Mr Speaker, we wish to congratulate the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR, on its central role in the design and development of the Digital Drum. The CSIR has been recognised in Time magazine's January 2012 issue. Time is the world's largest weekly magazine.
The Digital Drum is a computer system that gives people access to information on relevant issues like health and education. This innovative system is based on the CSIR's Discovery Doorway, a robust, standalone computer system that promotes computer literacy. The Digital Doorway initiative is funded by the Department of Science and Technology.
The CSIR team was tasked to come up with an ICT intervention in Uganda, using local materials in simplified housing. Since oil drums were readily available, they were used as the basis for the new housing. The Digital Drum has two work stations, with content adapted from the standard Digital Doorway suite. The original prototype is on display at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, together with a later version of the Digital Drum, which uses a second oil drum as a stand.
This recognition is valuable encouragement to our scientists who are working to find innovative solutions to societal problems and advance knowledge-based economic development on the continent.