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University of Gothenburg and GGGI train civil servants on Inclusive Green Economy Practice

In Nyamata – Bugesera Rwanda, from 0920th September GGGI Rwanda and University of Gothenburg Center for Sustainable Development carried out a two weeks training for fifteen civil servants from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda to strengthen national capacity to create an inclusive Green Economy (IGE), which is one of the prerequisites for achieving Agenda 2030. 

Dr Uwera , State Minister of Finance and GGGI Rwanda Country Representative at the IGE Training.

During the opening of the two weeks training, the Program Co-Director at the Gothenburg University Center for Sustainable Development, Dr. Anders Ekbom, and the GGGI Rwanda Country Representative, Ms. Inhee Chung encouraged participants to use this opportunity to learn ; exchange knowledge and experiences on Inclusive Green Economy from the three participating countries. The training had resource persons and Green Economy Experts from the Gothenburg University, government officials from Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda.

The program covered all the themes of Agenda 2030, with focus on Goal 8: Decent working conditions and economic growth. The main objective of the training  was to strengthen the capacity of the participants for transformation to an inclusive green economy through increased knowledge and application of economic policy instruments, organizational change, and the building of national systems and transparent institutions.

The program is an advanced training with direct applicability for the participants daily work. It included some theoretical training within IGE, practical exercises, study visits, project development and support for implementing their work. The focus was on the use of economic instruments such as environmental taxes, pollution fees, subsidies or subsidy reduction, trading systems and other types of financial incentives for societal development in line with Agenda 2030.

It is expected at the end of the program, all project ideas developed by the participants from the 3 countries will be taken forward for further deliberations and scale for implementation in the selected sectors. This will contribute to the implementation of the global goals especially with SDG Goal 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth.

As part of the IGE Training ,participants were given the opportunity to visit the E-Waste Recycling facility  in Bugesera to allow participants to understand the concept of circular economy ,looking at how policies could be translated into practice. The e-waste recycling project offers an “end of life” solution for electronic and electrical waste, allowing a sustainable use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Rwanda, by preventing a negative impact of electronic waste on the health or the environment once the equipment has reached its end-of life.

The second field visit was to the Nyamirambo Womens Center , to learn more on green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks. The Nyamirambo Womens Center project is to address gender based violence, gender inequality and discrimination. Its mission is to provide education and vocational training to women who cannot afford it, in order to gain opportunities for employment. They create a large variety of women’s accessories, children’s clothing, and home decor products.

The Inclusive Green Economy in Practice Program for Civil Servants from Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda was funded by the Swedish Institute.

Participants visit the E-Waste recycling Plant during their field visit for the IGE Training Course

For further enquiries on the IGE program please contact:

Anders Ekbom – anders.ekbom@economics.gu.se

Okechukwu Daniel Ogbonnaya – dan.ogbonnaya@gggi.org