This October 17, the Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Information Society Authority Innocent B. Muhizi attended the Blackberry summit which took place at the Conrad New York Downtown. The summit brought together leaders from around the world to advance the future of the Internet of Things (IoT), Information Technology (IT), Cybersecurity, AI and showcasing company’s latest innovations among others.

Among the topics on the agenda included Convergence & the Digital Trust Deficit, Delivering the Dream: Technology for a Trusted Future, Trust on the Digital Frontlines, The Future of Digital Experiences in the Smart City, Technology Supremacy for Global Security, Exposing the Truth with AI, The Future of Digital Experiences in the Smart City, etc.

In their discussions focusing around the theme Technology Supremacy for Global Security, the CEO of Rwanda Information Society focused on the importance of African continent in the global desire for stability through shared security.  He mentioned that there is need for creating and nurturing partnerships when it comes to security in a sense that the entire world is interconnected in one way or another.  He gave an example of RISA that deploys technologies across the entire public sector in Rwanda where more than 58% of services are provided online which also engages private companies and hence needs to be protected against any kind of vulnerabilities as it may affect government service delivery. He concluded that the role of Africa is very key considering its giant population with various talents, its growing private sector from business and technology point of view, safe investment climate especially in Rwanda among other things. He mentioned some of the partnering projects instances which became global like drone (from American company zipline) operationalization in various services, the 5G technology which has been recently tested in Rwanda for the first time in the world in partnership with Softbank.  

The summit was concluded with participants’ visionary perspectives on the future of the IoT, IT, and Cybersecurity, which coupled with innovations from BlackBerry, will help shape and advance a trusted, hyperconnected world.