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AIMS, through the Next Einstein Forum announce the NEF Africa Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Week – 7th to 18th October 2024
“Youth-led innovations driving sustainable development in Africa.” Kigali, Rwanda, September 11th, 2024 The Next Einstein Forum (NEF), an initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), is pleased to announce the NEF Africa Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Week, set to take place from October 7 to 18, 2024. This groundbreaking event will be hosted [...]
AIMS, through the Next Einstein Forum announce the NEF Africa Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Week – 7th to 18th October 2024
“Youth-led innovations driving sustainable development in Africa.” Kigali, Rwanda, September 11th, 2024 The Next Einstein Forum (NEF), an initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), is pleased to announce the NEF Africa Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Week, set to take place from October 7 to 18, 2024. This groundbreaking event will be hosted [...]
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AIMS, through the Next Einstein Forum announce the NEF Africa Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Week – 7th to 18th October 2024
September 11, 2024 | Africa, Blog, News, News Articles, Press Releases, The NEF Blog
“Youth-led innovations driving sustainable development in Africa.” Kigali, Rwanda, September 11th, 2024 The Next Einstein Forum (NEF), an initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), is pleased to announce the NEF Africa Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Week, set to take place from October 7 to 18, 2024. This groundbreaking event will be hosted [...]
Wired-up Interview with Charles LM Kimpolo
April 11, 2022 | Africa, Blog, Fellows, Highlight, News, News Articles, STEM
Education problems and a lack of access to technology have been widely recognized on the continent as major stumbling blocks to economic competitiveness and social equality.” Charles Lebon Mberi Kimpolo, Director of the AIMS Industry Initiative, launched the Young African Technologists (YAT) project to change this situation. How? Watch his inspiring interview on WiredUp Africa [...]
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The Heartbeat of Africa: Food, Culture, and Wellbeing
November 23, 2021 | Africa, Blog, Fellows, Innovation, Policy, Science
By Dr. Ebele Mogo and Grainne Hutton Food has served various cultural, economic, culinary, and even aesthetic purposes in African countries throughout history. In the 20th century, pyramid-like displays of groundnut sacks adorned cities in northern Nigeria. Known as the groundnut pyramids, these tourist attractions symbolized growing agricultural prosperity in the region. Once a famous [...]
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AIMS Enrolls 51 Alumni in MS4CR Internship Program
Compounding with a growing number of new challenges caused by the evolving COVID-19, climate change remains a global priority. The multidimensional negative impacts of climate science are more pronounced in the Global South and Africa in particular. These regions witnessed increased possibilities of severe droughts, floods, and storms threatening their social and economic future. Against [...]
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Bosun Tijani, the man behind Africa’s largest tech hub
June 7, 2021 | Africa, Blog, Innovation, Technology
Next Einstein Forum: Tell us in a few words what CcHUB is and the impact it has had on Africa? Bosun Tijani: CcHUB stands at the forefront of the fastest moving technology industry trends and is maintaining its focus on shaping the economy and the future of Africa. It is championing the growth of start-up communities whose [...]
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Dr. Sajjad Fazel, a rising figure in East Africa’s science communication field
May 24, 2021 | Africa, Blog, Healthcare, Policy, Science, Youth
Next Einstein Forum: Could you please tell us how and why you decided to embark upon a career in the science field? Sajjad Fazel: Ever since I was young, I loved science. I was a curious child, and science was my way of exploring the world and learning different things. I enjoyed conducting science experiments, [...]
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Temie Giwa-Tubosun, a leading figure in West Africa’s healthcare industry
May 17, 2021 | Africa, Blog, Healthcare, Science, Women in Science and Tech
Next Einstein Forum: West Africa’s healthcare system is faced with a couple of challenges. What are the main barriers that need to be overcome? Temie Giwa-Tubosun: One of the major challenges is limited access to critical medical supplies such as blood, oxygen, and vaccines. This is particularly due to the severely fragmented healthcare supply chain. [...]
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Dr. Fadji Maina, étoile montante dans le paysage scientifique africain
April 26, 2021 | Africa, Blog, Innovation, Science, The NEF Blog, Women in Science and Tech
Par Szymon Jagiello Next Einstein Forum: Quelles sont les raisons qui vous ont motivé à embrasser une carrière dans la filière scientifique? Fadji Maina: J’ai toujours été curieuse depuis mon enfance. Mon entourage me rappelle toujours toutes les questions que je posais quand j’étais petite. J’ai grandi avec le désir et la soif de comprendre [...]
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Dr. Chao Mbogo, the inspirational path of a computer scientist
April 16, 2021 | Africa, Blog, Person, Science, STEM, Technology, Women in Science and Tech, Youth
By Layih Butake and Szymon Jagiello Next Einstein Forum: Could you please tell us how and why you decided to embark upon a career in the science field? Chao Mbogo: I did not know that I wanted a career in computer science until I decided to pursue a degree in mathematics and computer science when [...]
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NEF Community of Scientists Review Digital Economy Strategy, Elects New Executive Committee
June 30, 2020 | Blog, Feat Articles, Fellows
17 March 2019 -NAIROBI — The Next Einstein Forum (NEF) Community of Scientists (CoS) elected a new Executive Team for its 2019–2021 Session. New Chair Prof. Sanushka Naidoo, NEF Fellow from South Africa, replaces Dr. Yebebal Fantaye, NEF Fellow from Ethiopia, who led the group during the 2017–2019 Session. This Sunday afternoon, the Next Einstein [...]
Tapping into New and Formalized Ancient Economies: Who is ready for the Fourth Industrial Revolution?
| Africa, Blog, Innovation, Technology
By Youssef TRAVALY, Vice-President of the Next Einstein Forum The African continent is at the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), a profoundly transformative global process, which will have impact throughout our societies, economies, and cultures. Two key features characterize industrial revolutions including successive energy transitions and successive technological transitions. Energy transitions – the [...]
L’Afrique est-elle prête à tirer profit de la transition énergétique à venir? La Dr. Sandrine Mubenga livre son point de vue
| Africa, Blog, Innovation, Science
Next Einstein Forum: Selon plusieurs experts, la 4ème révolution industrielle sera notamment alimentée par les énergies vertes. Êtes-vous d’accord avec cet avis? Sandrine Mubenga: Nous sommes en guerre pour le climat et les énergies fossiles ne constituent plus une solution durable. Il nous faut donc des énergies respectueuses de l’environnement. Nous sommes à l’aube d’une 4ème [...]
Comment impliquer davantage les femmes dans le domaine des sciences en Afrique? la Dr. Elsa Zekeng livre son analyse
June 28, 2020 | Africa, Blog, Gender Equality, Innovation, Science, STEM, Women in Science and Tech
Next Einstein Forum: En 2016, l’Union européenne (UE) vous a sélectionné comme Jeune Leader en reconnaissance de votre contribution dans le domaine de la science. Comment avez-vous réussi à briser le «plafond de verre»? Elsa Zekeng: Au moment de ma sélection, je faisais mon doctorat en maladies infectieuses et santé mondiale à l’Université de Liverpool [...]
Le rôle des médecins face au Covid-19 avec la Dr. Assia Mohamed Aden, une héroïne scientifique du Djibouti
June 25, 2020 | Africa, Blog, Healthcare, Science, Women in Science and Tech
Next Einstein Forum: Pourriez-vous nous expliquer brièvement pourquoi avez-vous choisi d’embrasser une carrière dans le domaine de la médecine? Une personne vous aurait-elle inspirée à suivre cette voie? Assia Mohamed Aden: Fille aînée d’un médecin, j’ai grandi à travers le prisme de la médecine. Depuis mon plus jeune âge, cette science pour laquelle je me [...]
La sensibilisation, une arme efficace contre le Covid-19? Le Dr. MBAYE, un héros scientifique du Maroc, livre son analyse
June 23, 2020 | Africa, Blog, Healthcare, Science, Youth
Next Einstein Forum: Pourriez-vous nous expliquer brièvement pourquoi avez-vous choisi d’embrasser une carrière dans le domaine de la science? M.M.M.: Plusieurs éléments ont contribué à mon choix d’embrasser une carrière dans le domaine scientifique, à l’instar de mes deux mentors, mon père et mon oncle, qui sont respectivement entrepreneur et biologiste. Ainsi, le métier de [...]
Carpe Diem: A Case for E-commerce as a Tool for Digital Disruption in Africa during Covid-19
| Africa, Ambassadors, Blog, Feat Articles, Highlight, Technology
by Kevin Muvunyi and Esther Kunda* World-renowned theoretical physicist Albert Einstein once said that in the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity. Amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, this statement becomes all the more relevant. The current pandemic has disrupted economies around the globe, with most countries expected to witness low percentage GDP growth. Africa [...]
Next Einstein Forum announces new cohort of 25 Fellows, Africa’s top young scientists
August 5, 2019 | Feat Articles, Fellows, Highlight, News, News Articles
Kigali, Rwanda, 5 August 2019 – The Next Einstein Forum (NEF) today announced its third Class of NEF Fellows Class, 25 strong scientists, all under 42 years, whose research and innovations are contributing to solve Africa’s and the world’s most pressing challenges. “I am excited to announce the 3rd class of NEF Fellows for two [...]
CALL FOR A CURATOR FOR THE NEXT EINSTEIN FORUM ARTS AND SCIENCE FESTIVAL (ASF) FOR THE GLOBAL GATHERING 2020
June 18, 2019 | Africa, Highlight, News, Person, Science
The Arts and Science Festival seeks to increase scientific and artistic awareness among the participants of the Global Gatherings; to promote widespread access to new knowledge and scientific experiences; to support and improve formal and informal science education; to encourage young people to study arts, science and technology subjects further and to consider careers in [...]
NEF Digital Economy Poll: Over half of all respondents believe infrastructure is the greatest need
June 12, 2019 | Africa, Highlight, News
In the days following the publication of Moving from goodwill to action: A call for a Coordinated Vision for Africa’s digital economy by the Next Einstein Forum, we conducted a poll on Twitter, inviting our online audience to tell us what the greatest challenges facing digital economy in Africa are. We listed four solutions: better [...]
The push towards artificial intelligence in Africa
June 5, 2019 | Africa, Blog, Feat Articles, Highlight
“Despite the support, many of us still have trouble making it to conferences. I have had papers accepted at meetings but been unable to attend because Western countries such as Australia denied me a visa, even though I was already settled and working professionally in Europe. We need more efforts to overcome these barriers and [...]
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Will Africa Take Full Advantage of its Biodiversity?
May 23, 2019 | Africa, Highlight, News, Science
On the UN International Day for Biodiversity 2019, NEF caught up with Dr. Jessica Thorn, an AIMS Climate Change Science Fellow, on her viewpoint as a scientist especially the opportunities & challenges in the conservation of Africa’s and the world’s biodiversity today. This year’s theme is “Our Biodiversity, Our Food and Our Health. This day is [...]
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Cities must lead the clean energy drive, says report
May 17, 2019 | Blog, Highlight
Did you know, that poor households in cities spend 14-22% of their income on energy? As urban growth intensifies energy use, cities must lead with efficient fuels and renewables. Cities can implement practical solutions to meet the need of the urban under-served through development models that slow carbon emissions & shift to cleaner cooking fuels [...]
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Scientists have created a silicon beating heart
Researchers have created an artificial, silicone heart to help combat the shortage of donor hearts. The silicone heart has been developed by Nicholas Cohrs, a doctoral student in the group led by Wendelin Stark, Professor of Functional Materials Engineering at ETH Zurich. It looks like a real heart. And this is the goal of the first [...]
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Young African Robotics Designers Sparking at Pan African Robotic competition in Senegal (PARC 2018)
Technology is taking part everywhere in this modern era of time, specially to face the challenges that require a sustainable development and help less fortune communities to have the privilege of standard living conditions. Africa by its high potential and promising future should be in the front line for implementing the technology that help local [...]
NEF Community of Scientists Review Digital Economy Strategy, Elects New Executive Committee
April 3, 2019 | Blog, Feat Articles, Fellows, Highlight
17 March 2019 -NAIROBI — The Next Einstein Forum (NEF) Community of Scientists (CoS) elected a new Executive Team for its 2019–2021 Session. New Chair Prof. Sanushka Naidoo, NEF Fellow from South Africa, replaces Dr. Yebebal Fantaye, NEF Fellow from Ethiopia, who led the group during the 2017–2019 Session. This Sunday afternoon, the Next Einstein [...]
Why Africa Should Embrace Artificial Intelligence
May 28, 2018 | Africa, Blog, Highlight, News, Technology
Machines might scare policymakers from Brussels to Washington, but artificial intelligence could yield a significant developmental dividend in the developing world. In African markets, the technology behind Alexa and Siri can be harnessed to diagnose illness or address traffic gridlock. With better predictive models tapping into the alternative data that does exist, AI is helping small [...]
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Young Nigerian scientist Tolullah Oni shines at World Economic Forum 2018
January 25, 2018 | Africa, Blog, Fellows, Healthcare, Highlight, News
NEF Fellow Dr Tolullah Oni at the global stage at this year’s World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, where she will be speaking about her work on public health to the forum’s theme: “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World”, longside speakers like India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S.’s Donald Trump. As [...]
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For tech to be funded, it must improve lives
January 9, 2018 | Africa, Blog, Highlight, News, Policy, Science
Technology can’t solve problems. Neither can data, for that matter. It can’t plug the holes of governance and political will but, without it, we cannot hope to address the myriad problems facing African countries. This idea permeated the Science Forum South Africa. Whether it was in the use of satellites to monitor the continent’s resources [...]
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There’s No Such Thing as Being Bad at Math: How Neuroscience Is Changing the Equation
It’s common to hear well educated adults declare themselves “not a math person,” sometimes proudly. Indeed, many people of all ages believe that mathematical ability is something you are either born with or not, rather than something to be mastered with focused effort. This belief is wrong. What’s more, it’s harmful to kids as they have their first [...]
UGANDA’S SCIENTIST NAMED AMONG THE NEXT EINSTEIN FORUM AMBASSADORS, CHAMPIONS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ACROSS AFRICA
December 21, 2017 | Ambassadors, Blog, Highlight, News
Uganda’s Joanitah N Nalubega named among the champions of Science & Tech across Africa. She’s an industrial chemist, with a deep passion for technology, currently working to deploy solutions for the health sector using technology. Also a founding partner of a fellowship of creatives called Kafunda Kreative which seeks to build the capacity of young creatives [...]
40 Africans Under 40 – Making It In Africa
December 18, 2017 | Africa, Blog, Fellows, Highlight, News, STEM
NEF Fellow Mouhamed Moustapha Fall, recognized by Africa.com under Top 40 Under 40 extraordinary men and women who are transforming the future of Africa. This list includes people who are making amazing contributions in their respective fields of expertise. Young Africans are smart people who’ve taken it upon themselves to use their various talents and fields of [...]
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STEM fields need to be more friendly to women
According to NSF’s Science and Engineering Indicators, the STEM fields are dominated by a male presence. For example, 11.1 percent of physicists and astronomers are women, 22.7 percent of chemical engineers are women, 35.2 percent of chemists are women and 7.9 percent of mechanical engineers are women. NSF also says that Women, Minorities, and Persons [...]
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How scientists and farmers creating climate and disease resistant livestock for Africa
Visiting Brisbane in November for theInternational Tropical Agriculture Conference for 2017, Director General of theInternational Livestock Research Institute Dr. Jimmy Smith discussed with Devex a range of new and exciting programs his organization is delivering to help create climate and disease resistant livestock for Africa. With research progressing rapidly, Smith believes 2018 will see ILRI deliver a [...]
There’s more to evidence-based policies than data: why it matters for healthcare
December 12, 2017 | Africa, Blog, Healthcare, News, Policy
The idea of “Health for All” was first put on the global agenda in 1978 at the International Conference on Primary Health Care at Alma Ata. It called for primary health care to be introduced as the first step to making sure that everyone has access to health care. The big question is: how can [...]
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Scientists build hydrogen sensor readable with the naked eye
According to many scientists, the proposed ‘hydrogen economy’, in which hydrogen is to become the most important carrier of sustainably generated energy, is an inevitable development. Unfortunately, the use of hydrogen entails certain risks, because it is flammable and difficult to detect. The research that the scientists described in their publication in Nature Communications focuses on [...]
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West Africa’s biggest solar farm launched in Burkina Faso
December 5, 2017 | Africa, Blog, Highlight, News
Burkina Faso is now home to West Africa’s biggest solar farm, a 33-megawatt plant located in the town of Zatubi, outside the capital Ouagadougou. Records indicate that only about 20% of Burkina Faso’s 17 million population have access to the national power system. The majority depend on other unsustainable power generation options. Built at a cost [...]
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Hopes for HIV vaccine buoyed by start of second big trial
| Blog, Healthcare, Highlight, News
Scientists announced the launch of another large HIV vaccine efficacy study, fueling hopes for a protective shot against the virus that causes AIDS, despite past disappointments. The start of the new trial involving 2,600 women in southern Africa means that for the first time in more than a decade there are now two big HIV [...]
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Open access publishing platform launched for African scientists
| Blog, Highlight, News, Science
African scientists are getting their own open access publication platform, which will use a system of transparent, post-publication peer review. The African Academy of Sciences, in partnership with F1000, is launching AAS Open Research, which will offer immediate online publication to AAS-funded and affiliated researchers. Peer review reports will be published alongside the articles, together [...]
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Nairobi Scientists discover technology to manage maize pest
| Africa, Blog, Highlight, News
Scientists at the Nairobi-based International Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) announced Thursday they have discovered a technology that will manage ravaging pest that has worsened food insecurity in Africa. In a statement released in Nairobi last week, the scientists said the technology, Push-Pull, is effective in controlling the Fall Armyworm, which mainly prefer maize plants [...]
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How a West African lab made a 3D printer from toxic e-waste
| Africa, Blog, Highlight, Innovation, News
An innovative lab in Lomé, the capital city of Togo in West Africa created the first “Made in Africa” 3D printer using e-waste. WoeLab, a community tech hub established by architect Sénamé Koffi Agbodjinou, 37, made the machine using little more than scrap printers, computers and scanners. The idea was born after Agbodjinou purchased a 3D [...]
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Pruitt’s RFS Decision Defies Science, Undercuts Development of New Fuels
December 1, 2017 | Blog, News, Policy, Science
According to a Statement by Jeremy Martin, Union of Concerned Scientists, Scott Pruitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has finalized a change to biofuels policy, lowering the amount of cellulosic biofuel required under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). While political pressure from agricultural interests partly checked Pruitt’s effort to roll back the RFS [...]
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Ethiopia’s waste-to-energy plant is a first in Africa
November 30, 2017 | Blog, News
For half a century, the Koshe dump site has been the only landfill in Addis Ababa. As the city has expanded, the landfill – which used to lie on the outskirts of the Ethiopian capital – has become part of the urban landscape, sprawling over an area the size of 36 football pitches and attracting [...]
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Call For Papers; Beyond the Debate: Climate Change as an Economic Opportunity for Africa
November 24, 2017 | Blog, News
This workshop will be co-located with the second edition of the EAI International Conference on Innovations and Interdisciplinary Solutions for Underserved Areas (InterSol2018) (http://interdisciplinarysolutions.org/) to be held as a pre-event of the Next Einstein Forum Global Gathering (NEF GG) on March 24-25, 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda. All Authors of accepted papers (one author per paper) [...]
Africa must keep its rich, valuable data safe from exploitation
Data is being driven by major international research collaborations like the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) project. This and similar initiatives are producing volumes of data the continent has never witnessed before. All of that data then needs to be carefully managed throughout every stage of the research project. That’s why data stewardship – a job that didn’t exist in academia [...]
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Meet Africa’s best young scientists and technologists
September 14, 2017 | Blog, News
Earlier Last week, the Next Einstein Forum announced its second batch of fellows, class of 2017-2019, who among the 16, six are women best young scientists and technologists from the African soil. These are young innovators and emerging leaders engaged in research and technological development under the age of 42 years. Read more [...]
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Announcing 2017-2019 Next Einstein Forum Fellows, Africa’s top scientists solving global challenges
September 11, 2017 | Blog, Multimedia, News
Kigali, 12 September 2017 – The Next Einstein Forum (NEF) today announces its second Fellows Class, 16 scientists, all under 42 years of age, who are solving Africa’s and the world’s challenges. An initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in partnership with the Robert Bosch Stiftung, the NEF will hold its second [...]
Next Einstein Forum announces 2015/2016 NEF Fellows Class Solving African and Global Challenges Through Science and Technology
November 20, 2015 | Blog, News
The Next Einstein Forum (NEF), an initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in partnership with Robert Bosch Stiftung, today announced the 2015/2016 NEF Fellows Class – twelve of Africa’s top scientists and technologists under 42 years old, working in Africa and around the world. Central to the NEF’s vision of propelling Africa [...]
UNESCO endorses Africa’s global forum for science and technology: the Next Einstein Forum
By 2050, the UN projects that 40% of the world’s young people will be African. To keep up with this growing youth population and to transition into knowledge based economies, Africa will need to produce a daunting 18 million jobs a year, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). Yet today, less than 25% of [...]
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