The Institute for Development Studies (IDS), University of Nairobi, will celebrate its 55-year Anniversary with a series of conferences that will feature presentations by leading scholars and researchers on development issues.

The Institute, which was established on October 8, 1965 as part of the then University of East Africa, has carried out research on issues of development concern to Kenya and Africa, collaborating with partners globally to produce knowledge and to influence policy and practice.

The month-long conferences series will commence with a seminar whose theme is, Theory and Practice: Development Policy and Debate 50 Years On. The keynote speaker will be Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o, the Kisumu County Governor and renowned political scientist.  The virtual event will take place from 2:00 PM to 5PM on Thursday October 8, 2020 East African Time.

The second conference, Development in Africa: Reimaging the Past and Living in the Present, will take place on Friday October 9, 2020 from 2PM. The keynote speaker will be Sharon Fonn, Professor of Public Health at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Other conferences will take place on 15th, 22nd and 29th October 2020. The conferences will comprise presentations by leading African scholars and researchers. The discussions will focus on the state of development in Africa from 1960s to the present.

The seminars will be organized around the following thematic areas:

  • Development Theory and Practice: Development Policy 50 Years On
  • Development and the Academy – Present and Future: What Has Been the Role of Development Studies?
  • The Challenges of Policy Relevance: Knowledge Dissemination and Networking.
  • Prospects for Improved Development and Governance in Kenya.

The discussions will also focus on the post COVID- 19 development thinking.

For detailed conferences information and registration, please click on the links below:

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