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Vision:  IUCEA becomes an exemplary common higher education area for a prosperous and sustainable East African Community by 2030.

Mission: To encourage and develop mutually beneficial collaboration between Member Universities and between them and Governments and other organizations, both public and private

IUCEA Core Values:  Accountability, Transparency, Unity, Diversity, Integrity, Professionalism and Teamwork

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CALL FOR PAPERS : THE FIRST EACARNRI INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

THEME: The Role of Academics and Researchers in East African Community Integration

VENUE: Arusha, Tanzania

DATE:    26th – 27th June 2025

Background Information

The East African Community Academic and Research Network for Regional Integration (EACARNRI) was launched on June 23, 2023, in Kigali, Rwanda, thanks to the efforts of the Inter University Council of East Africa and the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence.  The launch of the Network signified a new dawn in tapping the expertise of academics and researchers in the acceleration of the East African regional integration process for socio-economic development of the Region. The need for the launch of EACARNRI was premised on the fact that the voice of academics and researchers in regional integration has been lacking in the EAC integration process. This is despite the fact that they can play an instrumental role in accelerating the East African integration process by informing policy decisions through cutting edge research and training the human resources with the necessary skills to tackle the challenges of the region. This being the case, the EACARNRI has organized its first International Conference focusing on the theme ‘The Role of Academics and Researchers in East African Community Integration’.

Theme of the Conference

The theme of the conference is: ‘The Role of Academics and Researchers in East African Community Integration’.

The papers can focus generally on the EAC integration process or any area in the following four conference sub-themes or be from the cross-cutting sub-theme. The four sub-themes are the fundamental pillars of the EAC.

Custom Union

  • Value addition of agricultural produce within the EAC Partner States;
  • Effects of trading blocs on global liberalization;
  • Impact of Multilateral Trade Rules (WTO) and Regional Trade Arrangements among EAC Partner States;
  • Trade imbalances with the EAC regional economic bloc;
  • Regional integration and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) policies;
  • Ethical and legal dilemma on state cross-membership in regional trading

Common Market

  • Management of environment and natural resources among EAC Partner States;
  • Status of air transportation co-operation among EAC member-status;
  • Status of freedoms of movement for all the factors of production within the EAC;
  • Role of civil society organizations in the EAC integration process;
  • Education, Science and technology transfer and innovation in the EAC: Challenges and Opportunities;
  • Challenges facing Implementation of Pacts on Regional health and vaccination
  • East Africa Common Higher Education Area

Monetary Union

  • Situational analysis of monetary and financial integration;
  • Currency Unions in the EAC;
  • Benefits of exchange rate harmonization;
  • Capital Markets Integration (insurance, banking, supervision);
  • Status of co-operation in monetary and fiscal matters within the EAC;
  • Investment promotion and private sector development in the

Political Federation

  • EAC political federation: Challenges and opportunities;
  • Management of elections in the EAC Partner States;
  • Peace, security and political stability among the EAC Partner States;
  • Political federation and state sovereignty;
  • Political Federation in Europe: Lessons and

Cross-cutting sub-theme

  • Reflection on the contribution of academics and researchers in the EAC integration;
  • Collaboration and   linkages   among  academics  and researchers  in  regional integration;
  • Comparative study of EACARNRI and other similar networks in Africa and beyond;
  • Situation analysis of academic and research community involvement in the EAC integration process;
  • Regional Integration Agreements (RIAs) and digital connectivity;
  • Dispute Settlement Mechanisms within Regional Integration Agreements;
  • Asymmetries in the integration process;
  • Poverty and inequality within the EAC Partner

Participants:

The International Conference is open to academics, researchers, security and regional integration experts, EAC officials and government officials from the EAC partner states.

Important dates

Milestone Date
Abstract Submission Deadline 5th June 2025
Notification of Acceptance 15th June 2025
Full Paper Submission 20th June 2025
Conference Dates 26th June 2025

Call for papers

Interested researchers, policy makers, EAC officials, academics, researchers, experts, security and regional integration experts and diplomats are invited to submit papers in reference to the theme and sub-themes to the following to  eacarnri@iucea.org.

For more information visit. www.iucea.org/eacarnri/ 

Registration
 

 

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