{"386391":{"#nid":"386391","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Solidifes Partnership with Liberia","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESignaling nearly a decade of partnership between \u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech\u003C\/strong\u003E and the \u003Cstrong\u003ERepublic of Liberia\u003C\/strong\u003E, the two parties have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) solidifies their relationship around communication technologies and development. Signing on behalf of Georgia Tech was Yves Berthelot, vice provost for international initiatives and professor in the George W. Woodruff School fo Mechanical Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt gives me enormous pleasure to formalize our important relationship with the Republic of Liberia. We are committed to the partnership that this MOU represents and are thrilled about our future working together.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESigning on behalf of the Liberian Telecommunication Corporation (LibTelCo), the national communications operator, Deputy Chair of the Board Pierre King is looking forward to working further with the institute.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOn behalf of LibTelCo, we are very pleased to work alongside the world leading Georgia Tech to develop technology in Liberia that will enable us to communicate with the world and develop our people and our economy.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESigning on behalf of the Liberian ambassador to the United States, Honorary Consul General in Georgia Cynthia Blandford hopes the partnership will make a positive impact on Liberia\u0027s development.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is a very happy day for Liberia. Georgia Tech has shown outstanding leadership, partnering with us to further develop our information and communication technologies. Signing this MoU will further cement our relationship and help develop Liberia\u2019s way forward.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech is a member of the \u003Cstrong\u003EUniversity Consortium for Liberia\u003C\/strong\u003E (UCL), an organization that brings together colleges and educational institutions focused on study abroad, student and faculty exchange, service learning and scholarships with a particular focus on Africa.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe technology partnership with Liberia has been anchored by Georgia Tech Associate Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/faculty-and-staff\/faculty\/bio\/best\u0022\u003EMichael Best\u003C\/a\u003E, who is jointly appointed in the \u003Cstrong\u003ESam Nunn School of International Affairs\u003C\/strong\u003E and the \u003Cstrong\u003ESchool of Interactive Computing\u003C\/strong\u003E. Best\u2019s work focuses on the role of information and communication technologies and international development especially in Africa and Asia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe MOU underlines areas of cooperation including technology training including training of executive leadership within the government of Liberia; advisory research; and the establishment of a center of excellence on information and communication technologies and development. In particular, the enhanced relationship between Georgia Tech and the Republic of Liberia will focus on broadband internet access across the country and the new international internet connection, the ACE fiber cable, which was recently connected in Liberia\u2019s capital city, Monrovia.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESignaling nearly a decade of partnership between \u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech\u003C\/strong\u003E and the \u003Cstrong\u003ERepublic of Liberia\u003C\/strong\u003E, the two parties have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that solidifies their relationship around communication technologies and development.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Signaling nearly a decade of partnership between Georgia Tech and the Republic of Liberia, the two parties have signed a Memorandum of Understanding solidifying their relationship around communication technologies and development."}],"uid":"27889","created_gmt":"2015-03-10 11:56:56","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:01:54","author":"Beth Godfrey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-03-10T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-03-10T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"386371":{"id":"386371","type":"image","title":"Best, King, Blandford, and Berthelot","body":null,"created":"1449246275","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:24:35","changed":"1475894398","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:39:58","alt":"Best, King, Blandford, and Berthelot","file":{"fid":"75426","name":"unnamed_3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/unnamed_3.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/unnamed_3.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":41317,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/unnamed_3.jpg?itok=6aSseVfK"}},"386381":{"id":"386381","type":"image","title":"Republic of Liberia","body":null,"created":"1449246275","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:24:35","changed":"1475894352","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:39:12","alt":"Republic of Liberia","file":{"fid":"75427","name":"liberia.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/liberia.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/liberia.png","mime":"image\/png","size":211088,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/liberia.png?itok=QuY1eyu-"}}},"media_ids":["386371","386381"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"3748","name":"communication"},{"id":"351","name":"development"},{"id":"851","name":"INTA"},{"id":"906","name":"Liberia"},{"id":"121041","name":"memorandum"},{"id":"1093","name":"Mike Best"},{"id":"10536","name":"Nunn School"},{"id":"11651","name":"understanding"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECynthia Blandford\u003Cbr \/\u003EHonorary Consul General\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:cblandford@liberianconsulatega.com\u0022\u003Ecblandford@liberianconsulatega.com\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}