This strong support of WACREN is supplemented by financial support from the French players RENATER, CIRAD and IRD (two French research organizations and members of RENATER present in West Africa) to accelerate the participation of WACREN in the “AfricaConnect ” project funded by the European Commission.

RENATER is partnering with WACREN (West and Central African Research and Education Network) since 2011, when the first cooperation agreement between WACREN and RENATER / CIRAD / IRD was signed, with the aim to provide technical, scientific and organizational expertise for the establishment of research and education networks in this region.

By signing this new agreement for financial partnership, RENATER confirms its willingness to work with the WACREN network for its interconnection in one hand, with the Eastern and Southern African networks of the UbuntuNet Alliance especially in the framework of the “AfricaConnect”, and secondly, beyond the African continent, for joining the other components of the “Global Research Village” such as GEANT in Europe.

Patrick Donath, director of RENATER explains that “RENATER’s mission is also to help  West and Central Africa to bridge the digital divide by bringing its network expertise to promote the development of science, education and North / in South cooperation within the African continent. “

Dr Boubakar Barry, CEO of WACREN: “This gesture of RENATER, CIRAD and IRD is much appreciated by the WACREN community. It once again demonstrates the sincerity of the cooperation with WACREN since 2011 and which has already been expressed through several joint activities. We believe that the best is yet to come, in the best interests and in the service of our communities “

Contacts : Virginie Blanquart – virginie.blanquart@renater.fr – mob. +33 6 86 66 25 32

                      Aminata Traoré – Aminata.Traore@wacren.net

About WACREN:
WACREN is the West and Central African Research and Education Network. It was created in 2010 as a non-profit organization.  WACREN’s mission is to build and operate a world-class network infrastructure, to develop advanced applications and services, to promote collaboration between regional and international research and education communities, and to enhance the capacity of the NREN community for the advancement of education, research and innovation in West and Central. The objectives of the organization are thuis the promotion and development of national education and research networks in West and Centra Africa, to interconnect them to form a regional research and education network, and interconnect that network with other regional and continental networks.

Current WACREN members include RerBenin (Benin), Riter (Ivory Coast), GabonREN (Gabon), MaliREN (Mali), NigerREN (Niger), NgREN (Nigeria), snRER (Senegal) and TogoRER (Togo). Eko-Konnect is an associate member of WACREN.

RENATER is the first international member of the organization.


About RENATER:

RENATER, National Telecommunication Network for Technology, Education and Research, was deployed in the early 90s to unify the telecommunications infrastructure for research and education. To carry out this mission, the public interest group RENATER was formed in February 1993.

Member organizations are RENATER: CNRS, CPU, CEA, INRIA, CNES, INRA, INSERM, ONERA, CIRAD, Irstea, IRD, BRGM as well as the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Research.
This secure high-speed network with a capacity exceeding 100 Gbps on certain routes, provides national and international connectivity dedicated to more than 2 million users (students, teachers, researchers) through 1,400 teaching and research sites.

RENATER offers a portfolio of services (mobility, telephony, video conferencing, security, identity federation, messaging, antispam), as well as efficient collaborative services that suit the needs of the community.

About CIRAD
In partnership with the South in their diversity, CIRAD generates and passes on new knowledge, support agricultural development and contributes to the debate on global issues concerning agriculture.
As a research oriented organization, CIRAD establishes its programming based on developmental needs, from field to laboratory, from local to global.  Its activities encompass life sciences, social sciences and engineering sciences applied to agriculture, food and rural territories.
CIRAD is committed very close to the people and the Earth on complex and evolving challenges such as food security, natural resource management, inequality and fight against poverty.
Scientific strategy: CIRAD’s research focuses around six main scientific priorities. It operates primarily in the framework of research environment and educational partnerships.
CIRAD has a global network of partners and 12 regional directorates, from which it conducts joint operations with more than 90 countries. Its bilateral partnerships fit into multilateral regional interests. CIRAD is a member of RENATER.

About IRD

IRD is an interdisciplinary research organization that focuses its research for over 65 years on the relationship between man and his environment in Africa, the Mediterranean, Latin America, Asia and in the French tropical Overseas. Its research, training and innovation are intended to contribute to the social, economic and cultural development of the South. In West and Central Africa, IRD has a representation in seven countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal. IRD is a member of RENATER.

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