Introduction

The world is increasingly witnessing the occurrence of an array of terrestrial and atmospheric processes culminating into a multitude of geohazards that adversely affect communities. Climate change is specifically creating a plethora of unwanted socioecological impacts that have hindered the progression of societies. Prevalent feedbacks manifesting through increasing intensity and extent of natural hazards, destruction of vital ecosystems, biodiversity losses, declining agricultural yields exemplify the magnitude of the sustainability challenges at our disposal. And yet the world is committed under the United Nations Agenda 2030 to reverse the negative processes and attain the desired equitable, transformed and sustainable societies. Geovisualization which involves using geographic data and
visualization techniques to represent spatial information presents a greater potential of obviating the above challenges, contributing to community resilience and the sustainability agenda.

The gist of this collaborative summer school is to provide an immersive learning experience on geovisualization under increasing risks related to climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and community resilience.

Requirements:

(a) Be a Masters or PhD student registered at Makerere University, Uganda Martys University or Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

(b) Have an interest in the thematic focus of the summer school e.g., climate change, disaster risk management, environmental risk and geo-information science

(c) Motivation and interest to participate in the summer school

(d) Brief CV of maximum 2 pages. Students from other institutions may be admitted, but they will cater for their costs especially in the field.

Piggyback with the GORILLA Conference: The summer school is scheduled back-to-back with the 3rd International Conference on Geographical Science for Resilient Communities, Ecosystems, and Livelihoods under Global Environmental Change (GORILLA 2024), which will take place in Kampala from 4th to 6th December 2024. Participants will have the opportunity to register for the conference (regular fees apply), further enriching their learning experience and facilitating networking with professionals and scholars in the field. Students participating in the GORILLA conference will be given priority.

Application Procedure and Deadline: Applications to participate in the first summer school should be submitted online at: https://gorilla.mak.ac.ug/summer-school

The application deadlineis Sunday 20th October 2024.

Funding: The Costclim project will cover onsite costs including meals and refreshments. Accommodation costs for participants will be covered only during the field excursion period.

Contacts: More information about the summer school can be obtained from;

• Hilde Refstie: hilde.refstie@ntnu.no
• Yazidhi Bamutaze: yazidhibamutaze@gmail.com

On 2^nd October 2024, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni officially opened the re-constructed Makerere University’s iconic Main Building, and installed Dr. Crispus Kiyonga as the new Chancellor.

The event held at Makerere University’s Freedom Square, was presided over by President Museveni, the university’s Visitor, alongside First Lady, Hon Janet Kataaha Museveni, who is also the Minister of Education and Sports.

Several dignitaries attended the ceremony, including former Chancellors, Vice Chancellors, members of the University Council, administration, development partners, a delegation from the University of Bergen in Norway as well as alumni of Makerere University. The reopening of the main building comes four years after a disastrous fire that resulted from a short circuit destroyed the building in September 2020.

Speaking at the event, President Museveni congratulated the university for getting back the building which has been funded by the government of Uganda. He added that his initial concerns about the potential loss of student records, but he was relieved when he was reassured by the Vice-Chancellor Professor Barnabas Nawangwe that the records were safe.

“When this unfortunate incident happened, as Professor Nawangwe said, my main concern was the records of the students. For the building, we could construct a new one, and we have constructed it,” he said.

The reconstruction preserved the building’s historic exterior while modernizing the interior to enhance safety and accessibility. Traditional wooden floors were replaced with tiles and terrazzo, and pathways for persons with disabilities were added. The building also features more durable concrete walls, fire detection and fighting equipment, and a restored bell that rings every hour.

President Museveni also congratulated the university on appointing Dr. Crispus Kiyonga as Chancellor, succeeding Prof. Ezra Suruma. He praised Dr. Kiyonga as a longstanding and key figure in the National Resistance Movement (NRM).

“Secondly, I want to congratulate you on having a new chancellor, in the person of Dr. Crispus Kiyonga. He is an outstanding cadre and leader of the NRM. He is a member of the central executive committee and has been very active in our efforts since 1980 when we were involved with UPM, so I congratulate him and I congratulate the University,” The President said.

The President explained the fundamental role of some disciplines at Makerere University such as Food Science and Quantitative economics. He also underscored the relevance of science disciplines to national development.

Hon. Janet Museveni, the Minister of Education thanked President Museveni for his swift response when Makerere’s ivory tower was destroyed by the fire. She also commended the President for providing funds for the renovation of the students’ halls of residence.

“On behalf of the education sector, I thank you, Your Excellency, for your immediate directive to fund the restoration of the iconic building and other critical projects at Makerere including the students’ residences following a request from the University Council. Your timely intervention, Mr. President underscores your unwavering support for the higher education sector and Makerere University in particular,” she said.

Dr. Kiyonga expressed gratitude for his appointment and emphasized his commitment to strengthening ties between the university, government, and the broader community. He promised to work closely with Vice Chancellor, Prof. Nawangwe and other stakeholders to align Makerere University’s research with Uganda’s development agenda.

Mrs. Lorna Magara, the Chairperson of the University Council, thanked the government for funding several projects at Makerere, including the restoration of the main building, the construction of the new building for the Law School, and the renovation of halls of residence.

“The restoration of the main building strongly symbolizes the government’s commitment to investing in Makerere University and indeed the education sector. In addition to the main building, the government has generously funded several infrastructural projects including the construction of the School of Law new building, the school of dentistry, the renovation of Lumumba Hall, the wall around the university, and several others,” she said.

“We extend our heartfelt appreciation to the ministry of finance, planning and economic development for implementing the president’s directive and providing the necessary funding for these critical projects,” she said.

The Vice Chancellor, Prof.  Nawangwe, thanked the President for swiftly approving the release of funds for the restoration of the building after he had presented the case to the Cabinet.

He also highlighted that the basement of the restored building will be reserved for a museum, and the university hopes to host the Luweero War Memorial Museum in this space.

When Prof. Henry Alinaitwe and I, came to the Cabinet to explain the cause of the fire, you guided the Cabinet to immediately approve the release of the 21 billion shillings that were required to reconstruct the building. Your excellency and Mama Janet, this afternoon, we have just re-opened the reconstructed main building, and the building is entirely funded by the government of Uganda,” he said.

The Vice-Chancellor also used the opportunity to request the President that the government provides Makerere University with a road maintenance unit under the National District Road Maintenance Program.

He explained that such a unit would allow engineering students to gain practical experience by maintaining university roads and those in nearby communities. This initiative, he added, would contribute to producing well-trained engineers who could strengthen the construction industry in Uganda.

“We wish to enhance the training of our engineers through advanced technical and business development skills so that they can compete with international firms. We therefore request for your support, Your Excellency to consider Makerere University in form of a district for the allocation of a road maintenance unit as part of the district road maintenance unit program,” he requested.

“With this unit we would be able to train our students by maintaining the university’s roads and the roads of the surrounding communities. The ultimate aim is to produce engineers who will build strong constructing firms for our country. I pray that this proposal is given consideration in the next financial year budget.”

In response, President Museveni welcomed the idea and offered his support, agreeing that it would provide valuable practical learning for Makerere’s students.

“Regarding the road unit, that is a very good idea, I will definitely support that so that you can have your own road unit to teach your engineers how to make roads and how to build practically. I totally agree with that,” President Museveni said.

The Vice Chancellor appreciated the Mastercard Foundation for the support extended to Makerere University when the Main Building was gutted by a fire. “I received the first international call, from Reeta Roy, President of the Mastercard Foundation, who in a very short statement said: We are going to support you with one million dollars to help you recover the student records. Indeed, the seed sown by the Mastercard Foundation has transformed Makerere into one of the most digitalised universities,” he said.

The Guild President, Lubega Vincent Nsamba acknowledged the President for providing funds for the reconstruction of the main building, but most importantly providing funds to renovate the different halls of residence.

“I thank you for the funds that have been contributed to the reconstruction of the main building, but most importantly and particularly to the renovation of halls of residence. They have completed Lumumba hall and they are now at Mary Stuart,” he said. 

“We extend a vote of appreciation for recognizing that need and providing funds to cater for that. This has not only contributed to the welfare of the students, and has also improved their academic life on Campus,” he added. 

The First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Hon. Janet Kataaha Museveni, officially launched the Emerging Leaders Program and commissioned the first cohort of SAFE champions at Makerere University on Friday 27^th September 2024.

“It gives me great pleasure to commission you as Emerging Leaders Program Champions. I charge you to become role models. Please take the training that you have received as your moral campus at the University and beyond,” said Hon. Janet Museveni amidst applause from the audience.

The launch, held at Makerere University’s Freedom Square, was attended by notable figures including the Chairperson of the University Council- Mrs. Lorna Magara, Deputy Chairperson of Council- Rt. Hon. Dan Fred Kidega, the Vice Chancellor-Professor Barnabas Nawangwe, Program Chairperson-Professor Henry Alinaitwe, Co-Chair- Mrs. Barbara Kaija, and Bishop Joshua Lwere-Board Chair of the Global Leadership Summit.

The formulation of the Emerging Leaders Program followed a discussion between Hon. Janet Museveni and Makerere University Council members held on February 2, 2023. Burdened by the challenges that were being faced by students and the disastrous effects of addiction to alcohol, drug and substance abuse, corruption, HIV/AIDS, the First Lady and Hon. Minister of Education and Sports tasked the University Council headed by Mrs. Lorna Magara to partner with her and come up with a solution to save the students and young people from destruction.

The launch of the Emerging Leaders Program at Makerere University, therefore marked the beginning of the actualization of Hon. Janet Museveni’s vision to implement a national Anti-Corruption and HIV/AIDS campaign in Uganda. The SAFE campaign stands for Sexually Fortified, Addiction Free, Financially Faithful and Education Focused.

Speaking at the launch, Hon. Janet Museveni said the Emerging Leaders Program is an initiative that she holds dear in her heart because it has the potential to nurture the young generation and shape the destiny of our nation.

“My desire is that this program expands beyond Makerere University to all universities in Uganda. I pray that God will make that possible,” she said.

The Minister credited the leadership of Makerere University and the program’s partners namely the Global Leadership Summit and Life Ministry Uganda for taking up the challenge to craft the Emerging Leaders Program that will instill character in university students throughout the country.

The Emerging Leaders Program is a life skills capacity-building and behavioral intervention coded “The SAFE Campaign.” The initiative seeks to address critical challenges threatening students’ education and well-being such as addiction to drugs, corruption, substance abuse, gambling, and the risks of HIV/AIDS. These issues were viewed as not only jeopardizing students’ health and academic performance, but also affecting the social well-being of graduates entering the workforce.

According to Mrs. Barbra Kaija, the Co-Chair of the Emerging Leaders Program, this was intended to help the parents who risk a lot to educate their children so that they become important and resourceful people, but sometimes disappoint them when they engage in harmful practices which eventually threaten their education and future.

“Parents take a lot of risks to educate their children, and when your child reaches a University level, you always want to see him or her succeed and become an important person, therefore what we are trying to do is to remove those barriers which are stopping them from becoming important people,” she said.

“Through this emerging leaders program, we can help shape the new generation. What we do in this program is that; we interact with these students and talk to them, teach them, and invite experts in these fields to share ideas,” she added.  

Mrs. Kaija mentioned that the Emerging Leaders Program focused on Universities because university students are the most productive and as such, we must ensure their safety.

“University students are at the most productive age, and the workforce that is building our country, so we must make sure that they are safe. The emerging leaders program will help them in character development. While our students graduate with academic degrees, they need the right set of values and character to succeed in life,” she emphasized.

In her remarks, Mrs. Kaija informed the audience comprising students who filled the Freedom Square to capacity, Makerere University stakeholders and the media that the Emerging Leaders Program implementation team conducted a baseline study, which enabled them to understand the challenges that some of the students at Makerere University were grappling with.

According to Mrs. Kaija, the Emerging Leaders Program team targeted 473 first year students and 1041 continuing students. She noted that, although some results were worrying, they also registered some good news that they can build on.

For instance, among the interviewed first-year students, 37.8% were virgins, and among the continuing students, 36.6% were virgins and an equally good number were secondary virgins. The research revealed that 7.7% of the continuing students are using drugs, a challenge affecting both male and female students. Additionally, 1.9% of students admitted to losing money through betting, with universities increasingly concerned about students dropping out due to financial losses linked to gambling.

Regarding sexual health, the study revealed troubling trends, with 46.3% of first-year students and 53.3% of continuing students reporting having made risky sexual decisions. A concerning 13.5% admitted to having unprotected sex with HIV-positive individuals, primarily driven by peer pressure.

Minister Janet Museveni said young people have been grappling with many challenges, some of which have been imposed on them because of peer pressure. She noted with concern, that gambling in the form of sports betting is also spreading very fast in Uganda.

“Over the past few years, we have all experienced our young people grapple with many challenges such as alcohol, drug, and other substance abuse, sexual immorality, and gambling which has led to many university students dropping out. Through this program, we desire to help students rise above what has been the norm of negative peer pressure that compromises their innocence,” said the Minister.

The First Lady reiterated that the Emerging Leaders Program has the potential to engage the students and significantly save lives. The Program provides an inclusive process to nurture the young generation into impactful people by instilling values into them and improving their health. It provides life skills to enable students and youth in general to make the right choices while at the University, at places of work, in the communities and with their families. 

“This program is not just about imparting leadership skills; it is about the total transformation of lives through instilling values. Furthermore, through this program young people are being prepared to make the right choices in life, that will safeguard their health and wellbeing while enabling them to succeed in their academics,” she said.

In the same vein, Mrs. Lorna Magara, the Chairperson of Makerere University Council said that the program will help to curb societal moral degradation and refocus our young people on values and life skills to secure their future.

She explained that the program is timely because the country and the continent’s development relies on the quality of its leaders.

“The development of Uganda and indeed Africa hinges on the quality of its people, therefore the Emerging Leaders Program is a strategic tool to this cause with a fully-fledged behavior change program, curriculum, and messaging campaigns,” she stated. 

She also revealed that Makerere University Council had approved the developed Emerging Leaders Program mandatory course and students will be required to take it over three years of their study. The course will soon be presented to the University Senate for approval. Some of the short courses of the Emerging Leaders Program are ready to be rolled out.

The Vice Chancellor, Professor Barnabas Nawangwe commended the First Lady and Hon. Minister of Education and Sports for the initiative that is highly anticipated to reshape the future generation. Prof. Nawangwe also seized the opportunity to thank the First Lady for supporting the University’s infrastructure development initiatives.

“We thank you for the support towards the development of infrastructure at Makerere University particularly the reconstruction of the Main Building,” he remarked. 

He appreciated Hon. Janet Museveni for championing the fight to save the emerging leaders from destruction and committed himself to ensure Emerging Leaders Program succeeds.

“Makerere University is committed to ensuring the safety of her students and staff. The University Council has approved the safeguarding policy, and the counselling and career guidance policy is in the offing. The University Management will make every necessary effort to ensure the success of the Emerging Leaders Program,” he said.

Prof. Nawangwe acknowledged the Students’ Guild leadership for their contribution towards the success of ELP noting that; “The Guild Leadership has implemented activities that complement the efforts of the Emerging Leaders Program.” He also appreciated Prof. Henry Alinaitwe, the Chair of the Emerging Leaders Program, Mrs. Barbra Kaija, the Co-Chair and the entire implementation team for accepting to serve.

Dr. Ronald Semyalo, a Lecturer in the department of Zoology at the College of Natural Sciences and one of the Emerging Leaders Program trainees, noted that the Emerging Leaders Program is not just another academic course, but a catalyst for personal transformation, empowering each individual to reach their full potential for the betterment of themselves and the community.

Ms Julian Kanyesigye, a student of Makerere University studying Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Economics, and one of the SAFE champions, noted that the Emerging Leaders Program has come at a time when youth are battling pandemics on multiple fronts from high rates of drug abuse to high rates of sexual immorality, with an alarming increase in the number of HIV infections among young people.

With the Emerging Leaders Program being student centred, the audience listened to a poem titled “For God and My Country,” recited by two Makerere University Students namely Grace Deborah Mirembe and Paul Tumwesigye studying Literature and English Language Studies from the College of Education and External Studies. The poem calls on students and young people to focus on the values which emphasize the need to uphold good character, humanness, knowing to say NO and when to say YES for the good of the individual and the whole society.  

In addition, the students from the Department of Performing Arts and Film, which is headed by Dr. Benon Kigozi captivated the audience with beautiful melodies and sounds.  The Department of Performing Arts and Film is under the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.