The Tandem Project International List Serve: Flyers and announcement by the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights/US Foundation on the impact for the region of the Kenya 2012/2013 elections.  A Forum at Augsburg College will be held in the evening on Tuesday 8 May and a discussion at noon on Wednesday 9 May at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Orlyn Kringstad, Director of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights/ US Foundation, requests an RSVP for List Serve recipients in Minnesota who want to attend. -  The Tandem Project.

Dear Friends,

Please join us for a discussion forum to be held Wednesday, May 9th at UMN Humphrey School, Freeman Commons, 11:30am – 1:30pm.  Lunch will be provided.  Please see the attached announcement.  There is limited room – 20-25 people - so please RSVP soon.  This is a “targeted” invitation for faculty, students, diaspora leaders, and elected officials and staff.  You are on this list because of your interest and involvement in Eastern Africa.  UMN professor Angaluki Muaka, although not listed on the flyer, will be a “respondent”.

Stability in Kenya is vital for the stability of Eastern Africa.  The outcome of the upcoming elections in Kenya could have profound influence on the continued progress that Somalia is making in forming a stable democratic government and rebuilding their infrastructure.  Please join us for this informative discussion.

Participating speakers:

• Susan Benesch is a Senior Fellow with the World Policy Institute in New York and a professor at American University in Washington DC.  Susan’s research is about monitoring hateful rhetoric that can lead to the breakdown in developing democracies and in worst case can lead to genocide.
• Bjarte Tørå is a Senior Advisor for the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights in Oslo Norway.  Bjarte is the In-country Director for Oslo Center in Kenya and Somalia.  Bjarte was working in Kenya in 2007/2008 during the chaos that followed the last elections.
• Angaluki Muaka is Kiswahili Lecturer at the University of Minnesota and is from Kenya.
• Orlyn Kringstad is Executive Director, Oslo Center US Foundation and 2011-2012 Executive Leader Fellow, UMN Humphrey School for Public Affairs, Center for Integrative Leadership. 

This “discussion forum” is part of a case study in integrative leadership and an inspiration resulting from the Executive Leader Fellowship program at CIL.  The dual deliverable is a hopefully useful report prepared for students and faculty at UMN HSPA and vital collaboration between two NGOs now working together in Kenya for the common cause of effecting fair, non-violent elections in Kenya later this year or early next.

There is also an “Open to the Public” forum to be held at Augsburg College, Hoversten Chapel on Tuesday evening May 8.  Please see the attached announcement “Kenya Forum – Augsburg College – Free Event”.  A separate announcement for this Open Forum is being circulated.

We hope that you can join us for the “Kenya Discussion with the Oslo Center and World Policy Institute” on Wednesday, May 9th.

Documents Attached: Kenya discussion with Oslo Center, May 9; Kenya Forum - Augsburg - May 8 - Free event; KENYA - Universal Periodic Review & Freedom of Religion or Belief