I - October 2017

Professor Palamagamba John Kabudi

The team of researchers conducting the project "Steering Regional Integration through Regional Economic Communities in Africa" met for the first workshop in Dar es Salaam from 16-18 October 2017. On this occasion, his Excellency the Minister for Legal and Constitutional Affairs of the United Republic of Tanzania, Professor Palamagamba John Kabudi, officially launched the research project. 

In his opening speech Professor Kabudi highlighted the importance of regional integration for the East African region, but argued that the integration process can be successful only if East African realities are taken into account.

The Vice Chancellor of the University of Dar es Salaam, Professor Rwekaza Mukandala, and the Dean of the University of Dar es Salaam School of Law, Professor Hamudi Majamba, welcomed the participants on behalf of the host institution. In addition, words of welcome were given by the research Project Leader, Dr. Johannes Döveling and by research Project Coordinator Dr. Daniel Shayo.

In the course of the first research workshop all researchers presented outlines of their individual subprojects. This also included their research questions and the respective field research design. All these presentations were discussed in detail, and the presenters received valuable comments for their further research activities. Group work sessions allowed researchers dealing with similar topics to exchange their ideas more specifically. In addition, these discussions led to the establishment of new research networks and even concrete work-sharing arrangements.

Overall, the first research workshop provided a great opportunity for sharing and discussing research proposals at an early stage. All participants agreed that the feedback they received in the course of the workshop was immensely helpful for planning their research.