The Out Film Festival (OFF), first held at the Goethe Institute in Kenya, in 2011, was the first ever Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ+)-themed film festival with an aim of showcasing films, documentaries, features and plays revolving around LGBTQ+ persons in Africa. The festival featured visiting movie makers who led plenary discussions […]
Open data is the new future The future is open! This was the main message at the 4th International Open Data Conference. On 27- 28 September 2018, 1,500 participants from the data community drawn from government, civil society, academia and private sector convened in Buenos Aires, Argentina to share experiences, learnings and collaborate on the […]
Growing urbanization and food demand 60 percent of the world’s population is projected to be urban by 2050; 2.5 billion will be in Africa and Asia. Eastern Africa is now by far the world’s most rapidly urbanizing region. In Uganda it is projected at 33 million urban dwellers by 2050. Investments characteristic with urbanization stimulate […]
Climate change and seeds ‘’Seeds are the soul of agriculture’’. This is a statement not far from the truth; these tiny plants are the lifeline of the food we consume everyday. However with the stark reality of climate change, the future of seeds is under siege. The harsh consequence of this reality has been […]
Hivos East Africa’s Renewable Energy Program manager, Jean Marc Sika, was recently awarded the title of Monsieur le Grand Chancelier des Ordres burkinabè for his exceptional role in upscaling biogas and bio-digester technology in Burkina Faso. Hailed as one of the founding fathers of biogas in Burkina Faso, Jean Marc has shown astounding leadership, particularly […]
Hivos East Africa is organizing a summit on the rise of a new generation of content makers and their role in propelling alternative spaces that bolster free expression. The summit will take place on 4-5 December 2018 in Nairobi. While the role of critical voices in the shrinking civic space continues to grow dimmer globally, […]
Fighting the effects of climate change topped the agenda at the Biogas Digester Conference from 2 to 4 October in Burkina Faso, attended by 250 energy experts from West and Central Africa. The eight participating countries agreed on their weapon of choice. They will adopt and upscale bio-digester technologies and improve collaboration to develop market-based biogas sectors. […]
Global warming of 2°C above pre-industrial levels is substantially more harmful than 1.5°C, according to the new report on global warming launched by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). A mere two-degree rise in the average global temperature would significantly impact human life, the economy and the global environment. It would mean more severe and longer […]
By Caroline Wahome Hivos East Africa in partnership with Nukta Africa and the Energy Change Lab will award a six month fellowship to 20 Tanzania based journalists, with an aim of increasing reportage on renewable energy. Speaking at the unveiling of the fellowship in Dar-es-Salaam, Acting Chairman of the Tanzania Editors Forum, Deodatus Balile noted […]
By Caroline Wahome On 20 September, Hivos East Africa launched the Sustainable Diets for All (SD4ALL) programme in Nakuru County, Kenya, one of the thematic programmes under the Strategic Partnerships funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Kenya joins Uganda, Zambia, Bolivia and Indonesia, as the 5th country to be implementing the SD4ALL programme. […]
Fighting corruption with cartoons
Makarao (Swahili slang for “police”) is a popular online animation series that follows the lives and antics of two fictional policemen in Kenya. The stories use sharp humor to focus on the many and often absurd ways policemen, especially traffic police, demand bribes and harass average citizens.
Together with Akina Mama wa Africa (AMWA) and African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), approximately 55 flower farm workers (39 female and 16 male) have been trained as Trainers of Trainers (ToT) under the theme ‘Blossoming Women’s Leadership for Decent Work in the Eastern Africa Horticultural Sector’.