First 2020 RECIRCULATE Capacity Building Workshop begins in Botswana

The first of two RECIRCULATE Capacity Building Workshops to be held in 2020 began today in Gaborone, Botswana.

RECIRCULATE Project Manager, Dr Paul McKenna, opened proceedings by welcoming delegates from eight African nations (Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique and Uganda) on the first morning of the four day workshop. He commended the participants for being nominated to attend the workshop because of their “potential to transform the way they or their organisations work” and identified as the “changemakers who will help to tackle the challenges faced by Africa and find innovative solutions”.

A team of experienced knowledge exchange professionals from Lancaster University’s Faculty of Science & Technology and Management School traveled to Botswana to deliver an interactive programme of activities facilitated by Dr Dee Hennessy of Creative Exchange and Dr Akan Odon of Envirofly.

Professor Edward Lungu, Dean of Science at the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) provided a warm welcome to Botswana and expressed his hope that the week would mark the start of many new collaborations between the organisations represented in the room.

Participants began the day working in groups to map the UN Sustainable Development Goals on to the challenges of achieving a safe circular water economy in their African contexts, before exploring the challenges and opportunities that collaboration between universities and businesses.