The Principal Secretary, State Department for University Education and Research Amb. Simon Nabukwesi toured Wangari Maathai Institute for peace and environmental studies.
The Wangari Maathai Institute is an ultra-modern center of excellence of the University of Nairobi built in memory of the late Nobel Laureate, Professor Wangari Maathai.
The WMI, an environmentally friendly infrastructure, was built using the latest technology. The institution features a teaching facility, a restaurant, botanical Gardens, an amphitheater, an auditorium an exhibition, and a business center.
The core purpose of WMI is to spearhead holistic multi-disciplinary research, training and community empowerment, and outreach services. WMI will also host a permanent exhibition demonstrating the success of the Green Belt Movement and the work of its founder, Professor Wangari Maathai.
Located on 50 acres of beautifully landscaped land within the University of Nairobi, the Institute will forge regional and international partnerships. It will create a center of excellence for academic enquiry into sustainable management of natural resources and community adaptation practices to climate change. WMI will establish a forum for leaders from East Africa and internationally to exchange ideas and interrogate issues that affect the socio-economic transformation of societies through sustainable natural resource utilization practices and better conflict resolution mechanisms.
The founding director of the Institute who is also the current Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nairobi, Prof. Stephen Kiama guided the tour with remarkable clarity showcasing the strategic scope of Professor Wangari Maathai’s vision for the institute.
Also present at the tour was Mr. Darius Ogutu, the Director of University Education at the Ministry of Education in Kenya. He highlighted the need to collaborate with industry partners and other research institutions to fully utilize the facility.