Tag: East Africa
Building Bridges for Sustainable Development: Insights from the 12th EALAN Conference
The 12th instalment of the EALAN Annual General Meeting and Conference, a collaborative effort by the Eastern African Land Administration Network (EALAN), Ardhi University, and the Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa (NELGA), took place from July 27th to 28th, 2023, in Dar es Salaam. This event is a landmark in the progress of sustainable development via land administration in Eastern Africa.
The conference theme, “Advancing Land Administration in Eastern Africa for Sustainable Development,” opened up insightful discussions on the complex dynamics between human interaction with the land, technological advancements, and societal priorities. These elements have a profound influence on the region’s journey towards achieving the sustainable development goals.
The EALAN Conference hosted engaging dialogues and technical sessions, shedding light on crucial sub-themes. These included land governance and tenure, the impacts of climate change on land use, land acquisition and conflicts, education and research in land administration, land registration and formalization, and pro-poor land management approaches.
The conference provided a platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange between scholars, policymakers, and practitioners from diverse land-related disciplines. NELGA’s participation highlighted the network’s dedication to improving land governance practices in the region, aiming to promote economic development, social justice, and environmental protection.
EALAN Conference 2023: Addressing Land Administration Challenges for Sustainable Development
Today marks the first day of the EALAN Conference, a significant event focused on addressing the challenges facing Land Administration Systems in the region. The conference aims to bring together stakeholders from various backgrounds, including scholars, policymakers, and practitioners in the land governance realm.
The theme of the conference, “Land Administration for Sustainable Development,” highlights the crucial role that effective land administration plays in achieving sustainable development goals. It recognizes the importance of addressing issues such as the inclusion of women and vulnerable groups, informality in land markets, and the efficient use of land and natural resources.
Throughout the day, participants will engage in discussions and attend technical sessions covering a range of subthemes. These subthemes include education and research in land administration, land governance and tenure, and land acquisition. The sessions will provide a platform for sharing experiences, research findings, and innovative approaches to address the challenges in land governance.
The conference offers an opportunity for participants to learn from each other’s experiences and exchange ideas on how to improve land administration systems. By fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing, the conference aims to contribute to the development of effective and sustainable land governance practices in the region.
As we look forward to the second day of the conference, there will be further engaging sessions and presentations on topics such as digital land administration, land registration, and pro-poor land management approaches. These discussions will provide valuable insights and recommendations for enhancing land administration systems and promoting sustainable development.
Join us online here.
From the Ground Up: How Land Governance Sensitization Workshops in East Africa are Empowering Educators to Create a Better Future for the Continent
The NELGA Eastern Africa Node, in collaboration with African Land Policy Centre, GIZ and EALAN Secretariat, organized a series of workshops to popularize the Guidelines for Development of Curricula on Land Governance in Africa. The workshops were held between 22nd – 27th of March 2023 in Kampala, Kigali, and Dar es Salaam. The workshops attracted representatives of University Management, University Accreditation Boards, Professional bodies and academic units in universities offering land governance programs in the three countries. A total of 55 participants attended the three workshops.
The workshops involved the presentation of the guidelines developed by the African Land Policy Centre for implementation by universities in Africa. The Guidelines were presented at the workshops by the Coordinator of the NELGA Eastern Africa Node on behalf of the African Land Policy Centre. Engaging discussion ensued, touching on content, relevance and adoption of the guidelines in developing curricula on land governance-related programs. Participants in the three sessions acknowledged that the workshops on Guidelines were timely as most universities were either on the verge of reviewing or developing their curricula. Key comments on the content pointed to the need to further de-colonize the curricula, tailor the curricula to land governance theories suiting the African context, re-imagining housing, rethink the status of women’s land rights, particularly in the context of Eastern Africa region and use the Guidelines to develop benchmark standards for land governance academic programs in Africa.
With regard to mainstreaming the Guidelines in existing or new degree programs in land governance, participants proposed the use of different modes, including informing the curricula through developing standalone subjects, electives, seminars or topics; incorporating the themes in Universities research agenda, and reconsidering the mode of delivery of the curricula that will not overwhelm the learners.