Andrew Mitchell, the United Kingdom's Minister of State for Development and Africa on Thursday, August 31, presided over the launch of the British Council's Digital Library, which is part of the UK's efforts to make educational resources "available to all".
Mitchel, who is in Rwanda on a four-day visit hailed the new development citing that libraries in communities are gateways to knowledge and culture.
"First of all, I am impressed by the outstanding Kigali public library, and I had the opportunity to look at the space and indeed buy a couple of books for my newly arrived grandson," Mitchell said at the launch.
"I want to pay tribute to the British Council, which all around the world does fantastic work, and never more so than here in Rwanda and in Kigali," he added.
Access to the library is expected to be free for 12 months and provides more than 80,000 educational and recreational resources including books and e-books, films, music, audiobooks, and research papers among others.
"They provide access to information and to resources. What's more, libraries are spaces for gathering, supporting varied educational and learning outcomes, and preserving cultural heritage."
Reacting to his visit back to Kigali, Mitchell said that a lot had "tremendously been achieved."
"Over the last nearly 20 years, I've been here more than 20 times. And every time I see the fantastic way in which progress is being made in Kigali and throughout Rwanda."
"In the modern digital world, it is only right that we also make use of library spaces online to further expand access to resources and reading material. From varied sources and cultures. I want to emphasize the many benefits and reasons for users in Rwanda to register for the British Council's Digital library. There is the convenience of being able to read anywhere, anytime, and even on the go."
Equally important, he said, "There is the opportunity to accelerate learning and career growth. It provides a chance to develop. New and outstanding skills and people can develop their confidence in using the English language, by accessing English learning resources from the world's English experts."
"It is incredible that it is now possible with the use of an app to have access from your phone to such a huge range of world-class resources from the UK and other countries, from online study resources to popular eBooks and audiobooks and award-winning movies and documentaries."
In a related development, Mitchell also donated his book, written about Rwanda, to the Kigali Public Library management.
"I think about my own book that I wrote a year ago. And if you will accept it I would like to give a signed copy to the library because there's quite a lot in the book about what I saw and learned from Rwanda. So I hope you will allow me to do that."
Minister of State at the Ministry of Education Claudette Irere commended the British Council following the launch and said that her team was committed to disseminating the technology beyond the walls of the Kigali Public Library.
"This is yet another addition by the British Council towards putting the education sector at heart. It also compliments the work done by the Kigali Public Library in instilling the culture of reading among the young ones."
"While the slightly older generations prefer hard copies of literature we know that the young ones prefer visual and audio copies. This is very helpful. It should not stay in the walls of the Kigali public library, but disseminated into the country."
Beneficiaries react
For Author and publisher Alonga Dominique Uwase, the new digital public library is a big win for Rwanda's education system.
"Hopefully it encourages people to read more to explore the language. Having a resource like this really helps people to grow and being in the Kigali Public Library is amazing. I hope for Rwandans this means that they can explore writing for themselves because of course, as you saw, 90 percent of the books are going to be coming from other countries. So hopefully as the years come, we'll have more Rwandan content, more random writers who increase their professionalism but also their storytelling skills."
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On the side of publishers, Uwase who is the founder of Imagine we Rwanda, one of the largest commercial publishing houses in the country said the development gives a chance to Rwandan authors.
"I think it's helpful because now some of these authors will have a home for their stories, I realize a lot of people who come to us don't have necessarily the money to go through the entire publishing process. But with more resources, they would be more encouraged to invest, to learn and to grow this skill."
Imagine We Rwanda boasts of over 30 published books by different authors.
"Currently we're excited to be inking a partnership with MasterCard Foundation and with that we'll train 2000 authors in Rwanda. So we are looking forward to really good things happening to the country."
