Category: Science & Technology

Monrovia, Liberia - The President of the Republic, H. E Dr. George Manneh Weah, has recognized the monumentally significant role Liberian women have played in the realization of peace and stability during and after years of socio-economic and political turbulence.

He expressed delight over Liberian women’s strategic devotion of time and efforts in rearranging and restructuring the country’s fractured statehood.

Speaking Monday, January 16, 2023 at a special program marking the 60th birth anniversary of Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor, President Weah admitted personally admiring the strong and persistent attitudes of women, something he asserted enabled the country to weather the “stormy sea and eventually advanced it to peaceful shore.”

He expressed special appreciation to Vice President Taylor, the celebrant, describing her as a woman of substance, faith, endurance, a Patriot of the highest order, and an exemplary Public Servant.

“Madam Vice President, when we should have been bestowing honor upon you on this your Natal Day, you have instead demonstrated a deep sense of selflessness by choosing to honor us, something that is a rarity in humanity,” he said.

By the unveiling of the beautiful Mosaic, President Weah indicated that the Vice President has risen herself to a higher height by lifting up women who have worked and are still working for change and transformation.

He expressed admiration for Liberian women who have been trailblazers in their own rights; women who have broken glass ceilings; women who have boldly gone where many have feared to go, and women who have suffered, and endured.

President Weah said he was particularly touched by the unveiling of a wonderful Mosaic depicting group of strong Liberian women, both past and present, who made significant contributions to the country.

“All of these women, past and present, have been strong women,” he said, noting further, “A strong woman stands up not for herself, but for others. She is selfless, and not selfish.”

He said in the course of our Nation’s history, particularly during difficult periods, it is these strong women who have stood the test of time.

According to President Weah, Liberian women continue to be firm voices in sustaining the peace in Liberia, noting that as Liberia’s Feminist-in-Chief, he was grateful to them.

President Weah made particular reference to two of the country's strongest women, former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and current Vice President Taylor.

By lifting Liberian women up in this way, he noted that the Vice President is raising the hopes, dreams and aspirations of all Liberians, and amplifying and re-echoing the voices of great Liberian women.

President Weah said he was humbled for the honor bestowed upon him during the birth anniversary program of Vice President Taylor, saying that what he has done over the years and continue to do comes out of his conviction “that women are the roots upon which the trees of our Nationhood can grow and blossom.”

Source: The Executive Mansion

NAIROBI— Education ministers at the 21st Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) in Nairobi, Kenya, have issued a joint statement in which they recognised the urgent need to increase investment in education and skills at all ages, with particular focus on ensuring foundational skills for all.

With Kenya hosting the Conference, Ministers also recognised the urgent issues raised in the Kenyatta Call to Action on Education Finance in 2021 and agreed to look for suitable opportunities to consider the financing of education and welcomed initiatives that support the capacity building of ministries of education on financing of education.

Hosted by the Government of Kenya in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat and Kenya’s Ministry of Education, the two-day conference focused on the theme, ‘Rethinking Education for Innovation, Growth and Sustainability post-Covid-19’ and accorded ministers, policymakers, civil society, and development partners the opportunity to share knowledge and good practice, and explore trends and innovative approaches that can be adapted by member countries to develop sustainable and resilient education systems.

With regard to charting the way forward in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, ministers committed to building resilient education systems that can withstand future threats and disruptions and sought to improve access to digital connectivity and skills to support teaching and learning.

Ministers resolved to build back better and with resilience for fair, inclusive economic recovery, and a sustainable future in the Commonwealth.

Ministers also acknowledged the Commonwealth of Learning’s focus on promoting learning for sustainable development through the use of technologies and noted the report and good work in support of distance education and learning, especially during COVID-19 pandemic.

In her concluding remarks, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland QC, said: “Over the last two days, we have discussed important issues such as financing education, Covid-19 mitigation and recovery strategies, education and employability, redefining learning spaces and education for sustainability and peace. I gladly received your ministerial statement and look forward to working with Kenya to implement these new ideas and recommendations for the next three years. Education, we know, lays the foundation for personal and social development, responsible action and good citizenship. It is a human right and the best guarantee against unemployment and poverty. But for our communities and societies to reap these benefits, we need high-quality and inclusive education systems throughout the Commonwealth. Let us build, reinforce, and sustain our partnerships to deliver the targets and SDGs.”

Declaring the conference officially closed, the new Chairman of the Education Ministers Action Group (EMAG) and Kenya’s Minister of Education, Prof George Magoha, said: “As was well elaborated during the proceedings of this meeting the benefits of education at the individual and economic levels are enormous and permeate all our lives. The Conference of Commonwealth of Education Ministers provides a platform for the members of this family to review our progress, build synergies and forge a common way forward towards improving education in our countries. It is, therefore, my earnest hope that our discussions in the last two days and the direction provided in the Declaration emanating from this meeting will accelerate momentum towards the achievement of the Education 2030 commitments.”

On the occasion, the Commonwealth Secretariat also launched an exciting children’s book series on sustainable energy and the global transformation of energy systems.

The books present the concepts of sustainable and inclusive energy in a digestible and engaging format for young readers, aged 7-12, to find out why they can be part of the change in the way the world produces and uses energy. These books are among publications, toolkits, manuals and other educational resources that the Secretariat provides free of charge to member states.

The six finalists of the 2022 Commonwealth Education Awards were also revealed at a virtual ceremony on the margins of the conference. The awards recognise and celebrate promising and innovative programmes, projects, and people that have made a positive impact on the education sector across the Commonwealth.

The meeting concluded with ministers expressing their sincere appreciation to the Government of Kenya for the effective chairmanship and excellent arrangements made for the 21st CCEM.

Policy proposals from the ministerial statement that was issued will inform discussions at the upcoming Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting (CHOGM), scheduled to take place in June 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda.

Over 200 international delegates from 40 Commonwealth countries, and over 200 participants from Kenya, attended the conference, which was convened in a hybrid format for the first time with some ministers and delegates attending the in-person event in Nairobi, while the rest joined virtually.

The meeting also marked the first time the Commonwealth education family came together in Nairobi since 1987 when it hosted the 10th Commonwealth Conference of Education Ministers on the theme of ‘vocational orientation of education’.

The next CCEM will take place in three years’ time in 2025.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Nigeria has evacuated at least 1,800 of its citizens from Ukraine since Russia's invasion, but says that 80 Nigerian students remain trapped in the southern city of Kherson. Russian forces have captured the city, and the students this week called on the Nigerian government to come to their aid.

It was another cold night in underground bomb shelters for Nigerian students in Kherson. The students have been trapped for about two weeks since Russian forces seized the city on March 3.

The students say gas and internet services have been cut off and that they're running out of food.

Akinyemi Victor, who graduated from the Kherson state maritime academy, spoke about the students’ situation on Twitter.

"When there's no gas, there's no heating system. We heat now with firewood and we cook there too. Some of us who have tried to go out of the city, Russian armies are sending them back home. No supply is coming into the city, (there's) nothing going out, nothing coming in," Victor said.

Kherson, a port city in southern Ukraine, was one of the first areas to fall to Russian forces. An estimated 150 Africans are believed to be trapped in the city, according to online groups calling for their evacuation.

This week, the Nigerian students called on their country to come to their aid.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama responded and said authorities are working with Nigeria's ambassadors in Ukraine and Russia to assist the students.

Yusuf Buba, chairman of a foreign affairs committee set up by lawmakers to facilitate evacuation operations, says efforts are underway.

"Our only area of concern now is for those students that are still in Ukraine and we will put our heads together with the (foreign affairs) ministry to see how the remaining students will come out to safety," Buba said.

Online groups have been promoting the hashtag #EvacuateKherson to raise awareness about the African students trapped there.

Some recently evacuated students are also trying to help get their colleagues out.

Samuel Otunla was rescued last week from the northeastern city of Sumy and has been creating awareness about the students in Kherson from his new shelter in Hungary.

"All of these embassies need to be aware of the situation so they can keep pushing, keep communicating with the humanitarian aid, the Ukrainian government, possibly the Russian government and military as well to make sure that these people are evacuated. It's not a good experience at all," Otunla said.

Ukrainian authorities have accused Moscow of trying to create a republic out of the captured city and its surrounding areas.

Source: Voice of America

The Chinese government is promoting Chinese language and culture through Confucius Institute programs worldwide, including in Africa. Some educators say they're concerned about what they say is censorship in Chinese-funded programs.

Steve Wakoli has been working for three years to perfect his skills in kung fu, a popular martial art taught at the Kenyatta University Confucius Institute.

He’s also a teacher at the institute, where hundreds of students are learning about Chinese culture and language at the facility named after the ancient Chinese philosopher whose teachings are a cornerstone of life in East Asia.

There are about 525 Chinese-funded Confucius Institutes worldwide, including 54 in Africa, according to a 2019 U.S. Senate report by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Jacob Ratemo is one of more than 500 students enrolled here.

He says learning about Chinese language and culture will help him find better work. But Ratemo acknowledges the classes avoid subjects that are politically sensitive in China.

"But the advantage is, especially when you are at the university level, you can access such matters. I can go to VOA News on a regular basis and see what is going on in China. I can go to Google and get that information. So, yes, I can admit there are a few challenges when you ask those questions to the Chinese themselves," Ratemo said.

According to the Senate report, “Confucius Institute funding comes with strings that can compromise academic freedom.” For example, the Chinese teachers sign contracts with Beijing pledging not to damage China’s national interests.

Confucius Institute management turned down VOA's requests for comment.

Teacher Steve Wakoli says the institute's syllabus does not allow much time for politically sensitive topics and debate.

But analysts say the Confucius Institutes suppress discussions on topics like Taiwan and Hong Kong to protect their funding from the Chinese government. Martin Oloo is a political analyst in Kenya.

"Indeed, there have been issues around whether or not the institute is being used to propound what would be seen as anti-democracy, anti-human rights, and those concerns are founded in terms of what is the official Chinese policy on Taiwan, on Hong Kong," Oloo said.

China considers Taiwan a wayward province and has not ruled out the use of force to reunite it with the mainland. Beijing imposed a national security law for Hong Kong in 2020 and many forms of dissent are criminalized.

Educator Jonathan Waseya told VOA that the institutes are doing an injustice to students by limiting their learning and exposure to different ideas.

"Yes, the opportunity comes in through the Confucius Institutes funded by China — that is OK. But can you get as an individual to talk about Taiwan, to talk about Hong Kong, talk about Korea, talk about North and South Korea and how the whole bigger picture fits into the geopolitics of today," Waseya said.

With so many signing up for classes at the Confucius Institutes, education experts say it is critical that students find other avenues to learn about topics that Beijing may consider politically sensitive.

Source: Voice of America

A homemade bomb thrown through the roof of a university lecture hall wounded 11 students on Wednesday, the vice chancellor said, in an English-speaking region of Cameroon in the grip of a bloody separatist conflict.

University of Buea vice-chancellor Horace Ngomo Manga said "the device fell to the ground and exploded."

One boy and 10 girls were wounded, he told state radio CRTV, adding that all were in a stable condition.

He did not elaborate on the nature of the bomb or who might have thrown it.

Buea is the capital of Cameroon's Southwest region. Both the Southwest and Northwest regions are mainly English-speaking in the otherwise predominantly French-speaking central African country.

A decades-long campaign by militants to redress perceived discrimination at the hands of the francophone majority flared into a declaration of independence on October 1, 2017, sparking a crackdown by security forces.

The conflict has claimed more than 3,500 lives and forced 700,000 people to flee their homes, according to NGO estimates that have not been updated in more than a year despite an escalation in violence in recent months.

The United Nations and international organizations regularly denounce abuses and crimes committed against civilians by both sides.

Wednesday's bombing has not been claimed, but the anglophone separatists have regularly attacked schools and universities that they accuse of favoring French-language education.

The separatists have also recently ramped up attacks on the country's armed forces using improvised explosive devices.

In September, a Buea court sentenced four men to death over the killing of seven schoolchildren a year earlier, however Human Rights Watch called the trial a sham.

Source: Voice of America

NATO is studying options to bolster support for the multinational G5 Sahel Joint Force in the troubled three-borders region of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, where a surge in jihadis violence has cost thousands of lives, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a letter seen by AFP on Thursday.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization could extend such support through its Support and Procurement Agency, the U.N. chief said in a recent letter to the Security Council.

Guterres said he is convinced of the need to create a U.N. support office for the G5 Sahel force, which comprises around 5,000 soldiers from Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso, which would be funded by contributions from the United Nations.

He said such a technique would be "the most effective approach to provide sustainable and predictable support to the Joint Force."

But the United States, the U.N.'s biggest financial backer, has so far rejected the plan, which is favored by France and several African countries.

In June, U.S. deputy ambassador to the U.N. Jeffrey DeLaurentis said his country wanted to maintain a clear separation between efforts to fight terrorism and efforts to maintain peace in order to protect the U.N.'s neutrality.

For years, the United States has said it prioritizes aid to the Sahel countries directly, rather than ramping up U.N. involvement.

"The creation of the G5 Sahel Joint Force, despite the persisting challenges, is a strong manifestation of political will by the five core states of the Sahel that merits the support of the international community," Guterres said.

"While all interlocutors underscored their strong support to the G5 Sahel Joint Force as an exceptional initiative that warranted international support, there is no convergence of views within the international community on how best to support it," the U.N. chief added.

The Security Council, currently led by Kenya, is set to send representatives for a visit to Mali and Niger at the end of the month, to study the security situation.

Guterres pointed out that despite the African Union's willingness to take on an integral role in fostering cooperation in the region, "the AU stressed that it would require financial support by another donor" to manage logistical support of the Joint Force.

The U.N. currently provides fuel, water and food to the Joint Force through the Minusma peace-keeping mission in Mali, plus bilateral medical support arranged in the last few years.

Source: Voice of America

The U.N. Children's Fund in Nigeria said at least 1 million Nigerian children could miss school this year because of insecurity, as schools in the north of the country have been targeted by armed groups in a series of mass kidnappings for ransom.

UNICEF Nigeria said Wednesday the country had recorded 20 school attacks this year alone, and 1,436 students have been abducted. The report also showed that 16 students have been killed, and 200 remain missing.

As schools across the country began opening this week for a new semester, more than 37 million students are due back at schools.

But officials reported low attendance in attack-prone areas like north central Kaduna state. In the capital, authorities pushed back the resumption date to September 19 without giving a reason.

In the UNICEF report, country representative Peter Hawkins urged Nigerian authorities to prioritize security at schools, stating it was unacceptable for communities to be worried to send their children to school over fears they will be abducted.

Emmanuel Hwande, spokesperson at Nigerian Union of Teachers, said the government must take responsibility.

"We want the government to take actions, actions that will see that the security agencies respond properly to incidents of kidnapping, incidents of abduction where we'll see them actively involved, actively engaging such criminal elements," Hwande said.

Ransom-seeking criminal gangs began targeting schools in northern Nigeria late last year. Amnesty international says hundreds of schools there have been closed as a result.

Abuja resident Florence Ulo is scared about sending her five-year-old son back to school.

"Even me that is in the city, and of course my son's school is not far from the house and they have security, but I still don't feel comfortable," she said. "The thought of that they can go into a school and abduct children is very scary for a parent."

Last year, the coronavirus pandemic set back school calendars and disrupted learning for millions of students in Nigeria. UNICEF's Hawkins said the situation has worsened "with the additional challenge of school closures due to prevailing insecurity across the country."

He said that while countries worldwide, including Nigeria, have taken action to provide remote learning, many students are not being reached.

He said UNICEF joined a global "digital freeze" of social media Thursday to protest the inability of children around the world to access classrooms, and that unless mitigation measures are implemented, the World Bank estimates a loss of $10 trillion U.S. dollars in earnings over time for the present generation of students globally.

Source: Voice of America

With Afghanistan in the hands of the Taliban, which had banned young women from formal education, the country's only girls boarding school is temporarily relocating to Rwanda for a "study abroad" session.

Shabana Basij-Rasikh, the co-founding president of the School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA), said in a social media post Tuesday that the private school's nearly 250 students, faculty, staff and family members had left the capital city of Kabul as of last week.

"SOLA is resettling, but our resettlement is not permanent," she wrote in one of a series of Twitter posts. "A semester abroad is exactly what we're planning. When circumstances on the ground permit, we hope to return home to Afghanistan."

Basij-Rasikh wrote that they are en route, by way of Qatar, to the central African nation, where they intend to study.

The Rwandan Ministry of Education responded to Basij-Rasikh's tweet, saying that it looked forward to welcoming the SOLA community to Rwanda.

The central African nation is one of several countries that the U.S. State Department said had agreed to temporarily host evacuated Afghans. It is not yet known how many Afghans Rwanda will accept.

On Friday, Basij-Rasikh posted a video showing her burning students' records to protect their identities from the Taliban.

In Twitter posts Tuesday, the school official said her heart breaks for her country.

"I've stood in Kabul, and I've seen the fear, and the anger, and the ferocious bravery of the Afghan people. I look at my students, and I see the faces of the millions of Afghan girls, just like them, who remain behind," Basij-Rasikh wrote. "Those girls cannot leave, and you cannot look away. If there's one thing I ask of the world, it is this: Do not avert your eyes from Afghanistan. Don't let your attention wander as the weeks pass. See those girls, and in doing so you will hold those holding power over them to account."

Source: Voice of America