The Ministry of Information, Communications, Science, Technology and Innovation (MICSTI) has established a Lesotho Research and Network Education (LesREN) at the event held in Maseru.

This initiative is a collaborative effort involving various stakeholders and is aimed at addressing the challenges faced by Lesotho in the realm of research and education infrastructure.

When officially opening the event, the MICSTI, Deputy Principal Secretary (DPS), Ms. Lineo Ramabele Smith highlighted the importance of LesREN in addressing the country’s research and education infrastructure challenges.

She emphasized that Lesotho had long struggled to access digital resources necessary for teaching, learning, and research. She further stressed the significance of LesREN in improving the country’s capacity to tap into its development potential.

Addressing the participants, Mr. Leon Staphorst, from National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) South Africa said NRENs are specialised high-speed data networks designed to connect universities, research institutions and educational organizations within a specific country or region.

Mr. Staphorst said these networks play a pivotal role in providing fast and reliable connectivity to support research, education, and collaboration within academic as well as scientific communities.

Also speaking, the Director General in the Department of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT), Mr. Thapeli Tjabana said the establishment of LesREN represents a significant milestone in addressing the research and education infrastructure challenges faced by Lesotho.

Mr. Tjabana said the collaboration of various stakeholders and the support of NREN South Africa, this initiative has the potential to greatly enhance Lesotho’s ability to access digital resources for research, teaching, and learning.

Participants at the event included representatives from various stakeholders such as the  CEO of UbuntuNet Alliance in Eastern and Southern Africa, Prof. Madara Ogot, NREN of South Africa, Econet Telecom Lesotho, Vodacom Lesotho, National University of Lesotho (NUL), the Limkokwing University of Technology and MICSTI.