COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH ON EAST AFRICA TERRITORY INTEGRATION WITHIN GLOBALISATION

Transcription

1 Presentation by Prof. Bernard Charlery de la Masselière Coordinator CREATING C.R.E.A.T.IN.G. A EU/SSH COORDINATING ACTION COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH ON EAST AFRICA TERRITORY INTEGRATION WITHIN GLOBALISATION

2 A project funded by the European Commission Under the 7 framework programme cadre for research an d development The Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) bundles all research-related EU initiatives together under a common roof playing a crucial role in reaching the goals of growth, competitiveness and employment. It is a key pillar for the European Research Area (ERA). The broad objectives of FP7 have been grouped into four categories: Cooperation, Ideas, People and Capacities. For each type of objective, there is a specific programme corresponding to the main areas of EU research policy. All specific programmes work together to promote and encourage the creation of European poles of (scientific) excellence. Specific Programme «Coopération» The specific programme on 'Cooperation' supports all types of research activities carried out by different research bodies in trans-national cooperation and aims to gain or consolidate leadership in key scientific and technology areas. Socio-economic sciences and the humanities Funding 'Socio-economic sciences and the humanities' (SSH) will contribute to an in-depth, shared understanding of the complex and interrelated socio economic challenges confronting Europe.

3 A coordination and support action Objectives: to coordinate research activities and policy to contribute to the development of synergies to prepare future research programme Grants, training, pilot studies, exchanges Conférences, meetings, workshops, seminars Expert groups Information, communication

4 Promotion of regional integration in East Africa through a bi-regional network of researchers To build research cooperation within and beyond the European research area and promote eastern African understanding of, and participation in, the aims of the Framework Programme; To develop research capacity, particularly in third countries in eastern Africa; To identify priority areas for future research of mutual interest and benefit using the opportunity offered by the Specific International Cooperation actions. two research perspectives which focus on territorial and social cohesion

5 At the core of the project One French coordinator: a bi-regional network of researchers The University of Toulouse-Le Mirail Prof. Bernard Charlery de la Masselière Three European research institutes which have long experience promoting research cooperation in eastern Africa: The British Institute in Eastern Africa Dr. Justin Willis Director The French Institute for Research in Africa The Royal Museum for Central Africa Prof. Bernard Calas Director Dr. Danielle De Lame Head - Ethnosociology & Ethnohistory Unit

6 An inter-governmental organization of the East African Partner States (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi) The Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) is a regional inter-governmental organization established in 1980 by the five East African Partner States (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi) with the aim of facilitating contact between the universities of East Africa, providing a forum for discussion on a wide range of academic and other matters relating to higher education, and helping maintain high and comparable academic standards. Dr Benedict Mtasiwa Programme Officer Tanzania Professor Chacha Nyaigotti Chacha Exectuve Secretary Kenya Mr Phillip Ouma Ayoo Electronic Database Specialist Kenya

7 Participants Four other European research centres are beneficiaries of the project

8 Prof. Mats Widgren Head, Geography Department PLATINA is a research network focusing on land use history, environmental change and on interactions between social and biophysical disciplines. The DyMSET Team (Dynamique des Milieux et des Sociétés dans les Espaces Tropicaux) studies interactions between environment and societies. Prof. François Bart Geographer

9 The School of Natural Sciences Research activity falls largely into two interdisciplinary research groupings: Earth, Environment and Society; and Integrative Biology. Prof. David Taylor Head, School of Natural Sciences Research has focused on the use of lake and swamp sedimentbased archives, along with available documentary and instrumental evidence, to reconstruct past environmental changes and the human responses to/role of human activity in these. Prof. Achim Von Oppen African History Migration / mobility and the formation of identity in Africaisafocusofresearchinseveraldisciplinesinthe University of Bayreuth, notably in History, Geography, Sociology of Development, and Social Anthropology.

10 All the universities members of the IUCEA are invited to participate to the project Members of Research centres of the three oldest public universities in East Africa are already involved in the project through the Steering and Scientific Committee. Institute for Development Studies (IDS) The IDS is a multi-disciplinary and multi-purpose institute established in The main functions of the institute are research and related activities to enhance understanding of development problems of Kenya Prof. Winnie Mitullah Institute of Resource Assessment (IRA) The Institute is the successor of the former Bureau of Resource Assessment and Land Use Planning (BRALUP), which was established in 1967 to support the Government of Tanzania in planning and assessment of both human and natural resources. Prof. Pius Z. Yanda Directeur Mountain Resource Center Dr. Bob Nakileza Coordinator

11 Launching meeting in Brussels, March

12 Two research foci East Africa s Mountains The Lake Tanganyika basin

13 Four scientific themes Resource management and livelihood Understanding of different trajectories: People using the natural resources in such a way that land has been degraded Farmers and pastoralists being able to establish sustainable land use practices Environmental and Climatic change Providing a foundation for determining: The main drivers of environmental changes impacting lake and mountain ecosystems and human populations. The main human responses to environmental impacts at individual and community levels. Mobility and Identities Identifying the multiplicity of forms of mobility: trade, pastoralism, combination of agricultural land uses, exploration of better livelihoods, labour migration, fight from political persecution, violence or ecological degradation, etc. Small and medium towns Redefining: Their role as destination of rural mobilities, as provider of services,as place of exchange of resources and social change. Urban networks, rural/urban relations, flows of resources, etc.

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15 WP1: Coordination structure Building up a sustainable structure between the coordinators Providing project logistics Acting as an Interregional Contact Point for the 7 FP Following up the evolution of research capacities of the local institutions. Reviewing research policies, resources and programmes Creating a website for information sharing. In Toulouse (UTM) a small coordination unit to manage the links with EU Commission to have an overview of the project, to follow up the scientific objectives to manage any conflicts if necessary. In Nairobi in connection with Kampala a central unit

16 WP2: Information network The project will establish a European-African multi-media information resource network, with two main hubs at the MRAC (Tervuren, Belgium) and at the IUCEA headquarters in Kampala. In Kampala, IUCEA has partly developed the joint research mechanism for the ICT theme through a project called Varsitynet project. This proposed project will open-up for versatile networking set-ups in terms of themes and stakeholders. The most prioritized are the social scientists. In Tervuren, The objective of the programme is to make the data base, managed by the Ethno-sociology and Ethno-history department for almost one century, available on the net and to set up a CREATING countries specific database, and to initiate a hub linking the documentation centres on line.

17 WP 3, 4, 5, 6: Research and training activities A launching meeting Brussels An introductory international conference to take stock of and share all the sector research already carried out on these areas, to select master and PHD students to define the relevant sub-themes and the multi-disciplinary methods of analysis to define the pilot study sites. Nairobi Mountains Preparatory courses on research topics and methodology. Pilot studies on chosen sites carried out multi-disciplinary teams Closing conference Tanganyika A Specific International Cooperation Actions programme

18 THANK YOU