Uganda to host International Symposium and Exhibition on Agriculture Development in the EAC

 A 5-day International Symposium and Exhibition on Agricultural Development in the East African Community will be held 4-8 November 2013 at the Serena Hotel in Kampala, Uganda.

The event is being collaboratively organized by the EAC Secretariat, Kilimo Trust, Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), Uganda’s Ministries of East African Community Affairs (MEACA- Uganda), and that of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF- Uganda).

The theme of the Symposium and Exhibition is Agricultural Development in the EAC: lessons from the past 50 years and prospects for the future. Participants will be engaged in dialogue designed to enhance EAC regional integration in the agricultural sector through five major events: Youth in Agriculture (YiA) Workshop, Technical Symposium, a High Level Executive Roundtable, Exhibitions, and Special Seminars.

The Deputy Secretary General in charge of Productive and Social sectors at the EAC Secretariat Hon. Jesca Eriyo states that “the events of the week are designed to reflect on agriculture during the 50 years since all the EAC Partner States earned independence”.

Adding that “the event is also being held at a time when the continent’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) is marking ten years of implementation.  Furthermore, it is only two years away from the target year (2015) for the EAC Partner States to achieve the millennium development goals (MDGs).

Therefore, symposium, the YiA workshop, the seminars and the executive roundtable will provide an opportunity to evaluate progress, lessons, and prospects for the future – in relation to national efforts since independence, the 10 years of CAADP principles, as well as the international programmes driven by the MDGs”. 

“The aim is to articulate an EAC Regional Vision of Agriculture for the future as a modern and vibrant sector that fully takes advantage of the region’s endowment with resources (youthful population, arable land, water and now the realization of oil and gas) coupled with the ever increasing global demand for food and agricultural products” the EAC official affirms..

Participants  will engage the private sector in agriculture including farmers, leaders of farmer organizations and agribusiness players along agricultural value chains; government ministries and departments; national agricultural research organizations; universities, and extension service providers; international and regional development organizations supporting agriculture in the EAC Region; civil society organizations; youth in agriculture among other practitioners in the agricultural sector.

EAC to organize the second edition of the East African Higher Education  Forum

The Inter University Council of East Africa (IUCEA), East African Business Council (EABC), East African Development Bank (EADB) and the East African Community (EAC) are jointly organizing the second edition of the East African Higher Education Forum 2013 slated for 24^th – 26^th October 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Themed: “Bridging the Academia and the Private Sector through Engagement with the Public Sector”, the Forum will bring together higher education managers, researchers, the business community, and policy makers from EAC Partner States to deliberate on the role of universities in fostering regional integration and the development of knowledge-based economies in the East African Community, through forging linkages with the business community.

The main objective of the Forum is to provide a convergence platform for higher education, the business community and the public sector to discuss and strategize on how to develop effective higher education systems in East Africa that would be linked to industry, for the promotion of sustainable socio-economic development and East Africa’s regional integration.

The Forum is expected to establish collaboration between universities and the business community for the region’s sustainable socio-economic development through enhanced industrial performance and investments in higher education and promoting the development of skills and competence-based curricula, building consensus on developing a common higher education area for East Africa, mainstreaming the relevance of university-generated knowledge and human resources for the well being of the general society, and strengthening excellence of universities by developing strategically focused curricula and research.

Relevant institutions in the EAC Partner States, EAC Secretariat, Heads of Higher Education Institutions, national commissions and councils for higher education, and national commissions and councils for science and technology in the Partner States, international organizations, NGOs, academicians, students, and private individuals are expected to attend.

As part of the Forum events, students, academic staff in universities, research institutions as well as the private sector in the region will exhibit their brilliant ideas in business development and strategic innovations. Exhibitors will also show case the practical aspects of their operations, products and achievements as a way of promoting and enhancing academia and private sector partnerships.

The First edition of the East African Higher Education Forum was held 24th – 26th October 2012 in Arusha, Tanzania. At the end of this Forum, resolutions focused on consolidating the IUCEA and EABC partnership by providing sustainability mechanisms. In this regard, EABC and IUCEA developed a medium term plan of action to guide implementation of the resolutions and recommendations, to be undertaken under the auspices of EAC.

Among the items in the plan of action agreed upon was to organize a regional academia and private sector partnership forum and exhibitions on an annual basis, on rotation among the EAC Partner States.

High level negotiation with South Sudan to join the Community is set for 7 - 8 November in Arusha

The Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC) Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera has disclosed that the meeting of the High Level Negotiations Team with the Republic of South Sudan to join the Community is scheduled to take place 7-8 November 2013 in Arusha, Tanzania to commence its work, and determine its rules of procedure and programme.

At its 27^th Meeting held on 31 August 2013, the EAC Council of Ministers approved the proposed process of handling the negotiations with the Republic of South Sudan to join the East African Community; established a High Level Negotiation Team; directed the Partner States to nominate three (3) Members to the High Level Negotiation Team by 30 September 2013; and directed the Secretariat to thereafter convene a meeting of the High Level Negotiation Team to start the negotiations with the Republic of South Sudan.

A visit of a High Level Mission of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan is also expected at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania in early November 2013.

The Negotiation process is expected to be structured in three (3) phases namely; technical negotiations involving technical experts from the EAC (i.e. the three nominees from each Partner State) and the Republic of South Sudan; second phase will involve Permanent/Principal Secretaries to consider recommendations from the technical phase and recommend to an appropriate Ministerial Negotiations. The third phase will be at the Ministerial level. Each of these phased negotiations will systematically feed into each other.

 EAC in cooperation with GIZ to organize basic training in regional integration for Journalist in Kampala, Uganda

 The East African Community (EAC) Secretariat is organizing a three-day basic training for journalists in the Partner States on regional reporting 25-27 November, 2013, according to the EAC Head of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, Owora Richard Othieno.

He said the training, which is to heighten public awareness on the activities and programmes of the EAC, is organized in collaboration with the German International Agency (GIZ) is to conduct a basic journalist training on EAC regional integration reporting from 25th to 27th November 2013 in Kampala, Uganda. Twenty selected journalists, four from each Partner State, will attend the three-day special training.

“This training is part of a broader media training intervention to enhance the journalist’s quality and quantity of reporting on the EAC integration agenda and aims at enhancing journalists ‘understanding of the concept of regional integration in general and of the history, organs, institutions and policies of the EAC,’’ said Owora.

Since the programme was initiated in 2011, over 70 media practitioners, editors, script writers and photographers have benefited from the programme.

The training will precede the EAC-EABC Media Summit and Award Gala Dinner on 28 November, 2013 in Kampala. The trained journalists will be offered a rare opportunity to attend the annual Media Summit, EAC Council of Ministers and the Summit of Heads of State and are expected to increase the visibility of the EAC events scheduled in Uganda.

The training, according to the EAC official, is to open to all active journalists in print or electronic media and on line publications.

The training is part of continuous efforts of the EAC Secretariat to enable journalists in the region to share the best practices in disseminating regional integration information and empowering the media to report as accurately and widely as possible as well as increase the pool of trained journalists on the EAC Integration agenda.

The East African Community (EAC) is the regional intergovernmental organization of the Republics of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Republic of Rwanda and Republic of Burundi with its Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. 

The EAC's vision is a prosperous, competitive, secure, stable and politically united East Africa; and the Mission is to widen and deepen economic, political, social and culture integration in order to improve the quality of life of the people of East Africa. With a population of over 140 million and growing, the media plays a critical role in communicating EAC and bringing out the news to the world.

While every EAC citizen has the ability to spread the message of East African integration, not all citizens have the luxury the media has: The access to be in regional frontline of happenings. The people of EAC continue to depend on the media’s curiosity, persistence and integrity to communicate the message and spirit of East African integration. As such, the media should continue to enhance the quality and professionalism of reporting.

GIZ In the spirit of partnership, GIZ supports people and societies in developing, transition and industrialized countries in shaping their own futures and improving living conditions. Established on 1 January 2011, it brings together under one roof the long-standing expertise of the Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst (DED) GmbH (German Development Service), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH (German Technical Cooperation) and InWEnt – Capacity Building International, Germany.

As a federally owned enterprise, GIZ supports the German Government in achieving its objectives in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development. GIZ is also engaged in international education work around the globe. GIZ operates in more than 130 countries worldwide.