By Sr. Tabitha W. Nyawira, Programs Officer, AMECEA Department of Promotion of Integral Human DevelopmentThe Association of Episcopal Member Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) through its Department for the Promotion of Integral Human Development participated in a meeting organized by SECAM in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 7th to 11th January 2019, which brought together lead partners to ‘Continental Conference on Land Grab and Just Governance in Africa’.
This was a review meeting following the first which took place three years ago in Limuru, Kenya, in November 2015. The objective of the meeting was to evaluate the implementation of the Limuru declaration whose principles were Education and Empowerment, Networking, and Policy Advocacy and Engagement.
It was evident from the meeting that much has been achieved in tackling the challenge of land and resource grabbing in various parts of the African continent. However, there are still numerous opportunities available to be utilized for significant advocacy at all levels.
Furthermore, building connections between faith-based organizations and other civil societies needs to be explored to strengthen collaboration of the actors in the Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone regions of the continent, with an emphasis on creating an impact on the affected communities by empowering the local people to be their own advocates at the grassroots level.
The meeting was thus an opportunity for members to renew their commitment to living the spirit of the Limuru Declaration as well as setting out plans that are necessary in pursuing a common advocacy objective involving multi-level actions.
∽End∽