After a visit by politicians, technical experts and coordinators from The City of Umeå to Kajiado County in Kenya March 2017 decision was made to host a team representing Kajiado County Government and their stakeholders at a program in June 2017 with workshops and study-visits in Stockholm, The City of Umeå, Skellefteå Municipality and Vindeln Municipality. There is a strong commitment from both partners to work for an integrated system for sustainable waste and water management.
Busia Municipality and Robertsfors Municipality are working to find solutions in the area of sustainable livelihood for especially the young members in the municipalities. The partners are now finalizing the second year of the project which is funded by Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy (ICLD). The agenda this time included follow-up, workshops and planning as well as a visit at the Swedish Embassy with Jenny Krisch, first secretary for growth and employment, as the host.
Together with Malin Lindberg, Associate Professor of Gender and Technology at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden, I will conduct a comprehensive survey of civil society in The County of Norrbotten. The survey is commissioned by The Association of Social Economy in North and West Bothnia with financial support from Region Norrbotten. I am very happy to work with professor Lindberg who is specialist on social innovation and participatory research. The report will be available December 2017.
Once again important dialogue on how to improve situations in Machakos County, Kenya and Robertsfors Municipality. Previously on sustainable development, human rights and inclusion of youth. This time on gender equality. Through support by Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy (ICLD) the parties investigating areas of cooperation in the framework of a process which ICLD denotes as development/broadening with me as an advisor. This is a study visit at national Sami organization with office in The City of Umeå.
Thank you for the invitation to Rotary Clubs in The City of Umeå, and for the chance to be personal about my history working for peace, human rights and sustainable development as well as on my understanding on contemporary challenges and on what I want to do in the future through my company and the newly established organization Another Development Foundation. I am grateful.
Back home from Kenya, I am assigned to teach at a course on poverty and development at The Department of Political Science, Umeå University starting March 27th. It is a course at undergraduate level within the subject Peace and Conflict Studies since this subject is connected to questions of poverty, inequality and different forms of violence as well as the meaning of development besides of studying causes of war, armed conflicts and peacebuilding.