Alumni advocate expertise, unity, innovation to bolster Tanzania's economy
Japan's Ambassador to Tanzania, Yasushi Misawa (4th from the right), in a group photo with leaders from JICA and JATA, as well as alumni, at the annual meeting held at Serena Hotel in Dar es Salaam. PHOTO | COURTESY
Dar es Salaam. Pooling together the wealth of knowledge and expertise from university graduates and uniting them to share innovative ideas, stands as a strong instrument in promoting the country's economic growth, according to Tanzanian alumni in Japan.
They said such efforts not only will contribute to the enhancement of the nation's economic landscape but also they will play a key role in addressing and overcoming different challenges facing the society.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Alumni Association in Tanzania (JATA) issued the statement Friday on March 8, 2024, during a meeting held in Dar es Salaam to evaluate the association’s performances over the past year and chart out the way forward for the following years.
During the meeting, JATA national chairperson Gregory Mlay emphasized the importance of unity among the association’s members in setting up projects that can receive the government support and significantly contribute to addressing the challenge of unemployment facing many graduates in the country.
“With the unity that brings together all scholars, the setting up of projects that can receive government support becomes easier. So, the graduates can effectively make use of the knowledge they have acquired. Through this, it becomes easier for them to identify opportunities and capitalize on them,” said Mlay.
The Japanese Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr Yasushi Misawa, expressed his confidence in the association, highlighting that the Project for Highlighting Action-plans from Training Programmes utilizing Authentic Ideas (HATUA) was a game changer.
“I am very impressed by the HATUA project that has been initiated by the association’s members. I am confident that all these efforts will highly benefit the community and effectively address issues by fostering efficiency within the society,” he said.
During its annual meeting, three members presented their HATUA projects, being a follow-up scheme that supports the ideas of JICA training ex-participants through their action plans.
HATUA aims to utilize skills, knowledge, and experience gained in Japan through JICA training programmes.
As the second phase of the HATUA project since its launch in 2022, 15 proposals have been received, three projects have been competitively selected and implemented between August 2023 and February 2024.
The projects include seaweed farmers' value addition capacity building on Jibondo Island in Mafia, supporting offender mentoring programmes through a climate-resilient farming system in Zanzibar, and the production of sustainable biomass pellets (alternative to charcoal) from coconut shells in Coast Region.
