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Tuesday 29 April 2014

Rwanda: A story of two worlds in two decades


On the morning of March 30, 2014, Kigali International Airport smelt of new paint. A week later, on April 7, Rwanda would officially be marking two decades after the start of the 1994 genocide which
claimed about a million lives in just 100 days. As a young man continued to paint his way up the stairs in the "Arrivals" section, a delegation that had just landed by RwandaAir from Uganda was descending them for an unrelated but symbolic event-the 2nd Global Conference on Biofortification.

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Social media trends shaping 2014

2013 was a year of exploration for brands on social media. From testing Vines to launching Instagram ads, many companies were dabbling in social media efforts across the Web just to see how customers would react. Now, in 2014, brands are geting serious. They’re using the wealth of data as well as the human connection that social media can provide to develop deeper relationships with customers.
Here are seven ways brands are using social media to increase customer loyalty this year.

1. Social Listening

People are increasingly turning to social media to report their grievances with companies. And when complaints are lodged in such a public manner, brands are learning the hard way not to put social media customer service on the back burner. This is why 24% of brands plan to participate in “social listening,” or paying attention to what’s being said about them on social networks like Twitter. While this means brands and customers are now more likely than ever to interact online, brands are still figuring out how to make social listening work in their favor: only 31% of marketers think their social listening is fully effective.

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Thursday 17 April 2014

"I want to unlock the stagnant water supply curve"

Engineer Aaron Mwidu Kabirizi is the Director, Directorate of Water Development (DWD). In this interview with The Sunrise's William Odinga Balikuddembe, he reveals his vision for water development in Uganda.
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Wednesday 9 April 2014

Win the opportunity to attend and cover EcoHealth 2014




The 5th Biennial Conference of the International Association for Ecology and Health
Montréal, Canada, 11 – 15 August 2014

Be one of up to 8 journalists to win a scholarship and get the opportunity to attend the 2014
EcoHealth Conference. Cover the panel sessions meet and interview the researchers.

EcoHealth Conference is a key forum for researchers, practitioners and educators whose work spans the fields of ecology, human and veterinarian medicine, planning, social sciences, international development and beyond. The conference provides an opportunity to address issues ranging from environmental impact on human and animal health and transmission of infectious diseases, to conservation and ecosystem management, to rural and urban development and planning. The conference is also an opportunity to engage with and profile voices outside of academia and to explore new collaborations with community groups, businesses, policy makers, the media and others.

Information on the Conference www.ecohealth2014.uqam.ca
 

Application Deadline
Tuesday 3rd of June 2014

The scholarships
In addition to free registration, the travel grants cover the costs of transportation from your own country, travel visas and four nights of accommodation in Montréal.

Eligibility
Journalists specialized in the coverage of health and the environment,irrespective of their gender, age, nationality, place of residence and media (print, radio, TV, web) are welcome to apply. Journalists attending will be expected to publish articles and/or programme content on the various issues addressed by the conference.

Application procedure
The jury will select eight professional, fulltime or freelance journalists, specialized in the coverage of health and the environment, with comprehensive experience in traditional and/or digital media. Candidates are asked to send their CV, coordinates, identification pages of their passport, three articles or video or audio productions on health and environmental issues in the language of origin, and a one-page essay in English describing why they should be selected and what they will do if they win the competition.

Selection committee and decision
The World Federation of Science Journalists administers the competition and is solely responsible for the selection of the winning journalists. The jury, a sub-committee of the WFSJ Board, will select the eight journalists on the basis of submitted work, on the applicant’s CV and motivation statement.

To apply
Applications - including the applicant's CV, coordinates, identification pages of the passport - should be sent electronically to:
EcoHealth Prize Competition/
WFSJ (TITLE OF YOUR MESSAGE)
Email: info@wfsj.org

Applications must be received no later than 3rd of June 2014

Information
For further information, visit WFSJ Webiste
or contact the WFSJ Office at info@wfsj.org
Tel.: +1 514 508-2777

EcoHealth 2014 is the fifth international conference organized under the auspices of the IAEH. Previous biennial conferences were held in Wisconsin (2006), Mérida (2008), London (2010) and Kunming (2012).

The scholarships are funded by the International Development Research Centre.

Tuesday 8 April 2014

3RD CONSERVATION CONFERENCE 15th & 16th May 2014‏



NatureUganda is organising the third Uganda Conservation Conference aimed at bringing together conservation practitioners in Uganda to share information on the past, present and the future of conservation work in Uganda. This forum will also bring together partners and lead agencies in the conservation arena to discuss priority conservation actions and also make recommendations for future conservation and research work in Uganda. This Conference will take place on 15th & 16th May 2014 under the theme “Biodiversity Conservation and management in Uganda”. Activities will include plenary presentations, paper and poster presentations, as well as workshops or round table discussions on key conservation issues in Uganda.

For details please contact: nature@natureuganda.org

Saturday 5 April 2014

Would you eat orange maize?


Esther with orange maize at a recent biofortification conference in Rwanda.

I know some of you have some attitude towards yellow maize. If you are Ugandan or Kenyan, you must have seen it during hard times (HIV/AIDS, war) and you think it is for refugees. This orange maize has been enriched with vitamin A (check this). Please eat it, better still, give it to your children. It looks nice in that picture, doesn't it?

Wednesday 2 April 2014

Biofortification conference closes in Rwanda



The 2nd Global Conference on Biofortification, convened by HarvestPlus and the government of Rwanda, has closed today in Kigali with participants pledging to actively engage with all sectors for integration of nutrient-rich crops into food and nutrition security efforts.

Uganda's delegation at the three-day conference was led by Agriculture State Minister Dr. Zurubabel Nyiira, Health State Minister Sarah Opendi and Education State Minister Dr. Komanda Battaringaya. Others included National Planning Authority (NPA) Chairman Dr. Kisamba Mugerwa and National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) Executive Director Dr. Sam Mugasi.

Yesterday (April 1, 2014) was a very interesting day with field visits and a gala dinner in the evening where we were treated to traditional music and dance.
Uganda ministers Battaringaya (l), Opendi (m) and Nyiira during the field visit


In the Eastern province of Rwanda we visited a lady-farmer, Mukangarambe, who is multiplying iron-rich beans on seven hectares. The seed will be accessed by other farmers in June. Consumption of these iron-rich beans reduces anemia.
Mukangarambe's bean garden




Not far from there a government facility collects high-nutrient seed, including beans and soybeans, produced by nearby farmers, again for the benefit of other Rwandan farmers.

Dr. Swaminathan and William
Earlier in the day I had the opportunity to interact Dr.Swaminathan, with the father of the India's green revolution. He is approaching 90 but he still has the zeal to speak for global agriculture.


At the gala, there was the opportunity to listen to the inspirational Nigerian Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Dr. Akimwumi Adesina who said we should stop treating agriculture as a development issue, but as a business.

With Jeff Koinange as our moderator from day one, you surely can understand that this was not an ordinary conference. It was a big thing!