FORMAT IV Approach and Activities

Introduction: The strategy of the organizers of FORMAT events is to decentralize the hosting of the events from Nairobi to 8 district venues with greater participation of the members of the public, local development, research and business organizations. Selected local organizations will prepare and host the events with support from the project staff. Most local organizers have agreed to co-sponsor the events with FORMAT. A total of six, one-day countrywide public events and two, two-day events will be organized. There will be no national event in Nairobi but a one-day meeting of some participants from the eight events is planned to review the performance of the events and propose a way forward.

National Coordination.  Previously, activities of the forum have been managed by an Organizing Committee comprising representatives from various research and development organizations. The committee will not be constituted for the proposed activities as FORMAT has recently obtained an official status as a registered Non-Governmental Organization in Kenya. This new status enables the FORMAT Secretariat with supervision from the Board of Directors, to independently manage its activities and resources. The project staff will comprise the Executive Director/Principal Investigator (Mr. Musa N. Omare) and a Project Assistant, with technical assistance from Dr. Paul Woomer of SACRED Africa.

The project staff will handle media announcements, promotion and facilitation of the events. The staff will also fundraise for the events and give technical support to the organizers including preparing informational and other materials. An advert on the purpose and venues of the specific events will be placed in the Daily Nation Newspaper three weeks prior to the events (Appendix II).  Copies of the announcements will also be circulated to all applicants to previous FORMAT events. The announcement will also be made through local radio stations, published in the national agricultural magazines, posted over the internet in www.formatkenya.org and collaborative sites and networks.

Twelve participants from the previous FORMAT events (Appendix I) will be supported to exhibit, present talks and conduct demonstrations at the countrywide events. In addition, teams of non-governmental organizations and international research centers will be mobilized to participate in the events at no cost to FORMAT. These organizations have scientific and developmental information materials that are of public interest, which they will have the opportunity to popularize and distribute to the participants at the events. It is also the intention of the project staff to collect information materials from several organizations and distribute the same on their behalf during the events in order to access the expected attendants more information materials.  The project staff will follow up with initiatives that will emerge from the various events that may include new collaborative projects and networks.

Local Organizers. Possible local organizers (Appendix II) were consulted and expressed willingness to organize the countrywide one-day and two-day FORMAT events in their areas. A meeting with these organizations is planned to brief them on the procedures and seek their commitment to organize the events. They will also be furnished with details of past FORMAT applicants and participants from their localities, who form a large pool of potential participants at the countrywide events. Local organizers will identify venues, local exhibitors and promote the event within their localities. They will invite up to 20 exhibitors from within their regions who will be assisted to prepare their presentations and exhibits. They will also be encouraged to seek additional sponsorship of the event from local business and development organizations. Mobilization of residents, farmers, business, NGOs and government departments will be the responsibility of the local organizers.

 Structure of the Events

Countrywide one-day event. Six countrywide events will be conducted in Embu (Eastern province), Thika (Central province), Nakuru (Rift Valley province), Kisii (Nyanza province), Kakamega (Western province), and Mombasa (Coast province). The events will occur between September and November 2003 and consist of technical presentations, panel and open discussions, technology and product exhibits, and live demonstrations of innovative practices. Priority will be placed upon exhibits and demonstrations, which will occupy at least 60% of the program to allow members of the public to interact with exhibitors and local organizations. Technical presentations will be restricted to a few, topical issues in organic resource management processing with speakers identified in advance of the events and will primarily involve the FORMAT team of exhibitors and local innovators. Exhibitions and demonstrations will include a team of 12 exhibitors from previous FORMAT events and up to 20 local exhibitors. Emphasis will be placed on innovation and the impact of the varied technologies and products on incomes and food security in low income farming systems and urban environments in selecting the participants. The team of exhibitors will be assisted to prepare their exhibits, talks and demonstrations. There are no contests or awards planned for the events as more time will utilized to interact and exchange products with participants.

FORMAT two-day event. Two events will be organized for Kitale and Kisumu. These events are a response to the enormous interest in the forum expressed by the residents and organizations from these areas through applications to attend previous FORMAT events. The events will also allow participation of interested persons and organizations from eastern Uganda. The events will be organized by Manor House Agricultural Centre in Kitale and Hyacinth Crafts in Kisumu. These will be two-day events consisting of technical presentations, panel and roundtable discussions, technology and product exhibits, and live demonstrations of innovative practices. More emphasis will be placed on exhibits and live demonstrations, with outstanding exhibitors awarded prizes.

The two-day events are being retained to enable innovators and other stakeholders from the target areas to interact, share products and technologies, evaluate their works and also forge working partnerships to realize more impact from their work. The FORMAT Secretariat will give both financial and technical support to the organizers in their preparation, hosting and reporting. The secretariat will liaise with organizers in announcing the events, recruiting participants, preparing the activity programs and presentations. Manor House Agricultural Centre has accepted to co-sponsor the Kitale event.