Addis Ababa — The Land Policy Initiative (LPI) and the Government of Germany officially launched yesterday the Scholarship Programme for the Network of Excellence on Land Governance in Africa (NELGA), which will make available about 100 scholarships for land governance students at Master's and PhD levels. The programme is meant to strengthen ties between African universities, enhance student mobility, and create opportunities for knowledge sharing, research and best practices in land governance.
The Parliamentary State Secretary to the German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Mr. Thomas Silberhorn, announced that the first scholarships will be available to applicants through three African universities: Bahir Dar University (Ethiopia), Ardhi University (Tanzania), and the Namibian University of Science and Technology.
"I believe that education, research and science are important factors to the economic transformation of Africa. We want to contribute to the continent's food security, and the creation of opportunities for young people," noted Mr. Silberhorn. He expressed the hope that students benefitting from the NELGA scholarship programme will "bring home the experiences and the knowledge they gain, to contribute to their country's endeavours in improving land governance systems."
In his address on behalf of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the Director of the Regional Integration and Trade Division, Mr. Stephen Karingi thanked the various partners and especially the German government for the financial and technical support to NELGA and the Scholarship Programme. "We also recognize the willingness of institutions of higher learning to address land governance curricula gaps, and host the scholars," he added. Mr. Karingi highlighted that this important initiative would be followed by many complementary activities contributing to achieving the African Union agenda on land.
The first students will be selected in the coming months, and will start their graduate studies in the academic year 2016-2017. In the future, the NELGA Scholarship Programme will be extended to other African universities, as well as European and American institutions.
NELGA is supported by the German government under the program "Strengthening capacities for land governance in Africa (SLGA)". NELGA is established to anchor a program for training and research on land policy development, implementation, and monitoring in Africa, and to foster cooperation of African governments and institutions on land-related issues.
Participants at the launch of NELGA Scholarship Programme included representatives of the three universities, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the German Embassy in Addis Ababa, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and ECA, as well as members of African civil society organizations and the media. The NELGA Scholarship Program launch was a side event to the High Level Forum on United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management, organized under the theme "Good land governance for the 2030 Agenda".
The Land Policy Initiative is a joint programme of the tripartite consortium consisting of the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Its mandate is to facilitate the implementation of the AU Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges in Africa.
