Africa Regional Network:

2017 Africa FIG Regional network: East Africa Capacity Development Workshop

21-23 November 2017, Innes, Musanze, Rwanda

Workshop Organisation

Drawing upon the theme agreed in ARN’s terms of reference, and ratified by General Assembly, the 2017 workshop: Challenges and opportunities in facing SDG 11 – Urban & Rural linkages: What does it take for land professionals to lead and support Nation state’s infrastructure endeavours. ARN invited INES – Ruhengeri, to host the ARN workshop that was held at INES campus in Musanze, Rwanda 20–22 November 2017. This workshop relates specifically to Goal 11 and the UN Habitat, New Urban Agenda (NUA).

Workshop Deliberations

The workshop focus sought to explore the connection between international land governance initiatives that will apply to societal economic resilience through the advancement of large scale infrastructure projects. Accordingly, the focus linked the global trend of urbanisation specifically to SDG 11 (Cities), and also to recognise that infrastructure is one of the first key investments.

This led to our focus upon the provision of physical assets to maintain a positive relationship between the urban and rural areas. Ultimately, the workshop seeks to build land professionals awareness and confidence to lead strategic change and make a positive impact, achieved through understanding:

• Trends: to improve and recognise the nature of urbanisation in the context of SDGs Goal 11 and infrastructure, and recap on what it means for good governance,
• Talent: to be more familiar with the nature of leadership: theory and applied, enabling a clear understanding of personal skill development,
• Technology: to expose delegates to the role of geospatial technology innovations for land tenure security and land management in East Africa and led by ESRI Rwanda.

In the context of trends, the participants considered first, the opportunity land professionals could make to improve the delivery of critical infrastructure and second recognising the extent of their own land professional skill sets (and also of other professions) to provide sustainable infrastructure projects that are inclusive in the community communication approaches and ultimately contribute to resilient livelihoods.

Engaging and participation is an important design feature of the ARN workshops. Accordingly, to make tangible the issues that might arise, groups were divided into infrastructure sub sectors including: national roads, railway, water schemes, renewable energy, airports, and telecom/ digital, focusing on our role in the context of the SDGs Goal11.

Deliberations included group work that considered:

How: The land and property professional engages with People in their Places, in the context of urban and the rural areas though infrastructure networks and thus ensuring societal beneficial development. Noting that urban and rural linkage is about the network between these areas and what goes on in-between.

What: Articulating what this means, and thus developing an outline for a stakeholder engagement methodology that is capable of informing appropriate practices and can be disseminated by member associations for land professionals.

In the context of technology, Kasper Kundert (ESRI – Rwanda) focused on technology and the role of geospatial technology innovations for land tenure security and land management in East Africa. Featured prominently was the Geoportals development and operationalisation at the Rwandan Authorities, as well as “its4land” – a current consortium approach seeking to deliver an innovative suite of land tenure recording tools that responds to sub Saharan Africa’s immense challenge of rapidly and cheaply mapping millions of unrecognized land rights in the region.

Workshop Outcome

The workshop successfully provoked thought and stimulated debate, by:

• Raising awareness by coming together to consider the skill opportunity for intervention in large scale infrastructure assets,
• Adding value for participants through a learning experience to consider thought leadership, transformational trends,
• Being exposed to geospatial technological innovations for land tenure in East Africa, and •
• Exploring how the profession may take a step-up to lead and promote the implement of networked infrastructure in the rural and urban environments to benefit society.

A view from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

INVITATION

The challenge of Sustainable Urbanisation: What does it take for Land Professional to lead and support Country Infrastructure Endeavours?

A further great partnership opportunity has been brokered with ESRI Rwanda, and our host will be our FIG Academic Member INES Ruhengeri - Institute of Applied Sciences. Together we will hold the 2017 ARN workshop in Rwanda.   

The ARN Roundtable is to be held in partnership with ESRI Rwanda.

• The Africa Regional Network focus is to build the capacity of African Surveying Associations and individual surveyors to act as agents of positive change and encourage the process of development and growth for the benefit of Africa and its people.
• The 2017 workshop focus is on the African Surveying Profession and how it can best contribute to face the challenges and opportunities of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) particularly facilitating the sustainability of professional land businesses, societal and big data trends.

Meeting in Kigali to transit to Musanze as a group, we will be holding the ARN workshop in English and will appeal to those wishing to have an understanding of how land professionals’ fit into International land governance initiatives, particularly SDG11 (Cities) thus bridging across to societal benefit and it will touches upon land professional disciplines associated with land survey, valuation, QS, Urban & Estate management and planning.

The program is designed to be informative, highly participatory and productive and above all mixed with some fun as we will conclude with the opportunity of a joint sightseeing field trip.  The outline program is available on this site; do watch out for further updates in the next few weeks

Over the past few years, Rwanda Ministries have been involved in ground breaking African approaches to land administration. The organisers are currently liaising with the Key Ministries to ascertain the possibility of a short study visit whilst the group is in Kigali- this will be subject to confirmation early in October.

Our partners are to be fully engaged:  

•  ESRI Rwanda will be supporting on day two of the workshop along the themes agreed in ARN’s business plan, and ratified by General Assembly. 
• The YSN Africa will be assisting with content delivery.
• And INES will be coordinating the logistics and assisting you to navigate around the city.

We are all looking forward to welcome you in Rwanda for highly stimulating days in the company of great networks.Registrations and flight/ hotel bookings will need to be concluded by 9th October 2017.  Because places are limited, any people who register after the due date do please notify the organisers who will place you on a reserve list.

Look forward to meeting you November 2017

Diane Dumashie, Vice President FIG and Chair ARN