The Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Intellectual Festival creates a space for reflections on Africa\u2019s past, present and future development. The event honours the memory of Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, Tanzania\u2019s founding father and leading Pan-Africanist, with a series of lectures, debates, exhibitions and artistic performances that explore his political philosophy and thoughts on education, unity and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 11th festival was organised under the theme Pan-Africanism and the Quest for Unity, Democratisation and Development: The State, Markets and Knowledge Society<\/em>, from 22 \u201324 May 2019. Similar to previous years, the festival was organised under the auspices of the Mwalimu Nyerere Chair of Pan-African Studies at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The festival was supported by UONGOZI Institute, Bank of Tanzania, Haki Elimu and CRDB Bank. The Institute\u2019s participation came from a desire to draw lessons from Mwalimu Nyerere\u2019s life that may be instructive to Africa\u2019s current and future generation of leaders working to achieve sustainable development for the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The event was graced by H.E. Jakaya Kikwete, former President of the United Republic of Tanzania and Distinguished Nyerere Lecturer. Those present included academics and experts from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi and the United States of America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking at the opening ceremony H.E. Jakaya Kikwete acknowledged the efforts made by regional institutions and African countries to stimulate development and better governance across the continent while noting that challenges still present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is no doubt that some significant strides have been made in good governance in Africa, compared to what the situation was in the past decade,\u201d he expressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also noted that extreme poverty is still a challenge to most of the African countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said, \u201cSadly, 27 out of 30 poorest countries in the world are in Africa,\u201d adding, \u201cIn the United Nations Human Development Report, throughout all indicators, most African countries, if not all, have the lowest scores.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The former President also expressed his optimism in the area of unity, stating that there has been robust cooperation among the African states, particularly across economic and diplomatic fronts, at bilateral and regional levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his remarks, Professor William Anangisye, Vice Chancellor of UDSM, underlined that those present gathered, \u201cNot only out of intellectual curiosity but more profoundly in search for a better destiny for humanity, especially in Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the opening ceremony, Professor Rwekaza Mukandala, former Vice Chancellor of UDSM, was installed as Mwalimu Nyerere Chair in Pan-African Studies.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6511,"parent":0,"template":"","news-categories":[],"class_list":["post-6504","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n