EAC STUDENTS' DEBATE 2014 SET FOR SEPTEMBER IN NAIROBI

East African Community

PRESS RELEASE

 

EAC Students’ Debate 2014 set for September in Nairobi

…3 day Preparatory meeting currently on-going

East African Community, Nairobi, Kenya, July 29, 2014: The 3^rd East African Community University Students’ Debate 2014 is scheduled to be held on September 4-5, 2014, in Nairobi, Kenya.

The debate which brings together students from various Universities and institutions of higher learning from the EAC region is an important avenue for sharing information, exchange of ideas and promoting discourse and sensitization.

Towards this end, the EAC in collaboration with the GiZ-EAC Programme, is holding a three-day preparatory meeting (July 28-30, 2014) in Nairobi to map out the strategies for the forthcoming debate.   The meeting was opened yesterday by the Deputy Secretary General of the EAC, Mr. Charles Njoroge. 

In his remarks, the Deputy Secretary General urged the youth to continue to be advocates championing the tenets of integration. Mr. Njoroge commended the EAC Youth Ambassadors Platform for the noble work of spearheading and popularizing EAC integration within the university community.

‘I also want to assure you that EAC is committed to strengthening the networks the Platform has created with University administrations over time as well as the EAC Youth Clubs in fulfillment of the principal of participation and involvement of all segments of the society in the integration agenda’, he said.

The Deputy Secretary General maintained that the Regional Economic Community was geared towards mobilizing sustainable resources for the Nyerere Centre for Peace and Research.

The meeting is evaluating the impact of sensitization programmes that have been undertaken from the period February – June 2014. It is also hopes to validate the lessons and challenges learnt by the Platform.

According to the Principal Political Affairs Officer at the EAC, Isabelle Waffubwa, the opportunity affords the EAC an opportunity to rethink, refocus where necessary, and evaluate the performance as well as the impact on targeted groups.

The Chair of the EAC Youth Ambassadors, Ms. Effie Owour lauded the Members of the Platform for their commitment and said that their contribution towards the integration progress was already bearing fruit.The GiZ-EAC Junior Advisor on Peace and Security in the EAC, Ms. Venelina Gancheva, affirmed the Organization’s commitment to assisting the region realize full integration. 

“To date, the Youth Ambassadors have been engaged in close to 30 sensitisation activities and over 6000 stakeholders have been targeted”, Ms. Gancheva remarked.

The University Debate was mooted by the EAC under the Nyerere Centre for Peace Research.  The debate among other things envisages the full participation of the young people in dialogue as well as in the exchange of ideas on concrete issues that have impact.

Notes for the Editors

The EAC University Students’ Debate on Regional Integration 

The Forum was established to interest University students in regional integration. To this end, students have demonstrated commitment towards exchange of ideas and sharing of knowledge among themselves. Arising from the 2^nd EAC University Students’ Debate, the EAC Secretariat launched the EAC Youth Ambassadors’ Platform (EAC-YAP) last year to enable structured engagement with the youth at Universities and other Higher Institutions of Learning.

The Platform spearheads information sharing and sensitization of young people through writing articles, debates on topical issues in the social media, hosting talk shows on the EAC Integration as well as holding sensitization forums across universities. The outcome of such activities has enhanced sensitization of peers and dissemination of information of the EAC integration, opportunities and challenges.

-Ends-

For more information, contact:

Owora Richard Othieno,
Head of Department;
Corporate Communications and Public Affairs;
+255 784 835021;
Email: oothieno@eachq.org; oothieno@gmail.com;