Lunch seminar on border security

Ahead of UN Day, we are pleased to present the Åland Peace Lecture on October 23^rd with this year’s guest researcher Clifford Okwany from Kenya! The seminar will be held in English, with the opportunity to ask questions in Swedish, and will focus on different approaches to border security in Africa and their relevance to us in the Nordic Region.

A warm welcome to a lunchtime seminar on border security in the Horn of Africa, with a particular focus on northern Kenya bordering Ethiopia, Uganda and Somalia. Questions to be answered during the seminar are the following:

• What does security mean in different contexts and for different actors?
• Why are there border conflicts affecting pastoralist communities in the Horn of Africa?
• What are the policy recommendations for peaceful coexistence between pastoralist communities in the North?

The seminar will provide a brief history of the pastoral communities in East Africa, particularly the Sabaot, Pokot and Turkana in the northwest of Kenya and Somalia, Borana and Oroma communities in the northeast, and the introduction of the state system that drew boundaries that affected pastoralist livelihoods, leading to conflicts and state border security. During the seminar, Okwany will make comparisons with the Nordic experience in Sápmi, the coexistence of the Sami and the states.

Furthermore, Okwany will explore community-oriented policing as a strategy that can help strengthen security and be a trust-building mechanism.

If you want to read more about Clifford Okwany, you can do so here (Link to the interview)

Welcome to a very interesting lunchtime seminar that puts border surveillance and border security in a new perspective!

What? Åland Peace Lecture

Where? Kaptenssalen, Hotel Arkipelag

When? Monday 23 October, 11.30 a.m.

The seminar is free of charge. It is possible to buy lunch in the restaurant, please arrive in good time if there are queues.