General
Sir Tim Berners-Lee visits Makerere
The hall was filled with students eagerly waiting to at least catch a glimpse of this world famous gentleman, credited with inventing the World Wide Web from its humble beginnings to its current sophisticated nature with arms touching almost every corner of the globe.
The hall was filled with students eagerly waiting to at least catch a glimpse of this world famous gentleman, credited with inventing the World Wide Web from its humble beginnings to its current sophisticated nature with arms touching almost every corner of the globe.
Michael Niyitegeka, Head, Corporate Relations Office at the Faculty of Computing & IT Makerere and emcee for the day welcomed Sir Tim as he’s famously known to Makerere University and thanked the facilitator Stephane Boyera for making the visit possible. He then invited Dr. Idris Rai , Deputy Dean at the Faculty of Computing & IT make a few remarks.
Dr. Idris Rai thanked Sir Tim for making time to come to Uganda and Makerere University in particular. Citing his PhD work, which focused on designing and analyzing mechanisms to support Quality of Service in Edge Routers of IP Networks, he hoped that Sir Tim’s presentation would help everyone present to better appreciate how the World Wide Web operates, concluding by inviting him to deliver his presentation.
Sir Tim thanked everyone present for making time to come and listen to him, especially appreciating that a number of students from different Universities i.e. Makerere, Kyambogo, Nkumba and Gulu were present as well. Launching into the history of the World Wide Web first, in his own words "I just had to take the hypertext idea and connect it to the Transmission Control Protocol and domain name system ideas the World Wide Web was created, which ran on the NeXT machine. The specifications of Universal Document Identifiers (UDIs) now called the Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs), HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) published on the first server in order to promote wide adoption and discussion"
With the growing need for Web clients for other platforms, browsers such as Erwise, Viola, Cello and Mosaic eventually came on the scene. Then the need for servers to provide examples of WebPages arose, which led to the creation of the first Web server (info.cern.ch). Sir Tim then founded the World Wide Web Consortium (www.w3.org) in 1994, with its base at MIT, which is a neutral open forum where companies and organizations to whom the future of the Web is important come to discuss and to agree on new common computer protocols.
He then talked about The Semantic Web, which is an evolving development of the World Wide Web in which the meaning (semantics) of information and services on the web is defined, making it possible for the web to "understand" and satisfy the requests of people and machines to use the web content.
Sir Tim then went on to answer questions from the gathering, notable among whom, was Prof. James Patrick Mangeni Head, Research Education Network Uganda and an alumni of Sir Tim at Oxford University. Prof. Mangeni thanked Sir Tim for his visit and looked forward with sharing experiences especially with the advent of the undersea fiber cable that will improve bandwidth capacity and foster research.
A vote of thanks moved by Prof. Mangeni signaled the close of the talk and an opportunity for Sir Tim to interact with the Acting Vice Chancellor Prof. Baryamureeba, members of staff and students who had graced the occasion.
Makerere University and the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA (ND) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which opens opportunities for collaboration between the two historic and leading research institutions in the areas of staff and student exchange, joint research and training, joint supervision of graduate students, and others.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe signed on behalf of Makerere University and Rev. Robert A. Dowd, the 18th President signed on behalf of the University of Notre Dame. The ceremony, which was held at the University of Notre Dame campus at South Bend, Indiana was witnessed by Dr. Lorna Magara, the Chairperson of the Council of Makerere University, who led the Mak delegation.
Dr. Magara appreciated the institutionalisation of the collaboration between the two universities and the very warm hospitality accorded to the Mak delegation.
General
Press Release: Government of Uganda and Partners Launch SAY Plus+ to Scale Youth Sexual Reproductive Health & Rights (SRHR) Impact in Underserved Regions
USD 50 million national programme moves into full implementation, strengthening
adolescent and youth rights, empowerment, protection and access to youth-responsive
services in 13 districts across five sub-regions
KAMPALA, 7 MAY 2026: The Government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Health, today officially launched the SAY Plus+ Programme, a Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) initiative designed to strengthen adolescent and youth rights, empowerment, protection and access to quality services in Uganda’s underserved regions.
The launch, held at Makerere University‘s Freedom Square under the theme “My Voice Matters: Youth Voices for SAY Plus+” and the tagline “Nothing for us, without us”, marks the programme’s transition into full implementation.
SAY Plus+, formerly known as Strengthening Adolescents and Youth Rights and Empowerment: Scaling Impact, is led by the Ministry of Health, in coordination with other Ministries, with UNFPA Uganda serving as the Managing and Technical Agency.
Backed by a USD 50 million pooled fund from the Governments of Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden, the initiative is scheduled to operate between 2024 and 2030. It is currently being rolled out across thirteen districts within five sub-regions, providing targeted assistance to regional referral hospitals in Jinja, Mbale, Moroto, Yumbe, Arua, and Gulu. Furthermore, the programme supports the Human Capital Development goals established in Uganda’s National Development Plan IV.
“SAY Plus+ represents a shift from fragmented interventions to a coordinated national effort that meaningfully places young people at the centre of both design and delivery. Through our partnership with the Government of Uganda, development partners, and implementing partners, we are investing not only in services, but in the systems, communities, and environments that enable adolescents and young people to thrive not only today but also in the future,” said Ms. Kristine Blokhus, Representative – UNFPA Uganda.
Officially launched by the Minister of State for Health Hon. Margaret Muhanga, the SAY Plus+ programme targets adolescents and young people aged 10 to 24 years, with particular focus on adolescent girls and young women, refugees and host-community youth, out-of-school young people, those not in employment, education or training, adolescents with disabilities, and young people in humanitarian and post-conflict settings.
“For many of us, things like this one are designed without listening to what we go through every day, think or even feel. SAY Plus+ feels different because it starts with our voices and gives us a real role in shaping solutions. It is not just about information, it is about being supported to make decisions, access services, and build the future we want.” – Jovia Dranzoa, Young person.
SAY Plus+ operates through three pillars. First, it empowers youth to exercise their rights and make informed choices. Second, it engages families, communities, and leaders to address harmful social norms. Third, it strengthens youth-responsive SRHR, HIV, and gender-based violence services via health facilities and community platforms, aiming to reach over 2.3 million direct and indirect beneficiaries.
The SAY Plus+ initiative stands as a model of international cooperation and multi-sectoral synergy. Through the combined support of the Governments of Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden, and the technical leadership of UNFPA, Uganda is now equipped to scale-up critical interventions in HIV prevention, gender-based violence response, and reproductive health. With implementation now in high gear through 2030, the programme is poised to make a lasting contribution to the nation’s human capital development goals.
— ENDS —
Photos from the event
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