MKU to host international conference on peace and security for social enterprise in May, 2022

Mount Kenya University (MKU) will host the second international conference on peace, security for social enterprise (ICPSSE) from May 18 – 20 this year.

The conference, which comes approximately three months to the Kenya’s general election, will be held at the Mwai Kibaki Convention Centre, MKU Thika main campus.

It will serve as a platform for academia and different sector players to discuss peace and security matters for social-economic development.

The first ICPSSE conference was held in the run-up to the general election in 2017. Graced by among others the late Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Interior Joseph Nkaiserry, the conference played an invaluable role in championing peace and diffusing politically-inspired inter-tribal tensions.

This second edition of ICPSSE recognises the importance of a peaceful electioneering period in catalyzing social enterprise as well as entrenching good democratic and governance practices.

A communique on the upcoming conference notes that there are underlying issues that require monitoring. “Clashes between members of different communities or ethnicities over limited resources such as water and pasture remain a disruptive challenge.

“Cultural practices including cattle rustling often result in internal displacement of the attacked communities and disrupt their social-economic activities. These practices undermine normal livelihood activities and fuel poverty within communities.”

The ICPSSE’s founding principle is rooted in the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goal (SDG) 16, which “aims to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”.

The communique notes that achieving this goal has remained elusive as evidenced by the rising number of forcefully displaced persons due to conflict. The UNHCR 2021 mid-year report indicates that the number of displaced persons rose from 82.2 million in 2020 to 84.4 million in 2021.

This continuous rise was fueled by years of unrelenting persecution, violation of human rights, conflicts and other events that lead to serious disruption of public order. This worsening trend in number of both in-country and internationally displaced persons emanating from community conflicts and other acts that infringe on basic human rights calls for multi-pronged approaches to resolve conflict and enhance peace and security so as to ensure social development.

2^nd ICPSSE Conference
The conference will have several sessions planned under different thematic areas. These will allow participants to present their work and views regarding peace and security. Additionally, panel sessions and keynote speeches from invited guests during plenary sessions will highlight key issues relating to peace and security for social development.

Conference objectives

1. Provide a platform to dialogue and address pertinent issues on peace, security, and social enterprise for sustainable development
2. Promote collaborative and joint research in relevant and emerging thematic areas
3. Present and share scholarly research findings on peace, security and social enterprise
4. Showcase best practices in peace, security and social enterprise

 Expected conference outcomes

1. Policy contributions with a focus on peace, security for sustainable development
2. Launch of a journal/Magazine on Peace, Security and Social Enterprise
3. Strategic partnerships and networks among think tanks, scholars, policy makers and key stakeholders in peace and security matters.

Pre- and post- conference activities

The conference organizing committee has planned various pre-conference activities as a way of raising awareness and campaigning for peace as Kenya enters the electioneering period.

These include a stakeholder breakfast meeting, peace walks in towns hosting MKU campuses (Mombasa, Kakamega, Eldoret, Kisii, Nakuru and Meru), webinars, marking International Day of Sports for Development and Peace 2022, media briefs and print media articles.

These will be followed by hosting the conference and post conference activities that will include a gala dinner, publication of the book of abstracts and conference articles, drafting of the conference report and policy paper to be share with concerned agencies charged with peace and security.

For more information, contact the conference secretariat on +254 709 153 143 or +254 720 555 505 us email:  peaceconference@mku.ac.ke.