Events


10th-14th November 2014, ILRI Campus, Nairobi, Kenya


Call for applications

The BecA-ILRI Hub hereby invites applications for a workshop on scientific research paper writing to be held from 10th to 14th November 2014. The workshop is one of BecA-ILRI Hub’s annual training workshops under the capacity building portfolio, whose objective is to strengthen the capacity of African NARS to effectively, efficiently and sustainably deliver on their national mandates. The training will be conducted at the ILRI Campus, Nairobi, Kenya.
Eligibility / Applicant requirements

The workshop is generally open to PhD students and early career agricultural researchers with a strong interest in improving their writing skills. More specific applicant requirements include the following:

•    African scientist with PhD or MSc in any agricultural discipline
•    Fluent in English (written and spoken)
•    Currently conducting agricultural biosciences research with an African national agricultural research program or university in one of the BecA countries: Burundi, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda.
•    A project report for conversion to a paper, and/or the figures and tables and any other illustrative material that have been generated from data analysis
•    Women candidates are particularly encouraged to apply

How to apply

Interested eligible scientists / researchers should apply by completing the online application form; http://hpc.ilri.cgiar.org/beca/training/Writeshop2014/index.html
In addition, the applicant must attach a supporting letter from his/her supervisor or Head of Institution. 

Key dates / Application deadline

•    Call for applications release: 11th September 2014
•    Application deadline: 5th October 2014
•    Information to successful applicants: 10th October 2014
•    Information to unsuccessful applicants: 11th October 2014
•    Training dates: 10th – 14th November 2014
Applications submitted after the 5th October 2014 deadline and incomplete applications will not be considered.
Sponsorship

There are several fully funded places for this workshop. However, applicants who can fund their participation have an added advantage. The cost of the workshop is $1500, excluding flights and accommodation

Inquiries

Inquiries about the workshop and / or the BecA-ILRI Hub Capacity Building Program should be directed to Dr. Wellington Ekaya, Senior Scientist Capacity Building ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) or Ms. Valerian Aloo, Capacity Building Program Officer ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).

For comprehensive information about the BecA-ILRI Hub visit http://hub.africabiosciences.org/

 

CCAFS is searching for a gender and climate change research leader! Could you be the person we need? 

Application deadline: 10 September 2014. As the new Gender and Social Inequality Research Leader with the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) you will find that the opportunities are immense!

The Research Leader will be able to undertake their own research in farming communities, while at the same time shaping a research effort on three continents that has a budget of approximately US$10 million. The person can be conducting group interviews with farmer groups one month, hosting a global research seminar on gender and agriculture in the next, and providing expert input into a UNFCCC side event in the month thereafter.

The successful candidate will be able to work with gender experts and other social scientists based in numerous CGIAR Centers, as well as in partner organizations. He/she will coordinate work and research across all of CCAFS five regions and four thematic areas.

CCAFS is now looking for highly qualified candidate with a PhD in related field. The candidate needs to have global work and research experience, especially from a leading position, and willingness to travel extensively.

So, apply before 10 September 2014, and remember that the location for this position can be further negotiated! 

Learn more about CCAFS gender work, the position and its requirements, how to apply and why, here: http://ow.ly/zHjrN

Feel free to share this email with friends and colleagues that you think might be interested and suitable for this position. For anyone with Twitter please use the following to share --> Vacancy: @cgiarclimate is looking for a Gender & climate change research leader. Could that person be you? ow.ly/zGW5e #job


3rd International Conference on Biodiversity and the UN Millennium Development Goals - October 29-31, 2014, Aix-en-Provence, France

This conference is the third in a series, organized by the French CNRS Institut Ecologie et Environnement (InEE) and the German Leibniz Association (WGL).

The goal is to identify science-based solutions for global sustainability focusing on the issues of biodiversity and food security. Current ecological, economic and societal challenges for development require a holistic understanding of food security and environmental management: from this perspective, biodiversity can be seen as key to overcome trade-offs and to develop synergies between the food system and the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, and species. The conference seeks to attract scientists from basic and applied research. It involves policy makers and other stakeholders concerned with biodiversity and food security themes who are interested in developing new solutions and strategies. It will connect researchers and stakeholders from natural sciences, social sciences, economics, humanities, technology and related fields.

Across scales from genes to species, landscapes and biomes, biodiversity is an important resource for humanity. It is the key for a broad range of services provided by ecosystems. Biodiversity helps regulate the nutrient cycle, water (e.g. floods) and mitigates impacts of climate change. Biodiversity is also of direct importance for human well-being and for cultural and other values including recreation. The provisioning of clean water and diverse food supply makes it vital for all people.

Biodiversity at all levels, including the diversity of genes, species and ecosystems, is lost at alarming rates. Critical factors for these trends are habitat destruction, global warming and the uncontrolled spread of alien species. Pollution, nitrogen deposition and shifts in precipitation further affect biodiversity.

Food security faces significant challenges due to population growth, poverty, globalization, climate change and other factors. Supplying healthy food to all citizens is crucial for global development - to reach it, not only food production but also equitable access to food for all people must be improved substantially. Biodiversity loss and global food security are hence two major challenges of our time. Linking these two areas from a research perspective, and seeking synergies between them is likely to generate multiple benefits for social, ecological and economic development.

Set near the historical city centre of Aix-en-Provence, the conference will include key note presentations from leading experts, interactive workshops and poster presentations.

If you are a journalist and interested in our conference, please make yourself known to us by contacting Emilie Egea (Aix-en-Provence) or Laura Tydecks (Berlin) through the following address: .

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR 2014 AFRICAN GREEN REVOLUTION FORUM (AGRF) AT WWW.AGRFORUM.COM

1- 4 SEPTEMBER 2014, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

Dear colleague,

Following agreement with the African Union and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the AGRF Partners Group announces that the 2014 African Green Revolution Forum will take place between 1-4 September 2014 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the African Union Headquarters. You are very warmly invited to apply to attend atwww.agrforum.com. There are no charges to attend the Forum.

The overall theme for the AGRF 2014 is ‘Beyond the Tipping Point: A New Vision and Strategies for Inclusive and Sustainable Transformation’. This year’s AGRF brings together 1000 leaders from investor firms, agribusiness companies, research institutes, farmers associations, non-governmental organisations and African Governments. It will be the first multi-stakeholder forum to engage the new vision for Agriculture and Food Security to be agreed by African Heads of States in July 2014. AGRF 2014 will be guided by the African Union declaration of 2014 as the  ‘Year of Agriculture and Food Security’. This year AGRF 2014 will be guided by six thematic tracks namely; Increasing food productivity and ending hunger, Research and Technology, Sustainable agriculture, Commodity markets and trade, Inclusive agriculture and Increased financing along the value chain. This year’s AGRF includes 6 pre-meetings, an Ethiopian value chain investment forum, field trips on September 1-2, five plenaries and ten breakaway sessions with most of Africa’s transformative leaders in agriculture.

AGRF is convened by the AGRF Partners Group includes The Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions, African Union, African Development Bank, Alliance for the Green Revolution in Africa, Rockefeller Foundation, Syngenta International, Yara International, AGCO International, International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. AGRF 2014 is being co-convened by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the African Union.

For further information on the agenda and how to register, please visit our websitewww.agrforum.com, follow on twitter and facebook @TheAGRF. There are a limited set of spaces for sessions, speakers, moderators and exhibition booths so if you think you have a great idea and would like to resource it in this space, please write to us via email agrf@agra.org

We do hope that you will join us in Addis,

Irungu Houghton
AGRF 2014 Convenor
For the Partners Group and Secretariat

  

Have you got a passion for climate action?
Can you make the world listen to what you have to say?


If you can, The Global Call for Climate Action is looking for young, innovative journalists, bloggers, writers, activists and creatives to become Adopt a Negotiator Fellows for 2014.





These Fellows will combine their passion and skills with an amazing opportunity to help shape their government’s role in solving climate change.

They’ll join a team of passionate, dedicated and talented activists from around the world; participating in moments that will shape if and how the governments respond adequately to the climate challenge. Their efforts will build on a proud legacy of past ‘Negotiator Trackers,’ who have helped shape the UN climate negotiations ever since 2009.

If you think you can help shape the direction of this year’s climate change negotiations by creating change in your own country, then this is an opportunity not to be missed.

This year, we will be offering all short-listed candidates the chance to prove their skills in the lead up to the conference through training opportunities with some of the world’s best climate change communicators and activists, and a support network to help get your voice where it counts.

You’ll also have the opportunity to join a team of passionate, dedicated and talented activists from around the world, working together to actively transform the way climate change is communicated in their home countries. This team will work together in the lead up to this year’s UNFCCC Conference of Parties in Lima, Peru.






If selected, you may also have the opportunity to travel to Lima in December this year as a Fully Funded member of the Adopt a Negotiator’s – Negotiator Tracker – team.

We’re looking to build one of the most dynamic, diverse and innovative media teams that has ever covered the climate negotiations. The UNFCCC is racing towards a global treaty in 2015, and this year is as critical as ever. We need the best bloggers, writers, social media gurus and activists with a passion for climate change to come together – using their skills to inspire our leaders to take significant action to protect us all from the impacts of climate change. We need to make this year’s UN climate negotiations the most successful ever.

  • Applicants must be 18 to 30 years of age;
     
  • Able to actively contribute to the Adopt a Negotiator project as a writer from June this year through to May of 2015.
     
  • Available to attend the UN Climate Change Conference in Lima (December 1-12) and strategy development meetings in the days leading up to the Conference.
     
  • But most importantly, applicants must be Amazing!

If you have the skills, passion and creativity needed to push your country forward on climate action, we want to hear from you.

All applications need to be in by midnight on the 11th of May (Pacific Time Zone UTC -08:00)

Start your application today!

 

Youth Engagement in the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict: London 2014

YOUTH DELEGATES
GLOBAL SUMMIT TO END SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN CONFLICT: LONDON 2014

We would be grateful if you would be willing to put forward nominations for individuals to take part in the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict.

Background
The Foreign Secretary and Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Angelina Jolie, will host the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in London from the 10th -13th June, 2014. Please see the website for more detailed information.

Who
We are seeking a group of youth delegates to form a core youth policy group, which we hope will also include representatives from the UK, G8 countries and PSVI champion countries.[1] The individuals should be between 18 and 25 (although exceptions can be made in certain circumstances, please state age and reasons in the attached form). Preference will be given to individuals from the following conflict and post-conflict affected countries: Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Somalia, Bosnia, Burma and Kosovo.

All discussions will be held in English and it is unlikely that we will be able to provide simultaneous translation. However, we do not want this to result in discrimination against potential non English speaking youth delegates. Therefore, we aim to facilitate non English speaking delegates as best as we can and strongly encourage translators to accompany them. We ask that individuals are also comfortable speaking in a public environment or provided with the necessary support from your organisation in advance of and during the summit.

Why
We want youth delegates to exchange ideas and bring a young person’s perspective on the issue of sexual violence in conflict and to the global debate on ending sexual violence in conflict, by helping to deliver practical and long-term action and encouraging engagement of the ‘next generation’ in this vital issue.

When
The summit will run from the 10-13 June. We will also provide some pre-summit training for the youth delegates on the afternoon of the 9 June. As such, delegates should be available to participate from midday 9 June until the end of the summit at lunchtime on 13 June.

What
We will host a series of policy discussions for the youth group on the first day of the summit - Youth Day. There may also be an opportunity for individuals to represent the wider youth view that has been gathered from Youth Day and prior to the summit, during official and ministerial discussions on 11 and 12 June. All members of the core youth group will be invited to observe the Ministerial plenary. Youth policy delegates will also have the opportunity to attend the various fringe events led by stakeholders on 10, 11 and 12 June. We plan to develop a tailored programme for the core youth policy delegates for their time at the summit. We request your organisation retains full duty of care for the individual, and will be responsible for them throughout their stay in London.

Funding
We have a limited amount of funding set aside to cover the costs of flights and accommodation for those individuals attending from conflict and post-conflict countries. Please state in the attached form whether you will be seeking funding from the FCO.

Next steps
  • We would be grateful if you could give us an early indication of whether you would be willing to nominate a youth delegate/s by Tuesday 1 April.
  • For those willing to submit a nomination, please see the attached form which details what we are looking for from nominations. Please complete as much of the attached form as you can by Tuesday 8 April.
  • If you give us an early indication that you would like to put forward a nomination then we can enter into conversation about the details of your nomination ahead of your submission.
  • Please note that we will accept multiple nominations from one organisation but each nomination will be reviewed individually on the basis of merit. We will review all nominations once they have all been received and will provide a response on their success by 11 April. Please do not book any flights or hotels in advance of this date.

Please direct all correspondence to PSVI@fco.gov.uk. Alternatively please feel free to call Emily Farrow on 02070084687



[1] Liberia, Malawi, Senegal, Tanzania, East Timor, Australia, Croatia, Denmark, Guatemala, Jordan, Mexico, South Korea, UAE and Indonesia.

 

Celebrate Wangari Maathai day: March 3

 

SuzannaOwiyo_MG_0251-1w-1

UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, Suzanna Owiyo will on Monday, March 3, celebrate Wangari Maathai Day at the UN complex.

She will be joined by Wanjira Maathai, Greenbelt Belt Movement/Wangari Maathai Institute and Judy Wakhungu, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Water and Natural Resources.
The celebration will be held together with Africa Environment Day (AED), the biggest Environment event on the continent.

The theme for this year’s celebration, Youth – Healing the Earth: Education Environment Empowerment, is a forward-thinking theme that captures the promise of Prof Wangari Maathai’s vision of preserving the environment for today and generations unborn towards sustainable development in Kenya and the continent of Africa. Planned activities for this day include tree planting, exhibitions and a youth dialogue forum coordinated by representatives from the Green Belt Movement and Tunza youth programs.

In attendance will be Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, Augusta Abate, Food and Agriculture Organization, Ayub Macharia, National Environment Management Authority, Laura Darby, Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP), Paula Kahumbu, Wildlife Direct and Paul Mbugua, Kenya Wildlife Service

UNEP seeks to raise public awareness on environmental challenges in Africa such as climate change, desertification, deforestation, land degradation, endangered biodiversity etc. which are mainly responsible for problems related to food security, health and development. The theme is in line with the African Union Year of Agriculture and Food security.
Join us @EaccNet

 

Internship Social Media

Internship announcement - closing date: 10 March 2014
Title: Intern Social MediaStarting date: March/April 2014Duration: 6 months (renewable once)Location: Wageningen, The Netherlands Closing date for application: 10 March 2014 or until the position is filled.
Internship Information, Communication and Knowledge Management (KM)
Internship announcement - closing date: 10 March 2014
Title: Intern Information, Communication and Knowledge Management (KM)Starting date: March/April 2014Duration: 6 months (renewable once)Location: Wageningen, The Netherlands Closing date for application: 10 March 2014 or until the position is filled.
Internship Web and online presence analysis
Internship announcement - closing date: 10 March 2014
Title: Intern Information, Communication and Knowledge Management Starting date: March/April 2014 Duration: 6 months (renewable once) Location: Wageningen, The Netherlands Closing date for application: 10 March 2014 or until the position is filled.

 

Human Rights and Environment Conference Announcement

The 2014 Conference on Human Rights, Environmental Sustainability, Post-2015 Development, and the Future Climate Regime will take place from 5-7 September 2014 at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. The Conference is organized by Yale and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United National Development Programme (UNDP), the World Resources Institute (WRI), and the UN Independent Expert on Human Rights and the Environment, as well as other interested partners. 

It will bring together more than 150 scholars and policy experts to discuss state-of-the-art knowledge concerning the following themes at the nexus of human rights and the environment:
1.      Constitutional Environmental Rights: A Driver for Environmental Policy Making?
2.      Human Rights and Environmental Justice: Cases from Countries and the Field
3.      Procedural Environmental Rights: Why and How Do They Matter?
4.      Human Rights, Environment, and Corporate Responsibility
5.      Effective Participation of Civil Society and Vulnerable Groups
6.      Environmental Rights,  Post-2015 Development, and the Future Climate Regime
 
The Conference will feature a combination of policy discussions in plenary and parallel sessions to discuss contributions and topics in more depth. The organizers invite policy experts, scholars, and practitioners to submit abstracts for three types of papers:
·        Synopsis Papers highlight key outcomes and conclusions from relevant past events such as workshops, consultations, expert meetings, etc.  
·        Review and Discussion Papers succinctly review state of the art knowledge concerning a particular theme or question addressed by the Conference.
·        Case Study Papers describe, analyze, and draw conclusions from a particular situation/case (e.g. national, local).

The outcomes and conclusions of the Conference are expected to inform: (1) the discussion on sustainable development goals and a post-2015 development agenda by the 69th UN General Assembly in 2014/2015; (2) the negotiation of a future climate change regime by the end of 2015 under the UNFCCC; (3) the 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples; and (4) the 2015 report of the UN Independent Expert on Human Rights and the Environment whose mandate was initiated by the Human Rights Council in 2012.
 
Details concerning the Conference are included in the Information Note. Individuals interested in participating in, and receiving more information about the Conference are requested to complete an Expression of Interest form.  The deadline for submitting abstracts is 1 April 2014. All Abstracts should be sent to envdem.yale@gmail.com with cc to envdem@unitar.org, using the standard template.


 Call for case studies - Workshop “Counting our gains : the benefits of transboundary water cooperation" 22-23 May 2014, Geneva, Switzerland) 

http://www.unece.org/env/water/workshop_benefits_cooperation_2014.html

 The Workshop “Counting our gains: Sharing experiences on identifying, assessing and communicating the benefits of transboundary water cooperation” will take place on 22-23 May 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland. 

This workshop will bring together professionals from all over the world working on transboundary water cooperation to discuss the wide variety of potential benefits of transboundary water cooperation as well as the opportunities for further engaging into cooperation by broadening its scope. 

It will offer a platform to share experiences, good practices, challenges faced and lessons learned on the identification, assessment and communication of the wide range of benefits that can be generated by transboundary water cooperation. This workshop is organized in the framework of the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

Call for case studies

Experts interested to present a case study at the Workshop are invited to prepare a short description of their proposed contribution by 28 February 2014. 

The template for case studies is available at:http://www.unece.org/env/water/workshop_benefits_cooperation_2014.html

Schedule
February 28, 2014: Deadline for sending case studies (abstract, 2 pages) to the Water Convention secretariat (chantal.demilecamps@unece.org);

March 12, 2014: Decision sent to authors of case studies;
March 31, 2014: Deadline for sending extended case studies (6-8 pages) to the Water Convention secretariat.

Registration, visa and financial support
For additional information, please consult:  http://www.unece.org/env/water/workshop_benefits_cooperation_2014.html.


UNIC/PR/08/19/02/2014


Applications to the 2014 Fellowship program for journalists sponsored by the Dag Hammarskjöld Fund for Journalists












The Dag Hammarskjöld Fund for Journalists is now accepting applications from professional journalists from developing countries for its 2014 fellowship program. The application deadline is March 31, 2014.

The fellowships are available to radio, television, print and web journalists, age 25 to 35, from developing countries who are interested in coming to New York to report on international affairs during the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly.  The fellowships will begin in early September and extend to late November and will include the cost of travel and accommodations in New York, as well as a per diem allowance. 

The fellowship program is open to journalists who are native to one of the developing countries in Africa, Asia/the Pacific, and South America/the Caribbean and are currently working full-time for media organizations. Applicants must demonstrate an interest in and commitment to international affairs and to conveying a better understanding of the United Nations to their readers and audiences.  They must also have approval from their media organizations to spend up to three months in New York to report from the United Nations. 

In an effort to rotate recipient countries, the Fund will not consider journalist applications for 2014 from nations selected in 2013:  Brazil, Kenya, Pakistan and Turkey.  Journalists from these countries may apply in 2015.

Four journalists are selected each year after a review of all applications. The journalists who are awarded fellowships are given the incomparable opportunity to observe international diplomatic deliberations at the United Nations, to make professional contacts that will serve them for years to come, to interact with seasoned journalists from around the world, and to gain a broader perspective and understanding of matters of global concern.  Many past fellows have risen to prominence in their professional and countries. 

The program is not intended to provide basic skills training to journalists, as all participants are media professionals.

Full fellowship eligibility criteria and documentation requirements as well as the fellowship application form can be found on the Fund’s web site at www.unjournalismfellowship.org  

  Questions about the program, eligibility and application process can be directed by email to fellowship@unjournalismfellowship.org.         

40 Chances Fellows Application

A global fellowship program in partnership with Tony Blair’s Africa Governance Initiative, the World Food Prize, and the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.

The 40 Chances Fellows program will fund four 40 Chances Fellows with the most innovative social enterprise plans that use strategies built on the principles of 40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World.  These social enterprises must seek to address issues of hunger, conflict, or poverty and may be established in any one of the following four countries where the Africa Governance Initiative has a strong presence: Rwanda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, or Malawi.

Each strategy must involve local leadership and management into the operations of the social enterprise by integrating local place-based ownership and relying on locally driven design, development, and deployment in its programs or services.  In addition, these enterprises should fill gaps in existing value chains, or otherwise combine a variety of complementary and existing efforts into a comprehensive and integrated approach to solve the intended challenge.

The application timeline for the fellowship runs from October 17, 2013, to May 31, 2014.  Applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 39 on the date the application closes (May 31, 2014).  Winners will be selected by a blue ribbon panel of judges and formally announced at the 2014 World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue in Des Moines, Iowa.  Each of four fellows will receive $80,000 in start-up funds and $70,000 for living and transportation expenses (a total of $150,000) for one year.
During their first year of activity, fellows will be required to submit quarterly update reports to the World Food Prize.

Applicants should take into account the 40 Chances Principles when constructing their applications. Be prepared to have your full profile and contact information available.  Also, you will be asked for supporting material such as a short statements about the organization’s intended impact, the use of funds (such as a line-item budget), and a strategic plan for your social enterprise. The final section of the application will ask a series of questions related to the type of impact you hope to achieve with your activities.

We recommend having the following files/documents prepared:

document_placeholder_icon
Business Documents
(Excel, DOC, CSV, PDF, etc)
  • Resume / CV
  • Budget outline
  • Business plan
person_placeholder_icon
Profile materials
(JPG, PNG, PDF, etc)
  • A photo of yourself
  • Your company or organization logo
  • Photos of your project
The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Tony Blair’s Africa Governance Initiative, and the World Food Prize retain the right to make all final determinations on winners of the 40 Chances Fellows awards, and will not discriminate on the basis of anything other than the merit of the application, its alignment with the values of 40 Chances, and its fit with broader program goals of the three organizations. We retain the right to use or publish all information provided in the application, but will not disclose your phone number or mailing address beyond the program partners.

 We reserve the right to contact you for additional supporting material if you are selected as a finalist for the fellowship.  By applying for the fellowship, applicants release The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Tony Blair’s Africa Governance Initiative, and the World Food Prize from any and all damages and liability resulting from participation in the program.

No comments: