News
One of the reasons why the Arab Spring succeeded in Tunisia was the fact that the country has strong similarities with Turkey, rather than the rest of the Arab world, according to Safwan Masri, former Executive Vice President for Global Centers and Global Development at Columbia University.
Columbia Global Centers Nairobi hosted the launch of the Model International Mobility Convention. This brought together participants in the areas of refugee law, human trafficking, economic migration, labour rights, public policy, international law, labor migration and forced migration. The event was moderated by Prof. Sarah Deardorff, an Adjunct Professor with Columbia School of International and Public Affairs. The panel of speakers were drawn from government, academic and NGO sectors. These were; Mr. Jo Rispoli, Senior Regional Specialist on Labour Mobility and Human Development at IOM Regional Office. Ruth Njuguna of Counter-Trafficking Secretariat, Ministry of Labour - GOK. Dr. Josephine Gitome, Director, Kenyatta University Center for Refugee Studies and Empowerment. Edwin Righa, Immigration Officer, Directorate of Immigration, Ministry of Labour – GOK. Tim Howe, Senior Regional Migrant Thematic Specialist for Migrant Assistance for the East and Horn of Africa at IOM Regional Office.
The panel of speakers brought their wealth of experience in discussing all matters pertaining to immigration and discussed at length on the Model International Mobility Convention.
The MIMC provides a holistic and rights-based approach to international mobility that integrates the various regimes that seek to govern people on the move. In addition, it fills key gaps in international law that leave many people unprotected by establishing the minimum rights afforded to all people who cross state borders - whether as visitors, tourists, students, workers, residents, entrepreneurs, forced migrants, refugees, victims of trafficking, people caught in countries in crisis and family members - and defines their relationships to their communities of destination, origin, and transit.
The Model International Mobility Convention proposes a framework for mobility with the goals of reaffirming the existing rights afforded to mobile people as well as expanding those basic rights where warranted. The preamble of the mobility convention establishes the complementarity of the convention with existing international legal instruments. These include the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as other core international human rights treaties.
Susan Fuhrman, President of Columbia University’s Teachers College, Claudia Costin, Former Director for Education at the World Bank, and Maria Helena Guimarães de Castro, Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Education (MEC), were main speakers during the event on March, 13.
Equity Bank CEO Dr James Mwangi with the 2018 MBA graduating class from Columbia Business School, during the Global Immersion Programme visit to the Bank. The students who were accompanied by Assistant Prof Jonas Hjort (with a book) were taken through the bank’s unique business model, sustainable competitive advantage, differentiation strategy, high socio-economic impact and future growth strategy.
As part of its ongoing efforts to study the future of the global economy, Columbia Global Centers | Mumbai partnered with Columbia University’s Global Policy Initiative to organize a workshop focusing on the Model International Mobility Convention (MIMC). The MIMC, which provides a global framework for the rights and protections of migrants crossing international borders, was designed after reaching a consensus with more than 40 academics and policymakers from around the world.
On March 8, the Paris Center and Reid Hall celebrated International Women's Day with a fundraiser benefitting Le Filon, an association helping homeless women in Paris. The following is an interview with Perrine Boyer, president of the association.
In marking International Women Day, Columbia Global Centers Nairobi partnered with a working committee of women leaders from the African Gender Taskforce - a virtual forum comprising of about 130 women who are passionate about all issues pertaining to and that affect women. The Women deliberated on plans / programs to empower women through training in key areas such as in productivity, security, sustainability, personal development and assertiveness.
The committee established 5 thematic areas under which training would be established and implemented. These are;
- Internet for Development
- Theatre for development
- Entrepreneurship
- Community Health and Vulnerable Groups
- Politics and Governance
The Committee determined that those in these smaller team would use their skills or expertise to offer training based on these five categories. Each category would also include a segment on personal development which would include topics such as on self-esteem, self-confidence and personal branding. The committee also deliberated on an action plan in order to implement this plans and agreed to meet consistently once a month.
Through the existing virtual forum comprising of about 130 women and growing, the women would continue to engage and use their gifting’s or expertise to empower others
On March 8, Reid Hall members, students, and faculty celebrated International Women's Day with a fundraiser for Le Filon, a local association that provides shelter and support for homeless women in Paris.