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Hon. Justice Owiny-Dollo Launches Gender Equality Reports and Toolkit for Practitioners

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The Deputy Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo has appealed to academia to unpack for the community, the aspect of gender equality as enshrined in the Uganda Constitution. This was at the launch of the Gender Equality reports and a tool kit for gender equality practitioners on Wednesday, 10th April 2019 at the School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bio-engineering Conference Hall, Makerere University.

Makerere University School of Women and Gender Studies (SWGS) and the University Forum on Governance (UNIFOG) conducted two studies to enrich the knowledge system around gender equality legal and policy framework in Uganda under the Gender Equality Project (GEP).  Funded by the Democratic Governance Facility (DGF), the studies were conducted primarily to inform improvement in gender equality laws and policies by identifying the pros and cons in existing gender equality laws, policies and provide recommendations for improvements. The two studies then informed the development of a toolkit on gender equality indicators, results and measurement.

Hon. Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo (2nd Right) assisted by Executive Secretary UNIFOG-Mr. Bruce Balaba Kabaasa (Right) autographs the Reports and Toolkit as Vice Chancellor-Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe (Left) and PI GEP-Assoc. Prof. Sarah Ssali witness

The three items launched included;

1.    The Political Economy Analysis of Gender Equality Legislative Framework in Uganda
2.    A Matrix and Analysis of the Gender Equality Laws and Policies in Uganda
3.    And, Toolkit for Gender Equality Practitioners

In a keynote address on the Gender Equality Legislative Framework in Uganda – Strength, Gaps and Opportunities for Attainment of Holistic Gender Equality, the Principal Investigator, GEP-Assoc. Prof. Sarah Ssali mentioned that Uganda has a legal and policy framework conducive for advancing gender equality although the challenge still lies in implementation.

The Dean, School of Women and Gender Studies and Principal Investigator GEP-Assoc. Prof. Sarah Ssali delivers the keynote address

“This is among others caused by lack of deeper analysis of causes of gender disparity and addressing them. The Domestic Violence Act is for example a good gender law but without economic empowerment of women, rarely will the female victims report their breadwinners. The research helps in identifying these gaps and proposing ways of bridging them,” she stated.

Assoc. Prof. Sarah Ssali, also the Dean School of Women and Gender Studies, Makerere University reported that there was appreciation from the communities visited that stakeholders had over sensitized on issues of Gender Equality. She added that GEP carries out continuous horizon scanning on a weekly basis for any developments on the Gender Equality terrain such as communities adopting by-laws. The findings are then mapped with the GEP objectives so as to keep the Project in tandem with national dynamics. 

Front Row: Hon Andrew Baryayanga Aja (2nd Left), Hon. Thomas Tayebwa (3rd Left) and other participants listen to proceedings at the Gender Equality Reports and Toolkit launch

Addressing participants at a highly colorful ceremony, the Deputy Chief Justice highlighted the importance of breaking down the complex terms on gender equality enshrined in the Constitution by academicians. This, he said, would help to inform the public about their rights and what the laws provide for when it comes to gender equality matters.

“It is important that this equality is unpacked and well explained. I am happy that in the Gender Equality Project, Makerere University and her partners do emphasize the equality of rights, voices and opportunities for all, which is a contribution to unpacking the aspects of equality as enshrined in our constitution,” he said.

The Head DGF, Mr. Wim Stoffers (2nd Right), DGF staff and other participants listen to proceedings

Justice Owiny-Dollo noted that the 1995 Constitution in Article 21 proclaims equality for all persons. Since the promulgation of the Constitution in 1995, Uganda has registered commended gains in empowering hitherto marginalized group especially the women, youth and persons with disabilities.

“Some of the admirable developments in Uganda is that these critical social groups are now legally part of the decision-making processes at various levels of Government. Thanks to legal provisions for their representation in Parliament and Local Councils,” he remarked.

Vice Chairperson of the NRM Parliamentary Caucus and Bukooli Central MP Hon. Solomon Silwanyi contributes to the discussion

He informed participants that the gains in political representation can only be a starting point in the quest for gender equality. He therefore called upon women to leverage the existing framework and conditions to achieve a society where everyone has equal opportunities in economic, social and political aspects of life.

According to the Deputy Chief Justice, equality should be a responsibility for all of those bearing any obligations to guarantee rights.  “We all read in the newspapers and most recently on social media of cases of domestic and gender based violence. Our institutions on inheritance, property ownership, rights over children still disadvantage women over men. This is what we call the underlying constraints, which unless resolved, the attainment of gender equality will remain a challenge,” he said.

The School of Women and Gender Studies' Prof. Grace Bantebya contributes to the discussion

He applauded Makerere University School of Women and Gender Studies (SWGS), the University Forum on Governance (UNIFOG) and the Democratic Governance facility (DGF) for establishing a project with effective interventions to foster gender equality.

Highlighting the tremendous role done by the DGF in promoting human rights, and enhancing access to justice in Uganda, the Head, Mr. Wim Stoffers, said that his organization is mindful of the role of Universities in shaping the discourse on democratic governance.  

The Head DGF, Mr. Wim Stoffers delivers his address. SWGS received a DGF Grant in April 2018 to implement the Gender Equality Project

He mentioned that DGF has extended support to several projects at Makerere University that aimed at contributing towards gender equality legislation in Uganda. DGF has also supported individual projects carried out by staff of the University.

“Gender is among the three crosscutting issues in the current DGF programming. There is need for all stakeholders to understand gender in a broad context beyond women, women empowerment and activism. Gender is not a women’s thing,” he said.

He commended the two reports saying that they will be key reference documents in the gender discourse.  He congratulated SWGS and UNIFOG upon the tremendous milestone. “I reiterate our commitment to supporting processes aimed at building a Uganda where citizens are empowered to engage on democratic governance and where the state upholds citizens’ rights,” he said.

Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe outlined the strides made by Makerere University in Gender Mainstreaming and Gender Equality action

The Vice Chancellor of Makerere University Prof Barnabas Nawangwe applauded the School of Women and Gender studies of the comprehensive research on gender equality.  He said that Makerere University through the School of Women and gender Studies has demonstrated strong commitment to ensure gender equality in University.

“We have put in place a well-established Gender and Mainstreaming Directorate to mainstream gender in the University functions and propel the struggle for gender justice at Makerere University and beyond. Through the School of Women and Gender Studies, we have been able to address gender and development issues from an African perspective. We introduced the affirmative action to encourage girl child education and we are recently working on the various strategies of encouraging girls to engage in STEM” he explained.

The Director, Directorate of Research and Graduate Training (DRGT) and Chairperson, GEP Steering Committee, Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi delivers his remarks

The Chairperson of the GEP Steering Committee Prof. Mukadasi Buyinza called upon the Government of Uganda, funders and all development partners to support research especially in the area of women and gender studies. He shared that the project will be further implemented in the four major regions of Uganda where the GEP has already identified and engaged with various stakeholders in twenty Districts.

The day’s proceedings were ably moderated by UNIFOG's Executive Secretary, Mr. Bruce Balaba Kabaasa who noted that findings of the reports and guidelines in the toolkit for practitioners had been informed by stakeholders from all twenty Districts and as such, were representative of a National spectrum. The GEP is implemented in the districts of: Adjumani, Apac, Arua, Gulu and Lira in the North; Kampala, Kiboga, Masaka, Mukono and Wakiso in the Central; Bugiri, Busia, Jinja, Mbale and Soroti in the East; as well as Hoima, Kabarole, Kasese, Mbarara and Rubanda in the West.

R-L: The Deputy University Secretary and Technical Advisor GEP-Mr. Yusuf Kiranda, Ms. Perry Aritua, Ms. Linda Bore and Hon. Asuman Basalirwa during the panel discussion

The function was further enriched by a Public Dialogue held under the theme: Disrupting Business as Usual; Innovating Ways of Influencing Holistic Gender Equality Legislation in Uganda.

The interactive session chaired by Mr. Kiranda Yusuf- Deputy University Secretary and Technical Advisor GEP, consisted of prominent panelists including; Ms. Linda Bore-an Advocate from High Court of Kenya, Ms. Perry Aritua-Executive Director of Women’s Democracy Network Uganda Chapter and Hon. Asuman Basalirwa-MP Bugiri Municipality. The panelists argued that changing the mindsets of society is key to the successful implementation of Gender Equality legislation.

Pastor Martin Ssempa attended the launch and contributed to the discussion on gender equality

The panelists further noted that whereas the gains made by Gender Equality legislation were evident, these all stood the risk of being eroded by demographic issues such as the rapidly growing population and the need to tackle topics like reproductive health. Furthermore, there was general consensus that there is need to unpack Gender Equality advocacy into messages that can easily be disseminated at the grassroots by legislators seeking (re-)election to the August House.

Article by Nabatte Proscovia, Mak Public Relations Office

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Special Exam Results -Diploma in Performing Arts 2025/26

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The results for the 2025/2026 special entry examination for the Diploma in Performing Arts held on Saturday 17th May, 2025. Candidates who scored a final mark of 50% and above passed the Examination and have been recommended to the university’s Admissions Committee for consideration.

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Mature Age Scheme Exam Results for 2025/2026

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The Office of Academic Registrar, Makerere University has released full results for the Mature Age Entry Scheme Examinations for the Academic Year 2025/2026 held on Saturday 14th December, 2024.

The Candidates who scored a final mark of 50% and above passed the examination and have been recommended by the Pre-Entry & Mature Age Committee to the University’s Admissions Board for Consideration.

The Aptitude Exam  Results for 2025/2026 Academic Year released in February 2025 can be found here.

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Call for Application: 2025 SNRM session 4 Summer School

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Participants in focused group discussions. Leiden-Delft-Erasmus East Africa Research Network (LEARN) in collaboration with the Urban Action Lab at Makerere University a workshop to deliberate strategies for mitigating the impacts of climate change in urban centres in the East African Region, Theme: “Resilient Urban Futures: Adapting Livelihoods to Climate Change”, 4th-5th September 2024, School of Public Health Auditorium, Kampala Uganda.

Context:
Natural resources in Africa are being depleted at an alarming rate due to several factors, including unsustainable human activities, climate change, and population growth. A primary condition of sustainable development is to ensure that the pressures do not exceed the environmental limits, and that demand for the resources does not exceed levels that can be sustainably provided by nature. Therefore, there is a pressing need for transformative, systems-thinking approaches and tools that can tackle the diverse challenges facing these systems. In Africa, this need is compounded by a lack of data and monitoring, which significantly hinders sustainable decision-making.

Investing in young scientists who are committed to take lead in sustainable management of Africa’s natural resources is very important. Capacity building of young scientists will enhance their knowledge and skill on sustainable natural resources and their involvement for implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDG’s) in Africa. To this effect, SNRM summer schools have been implemented in three sessions in 2019, 2020, and 2022 with support from Volkswagen Foundation; to build a critical mass of skilled and competent young natural resource scientists in Africa through training, capacity building and mentorship. Session 4 (2025) will target competent young scientists (MSc and PhD students) in Africa and Germany to further develop their knowledge and skills in systems thinking, advanced data collection and analysis, and application of emerging digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), internet of things (IoT), and embracing transdisciplinary approaches. In addition, we include an ideation workshop where students can work on real problems to come up with solutions for sustainable transformations in natural resource use.

Organizers: Leibniz Universität – Hannover (Germany), University of Antananarivo, University of Abomey Calavi (Benin), Makerere University (Uganda), University of Ghana (Ghana), University of Parakou (Benin), The Technical University of Kenya, with financial support from the Volkswagen Foundation (Germany).

Venue and dates: Nairobi, Kenya, 16-28 November 2025

Target: MSc and PhD students, early in the program of less than 35 years of age from any university/research institution in either sub-Saharan Africa or Germany with an interest in natural resources management.

Participants and Scholarships: The course is fully funded and open to 20 MSc and PhD students from Africa, and 5 from Germany. Funding will cover the costs of air ticket, accommodation, meals, visa, and transportation. However, participants will cover the cost of their travel health insurance.

Topics

SNRM Summer School Session 4: Transformative pathways in biodiversity management and conservation.
This summer school is designed to deliver four modules over a two-week period. The modules are designed to enable the students to acquire new ways of designing data collection protocols and analysis for transformative sustainable natural resources management.

Module 4.1: Data collection I
Skills in data collection for a transformative and sustainable management of natural resources (water, wildlife, forest, land, livestock, crops) monitoring and data collection techniques; remote monitoring tools, earth observation system data, e.g. satellite data sources, LIDAR, and UAV aerial images. Collect and analyse In-situ data on biotic and abiotic parameters, map and analyse data using R or Google Earth Engine, field data collection and retrieving data from online databases.

Module 4.2 Data management and processing
Introduction to tools and methods of managing large and diverse data sets of natural resources such as time series, spatial, directional, and multivariate data. Practicals will include data storage, organization and conversion into various formats using databases such as PostgreSQL and statistical programming software such as R and Python; scripts.

Module 4.3 Ecological monitoring, modelling and management
This module aims to teach participants how to anticipate and validate trends that can be observed in various ecosystems. Lectures include ecological monitoring and its design; population monitoring studies; metrics in population monitoring; methods for monitoring and assessing marine ecosystems; human ecology to socio-ecological systems; climate change impact of ecosystems; suitability assessments; overview of the principles underlying wildlife monitoring and prediction systems for climate change adaptation. Practicals will include field data collection (individual and group); ecological data analysis using R or PAST; modelling and experiencing the behaviour of complex systems using Vensim.

Module 4.4 Natural habitat restoration ideation lab
This module is designed to spur students’ innovation and creativity, and to help students comprehensively identify interdependencies across the 17 SDG goals. Participants will be trained on ideation processes for solutions and intervention for transformative natural resource management. They will work collaboratively in small groups on case studies and develop pathways of transformative sustainable natural resource management. Examples of projects include forest (mangrove) ecosystem and habitat restoration, improved technologies for agricultural production, nature-based solutions for improving water quality, and reversing land degradation.

Language: The course will be delivered in English. Participants are expected to be fluent in writing and speaking the English language.

How to apply

Applicants are kindly requested to fill in the application form available from https://snrmafrica.com/ and submit the following documents in English through the system.

  • a curriculum vitae (maximum 2 pages)
  • a letter of motivation (maximum 1 page)
  • a confirmation of university enrolment
  • a reference letter from the academic supervisor
  • project summary of MSc/ PhD project (1 page including objectives, methodology
    and key findings or expected outcomes).

Important dates
Application deadline: 30th June 2025.
Announcement of accepted applicants: 15th August 2025.
Confirmation of attendance by selected participants: 12th Sept 2025.
Summer school held: 16 – 28 Nov 2025.

Further information is available from

The secretariat info@snrmafrica.com
Dr Lydia Olaka lydiaolaka@tukenya.ac.ke
Prof. Dr. Hartmut Stuetzel stuetzel@gem.uni-hannover.de

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