Nairobi Ideas The Mawazo Institute

In 28 years, African cities are projected to be home to 950 million people and by the end of this century, 2100, Africa is projected to be the only continent with a growing population. This is according to the Africa Development Bank. Against this backdrop of a rapidly urbanising space, it is crucial we understand how our cities are developing and whom they serve.
To answer these questions, we brought together two celebrities - Georgie Ndirangu and Just Ivy Africa to test their knowledge against an expert - data scientist and 2021 Mawazo Learning Exchange Fellow, Mutono Nyamai whose work focuses on combining applied epidemiological modelling and data analytics to develop prevention and control strategies for infectious diseases in Africa. Additionally, Mutono is a post-doctoral research fellow at the Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis (CEMA) at the University of Nairobi where she studies the control and elimination of neglected tropical diseases.  
In front of a live audience, we asked our celebrities questions about our home town - Nairobi, how African cities are tackling climate change and the built environment of cities on the continent.

Further Reading:
This Is What Informal Transit Looks Like When You Actually Map It - BloombergLand use management challenges for the city of NairobiAbout EDGE green building certification systemGrowing plants on buildings can reduce heat and produce healthy food in African citiesKenya Power to spend $331,000 in pilot transition to electric vehiclesKenya Power should rethink strategy on electric vehiclesCementing material from rice husk-broken bricks-spent bleaching earth-dried calcium carbide residueKenyan recycles plastic waste into bricks stronger than concreteDevelopment of banana fibers and wood bottom ash modified cement mortarsThe history of Akon CityAkon to build new city in Senegal with own currency called AKoinThe 3 trends shaping the future of Africa’s cities

Mawazo builds platforms to help scientists communicate on the issues of our time. To unpack what the climate change looks like for the African continent we hosted a live quiz night that put local celebrities to the test against experts. With three rounds of trivia questions and only one winner, our quiz night, 'It's Getting Hot in Here' featured marine scientist Dr. Fiona Moejes (Mawazo CEO) and media personalities, Wanjira Longauer and Georgie Ndirangu.

We'd love to see you at the next Quiz Night on Tuesday Nov 1st! This time we're talking about the future of African cities. RSVP on Eventbrite: bit.ly/3gEk3F3 or catch the Livestream on our YouTube page. 

The research to commercialisation pipeline is plagued with a lot of unknowns and many researchers don’t know where to start when thinking about how to attract funding for their ideas. In this episode, we replay a taped discussion with industry professionals, where we demystify the commercialisation pipeline for researchers. We also talk about gender and the investment landscape. 
The discussion features: Kim-Andrée Potvin - partner at Bamboo Capital Partners and Board Chair of the Mawazo Institute; Carol Masila-Maiko - international lawyer and legal associate at Persistent Energy; Faith Wilson - a venture builder at Persistent Energy and Prof. Maina Mwangi-Director of Innovation Incubation and University Industry Linkages at Kenyatta University.
Research to Commercialisation (R2C) Accelerator; Twitter, Facebook, InstagramDirectorate of Innovation, Incubation & University Industry Linkages (IIUIL); Facebook, LinkedIn, TwitterPersistent Energy; Twitter, LinkedInBamboo Capital Partners; Facebook, Twitter, LinkedInKenya National Innovation Agency (KeNIA); Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedInYoung Entrepreneurs in Science (YES); LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, InstagramBasiGo

Dr. Jacqueline Kariithi is a trailblazing environmental scientist working in the Mt. Elgon region of Kenya, which makes up part of the country’s bread basket. Although the region supplies a large share of the nation's maize crop, which is critical to national food security, many people who live in the area remain food insecure. Through El- Koony center, where Dr. Kariithi is CEO, she is using scientific methods to explore techniques that can help improve food security and resilience to climate change for the Mt. Elgon ecosystem. 
Further Reading:
Visit El-Koony Center: www.elkoony.org, Twitter, FacebookMountain Voices: oral testimonies from Mount Elgon, Kenya: local themes: agricultureKenya County Climate Risk Profile: Trans Nzoia CountyThe Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing

What might the future of education look like for Africa? In this episode, we share a discussion with Julia Jenjezwa, a Zimbabwean product designer and educator, and Dr. Wangui Kimari, a Kenyan urban scholar. Both Julia and Wangui use human-centered research practices to work within communities in Kenya, Tanzania, Nepal, and elsewhere. In this episode, they share how applying co-visioning and co-design in their work has helped them become better scientists and educators. How can these approaches shape how we “do” higher education on the continent?
More information from the episode:
Julia Jenjezwa - Website, Twitter, Linkedin
Dr. Wangui Kimari - Research Papers, Africa is A Country
@MathareSJustice,  Who is Next? MSJC A Participatory Action Research Report Against the Normalization of Extrajudicial Executions in Mathare.
UTA Do - African Cities Workshop
 Invention Education Toolkit for African Universities
Field Ready - Humanitarian Aid Supplies Made in the Field

How are African ideas being used to build the future of the African continent? Season 5 of the Nairobi Ideas Podcast returns September 15th under a brand new theme; 'African Futures'.  Don't miss our new season as we talk to experts whose work explores new pathways around; the future of education, the future of food, the future of African cities, the future of health, and approaches to climate change adaptation on the continent.

Learn more about the 'African Futures' campaign on our website: www.mawazoinstitute.org/africanfutures

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