Forgive me if I sound like I am from another age, and I suspect I am not alone in this. There are many of us for whom certain developments are happening at a pace that taxes our breathing. Before we can catch our breath and get used to some of them, new ones come along and we try to keep pace. And then another and another, and you are left panting. It is all fast-moving and very confusing, but also very exciting. Which living across different ages also is. And even we must get used to it or risk being left by the wayside as the rest of the country advances. The latest of these is about space. We are hearing a lot about Rwanda’s space ambitions and seeing plans for their realisation, and even evidence of their being put in place. But still some remain incredulous. Space? That is for the superrich and powerful who want to show off their power and genius or flex their muscle in outer space because doing that here could lead to dangerous consequences. Or, if you are religious, those so irreverent they trespass into God’s space. Not for a small, poor country as we are so often told we are. But you realise that it is actually possible, despite your being firmly rooted in a different age. Several things convince you of this possibility. First, you are a real and proud Rwandan and reject the notion of small as synonymous with incapacity. You also remember the words you have heard many times. We may be a mall country, but we are not small people. We have big ambitions. We dream big. We have a vision far beyond the immediate. Second, you also recognise that we are not talking about space stations and laboratories and incredibly expensive space crafts carrying highly trained astronauts. That is the spectacular bit that captures the popular imagination. It is a lot simpler than that. It is about using space for very ordinary purposes, sending there other more affordable and manageable instruments. Third, you realise that space is not just a boundless expanse of apparent emptiness around us, but a useful resource like the solid earth that we can use to better our lives. Finally, you notice that it is not only possible but is already happening. You heard the minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Innovation announce partnerships with other countries in this regard, and the many wonderful benefits of Rwanda’s space programme. And in case you had missed it, Rwanda created a space agency only last year, 2021. But even before the agency came into being, we had launched satellites in space. Then last week we heard from the minister of ICT and Innovation that we are soon launching, not one or two, but a constellation of them before the end of 2023. That should give us a better view of this piece of earth we call our own, what’s in it, what goes around it, and much else besides. Having satellites, or a constellation of them, up there is like having eyes and ears and a brain in space. At least that’s the layperson’s view. All those eyes peering at the earth and seeing things more clearly than we on the ground do and acting as early warning systems for different interests are obviously of immense value. To the farmer, for instance, they see early patterns of wind movements – the swirling or gale force types, the slow, wet and heavy or dry and light, or the that which whispers gaily through leaves, ruffling them a little and maybe bending trees – and tell them whether they are harbingers of good or ill, drought or floods, famine or plenty and everything between. For us generally, they will detect danger and sound the alarm so we can make appropriate defences. They even have the capacity to penetrate rocks and soil and water and see what lies inside and beneath. Mostly a lot of riches. Who wouldn’t want that? Even those awed by these fast happenings, coming from an age when things evolved more gradually and allowed for a period of acclimatisation, so to speak, do. Yes, they may be wary of new technologies as they upset their familiar world, but they are not afraid of a brave new world as some were nearly a century ago, although not altogether always comfortable with it. What would be the point anyway? It gets braver and newer all the time. So, better get used to it. Which many eventually do and embrace and even become the most enthusiastic promoters. It is not only space that has the attention of Rwandans. On March 31 this year, the Ministry of ICT and Innovation, in partnership with the World Economic Forum, launched the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Kigali. Not many know what this is or what the other revolutions are. Maybe the first and second, courtesy of history books and lessons at school. Earlier still, we pressed on with ICT and aspired to become a regional technology hub. That is still on track, I suppose. All this may be happening very fast but these are exciting momentous times. It is good to see such fast movement into the future and history being made and being part of it even if you are panting trying to catch up.
