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The Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland to the United Republic of Tanzania, and also accredited to the EAC bloc, H.E. Fionnuala Gilsenan yesterday paid a courtesy call to Amb. Liberat Mfumukeko, the Secretary General of the East African Community.
The Secretary General and his guest discussed among other things the possible areas of cooperation especially in the implementation of the Common Market Protocol and in particular, the Free Movement of Persons. Amb. Mfumukeko informed the Ireland envoy that the implementation of the next EAC Development Strategy would commence in 2017 and the EAC was counting on Ireland’s support to realise its goals.
Commenting on the progress of the Burundi Peace Talks, Amb. Mfumukeko updated Her Excellency that H.E. Benjamin Mkapa had recently met a group of politicians in Brussels as a continuation of the consultations that had been held in Arusha in May. He mentioned that the talks required further negotiations between all the parties involved and assured his counterpart that EAC was supporting an all-inclusive dialogue process.
On South Sudan, the Secretary General informed the Ireland Ambassador that South Sudan has been given six month to complete the ratification process of the Accession Treaty signed on 15th April 2016, after which the country will be a full member of the EAC.
On her part, H.E. Fionnuala Gilsenan commended the impressive progress made by EAC, especially the finalisation of ambitious Protocols and Policies. She emphasised the need of reaching and sensitising the common citizenry of the real benefits of integration noting that lack of this was one of key reasons for Brexit. She informed Amb. Mfumukeko that the decision by UK to exit EU would have great implications especially in Northern Ireland, which is still part of EU. On the Burundi Dialogue Process, the Ambassador underlined the need to have a strong dialogue plan that would accommodate the views of all stakeholders involved.
The Ireland Ambassador affirmed to the Secretary General her country’s continued support to the EAC projects and programmes confirming that Ireland was committed to contributing to the EAC Partnership Fund. She expressed hope that this would continue to build on the strong relationship and partnership between Ireland and EAC.
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The Principal Secretary (PS), State Department of East African Community Integration, Ministry of EAC, Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Kenya Ms. Betty Maina has lauded Kiswahili stakeholders in East Africa for championing the development and use of the language in regional integration.
Addressing participants at the official opening of a two-day Validation Workshop for the Strategic Plan of the East African Kiswahili Commission (EAKC) on Thursday, 23rd June 2016 at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) in Nairobi, Ms. Maina commended delegates drawn from all the EAC Partner States for using Kiswahili to sensitize the citizenry on the integration process and progress. Noting that Kiswahili is an integral part of the integration project and sustainable development for the region, the PS called for concerted efforts to support the Commission.
The PS called on the stakeholders to distil specific actionable areas that would have visible and tangible results that will be applicable and presentable to the public and other stakeholders. She challenged the stakeholders to brainstorm on possible sources of alternative funding to facilitate and enhance staff expansion and infrastructural development. She reminded the Commission that while considering request for supplementary budget, it should go beyond traditional funding and think about alternative resource mobilization.
The Executive Secretary of the East African Kiswahili Commission, Prof Kenneth Simala assured participants of the Commission’s commitment to executing its mandate of coordinating and promoting the development and use of Kiswahili in East Africa and the diaspora, where Kiswahili is the fastest spreading African language.
The Validation Workshop was closed on Friday 24th June, 2016 by Mr. Joe Okudo, Principal Secretary, State Department of Arts and Culture; Ministry of Sports, Culture and the Arts who noted that Kiswahili is quickly becoming a Pan-African language of identity. He urged stakeholders to take the lead in promoting the development and use of Kiswahili.
The Validation Workshop was the third in a week-long series of meetings organized by the EAKC to discuss effective operationalization and implementation of its mandate. The workshops were attended by over 143 delegates from across the Community.
University Kiswahili Staff and Student Exchange Programme
The first workshop on Monday, 20th June, 2016 was on the theme ‘University Kiswahili Staff and Student Exchange in the EAC and Beyond’ and was attended by Chairpersons of Departments of Kiswahili and Graduate Students from both public and private universities. Specific objectives of the Workshop were: To initiate linkages for students and staff exchange Programmes among East African Universities and beyond. A second objective was to establish stakeholders associations at national and regional levels as drivers of the first goal.
On Curriculum Reform, Change and Innovation
On 21st – 22nd June, 2016, EAKC in partnership with DAAD Regional Office in Nairobi held a workshop on ‘Curriculum Reform, Change and Innovation at Universities in East Africa’. Facilitated by distinguished scholars from across the region, the workshop also had presentations made by teachers of Kiswahili, media practitioners, government officials and DAAD alumni from EAC Partner States. Sharing experiences and learning from best practices, stakeholders at the workshop observed that the fast pace of globalization and regionalization has resulted in internalization of education and the need for staff and student mobility in East Africa and beyond. Among the key milestones of the workshop are: a Report; Mentorship Programme of DAAD Alumni for Kiswahili Scholars and Students; Roadmap on East African University Kiswahili Staff and Student Exchange Programme; National Associations of University Departments of Kiswahili; Association of East African Kiswahili media Practitioners.
Milestones and deliverables
At the end of the Workshop, the following milestones were achieved:
- Draft Policy on University Kiswahili Staff-Student Exchange Programme in East Africa and beyond;
- Linkages initiated between staff and students of Kiswahili in East African Universities;
- National Associations of Chairpersons of Departments of Kiswahili in East African Universities;
- East African Association of Chairpersons of Departments of Kiswahili at Universities;
- National Associations of Kiswahili Media Operators in East Africa;
- East African Association of Kiswahili Media Operators;
- Workshop Report on ‘Curriculum Reform, Change and Innovation at Universities in East Africa’.
- Workshop Proceedings from Facilitators (to be edited into a ten-chapter book)
- Validated EAKC Strategic Plan (2016/7 -2020/1);
- Report of the Validation Workshop.