Thursday, May 30, 2013

The Centre for Sustainable Dryland Ecosystems and Societies - 1st Student-Led Conference

The above Conference under the theme; “Transformative education, research and outreach for enhancing resilience and risk reduction in drylands” kicked off yesterday 29th morning. The conference is convened by the Center for Sustainable Dryland Ecosystems and Societies (CSDES) and Department of Land Resource Management and Agricultural Technology (LARMAT) under the University of Nairobi—Colorado State University (USA) partnership with funding from USAID-Higher Education for Development Dryland Management Program.

The conference is aimed at sharing student research findings and experiences with the dryland communities and other stake holders in order to enhance networks between young professionals, research institutions, stakeholders, policy makers working in drylands; strengthen partnership among dryland communities, institutions of higher learning and other stakeholders; catalyse interest among CSDES interns to pursue higher education, and promote awareness among various stakeholders about the unique needs of drylands and the need for innovative approaches for enhancing dryland livelihoods. The conference was officially opened by Prof. Isaac M. Mbeche (Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Student Affairs). VIPs present included Dean, Faculty of Agriculture; Prof. Solomon Shibairo representing the Principal-CAVS, Prof. Agnes Mwang’ombe; Governor, Kajiado County, Dr. David Nkedianye; USAID Representative, Mr. Isaac Thindeu; Colorado State University Students and Faculty, IUCN Coordinator on Dryland Global Initiative, Dr. Jonathan Davis, among others.

Please visit CSDES website to follow up on the outcome of the conference. It is hoped that this conference will become an annual event bringing together Students, Interns, Faculty and Practitioners working in drylands, and of course the dryland communities themselves to try and address the challenges facing the drylands, and most important give opportunities to students especially form dryland and marginalised communities.
 

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