Rosette Rugamba , Where she has gone in 2010 ?

Rosette Rugamba, immediate former head of ORTPN (Rwanda's Office of Tourism and National Parks); then deputy CEO of the Rwanda Development Board in charge of tourism and conservation; and now managing director of her own tourism business at Songa Limited has been selected as one of only three participants by the African Leadership Initiative (ALI).

These were the last public  news we heared about the lady who accompilshed an extra ordinary job of creating, promoting and marketing the tourism in East Africa and particulary in Rwanda for last decade. For sure you would like to hear more about her as I'm and probabily she will give us a response but let's again look in to the message she gave out when quiting public job to concentrate on her private one    she has made the following statement available to this correspondent to thank her friends in the tourism industry across the world for their support in promoting Rwanda over the past 7 years that she was at the helm of the organization.

“Seven years ago I joined the government of Rwanda as director general of ORTPN with the challenge to transform the tourism sector into one of the economic drivers for the country. I leave the government to continue playing a role in the development of tourism in the private sector, proud of many achievements and in awesome gratitude to His Excellency President Paul Kagame and the government of Rwanda for their resolute support every single day during my tenure.

“Over the years, I had the honor to lead a team of dedicated and enthusiastic staff who never tired playing host to the increasing number of visitors who came to see the thousand hills and marvel at the thousand initiatives our country was driving in every sector, every day. Every day from dusk to dawn, through thundering rain and scorching sunshine, our guides have made Rwanda a respected and sought-after destination. Because of their commitment, our walls and shelves are adorned with awards from around the world. The team at ORPTN and lately at RDB made my role enjoyable, doable, and rewarding. I thank each and every one of them past and present - you will always be valued and remembered.

“Central to the success Rwanda Tourism enjoyed was the confidence of the indigenous private sector who took the leap of faith and invested in infrastructure and in the service sector. Their commitment ensured we had a united team when we represented our country at international events and ensured that the 692,000 visitors coming to Rwanda found world-class hotels, restaurants, cafes, and travel agents eager to make the visit a memorable one. With their support, we grew our hotel capacity from 650 in 2001 to over 4,800 today. To them I say thank you; no words can express my gratitude to you all.

Advocated for mountain gorillas

“I would like to express my gratitude to the right Honorable Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers, Honorable members of the Senate, the Parliament, my colleagues in government, the Rwanda Defense Force, and the Rwanda National Police, who were partners who strengthened and complemented our sector. Together, we marketed Rwanda by offering our capital city and major towns as conference destinations for millions of visitors who came for conferences and discovered a country of so much wonder. Together, we ensured their safe passage in Rwanda, and we made our country one of the safest destinations. The spirit of this support anchored our success and protected us from any challenges that presented themselves.

“It is difficult to say thank you to our President whose wise counsel, availability, and determined support was forthright; when we asked His Excellency to launch domestic tourism, he did not hesitate, as he never did, making many journeys to name and officiate in Kingi at Kwita Izina. He never tired receiving the numerous international visitors who sought his presence or when we needed the highest endorsement to secure investment in our sector. Thank you, sir, for hosting us when we returned in triumph from Berlin, and thank you for raising the bar and challenging us to be the best we could be.

“It was an honor, humbling experience, and privilege to serve my country.”

Kwaheri Ya Kuonana - goodbye, until we meet again.

With reference to : E-Tourbo

Sydney, Australia hosts Open Geospatial Consortium

 

Australia this first week of december 2010 hosts a meeting of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) in Sydney to discuss developing and implementing new standards for geospatial and location technology.


This week, the OGC will be holding its Technical Committee Meeting in Australia for the first time.


CSIRO scientist Dr David Lemon said the meeting was a great opprtunity for Australia to demonstrate its expertise in the area.


“Scientists at CSIRO have developed a suite of products and tools to design and implement common data exchange formats and content, and we will be holding a master class to share the experience and knowledge we have gained while developing these products for application in geological, hydrological, climate and biodiversity domains,” he said.


The members of the OGC work together to produce standards for spatial encodings and service interfaces that allow spatial information to be seamlessly integrated into a wide range of business, government and consumer applications. 

The OGC is an international standards development organisation that aims to make spatial information easily transferable between the geoscience, aviation, meteorology, oceanography and defence sectors.
source:spatialsource 

Google Earth 6 released, adds integrated Street View, 3D trees

This morning, Google released version 6 of its desktop-based 3D mapping tool, Google Earth. The update adds integrated Street View, 3D trees, and an easier way to access historical imagery.

The features, while not likely to matter in the short term to Google’s ad-driven revenues, signal the Web search giant’s intent to stay on the cutting edge of mapping technology as it expands into the potentially lucrative market for local, geographically targeted search.

Most notably, Google’s Street View, which looks to digitize much of the world’s accessible areas through photos from its 360-degree camera-equipped van, has been fully integrated in the new version and allows users to zoom-in from outer space right to someone’s door step in one swish. The feature previously required users to click on Street View icons in available regions.

Additionally, for nature-lovers among us, Earth 6 boasts the introduction of 80 million 3D trees in Athens, Berlin, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco and Tokyo, which have been “digitally planted” using models of dozens of species of trees. The company also plans to work with environmental outreach programs such as Africa’s Green Belt Movement, Brazil’s Amazon Conservation Team, and Mexico’s Conabio to help model the planet’s threatened forests.

The ability to browse historical imagery on a location has also been made more easily accessible. Whenever there is a historical image of a location — allowing you to see how it looked back in time — a status bar will now be shown at the bottom.

The tool was previously updated back in June with version 5.2, adding an integrated Web browser and visualization of walking and biking tracks.

source :Venturebeat

Can Aviation Shape The Future Of Ghana?

Map Africa stresses g-readiness for sustainable development

Even as Africa is emerging as a global investment hotspot, Map Africa 2010 kick-started to an elegant inaugural session here today to assess the ‘Geospatial Readiness for Building Africa.’

As South Africa is undergoing a period of reform, development and reconception, it is essential to have a record of what was, what is and what would be. Geospatial information is at the core of this process, according to Gugile Nkwinti, Minister, Ministry of Rural Development and Land Reform, South Africa. In his inaugural address, Gugile said that geoinformation is a prerequisite for sustainable development and South Africa is fortunate to have a legacy of geoinformation.

The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has a repository of aerial photography dating back to 1930s. This is proving to be extremely valuable in resolving land disputes and exploiting the full potential of the country. Geospatial data is more than a map, more than an image – it is data that is intelligent. South Africa is a land of opportunities today and is paving the path to sustainable development. Sectors like utilities, disaster management, climate change, public safety, infrastructure etc are dedicatedly using geospatial technologies to give the continent a new direction.

Earlier, welcoming the gathering, Sanjay Kumar, CEO, GIS Development shared the thought process behind organising the conference. He said that Map Africa aims to be regional and continental geospatial forum to bring policy makers, NMOs, industry and end users of geospatial technology along with academia to come together, exchange thought and have dialogue with each other to promote this technology in the continent. He called on the African geospatial community to take up the second mover advantage and start incorporating latest technologies by working with international companies. He concluded by saying that a better SDI is a prerequisite for better governance.

Hussein O Farah, Director General, RCMRD discussed the efforts of the regional centre whose mandate is to promote the development and use of geoinformation in national development. He welcomed and encouraged the gathering to fully exploit the giveaways of the conference and move forward to use geographic information for national development in their respective countries.

Touching upon the theme of the conference, Aida Opoku Mensah, Director, ICT and S&T, UN ECA, said that without g-readiness, Africa cannot be built. The excuse in the past for not using spatial information in planning, development and project implementation was that it was expensive and difficult to deploy. But with developments in technology and ease of accessibility, this is no longer an issue.

Map Africa 2010, which is a congregation of delegates from about 25 African nations and 40 nations from across the world, has been a melting pot of geospatial professionals, policy makers, industry and academia to understand the technology trends, share knowledge and partner with each other for the quick development of the continent. 
Source:Directions Magazine

UK experts in Rwanda to discuss carbon trade

A team of Meteorologists from the British Met Office are in the Rwanda to support the country’s capacity in climate science. 

A statement released by the British High Commission in Kigali indicates that the Met Office, UK’s National Weather Service, has been working on climate change for more than two decades.

The meteorologists, one of three British delegations visiting Kigali this week, are contributing to UK-Rwanda relationship on sustainable development.

“A British “Creating Carbon Market partnerships” Trade Mission is made up of highly experienced UK companies in the field of Carbon Markets, the system by which carbon emissions are traded between companies and countries, and thereby reduced,” reads the statement. 

This visit will include a business seminar where UK companies will meet and develop links with many Rwandan companies and investors in the carbon market.

“Sir David King, Director of the prestigious Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University, is visiting Rwanda as part of a project, funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the Climate and Development Knowledge Network, which will help develop a National Strategy on Climate Change and Low Carbon Development,” the statement adds.

Sir King will be the keynote speaker at a workshop to launch the project on Friday.

The British High Commissioner, Nicholas Cannon, expressed his appreciation on the UK-Rwanda partnership.

“I am delighted that this week sees such a high-calibre range of delegations visiting Rwanda, and helping address these vitally important issues,” he said. 

“The UK looks forward to strengthening the work it is doing with Rwanda to ensure that development is sustainable, and the environment protected, for future generations”.

Source :Newtimes

India to launch satellites next year to study climate change

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch three satellites — Megha-Tropiques, SARAL and RISAT-1 — next year to study climate change, said ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan during an international conference on ‘Recent advances in space technology services and climate change – 2010,' held at Sathyabama University, Chennai.

Radhakrishnan said that ISRO and the French National Space Agency (CNES) would be launching Megha-Tropiques by mid-2011 to study tropical climate. While two sensors were developed by CNES, the two jointly worked on a sensor. Another ISRO-CNES mission to be launched next year is SARAL (Satellite for Argos and Altika) for seasonal forecasting, oceanography and climate studies. ISRO would provide the platform and overseeing satellite operations, including launch, orbit acquisition and station keeping. The CNES would provide the payload and process data.

Also to be launched next year, the Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT-1), a microwave remote sensing satellite, will provide all-weather surveillance. Hylas, a communication satellite, would be launched on November 27; GSAT -5P in December and RESOURCESAT- 2 along with YOUTHSAT in January 2011.

National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) director V. Jayaraman said the space technology could provide unbiased inputs to find out climate change variables and monitor change. 

Source: The Hindu

East African Business Week | Uganda to build oil refinery

Africa cities : Geospatial movie

The author shows us how beautitul are  day and night African cities 

showing cities like :

Algeria	Algiers
Angola	Luanda
Benin	Porto-Novo
Botswana	Gaborone
Burkina Faso	Ouagadougou
Burundi	Bujumbura
Cameroon	Yaounde
Cape Verde	Praia
Central African Republic	Bangui
Chad	N'Djamena
Comoros	Moroni
Congo, Democratic Republic of (Congo-Kinshasa)	Kinshasa
Congo, Republic of (Congo-Brazzaville)	Brazzaville
Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)	Yamoussoukr
Djibouti	Djibouti
Egypt	Cairo
Equatorial Guinea	Malabo
Eritrea	Asmara
Ethiopia	Addis Ababa
Gabon	Libreville
Gambia	Banjul
Ghana	Accra
Guinea	Conakry
Guinea-Bissau	Bissau
Kenya	Nairobi
Lesotho	Maseru
Liberia	Monrovia
Libya	Tripoli
Madagascar	Antananarivo
Malawi	Lilongwe
Mali	Bamako
Mauritania	Nouakchott
Mauritius	Port Louis
Morocco	Rabat
Mozambique	Maputo
Namibia	Windhoek
Niger	Niamey
Nigeria	Abuja
Rwanda	Kigali
Sao Tome and Principe	São Tomé
Senegal	Dakar
Seychelles	Victoria
Sierra Leone	Freetown
Somalia	Mogadishu
South Africa	Pretoria
Sudan	Khartoum
Swaziland	Mbabane
Tanzania	Dodoma
Togo	Lomé
Tunisia	Tunis
Western Sahara	El-Aaiún
Uganda	Kampala
Zambia	Lusaka
Zimbabwe	Harare

Russia plans to launch Nigerian satellites in December 2010

Russia is planning to launch two Nigerian satellites into orbit in December, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X earth monitoring satellites will be launched to a solar-synchronized orbit by a Russian-Ukrainian Dnepr heavy carrier rocket.

"We are planning to launch two Nigerian satellites on board our carrier [rocket] in December," Lavrov told reporters on Wednesday after a meeting with his Nigerian counterpart Odein Ajumogobia in Abuja.

NigeriaSat-2 will be used primarily for resource management and mapping of the Nigerian territory, while NigeriaSat-X will assist with disaster relief and global environmental monitoring campaigns.

Nigeria became the third African country to enter the space age, after South Africa and Algeria, when Russia launched NigeriaSat-1 earth monitoring satellite in 2003.

Source: RIA Novosti

Rwanda:GIS to be introduced in school curriculum

The Director General for Science, Technology and Research in the Ministry of Education, Dr. Marie-Christine Gasingirwa, has said that the ministry intends to introduce Geographical Information System (GIS) into the school curriculum.

Gasingirwa was speaking at the closing ceremony of a two-week training on GIS for secondary teachers at Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).

“We want to introduce GIS in the curriculum and there is no way teachers would teach it without being trained,” Gasingirwa said Friday.

This was the third group of about 60 secondary teachers to take part in the training conducted by Environmental System Research Institute (ESRI) a Rwandan registered company which started in Germany jointly with Ministry of Education.

Other teachers are expected to get similar training on GIS software in various secondary schools.
GIS integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information.

It allows people to view, understand, question, interpret, and visualize data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts.

Source: The New Times

Five African countries coordinate border spectrum management

Five central and western African countries have signed an agreement to co-ordinate spectrum management on their borders, APA reports. Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin and Chad signed the convention under the auspices of Niger's multi-sector regular, ARM, in Niamey. The agreement brings the countries' regulation in line with ITU rules. Niger already adopted a national plan to comply with international standards in July. Seven other West African countries signed a similar agreement in August 2009.

Ex-Shell executive in Rwanda to promote renewable energy

Kigali: Formerly with global conglomerate Royal Dutch Shell, a Dutch national Rick de Gaay Fortman is riding 7000km with one message: change your ways or the world heads for disaster.
With plans to be in Rwanda for about a week, Rick says he worked in the oil industry - which campaigners blame for climate change, for several years but chose to leave to “do something that gives back” to the community.

“1 in 4 people on this planet, including 550 million Africans living in rural areas, do not have access to electricity...[which] blocks their development,” says Rick, adding: “Renewable energy provides an affordable and eco-friendly way to improve their lives.”

As part of the 7,000 km journey from Cape Town (South Africa) to Nairobi (Kenya), Rick hopes to raise awareness for renewable energy in Africa. Armed with his bicycle, the 32-year-old wants to raise 50,000 Euros which he will use to install solar panels on schools in Zambia.

In Rwanda since Tuesday, Rick has met Dutch embassy officials including the Ambassador, and intends to meet ministry of infrastructure officials this week. “I just want to meet them to see what we can do together,” he said.

The Dutch government has partnered with the EU to finance a program that provides modern energy services and products in the east Africa region. It is supporting some 2000 micro and small energy businesses.

The Dutchman is also organizing a bicycle race scheduled for next Saturday November 28 which he hopes will bring attention to his cause. The race, not necessarily for professionals is planned to begin from Rwamagana district (East) to end in Kigali.
But why would well educated and successful European leave his comfort to ride 7,000 km? Rick says he fills the world needs to start weaning itself from things like oil which are causing global warming – thereby putting everybody at risk.

“Ghandi said ‘Be the change you wish to see’…am just trying to play my part. Instead of driving or flying, am riding, and probably somebody will start to listen,” says Rick.

As for Rwanda, Rick says he has found a country that “never to accept the status-quo”.

“This country is known in Holland for the Genocide which happened here. I have found a country which is on the move, and very first because for example it wants to have 30% people using electricity in a few years from less than 6percent.”

He narrates renewal projects he has come to learn about which are being developed in Rwanda – including forestation, solar and biogas.

“I was told the philosophy in Rwanda is cut a tree but make sure you plant one as well,” says Rick.

As to how he has managed to survive all through his journey, Rick simply says: “My faith and goodwill of the people in communities I have passed.”
For those who would like to contact him, he has a blog and site: www.solarafrica2010.org
Source RNA 

Universities Failing To Give Graduates Workplace Skills Say Geospatial Business people

Influential business leaders across the UK are calling for an increase in graduates with geography skills to support long-term economic growth, according to a survey by ESRI UK to mark Geography Awareness Week.

New research shows that four in five (80 per cent) of UK businesses say only some or few graduates are equipped with the skills they need for the world of work. The key skills they are looking for include critical thinking (nominated by 78 per cent of businesses leaders as key for graduates), advanced analytical skills (76 per cent) understanding and interpreting complex data (71 per cent), advanced technology skills (57 per cent) and understanding socio-economic environments (54 per cent) – all skills gained from a geography degree.

Nearly all (97 per cent) of employers said that they would like more employees with these skills in their organisations. This will help them to address their priorities such as making processes more efficient (nominated by 73 per cent of businesses as important) and delivering more for less (66 per cent).

The figures are released as the proportion of unemployed university-leavers reached 9 per cent[i], putting greater pressure on graduates to boost their employability. Geography graduates are some of the most employable of all graduates with just 7 per cent out of work compared to 15 per cent of Media Studies graduates and 16 per cent of IT graduates[ii].

The survey of 200 business leaders across the public and the private sectors showed that nearly one in five (18 per cent) of business leaders have a degree or equivalent in geography. A further two thirds (67 per cent) would recommend a geography-based qualification to their children.

Richard Waite, Managing Director of the UK’s leading Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provider ESRI UK, said: “Business leaders across the UK want more geography professionals to help solve business, governmental and societal challenges now and in the future. It’s clear from the survey that businesses expect more from universities in providing graduates with the key skills they need to help them through these tough economic times. As an industry it’s our job to continue to work closely with business leaders and the education sector to improve our graduates and encourage more people to take up a geography-based career to help assist businesses through the economic recovery.”

The research was commissioned by ESRI UK, to celebrate Geography Awareness Week. The week includes GIS Day on 17^th November which aims to promote geography, inspire future careers and encourage the learning of new geographical skills by both teachers and pupils. Today’s GIS Day research follows on from ESRI UK’s recent partnership announcement with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) to help support and promote the Society’s Geography Ambassador Programme that encourages young people to plan careers in geography. 

Dr Rita Gardner, Director of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), said: “It is encouraging to see that business leaders cite geography skills as a key attribute to greater employability in the graduate sector. The Society is working closely with schools and ESRI UK to inspire even more young people with the relevance and applications of geographical knowledge, skills and technology. With the help of businesses and universities, we hope to grow our support for tomorrow’s geography professionals in getting a foot on the job ladder and a rewarding career.”

The survey also found that:

• 95 per cent of firms say location-based decisions are important to their business at present
• However, only one in five (18 per cent) firms use key technologies such as Geographic Information Systems across their whole business

What is GIS?

GIS (Geographic Information System) is a powerful technology which allows location based data to be visualised, analysed and shared.

GIS encompasses the hardware, software and data that allow layers of information about a location to be analysed, helping organisations to think geographically and turn the information to their advantage.

GIS is invaluable for solving many real-world problems – from managing assets and analysing crime patterns to tracking disease and monitoring climate change. 

About ESRI UK

ESRI UK is the leading provider of GIS technology, helping businesses become more profitable and public service more efficient through a better understanding and analysis of location-based information. ESRI UK employs over 300 people across six offices and offers GIS technology and an extensive range of consultancy and training services.  It is the only company in the UK able to provide a complete and entirely integrated GIS technical solution.

ESRI UK has been providing GIS solutions for over 20 years to a wide range of markets including Central & Local Government, Commercial, Defence & National Security, Education, Public Safety, Utilities & Telecommunications, as well as catering for system integrators and application developers through the ESRI Developer Network. 

[i] Higher Education Careers Unit Service, What do graduates do?, November 2010

[ii] BBC.co.uk,Graduate unemployment 'at a 17-year high', 1^st November 2010

Source :Geo common

According to World bank , 65 million Africans could access solar lighting by 2015

The International Finance Corporation (IFC)/World Bank have projected that 65 million people in Africa could access safe and clean off-grid lighting over the next five years.

In the report dubbed ‘Lighting Africa Program’ the IFC/World Bank found that Africa will be the world’s largest market for solar portable lights by 2015. The report gathered input from a broad range of industry experts, manufacturers, distributors and civil society organizations in over ten African markets.

The findings indicate a 40 to 50 percent compounded annual growth rate in sales volume or a total of 13 million solar portable lights by 2015.

Current market penetration is only at 0.5 percent of the under-electrified and under-electrified African population.

The report found that the market potential in Africa for solar portable lights is enormous and ripe for investment.

According to a press statement from IFC, the report, provides a snapshot and projects trends in the solar portable lighting market in Africa, where millions still rely on expensive, often ineffective, and sometimes dangerous fuel-based lighting, such as kerosene lamps.

“We have developed tools to test the quality of solar portable lights, get more quality and affordable lights on the market, and counter market spoilage by inferior products. This will accelerate the access to better lighting for low-income households,” Arthur Itotia Njagi, Lighting Africa’s Program Manager said in a statement,

Lighting Africa is helping build a market to bring off-grid lighting to millions of people across Africa by investing in consumer education, tackling access to finance bottlenecks, creating a favourable investment climate, exploring innovative business distribution models, and establishing quality standards.

It is said that by converting from kerosene to clean energy, millions of consumers can improve their health, reduce their spending on expensive fuels, and, ultimately, benefit from better illumination and more productive time in their homes, schools and businesses.

Lighting Africa, a joint IFC and World Bank program, seeks to accelerate the development of commercial off-grid lighting markets in Sub-Saharan Africa as part of the World Bank Group’s wider efforts to improve access to energy.

For more visit The Newtimes

For Africa energy access Atlas visit Africa energy