Building Partnerships in East Africa Symposium

The "Building Partnerships for Health and Sustainable Agricultural Development in East Africa" symposium, the first of its kind will convene experts from Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, and Tanzania as well as experts from various fields at NC State, to forge partnerships that will foster sustainable agricultural development and improve health and wellbeing in rural East African communities.
Date: September 18 - 20, 2023
Location: Raleigh, NC

The symposium builds on strong NC State presence and collaborations in the region to further develop and implement the Connecting Research, Education, and Outreach (CREdO) framework, which works to connect agriculture extension with applied research, higher education, and the private sector for sustainable economic development, and improved individual and community health and wellbeing in rural areas. The symposium will feature a keynote speech from Dr. David Phiri, FAO Sub-Regional Coordinator for Eastern Africa Region (SFE) and FAO Representative to the African Union (AU) and to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

This symposium will center on: 1) agricultural development and its links to nutrition and environmental sustainability, 2) water sanitation and hygiene and its links to human, animal, and environmental health, and 3) approaches for combating infectious diseases, including vector-borne diseases and antimicrobial resistance. Within agricultural development, the discussions will encompass plant and crop production, pests and plant diseases, value added production, animal production, agriculture engineering and irrigation. The event has been made possible with funding from NC State’s Office of Research and Innovation and North Carolina Biotechnology Center, with logistical support from USDA FAS.

Day 1 of the event is open to public while day 2 and 3 includes invite-only sessions. You can find more details of each of the days below. If you have particular questions about the symposium, please email: cals_international@ncsu.edu

 

Symposium Speakers

Click here to learn about our Symposium speakers

Symposium Details

Each of the three days of the symposium will have a distinct format and set of goals.

September 18 | Talley Student Union, Coastal Ballroom | Time: 09:00 am – 05:00 pm

Day 1 will include presentations by invited East African speakers on ongoing research, development projects, challenges, and needs for NC State-East Africa collaborations. The day will feature remarks from Chancellor Woodson and a keynote presentation from Dr. David Phiri of the FAO. Day 1 will also include a session with representatives from multiple funding agencies. Following are the representing speakers and agencies : Davida Tengey, USDA NIFA; Dr. Tyrell Kahan, USAID; Steven Prager, Ph D., Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and USDA-FAS.

September 19 | Plant Sciences Building | Time: 09:00 am – 05:00 pm

Day 2 morning will include discussions of NC State’s research relevant to the East African rural development and research needs. Faculty members with relevant research and regional experience will provide overviews of their work that can initiate for collaborative project discussions.  The second half of day 2 will include visits to various NC State facilities.

September 20 | Talley Student Union | Time 09:00 am – 01:30 pm

Day 3 will include open forum discussions in the morning and facilitated small group sessions in the afternoon. The final day will focus on identifying specific future research and implementation agendas and sketching out paths for action.