Q&A with Dr. F F Tusubira, CEO of the UbuntuNet
Alliance
Cambridge, UK | 10 January
2013
With the
recent and highly anticipated launch of the regional component of the high-speed
UbuntuNet network, CONNECT magazine caught up with Dr. F F Tusubira, CEO
of the UA to find out his thoughts on the network, the first of its
kind in Africa, and how it is connecting scientists and academics throughout
Southern and Eastern Africa to each other and to peers in Europe.
For the
full article please see the January issue of CONNECT. Here
you can read what Dr. F F Tusubira thinks about:
Data
networks and the benefits they bring to society:
“ICT is not about
technology: it is about people. We must be able to articulate the relationship
between advanced networks, and a six month old baby with a hole in the heart,
who can receive open-heart surgery in Uganda because an expert surgeon say in
South Africa can be virtually present. Or advanced collaborative research that
translates plants occurring naturally in the African tropical forests into
medicines that can address diseases such as malaria, (which can take more lives
than 9/11 without mention in the press).
And what about the opportunity
for African children growing up as natives of the
knowledge economy, who
with global access and interaction can become the human resource for a developed
Africa? Yes, UbuntuNet – with emphasis on Ubuntu – is about people, mutual
support, and development.”
Improving connectivity
to Europe and the development of ICT in
Africa:
“Connectivity benefits both Africa and Europe.
Africa is a rich resource of intellect that will be tapped into by many European
institutions, both profit and non-profit. It is a rich source of genetic
resources. It provides the large quiet spaces for deep space research, i.e. the
SKA. Africa has especially demonstrated the rich creativity when the barriers
of legacy systems are non-existent: the many mobile applications developed in
Africa are a clear demonstration of this.
Advanced connectivity will
provide immediacy of access to ICT along with the opportunities for exploiting
or improving these. Best practices will be more easily accessed and utilised.
Human networks around ICT will expand into Africa and IT-enabled services and
industry will start developing. As these develop, more technically competent
human resource will be required to implement and service the industry, creating
a demand for good telecommunications and computer science programmes in local
institutions. A virtuous cycle will be created, other conditions being
equal.”
Click here to go straight to the full article in
CONNECT
Click here to download the complete
magazine.
