Det har taget 35 år, men nu sker det.
Mellemfolkeligt Samvirkes uddannelsescenter ved Usa River i det nordlige Tanzania, hvor tusinder af danske Afrika-arbejdere – fra u-landsfrivillige til ambassadefolk og forskere – har siddet på kursusbænken, får for første gang en afrikansk kvinde som forstander; dem MS så gerne vil give en ekstra hånd.
Det er tanzanianeren Suma Kaare, der tager over fra 1. september. Hun afløser danskeren Bo Højer Damsted, der forlader “Training Centre for Development Cooperation” (TCDC) den 1. august efter mere end fire-et-halvt år i centerledelsen.
TCDC har tidligere haft både en dansk kvinde og en tanzaniansk mand i forstanderstolen.
Centret skriver videre i en rundsendelse:
Suma Kaare joins TCDC from a position as Governance Advisor for Action Aid Kenya. Suma brings to TCDC 25 years of develop-ment management experience and her CV is impressive combining academic and practical experiences.
Starting as a board of director to her parents business at 19, she progressed to hold directorship and advisory roles in management and governing boards of various public, private sector and civil society institutions in Tanzania, Kenya, Southern Sudan, Cameroon and Australia.
She is passionate for social justice and has worked extensively to influence Governments towards pro-poor policies and strategies in a number of countries.
She holds various academic qualifications including a PhD in Public Sector Management and Master degree in Public Administration from the University of Canberra in Australia, Master of Public Policy Analysis from the Institute of Social Studies in the Hague; Master of Arts Administration degree from the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania; and Bachelor of Arts Political Science and International Relations from the University of Dar es Salaam.
Bo Højer Damsted joined TCDC early in 2007 from a private sector company management team as Director of Training. Since November 2010 he has been Acting Principal only paused by an unsuccessful recruitment/induction period of a new Principal in January/February 2011.
Since then he has been Principal of TCDC with an agreement to ensure a new leadership team in place before his departure 1/8.
(Han er gift med freelance journalist Mikala Satiya Rørbech, parret flytter nu hjem til Danmark, red.)
New TCDC Training Coordinator (formerly Director of Training): Delphine Mugisha also joins the TCDC leadership team from a position as Deputy Head of the Development Training Department at TCDC.
She took up this job 2 years ago directly from a position with the management team of Action Aid Uganda, thus both representing training continuity at TCDC but also still fresh external inspiration as well as direct knowledge of Action Aid International.
Delphine is Ugandan and has on top of her management skills also experience with programming, policy advocacy and fundraising. Delphine has in her former years at TCDC build skills around Anti-Corruption, Food Rights & Sustainable Agriculture.
Administrator: Hans Paakjær stays with TCDC in his second year now and will represent the leadership continuity. Hans will also ensure bridging the gap between the outgoing and incoming Principals. (slut)
TCDC blev officielt åbnet i 1976 som “Danish Volunteer Training Centre – Usa River”. Dengang var formålet udelukkende at uddanne Mellemfol-keligt Samvirkes danske u-landsfrivillige i udviklingsproblematikker samt lære dem swahili.
Det første hold frivillige kom til Afrika helt tilbage i 1963 og den første træning af dem indledtes på en midlertidig adresse i Tanzania i 1970.
Danske udviklingsarbejdere bliver stadig undervist på TCDC, men nu er det kursusdeltagere fra Afrika, som dominerer statistikkerne. Der er årligt ca. 2.500 deltagere i kurser m.v. og centret har 80 ansatte.
– TCDC spiller en afgørende rolle i styrkelsen af civilsamfundet (folkelige organisationer) især i det østlige og sydlige Afrika. Vi giver disse organisationer redskaber til at styrke deres egen kapacitet og interne ledelse, så de på den baggrund er stærke i kravet om at deres egne politikere skal udvise god regeringsførelse. Et stærkt civilsamfund er afgørende for et stærkt demokrati, sagde dav. forstander, Prudence Kaijage, i oktober 2008.
Det skete i anledning af, at det danske regentpar kom på besøg på centret, der ligger 18 km øst for byen Arusha og tæt på Afrikas højeste bjerg, Kilimanjaro.
Se mere på www.mstcdc.or.tz
