EAC SENSITIZATION WORKSHOP ON VIDEO CONFERENCING PROJECT HELD IN ARUSHA

..As official launching of project set for 30 November

East African Community Secretariat, Arusha, Tanzania, 23 June 2014: An East African Community Sensitization Workshop on Video Conferencing (V.C) Project  concluded the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania

The 19th -20th June workshop aimed at facilitating the establishment and operation of a scalable and extensible Video Conferencing system for interactive Audio Visual communications and virtual meetings among EAC Organs and Institutions, Partner States and other organizations.

The Video Conferencing (V.C) Project  originated from the decisions of the Council of Ministers with regard to strengthening the institutional capacity of EAC to discharge its functions in pursuit to the provisions in the Treaty Establishing the East African Community.

To create awareness of the Project, the Project Implementation team proposed the development of a comprehensive communication strategy to support the project.

Speaking at the opening  ceremony on behalf of the Secretary General, EAC  Acting Director of Finance and Administration, Mr. Juvenal Ndimurirwo, called  upon members at the workshop to identify communication priority components of the project as well as implementation timetables.

Mr. Juvenal Ndimurirwo stated  that while there is a highly technical component to the Project, the underlying motive is to support the management process. It is for this reason that the meeting was tasked with formulating a workplan that will ensure the project is widely known amongst stakeholders at the EAC and Partner States.

The EAC Principal Information and Technology Officer, Mr. Aggrey Nkondola echoed the Director’s statements by adding that sustainability of the project can be achieved if the project is institutionalized to effectively support EAC meetings.

He noted that in addition to the development of appropriate policies and procedures, adequate human and financial resources must be made available to better guarantee sustainability.

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The workshop was attended by Information Technology and Communication experts from the Partner States as well as I.T experts from TMEA who provided insight into implementing Video Conferencing projects.

The EAC Video Conferencing project has three main components namely: equipment supply, room preparation and bandwidth provision. Equipment for this project is expected to be delivered to all six sites (Arusha and the five Partner States), by end of July, while installation will commence in August 2014.

The official launch of the project is set for 30 November 2014, on the sidelines of the EAC Heads of State Summit. A Project Steering Committee and a Project Implementation team responsible for decision making and operational implementation respectively have been established.

During the end of the workshop, the group developed a communication activity work plan that will address among others awareness creation about the project before, during and after its launch within EAC Organs and Institutions, EAC Ministries, and other stakeholders at large as well as a draft human resource requirements for implementation of the project.