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Unesco, RNP and the University of Mozambique give network security course in Maputo


RNP, Unesco and the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) promoted a network security course in Maputo, Mozambique in March. The course was especially designed for representatives of countries whose official language is Portuguese (PALOPs), and offered as part of a program to stimulate international cooperation among Portuguese-speaking member nations of Unesco. The heavy rains that flooded the nation in February, however, hindered the plan and reduced the range of students to those living in the capital, due to problems in local transportation caused by the floods. The country that hosted the event had just undergone three successive years of more than 10% growth, less than a decade after the ending of 16 years of civil strife. The event was held so as to form a group of agents capable of multiplying the Internet networking administrative course. In addition, it was aimed at promoting the expansion of Internet in PALOPs and furthering a more active union among Portuguese-speaking nations in a joint effort to develop networking in these nations.

Unesco funds covered travel and lodging expenses for the two experts from the Security Incident Response Team (CAIS) chosen by RNP to teach the course, while UEM provided the organization and local infrastructure for the event. Approximately 20 students - all from Mozambique, except for a citizen of Timor resident in Mozambique - attended the 22-hour training program held from March 14 to 17. The content of the course prepared by Jacomo Dimmit Boca Piccolini and Renata Cicilini covered basic networking topics, communication protocol, Unix and various aspects of network security. The majority of students were members of the technical staff, the student body and the administrative staff at UEM. Slides were used during theoretical classes and a laboratory at UEM Computer Center, equipped with 16 300MHz Pentium2 PCs, with 64 Mb of RAM memory, 3 Gb in hard disk, 40x CD ROM and 10/100 Intel network expansion cards were available for the applied lab classes. "There was excellent response; all were bent on learning," said Renata Cicilini. She mentioned that the Linux operational system aroused great interest in the students "in that it is a Unix operational system of public domain as well as robust."

The CAIS coordinator Liliana Solha was pleased with the results. Out of the 19 students that answered the course evaluation forms, 12 rated the course as "very good" and two others as "good." Considering the hardships faced on account of the natural flood disaster - a blackout the day before the course hindered the delivery and configuration of equipment -, she regards the experience as having been a good "opportunity for the advancement of knowledge on security issues."

Based on various recent activities, the Regional Advisor on Computer Science and Telemathics for Unesco in Latin America, Claudio Menezes, is interested in implanting an official network. It would be aimed at fostering cooperation between institutions in Portuguese-speaking nations in the fields of communication, information and computer science and their applications in education, science and culture.

American president Bill Clinton officially recognized the growth of Mozambique in February of this year when he declared it to be "the fastest growing economy in the world." That same month, floods devastated the region leaving 200 thousand homeless. East Timor opted for independence in a UN plebiscite in August 1999. It thus freed itself of the oppressive Indonesian regime instated in 1975 but needed international help to neutralize criminal attempts by pro-Jacarta militias to cut short independence efforts. These are two Portuguese-speaking nations that could benefit from an initiative such as this one.



[RNP, 03.29.2000]

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