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 | LDC Initiative News and Events |  | |
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| LDC Initiative Monthly Newsletter |
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| LDC Initiative Newsletter, April-May 2004
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| LDC Initiative Newsletter, March-April 2004
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The University of Jos Cisco Regional Networking Academy Inaugurates Women's Scholarship Award Program
The Carnegie Corporation bestowed a three-year grant of $2 million to the University of Jos to implement institutional reform and gender equity projects. The Women's Scholarship Program at the University of Jos Cisco Regional Academy will provide 50% tuition payment for 40 female students enrolled in the CCNA course on an annual basis. >> More 
Uganda to Become First Least Developed Country with Cisco Certified Networking Professional Curriculum
African Ambassadors, as well as representatives from United Nations
Development Programme, the US Agency for International Development,
the International Telecommunication Union, United Nations Volunteers,
and Cisco Systems, convened in Washington, D.C., on March 12 to announce
the establishment of the first Cisco Certified Network Professional
(CCNP) degree programme in Uganda. This curriculum is part of the
Cisco Networking Academy Program and is the first CCNP programme in
a least developed country (LDC). >> More
Against the odds, Congolese students are learning about IT University of Kinshasa Cisco Networking Academy
Student life in Kinshasa is not for the faint-hearted. There are some 15,000 students at the University of Kinshasa, and though they might be from the nation's better-off families, few can afford the daily minibus fare of 300 Congolese Francs (about $0.75). For most students, however, the effort is worth it. If you want a job and daddy is not a minister, you need skills. In one small classroom, a handful of students are bent over computer screens, eagerly learning to build and operate local computer networks and link them to the internet. >> More
Kasulu and Mtabila Internet Project in Tanzania
The Kasulu Internet Project (KIP) is an innovative rural development project integrating information and communications technology with advances in appropriate and sustainable power sources. The work is a partnership* of local and national government institutions, together with several NGOs and UN agencies, assisted by the private sector. KIP is providing education, health and economic development resources for refugees who have been forcibly displaced and are among the most marginalized communities in Africa--as well as for the rural poor in their Tanzanian host community.
>>More
Digital Freedom Initiative Launch at the White House
Cisco, HP, and key government and non-governmental organizations participated
in the launch of the Digital Freedom Initiative (DFI)-a new public-private
venture with the goal of promoting technology-led economic growth
in developing nations--the pilot program being implemented in Senegal.
Representatives in the initiative including Cisco's Chairman John
Morgridge; US Department of Commerce Secretary Don Evans; US Agency
for International Development Administrator Andrew Natsios; USA Freedom
Corps Director John Bridgeland; US Peace Corps Director Gadi Vasquez;
and HP CEO Carly Fiorina met at the White House on March 4th to outline
the goals of the program, and participate in the launch. >>More
Uganda to Become First Least Developed Country with Cisco Certified Networking Professional Curriculum
Washington, D.C.-African Ambassadors, as well as representatives from United Nations Development Programme, the US Agency for International Development, the International Telecommunication Union, United Nations Volunteers, and Cisco Systems, convened in Washington, D.C., on March 12 to announce the establishment of the first Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) degree programme in Uganda. This curriculum is part of the Cisco Networking Academy Program and is the first CCNP programme in a least developed country (LDC).
This announcement marks another milestone for the Cisco Networking Academy LDC initiative. In July 2000, Cisco Systems formed a strategic partnership with international development organisations to help train students in the world's least developed countries for jobs in the Internet economy. This initiative has created opportunities for skills development in participating countries, empowering them to accelerate progress, attain sustainable development, and fully integrate into the world economy. The LDC initiative provides a compelling example of how business, international organisations or donors and governments can work together to meet the urgent needs of least developed countries and promote digital opportunity.
Christine Hemrick, Vice President Technology Policy & Consulting Engineering, Cisco Systems said "We are delighted to team with the government of Uganda to institute this unique programme, the goal of which is to develop the advanced technology skills and expertise that will accelerate the growth of the Information Technology sector within Uganda and other African countries."
Ugandan Ambassador to the United States, Edith Grace Ssempala expressed her government's appreciation and commented on how this programme will help connect Uganda and spur economic development in that country. "President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda is very interested in Information Technology and this programme as a tool to accelerate his vision to help Uganda. This programme will improve efficiency in the country and help Uganda develop."
The CCNP programme will be established at the Makerere University's Institute of Computer Science Academy. Makerere University is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in sub-Saharan Africa and it has produced training programmes that are positioned at the highest levels of education in the sub-region.
Taught at the post-secondary level, the 280-hour CCNP degree focuses on developing skills that enable students to implement scalable networks, build campus networks using multi-layer switching technologies, create and deploy a global intranet, and troubleshoot an environment using routers and switches for multi-protocol client hosts and services. CCNP certification indicates advanced or journeyman knowledge of networks. With a CCNP, a network professional is able to install, configure, and operate LAN, WAN, and dial access services for organisations with networks from 100 to more than 500 nodes. CCNP courses build upon the skills already learned through the Cisco Certified Networking Associate (CCNA) courses, which have been taught for almost two years in Uganda.
Dr. F. F. Tusubira, Directorate for ICT Support, Makerere University, noted the importance of the CCNA and CCNP for the development of Uganda: "Strategies for bridging the digital divide must have a major component of skills creation in all the areas relevant to knowledge transactions. At the tactical level of any such strategy must lie initiatives like the CCNA and CCNP programmes that create the capacity to conceptualise, plan, implement and effectively manage the infrastructure platforms on which the high level information and knowledge transactions or applications must run. It is a necessary pre-requisite to the higher level of knowledge management."
The CCNP programme at Makerere University was made possible by a donation from Cisco Fellow and top Cisco engineer, Fred Baker, who comments: "Uganda is actively working to close the digital divide and Makerere is developing indigenous talent to support this effort. I am very pleased to be working with Dr. Tusubira and Makerere University on this project."
"Uganda is positioning itself to benefit enormously from Information Technology through its investments in education, establishment of a competitive telecommunications sector, and implementation of a transparent regulatory environment," said Ms. Hemrick. "We feel confident that it will be a role model for what can be achieved in IT development through the thoughtful partnership of government, international development agencies, and the private sector. We are extremely pleased to join these organizations in Uganda in pioneering this approach."
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