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Add to Preferred SourcesThe EU has announced additional €30 million for the project “AfricaConnect”, that will provide affordable, high-capacity Internet for research and education networks across Africa.
Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, said: “Affordable high-speed broadband connectivity enables African youth, students, and researchers to boost collaborative scientific research with their peers around the world to help them tackle challenges in Africa. This is an important step towards tackling the digital divide.”
Improved Internet connectivity will not only facilitate African participation in world-class research projects but also enable education, training and research institutions to develop and use applications to improve their teaching and learning environments, such as virtual classes or massive open online courses.
This additional €30 million contribution from the EU budget will provide support to the three African Regional Research and Education Networks, which will also contribute €7.5 million.
Home to the youngest population in the world, Africa is progressing rapidly in digital adoption. Over the past ten years, Africa has recorded the highest growth globally in Internet access, moving from 2.1% in 2005 to 24.4% in 2018. The digital economy in Africa provides not only opportunities for increased job creation and data, but also the basis for accelerating access to quality basic services, improving transparency and accountability of governments, and enhancing democracy.
Original source: European Commission
Published on 18 December 2019