Media advisory - Book Launch and Panel - Pluralism and Public Accountability: Implementing Kenya's 2010 Constitution

OTTAWA, April 1, 2014 /CNW/ - At a special presentation and book launch organized by the Global Centre for Pluralism (GCP) in partnership with Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), a panel of prominent Kenyan experts will discuss the complexities of implementing Kenya's constitution against the backdrop of the country's troubled history of identity politics, lack of public accountability, and ethnic tensions.  Speakers include Professor Yash Pal Ghai, Katiba Institute; Karuti Kanyinga, University of Nairobi; and Patricia Kameri-Mbote, University of Nairobi. 

When: Thursday, April 3, 2014 - 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Where: The Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, 199 Sussex Drive, Ottawa

Following devastating inter-ethnic violence in 2007-2008, Kenya adopted a new Constitution in 2010 that defines respect for diversity as a core national value. Kenya is now at a crossroads, between the popularity and expectations of the new Constitution and the challenges of respecting diversity while forging a common identity.

Along with creating new governance arrangements and institutions, the Constitution seeks to give Kenyans a shared stake in the country's future. Given the history and effects of ethnic politics in Kenya, what challenges face the implementation of the Constitution? Does political will exist to dismantle ethnically-based political structures? What role might greater public accountability mechanisms play? 

Copies of Ethnicity, Nationhood and Pluralism: Kenyan Perspectives, edited by Ghai and Jill Cottrell Ghai, with a noted contribution by Kanyinga, will be available free of charge at the launch.

The event is open to the media. Journalists and the public can also join in the conversation through Twitter (#KenyaPluralism).

For more information, visit www.idrc.ca or www.pluralism.ca. http://www.humanitariancoalition.ca/

About Canada's International Development Research Centre
A key part of Canada's foreign policy efforts, IDRC supports research in developing countries to promote growth and development. The result is innovative, lasting solutions that aim to improve lives and livelihoods. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

About the Global Centre for Pluralism
The Global Centre for Pluralism is an initiative of His Highness the Aga Khan in partnership with the Government of Canada. Dedicated to the creation of successful societies, the Centre is founded on the premise that respect, openness and understanding towards the cultures, social structures, values and faiths of other peoples are essential to the very survival of an interdependent world. Pluralism is no longer simply an asset or a prerequisite for progress and development. It is vital to our existence.

SOURCE: International Development Research Centre

IDRC: Isabelle Bourgeault-Tassé | ([phone] | [email protected] | @IDRC_CRDI