STATEMENT BY AMB.FRANCIS E.S KATANA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UGANDA COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
AT THE DEMOCRACY SYMPOSIUM ORGANISED BY KAMPALA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UGANDA COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
10TH DECEMBER, 2021
MESTIL HOTEL, KAMPALA.
Salutation
Our Chief Guest this afternoon, the Hon. Okello Oryem, Minister of State for International Relations, Your Excellences Ambassadors and Heads of Diplomatic Missions, Our Presenter, Mr. David Mafabi-Senior Presidential Advisor/Special Duties, Our Discussant, Dr. Jerome Kansiime, the Board, Management and Staff of Kampala International University and Uganda Council on Foreign Relations; Distinguished invited Guests; the Media; Ladies and Gentlemen. Good afternoon!!!
I want to take this opportunity to welcome you all to this important symposium on the theme: Dissecting Western Democracy in Africa. I thank you for taking time to be with us this afternoon.
About Uganda Council on Foreign Relations: The Uganda Council on Foreign Relations is a Membership organization that was established to address the need for independent and non-partisan research and analysis of Uganda’s Foreign and Development options.
Vision:
The Council envisions “An Independent, non-partisan leading centre of excellence for the promotion of foreign relations and policy dialogue and research.
Mission
To provide a non-partisan Membership centre for networking and policy advocacy, knowledge development and through discussions, research, and publications focused on Uganda Foreign Policy issues.
OBJECTIVES
- To provide a platform for promotion of Foreign Policy debate and advocacy
- To be an academic and intellectual resource for members, scholars, policy makers, the Private Sector, Government and Non-Governmental Organizations
- To undertake prospective research on key foreign policy issues that can be published and disseminated.
- To provide a forum for mentoring and supporting young scholars.
Partnership Appreciation
As a Foreign Policy Think Tank, The Uganda Council on Foreign Relations (UCFR), I would like to express our sincere appreciation to the Management of Kampala International University for this Partnership. We look forward to continued engagement and collaboration on areas of mutual interests in research, foreign policy advocacy and Youth Empowerment.
Theme and Purpose of the Symposium
Our theme for this symposium is Dissecting Western Democracy in Africa. At a time when the world is talking about democracy and Human rights, it’s important for Africa and African scholars to find a voice on the National and international stage particularly on how the western democracy model and philosophy have worked in Africa and whether there is need for home grown, African solution based models for political and governance questions in Africa.
The purpose of the symposium is to:
- Assess the impact of western democracy and interventions in Africa
- Discuss the current Western geo-political formations and rivalry with other emerging power blocks and its impact on Africa.
- Propose strategies and mechanism for positioning Africa as an active player on the global stake rather than being a victim of the Western hegemony.
Conclusion
I want to thank our Presenter and Discussant for accepting to share their knowledge and experience with us. I thank all of you who are physically present and those who are joining us on line via zoom. I wish you insightful and resourceful deliberations.
THANK YOU!!!