Tour to spur discussion and action on Millenium Development Goals
Top Rwandan officials embark Oct. 25 on a six-city tour across the Midwest and western states to draw attention to the country's considerable progress in fighting poverty and building a stable nation more than a decade after the tragic 1994 genocide.
The U.S. tour, Africa and America-Connecting Worlds, is a multi-city series of lectures and town meetings aimed at informing Americans about the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and their relevance to both Africa and the United States. It will take place from Oct. 25-Nov. 4 and will stop in Des Moines, Iowa; San Jose (Silicon Valley), California; Phoenix, Arizona; Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska; and New York City.
The Honorable Romain Murenzi, Rwanda's Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Research and Silas Lwakabamba, Rector of the Kigali Institute of Science, Technology and Management will highlight Rwanda's efforts to advance educational opportunities and implement an ambitious plan to use new technologies to meet the MDGs.
The MDGs are a set of internationally-agreed development targets to alleviate poverty by 2015. The eight goals call for both poor and rich countries to commit to reducing poverty and hunger, boosting school enrollment, combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases, empowering women, and ensuring environmental sustainability.
The tour, sponsored by the Africa-America Institute (AAI), a leading New York-based international education and policy organization, will include visits to universities, chambers of commerce, corporations, and places of worship. Funding for the tour was provided by the United Nations Millennium Campaign.
"Rwanda's startling success in increasing educational access and quality illustrates what is possible in Africa," said Mora McLean, President and CEO of the Africa-America Institute (AAI). "This tour with top Rwandan officials throughout middle America and the West will shed light on the country's innovative development agenda and achievements since 1994 and will bring Africa, especially Rwanda, closer to Americans."
Since 1994, the country has boosted its literacy rate from below 40 percent in the 1980s to more than 70 percent today. University enrollment has jumped from less than 1,000 before 1994 to six universities with a current enrollment of over 10,000. The government is also aggressively striving to become Africa's technology hub and to use information and communications technologies to combat poverty and bolster economic growth.
"The lectures and town hall meetings will spur public discussion of the Millennium Development Goals, the role that Americans can play in assisting Africans to achieve them, and how helping countries meet the MDGs are completely consistent with U.S. values and interests," stressed McLean.
The AAI is currently working in partnership with the Rwandan government to launch a major education initiative to educate and train Rwandans in information technology and to equip its citizens with the skills to enter into a new information age.
For more information visit The Africa-America Institute's website at www.aaionline.org
The Africa-America Institute, a New York-based international education and policy organization with a presence in 50 African countries, works to educate and train African leaders and foster greater understanding between Africa and the United States. Founded in 1953, AAI has more than 22,000 alumni including Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai, Namibia Prime Minister Nahas Angula, and NEPAD CEO Firmino Mucavele.
