.
He said that they should think about how media consumers would pay for content the same way they do on other services and commodities
“News is available, but not valued. People listen to the radio, read online and watch TV free of charge. We should fund a way of attracting more advertisements and revenues” he said
Journalism lecturer at the University of Rwanda, School of Journalism, Dr. Christopher Kayumba said that content selling is practiced in North-European countries.
Mrs Kagame was speaking Tuesday in the 2017 African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC) Conference in Kigali.
The conference was organized under the theme ‘Cancer in Africa: Making Strides, Creating Solutions’
Frist Lady said that fighting cancer begins with the advocacy and mobilising public-private support.
“It also requires strengthening along the cancer care continuum: raising awareness, educating, conducting prevention interventions, having structures for early diagnosis, and improving access to care and treatment” she said.
“We will have more chances to win the fight against cancer if we also promote the need for well-trained, skilled and dedicated workforce. One that strives to conduct impactful research, treats with compassion and care, and finds solutions customized to our population’s needs” she added.
{{Rwanda’s experience}}
Mrs. Kagame said that Cancer does not discriminate against age, gender, religion, neither social status.
“In Rwanda, we have also sadly witnessed how younger, and older members of our communities, have been affected by the diverse forms this disease can take” she said.
She said in Rwanda, like in many other nations whose populations have access to cancer screenings, incidences of cancer diagnoses are becoming known. She said that men are now diagnosed with prostate cancer; and children are faced with the overwhelming burden to fight leukaemia and kidney cancer, even at a tender age.
For women, she said, breast and cervical cancers are the top two cancers currently hurting mothers and sisters.
“While it is encouraging to know that years of research have demonstrated that approximately one third of cancer cases can be prevented, we, as concerned global citizens, now have the duty to put in place more effective, and sustainable systems of prevention” she said.
“As our experience teaches us that cancer can be caused by a variety of factors, other than a specific genetic makeup, we also have to continue to carefully assess those other causes that are environmental, and influenced by our lifestyles. This assessment would help us teach each other, how to prevent those different forms of cancers, that have increased through the years” she urged.
She said too many lives are still lost due to the lack of early and regular screenings, along with the lack of effective knowledge dissemination on what should be done, to greatly reduce chances of developing cancer
In 2011, a partnership between the Government of Rwanda, and various stakeholders, helped bring to life the Butaro Hospital and its Cancer Centre of Excellence, which officially opened in 2012.
“With this Cancer Centre came a new opportunity to have a better chance at beating cancer, for thousands of individuals from Rwanda, and beyond” she said.
With its three wards, dedicated to children, women and men, Butaro Hospital is able to screen, diagnose, provide patient follow-up, and palliative care, she said
Offering surgery and chemotherapy, Butaro Hospital have managed to treat up to 6,000 cancer sufferers to date, and joined other general hospitals fighting cancer throughout the country, by conducting more than 1,000 tests per year.
{{Impacts of AORTIC}}
AORTIChas already shown progress towards prioritising oncology training for health workers and research on cancer prevalence, both of which are well stipulated in the mandate of the organisation.
“It is now upon us to devise strategies to capitalize on the progress made, by incorporating it within our different existing structures, and if needed, by establishing new ones, able to implement what is required for the holistic wellbeing of our communities,” she said
She said that the aim is to ensure that the fight against cancer continues positively ahead, as it will be done through the finalisation of a radiotherapy centre at the Rwanda Military Hospital.
Beginning next year, she said the radiotherapy centre, will provide cancer patients with a final, integral link within comprehensive cancer care and treatment, through radiotherapy services.
“As we remember that beyond the statistics and treatment trials, we are dealing with a mother, a father, a sibling, or a child, whose life will never again be the same after their diagnosis, we must pledge to never stop educating our populations about the importance of living healthy lifestyles, which include regular medical check-ups so our health systems, can help our communities before it is too late,” she urged participants.
The acting Executive Director of Capital Market Authority, Mr. Eric Bundugu said Rwandans, particularly civil servants and corporates should take advantage of the many products listed on the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE) to save and invest as one of their side income-generating ventures.
Speaking during a sensitisation workshop for the City of Kigali employees at City Hall on Friday, Bundugu encouraged the participants to save and invest in bonds or shares of listed firms on the RSE.
There are currently eight listed companies, including four local firms – Bralirwa, Bank of Kigali, Crystal Telecoms, I&M Bank Rwanda, and four cross-listed companies: Nation Media Group, Uchumi Supermarkets, KCB and Equity Group. There are also 23 government Treasury bonds listed on the exchange and two corporate bonds for (I&M Bank and IFC), as one unit trust, the Iterambere Fund managed by Rwanda National Investment Trust (RNIT).
The CMA official said the varied products provide Rwandans a huge opportunity to save as well as invest, while firms can come to the market to raise the much-needed affordable investment capital.
Currently, the market boasts of more than 16,000 investors, he added. Speaking at the same event, the Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Stock Exchange, Celestin Rwabukumba challenged people employed in the formal sector to embrace a savings culture, saying that most corporate and government workers hold accounts just for receiving salaries.
“Even the ordinary Rwandan who joins a SACCO does so hoping to get a loan at some time in the future. However, how does one qualify for a loan if they don’t save?” he wondered. He said when one has invested in shares of any listed company they can use their equity as collateral to acquire credit from banks. “It does not matter how much money you earn, start saving now even if it is as little as Rwf500 or Rwf100,” he added.
He said a country or person that does not save cannot develop, adding that investing through the exchange is essential for Rwanda to realise its development goals. “Saving is the lifeblood of any country. Countries like Malaysia and Singapore have been able to make it because of the high national savings level,” he said.
CMA kicked off the three-month public awareness drive at the beginning of October and is targeting potential retail investors across the country, encouraging them to save and invest through the local capital market.
Speaking to IGIHE, Habumuremyi said that such responsibilities are given to former head of state and or government.
“I’m leading a delegation of 30 people from 30 African countries; among them are parliamentarians in their respective countries and representatives of political parties,” he said.
He said that the delegation commends Rwanda’s leadership under President Paul Kagame. He said Africa is proud of how Rwanda demonstrates the potentials of development.
According to Equatorial Guinea election council, a total of 325,554 people are registered to cast their votes in the elections.
The new limit will not apply to tweets written in Japanese, Chinese and Korean which can convey more information in a single character.
The move follows a trial among a small group of users which started in September in response to criticism that it was not easy enough to tweet.
The change is part of Twitter’s plan to attract new users and increase growth.
Twitter brevity
During the test, only 5% of tweets sent were longer than 140 characters and only 2% more than 190, the social media site said in a blog post.
But those who did use the longer tweets, got more followers, more engagement and spent more time on the site, it added.
“During the first few days of the test, many people tweeted the full 280 limit because it was new and novel, but soon after behaviour normalised,” wrote Aliza Rosen, Twitter’s product manager.
“We saw when people needed to use more than 140 characters, they tweeted more easily and more often. But importantly, people tweeted below 140 most of the time and the brevity of Twitter remained.”
According to Twitter, 9% of tweets in English hit the character limits.
“This reflects the challenge of fitting a thought into a tweet, often resulting in lots of time spent editing and even at times abandoning tweets before sending,” Ms Rosen said.
Increasing the character limit should not affect people’s experience on the site, she added.
“We – and many of you – were concerned that timelines may fill up with 280-character tweets, and people with the new limit would always use up the whole space. But that didn’t happen,”
When the change was announced, many criticised it, pointing out changes they would rather see, such as a crackdown on hate crime and bots, and the introduction of a chronological timeline and edit function.
The site currently has 330 million active users. This compares with 800 million for Instagram and more than 2 billion users for Facebook.
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Mushikiwabo was speaking this Tuesday while officiating at the Rwanda Media Dialogue and the celebration of Africa Day of Information in Kigali.
“I am pleased to participate in this celebration where media has well-developed in terms of quantity and quality. As former minister of Information, I know how far we have come,” she said.
She said that Information Day is an opportunity to bring together practitioners and discuss the sector’s development and help them serve better and satisfy people’s expectations.
She called on media participation in communicating to the population about their development activities through the current reforms of the African Union.
“Africa’s media should be among partners in implementing programmes that lead to welfare of population. People should consume essential information as it is their right.
This occasion is also a good opportunity to put pressure on leaders to provide information on services to the population,” she said.
She assured government’s contribution in supporting development of media, be in Rwanda and Africa in general.
The Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Governance Board (RGB), Prof. Anastase Shyaka said that the number of media houses in the country and the quality of news they provide attest to the development.
However, Shyaka said that though there is overall development, some media houses have financial constraints.
“Media practitioners should think of new working mechanisms. For media houses to be able to develop, you need to put resources together. Cooperation will help attracting foreign media houses for partnership with Rwandan media houses,” Shyaka advised.
In Rwanda there are 35 radios among which 27 are private, over 10 TV stations, one run by the government, 45 print media and over 100 online media houses.
Under the partnership, Police will contribute in sustaining existing forests and plant agro-forests on the surface of 22,000 hectares and new forests on 5000 hectares in different parts of the country.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of Justice, Johnston Busingye said that the partnership was necessary as a way to improve forestry cover in the country.
“This is a good move to planting and sustaining existing forests. When you are travelling from different parts of the country, you realize that something is missing on our mountains; our country has many eye attraction features but it lacks enough tree cover,” he said.
The Minister of Land and Forestry, FrancineTumushime said the partnership came in time of need as the country and the World in general is implementing resilient efforts towards climate change.
“This is a partnership needed in all country’s institutions. Protecting soil from erosion and planting trees are among measures to mitigaet climate change effects,” she said.
The Government targets to have 30% of the surface of the country planted with trees by 2020.
Nyarugenge Intermediate court last month ruled that the duo should be remanded for 30 days so that they do not temper with evidence as investigations get underway.
In today’s hearing, only Diane and her mother’s lawyer Gatera Gashabana appeared in the court as Mukangemanyi was reportedly sick.
Diane’s Lawyer Pierre Celestin Buhuru did not attend court. Prosecution was represented by Faustin Mukunzi and the National Public Prosecution Authority Spokesperson Faustin Nkusi.
Diane told the presiding judge that her lawyer had another hearing and requested court to stay the hearing.
Gashabana said that his client is sick and was unable to appear in court and also requested for adjournment of the hearing.
Prosecution doubted the reason for absence of Counsel Buhuru, saying that he should have communicated his absence through a letter to the presiding judge.
The presiding judge adjourned the hearing of both defendants.
The duo are accused of inciting public insurrection but Adeline Rwigara is separately facing divisionism charges as Diane Rwigara particularly faces forgery offenses.
Last month, Nyarugenge Intermediate Court granted bail to the co-accused Anne Rwigara saying that there was no evidence connecting her to accusations brought to the three family members including Diane and Adeline Rwigara.
The long week workshop started on Monday will engage subject matter experts in early childhood development (ECD) and communication, academia, media, animators, illustrators, graphic designers, singers, and people with disabilities to create age-appropriate and child-friendly content and materials in their respective fields.
Early childhood development (ECD) is an important area of focus. Evidence shows that 80% of a child’s brain develops between the ages of 0 and 3 years.
The Government of Rwanda have demonstrated the commitment to ECD through a revision of the National ECD Policy, and ECD has been prioritised in development plans like the National Strategy for Transformation. UNICEF continues to be the Government’s main partner for developing and implementing ECD programmes.
Despite this commitment, there remains a lack of age-appropriate communication content and material for young children in Rwanda. This content, such as songs, illustrations, television and radio programmes, is critical for engaging children at a young age and encouraging early learning and discovery.
“Adequate stimulation in the early years of life is essential so children can achieve their full development potential,” said Dr. Anita Asiimwe, the National Coordinator for Early Childhood Development.
An important component of the workshop, and an on-going priority of UNICEF programming, is promoting inclusiveness for children with disabilities. Children and adults with disabilities will participate in the workshop in all aspects of production, sessions will be translated into sign language, and presentations given with closed captioning.
The workshop was planned as part of the anniversary celebrations for Itetero, Rwanda’s first radio programme for and by children.
In October 2015, UNICEF partnered with Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA) and Imbuto Foundation to create Itetero, meaning “children’s nurturing space” in Kinyarwanda. Itetero now airs every week on Radio Rwanda, teaching children Rwandan cultural values and improving their cognitive development through stories and drama sketches.
Arthur Asiimwe, Director General of RBA, hopes that Itetero will serve as an excellent example during this week’s workshop of the child-friendly content UNICEF, RBA and MIGEPROF hope to see more of in the future.
“We are very proud of Iteteroand the positive engagement we have seen from our listeners so far,” he said.
“We are even planning to move Itetero television, which will engage even more children and their families.”
The six-day workshop will be fully interactive, with presentations and activities capitalising on the experience of partners such as Mashirika Creative and Performing Arts Group and Search for Common Ground. Workshop participants will create real examples of child-friendly communication materials as a catalyst for expanded projects and ideas.
“We commend the Government of Rwanda for their ongoing commitment to ECD, and we are proud to work with RBA as a leader in creating age-appropriate communication material for children,” said Ted Maly, UNICEF Representative.
“We are excited to see the materials and content produced as a result of this workshop,”Maly added.
Kagame was speaking in London, England after receiving the World Tourism Award in recognition of his visionary leadership in sustainable wildlife conservation.
Kagame received the award yesterday during the official opening of ‘World Travel Market London’in London, England.
The three-day event that attracted industry professionals from across the globe was hosted by Reed Travel and co-sponsored by Corinthia Hotels United Airlines and The New York Times.
President Kagame said that Rwandans have been working hard to protect natural environment while building the infrastructure for visitors and citizens.
He said that growth in the industry has proven to be a driver of shared prosperity as they ensure that Rwandans benefit directly.
“These good results have been possible because Rwandans have made a mindset shift from dependence to dignity and self-reliance. This is why for example former poachers are today the most dedicated protectors of wildlife,” Kagame said.
He said that they are finding ways to multiply Rwandans connections with the rest of the world, adding that it is what the award he received represents.
“This is a story that is being repeated across the continent as Africans increasingly take charge of our future. It is getting easier to travel to Africa, RwandAir now flies to 24 destinations on the continent and beyond including London” he said.
He said that Rwanda has been exhibiting at the World Tourism Market (WTM) for many years and have seen the impact as the UK is 2ndbiggest source of tourists to Rwanda.
