Cathrin Stöver is no new name in this newsletter. From time to time we speak of her in UbuntuNet Alliance. Why? Although Cathrin Stover works with GEANT Ltd and is the Project Manager of the EU funded AfricaConnect project, which has built and continues to grow the regional component of the UbuntuNet high-speed network for research and education purposes in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cathrin has trekked the globe together with her counterparts from the Alliance, advocating for the UbuntuNet network. She has very much become a part of UbuntuNet Alliance community. A special gala dinner was recently held to recognise the tremendous work she has contributed to the development of research and education networking in the region and this is what Cathrin had to say after accepting a uniquely selected gift of recognition.
“ I would like to thank the UbuntuNet Alliance for allowing me to grow as a person in this project and would like to specifically thank Tusu for his gentle teachings in the philosophy of Ubuntu. I will certainly make sure to take the experience with me wherever I work and live in the future.”
“Leading the project management for the AfricaConnect project has been an unforgettable learning experience for me. Apart from the day to day business of procuring, implementing and operating a new regional network in Sub Saharan Africa, I have learnt about Southern and Eastern African culture and have become an admirer of Ubuntu. Ubuntu means that the community is part of you and responsible for you, while you are part and in turn responsible for the community. This spirit is ingrained and lived in the UbuntuNet Alliance and has allowed for collaborative leadership, shared experience and mutual respect among the partners.
“All I can say is that the world would be a better place, if we embraced Ubuntu also outside of Africa,” said Cathrin.
Although the current phase of the AfricaConnect project comes to an end in May, 2015, UbuntuNet Alliance will remember Cathrin Stöver in this way:
UbuntuNet Alliance CEO, Dr Pascal Hoba says;
“Her Professionalism, hard work and cultural flexibility set her apart and for that we are recognising Cathrin StöverStöver. Cathrin went beyond to invest herself in the Project and the community; understanding our culture she was able to work with us and to be part of us as we together worked to achieve project objectives.
“Friendly and sociable, yet focused on achieving Project goals,” says Bonny Khunga CEO Zambia Research and Education Network (ZAMREN).
“Many people always look puzzled or amused when I call Cathrin my younger sister. What most do not realise is that I really mean it, even if genetic science would never prove it. In her I have found an amazing friend who is able to empathise with any situation and yet remain objective in taking the best decision. She possesses above average cultural intelligence, a lot of it innate as it must be, honed by her years of global exposure: she came to support the dreams and destiny of the Alliance, not to subvert it to her image, and this she has done with excellence. I found in her a drive and self-assurance that does not yield to circumstances, with those social navigations skills of sailing against the wind: opposition becomes an ally rather than a barrier. I found in her a zest life and fun, matched only by her dedication to her work…”
Says Dr Tusubira, former UbuntuNet Alliance CEO.