The event was officially opened by Prof Hellen Nambalirwa Nkabala, Principal, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Makerere University, who commended the continued cooperation between the Makerere University and KAS. She also thanked the authors for their analysis and insights shared in each of the chapters of the publication and for choosing to have this book presentation held at Makerere University.
Prof Paul Omach, Head of Department, Political Science and Public Administration, Makerere University welcomed the participants and hailed the handbook as a critical guide to the modern teaching of peace and conflict. In his remarks, Edgar Mwine, Project Manager at RP SIPODI-EA thanked the teams from Makerere, Leipzig and Erfurt Universities for their collaboration and for the output that advances the teaching and learning of peace and conflict.
The lead editors of the handbook, Prof Solveig Richter, Chair, International Relations and Transnational Politics at Leipzig University and Dr. Siddharth Tripathi, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Erfurt, led the presentation of the contents of the handbook. Prof. Richter noted that their mission was to shape a new research agenda and make the discipline of peace and conflict studies more plurilversal, and rooted in the ground realities, unique contexts, and the political, social and economic imaginations of the Global South. Joining virtually via Zoom, Dr Siddharth emphasised the importance of collaborative research among researchers from Global North and South, despite the epistemic and structural asymmetries between them. Selected authors, including Sushobhan Parida (Leipzig University), Dr. Edward Kaweesi (Makerere University), Dr. Steve Wakhu (University of Embu) and Dr Hawa Noor (Bremen University) also had an opportunity to make brief presentations about their chapters.
The book presentation was followed by a two-session workshop. The first session, moderated by Prof Kasaija Apuuli, reflected on the teaching of peace and conflict studies and involved selected lecturers from seven Universities. These were Prof Paul Omach, Head of Department, Political Science and Public Administration, Makerere University, Prof Veneranda Mbabazi, Head of Department, Peace and Religious Studies, Makerere University, Dr Steve Wakhu, Head of Department, Humanities, University of Embu, Dr Martin Kizito, Academic Dean, School of Social Sciences, Uganda Christian University, Dr Luwemba Musa, Head of Department, Political Science and Public Administration, Islamic University in Uganda, Dr Alice Wabule, Dean, School of Social Sciences, CAVENDISH University, Dr Sultan Kakuba, Head of Department, Political Science, Kyambogo University, and Prof Susan Ayiro, Head of Department, Development Studies, Uganda Martyrs University.
The second session was moderated by Dr George Okiror and reflected on the practice of peace. The contributors were Prof Hellen Nambalirwa Nkabala, Principal, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Makerere University, Edgar Mwine, Project Manager, KAS RP SIPODI-EA, Col Fred Wemba, and Col Fred Asaba both from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces.
The event was concluded with a brief session that generated talking points for the regional research agenda on peace and conflict. The key take-away from this session was the need to building institutional and individual connections between academia, policy makers and practitioners so as to link academic research to policy and practice.
About this series
The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, its educational institutions, centres and foreign offices, offer several thousand events on various subjects each year. We provide up to date and exclusive reports on selected conferences, events and symposia at www.kas.de. In addition to a summary of the contents, you can also find additional material such as pictures, speeches, videos or audio clips.