Facilitation of conferences and workshops

Kulima regularly acts as a local partner/co-host for international workshops, with services ranging from administration and logistics (including venue, participant travel and accommodation and per diem payments) to facilitation and rapporteuring.

Recent conferences and workshops at which we have played a role include:

-Adaptation Partnership Western Indian Ocean Climate Change Workshop, Cape Town, February 2012

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) convened this workshop under the auspices of the Adaptation Partnership.  It brought together over 40 Marine Protected Area managers and climate change policy decision makers from Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, and Tanzania with the intention of identifying the capacity requirements for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) within the Agulhas and Somalia Current Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) to conduct vulnerability assessments and build adaptive responses to climate change impacts within their management areas.  A summary report has been published.  Kulima organised the workshop, including venue selection and liaison, organising accommodation and transfers, and supporting the logistics of plenaries and breakout sessions.

-Rapporteuring at the UNDP and National Business Initiative regional consultation on business, green economy and sustainable development in Africa: towards COP17 and beyond

As well as delivering a presentation on vulnerability, adaptation and business, Kulima acted as rapporteur at this high-level regional conference, convened by UNDP and the National Business Initiative.  Over 80 participants and speakers attended the consultation, and comprising business executives and political figures, including provincial level ministers.  Kulima fed back to the plenary session after four breakout sessions: green economy, business and climate finance; vulnerability, adaptation and business; mitigation strategies and business; and climate technologies and green investment.  We also produced the final conference report.

-Africa Climate Change Resilience Alliance (ACCRA) Regional Conference, Nairobi, September 2011

The Africa Climate Change Resilience Alliance is a consortium of NGOs (Oxfam, Care, Save the Children, World Vision) and a research think tank (Overseas Development Institute) that is working to promote adaptive capacity in three African countries: Ethiopia, Mozambique and Uganda.  The regional conference was convened as the project reached the end of its first phase, to take stock of research findings and outline implications and ways forward for the stakeholders involved, as well as to inform the second phase of ACCRA.  Over 60 participants attended from each of the three countries and consortium member institutions, including three Ugandan Ministers (the Minister for Local Government, Honorouable Adolf Maswige; the State Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Honourable Musa Francis Ecweru and the State Minister for Environment, Honourable Flavia Munaaba Nabugere).  Katharine Vincent facilitated the 3 day event, and she and Tracy Cull produced the workshop report, available in English and Portuguese.

-UK Government Office for Science Foresight Programme workshop on Global Environmental Migration in the Drylands, Johannesburg, March 2011

The drylands workshop was one of four high level stakeholder meetings which took place as part of the UK Government Office for Science’s Foresight Programme Global Environmental Migration Project.  As part of this programme a Lead Expert Group has commissioned specific scientific reviews and collated evidence looking at how global environmental migration is projected to unfold in the future, and the purpose of the workshop was to present the findings and validate them with relevant stakeholders, which included representatives from academic, UN agencies, and NGOs from throughout Africa and beyond.  Kulima co-hosted this workshop with the UK Government Office for Science, and had joint responsibility for the agenda and invitations, as well as full control of the management and logistics, working remotely with a team based in London.  Tracy Cull and Katharine Vincent produced the workshop report.

-USAID internal planning meeting for climate change officers from Africa country missions, Pretoria, February 2011

This internal USAID meeting was attended by 34 climate change staff from country missions across Africa and 3 staff from headquarters in Washington DC, and the purpose was to act as part of an ongoing dialogue between country offices and headquarters, and to strategise on programming activities for the coming year.  At very late notice, 2 weeks before the event (due to delays in funding approval being released from Washington), Kulima was charged with organising the event at the predetermined venue, organising the venue for the workshop and accommodation for all participants, including an off-site dinner and videoconference.  Tracy Cull facilitated the meeting, which had a loose agenda but specific desired outcomes, necessitating a dynamic and reflexive approach.