TIGblogs TIG | TIGblogs GROUP TIGBLOGS LOGIN SIGNUP
Christabell Opudo's Blog
Christabell Opudo's Blog
« previous 5


SPEECH BY MR. ANANTHA. KRISHNAN, UN-HABITAT ON THE HANDING OVER OF COMPUTERS
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

SPEECH BY MR. ANANTHA. KRISHNAN, UN-HABITAT ON
THE HANDING OVER OF COMPUTERS TO THE YOUTH
EMPOWERMENT CENTRES FRIDAY 27 JUNE 2008 AT NYS

HEAD QUATERS-NAIROBI.

Director Youth Development- Mr. Julius Kubai,
Director Youth Training- Dr. Dinah Mwinzi
Representatives from Microsoft East Africa,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

It’s a great Honour for me to stand here and witness this historic function of handing over Computers donated by Microsoft East Africa to the Youth Empowerment Programme in Kenya.

Resounding recognition should go to both the Ministry of Youth and Sports and Microsoft East Africa for their vision to empower the youth of this country through providing the necessary tools. UN-HABITAT is proud to be associated with such efforts that will go along way in
empowering the youth of this country particularly in ICT.

As you may know, the United Nations defines youth as those between ages 15 and 25. In Nairobi, these youth constitute about 75 per cent of the total population. Of those, about 75 per cent live in the informal settlements around the city one of the consequences of rapid urbanization.

UN-HABITAT is one of the international institutions that provide an overall perspective on urbanization. The overarching goal of UNHABITAT is to ensure an effective contribution to sustainable urbanization. The goal of sustainable urbanization is livable, productive
and inclusive cities and towns. It embraces relationships between all human settlements from small towns to metropolises, between urban centres and their surrounding rural areas. As a process, it captures a vision of inclusive growth that is people centric and embraces social harmony,
economic vitality, and environmental sustainability. At the center of this is youth development and empowerment.

We at UN-HABITAT are committed to strengthening the capacity of youth to fulfill their role in this urbanizing world. Through pioneering work such as strategic interventions through the One Stop Centre model it is our responsibility to ensure the highest possible multiplier effects of such programmes. Today we see that multiplier effect.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are also here to celebrate the changes in the way young people see themselves and their role in urban development, governance and improvement of urban life. We are here to witness the significant chievements young people have made both as actors and participants in urban life when given the right tools. We believe that we can change the way the world views young people. Not as a problem generation, but as a generation of young people who are actively participating in creating a better world.

The Kenya government has shown us a glimpse of the better world through the recently launched vision 2030. However, in order to realize this vision computer knowledge and skills has to be emphasized in the curriculum. Every youth of this country needs the basic skills on ICT.
Even for those who have already left school and did not have a chance of learning the subject; have the chance to pursue this through initiatives such as the empowerment centres.

Ladies and Gentlemen
There has been a long history between the United Nation work and the Youth Empowerment Programmes in Kenya.
UN-HABITAT initiated the first Youth Resource Centre in Nairobi in August 2003 on the International Youth Day. This was in response to a stakeholders meeting held the previous years in Nairobi to review the needs and potentiality of young people in and around Nairobi. There were a lot of services offered by different partners and it was therefore prudent to offer these under one roof. One of the components covered by the “One Stop Resource Centres” was ICT.
In partnership with the City Council of Nairobi among others, UN-HABITAT, through its Youth
Programme has continued to support the One Stop Youth Resource Centre offering a wide range of services to the youth of this city.

It is evident that ICT is a strong tool for development and Various UN agencies are looking for ways of formulating policies and coordinating ICT youth related programmes globally. We request other partners to join hands with United Nations, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and Microsoft East Africa to make this happen. Youth led and youth serving organizations should have a major role in this.

Let me now conclude these brief remarks by quoting our Secretary General Ban Ki Moon in his recent statement: “... let us promote visionary public policies, innovative business models and creative technological solutions that will empower young people and engage them in the global
effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals,”

I thank you all.


July 10, 2008 | 10:55 AM Comments  2 comments

Tags:


Microsoft donates computers to Kenyan youth
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic


30/06/2008
Nairobi




UN-HABITAT facilitated the setting up of the One stop centre in collaboration with City Council of Nairobi. It was opened in 2003 on the International Youth day. Under the Ministry of Youth and Sports policy the ministry is setting up empowerment centres nation wide at the constituency level. The Ministry is using the One Stop centre model to replicate country wide. One stop centre model provides space and information for youth engagement

The objectives of the youth empowerment programme is to facilitate youth engagement towards building a better Kenya. Youth employment, empowerment and participation are among the strategic pillars for the Ministry’s strategic interventions

Speaking during the occasion, Microsoft representatives said they will assess the utilization of the first bunch of computers with a view for more support in future while a government of Kenya officials disclosed that there was provision for setting up youth empowerment centres country wide in the national budget.

Regards,
Christabell

July 10, 2008 | 10:46 AM Comments  0 comments

Tags:


UN-HABITAT partners with private firms for solid waste collection
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

07/07/2008
Nairobi



Working in collaboration with two Kenyan engineering firms, UN-HABITAT has developed innovative tractor trailer system and a small pick up vehicle to meet the solid waste collection needs of small towns.

In a clear demonstration of public-private sector partnership which it has been championing, UN-HABITAT tapped Farm Engineering Industries Limited based in the western Kenya town of Kisumu and Ndume Engineering of Gilgil town, also in Kenya to develop the inventions..

“This is going to be a major boost in our war against waste in the municipality,” said a technician given training on the new system last week. “We are really grateful to UN-HABITAT for coming up with this idea.”

In Kisumu, the The participants were also addressed by Engineer Patrick Ombogo the Chief Executive of the Lake Victoria South Water Services Board, a one of the UN-HABITAT implementing partner partners under the Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Initiative.

Mr. Ombogo challenged the technicians, operators and officials of local authorities in the project towns and their bosses to cultivate a culture of maintenance for their equipment. He said regular good maintenance will in the long run ensure that the machines last longer and are cost effective.

“Even if UN-HABITAT continues to pour in mmoney into this equipment, if they are not well maintained this would just be money going down the drain and this is wastage we must stop,” he said.

The Ndume Little Pickup has a flat deck body with a very low loading height. The flat body carries six or eight bins of waste which can be lifted on or off the pick-up by hand. In six of the seven towns, these vehicles will be used to provide a primary collection service, collecting bins of waste from businesses and residential premises and transporting them for transfer into large containers or low loading height trailers which will then be transported to the disposal site.

The target towns are Homa Bay and Kisii in Kenya, Bukoba and Muleba in Tanzania, and Kyotera and Nyendo Ssenyange (a satellite town of Masaka Municipality) in Uganda, as well as from the border town of Mutukula on the Uganda /Tanzania border.

The Lake Victoria Region Water and Sanitation Initiative is a collaborative effort of UN-HABITAT with the Governments of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, and the Secretariat of the East African Community. It supports small towns in the Lake Victoria region to attain the water and sanitation target of the Millennium Development Goals. Its objectives are to improve the water supply and sanitation coverage for the poor and to reduce the pollution of the lake from these towns. UN-HABITAT provides capacity building and grant support to seven towns in the Lake Victoria region to rehabilitate existing facilities and to improve local capacity for operations, maintenance and service delivery.