Ugandans in the UK are excited of the arrival of HRH Sylvia Nagginda, Nnabagereka of Buganda, who will give Key Note Speech at 2015 Uganda-UK Convention in London.
The Queen of Heart as she is known in Uganda has created a buzz in the Ugandan community and according to the organizers of the Convention in UK, tickets are 99% sold out due to the anticipation of Nnabagereka at the 5th Ugandan Convention.
The Queen will also be the guest of honour at the after-party where part of the proceeding from the gala will be donated towards the construction of the Ekisaakaate Kya Nnabagereka Camp in Ssisa.
The ethos of the gala is very much in line with Her Royal Highness’ aim to preserve and also promote Ugandan cultural traditions, of which singing and dancing form an integral part.
Her Royal Highness will give a keynote speech on the role of Ugandan women in sustainable economic development.
”As we progress in conceptualising the obstacle in the social- economic development of women, we should endeavour to encourage and support platforms that raise ambitions especially with trade outside Uganda.
Women provide an immense percentage of agricultural labour and produce; of which about 90 per cent is all food.
Paradoxically while women produce 80% of agricultural productivity in Africa, they own up to less than 10% of the resources” HRH Sylvia Nagginda, Nnabagereka of Buganda
A pillar of development, Her Royal Highness established the Nnabagereka Development Foundation (NDF) in 2000.
The Foundation is a charitable non-governmental organization whose mission is to restore the vitality of Buganda and Uganda at large by marshaling community and household human resources for social and economic development.
The Nnabagereka is a Patron of several organizations including the Christian Children’s Fund (CCF) Uganda, Special Olympics Uganda, and Conservation through Public Health (CTPH).
She is also a Good Will Ambassador for the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA).
Held in high esteem amongst Ugandans, the Nnabagereka has worked passionately to fulfill her vision of uplifting the standard of living for Ugandans.
She has played a major role in sensitizing and mobilizing the general population on issues of education, health, poverty eradication, culture preservation, and has graciously supported and empowered marginalized groups including youth, women and persons with disabilities.
The Nnabagerekaoverarching vision to make a difference in the lives of families is directly embedded in her ongoing focus to advocate for social and economic entrepreneurship.
Her quest to transform and encourage,to promote employment equality, skills development and procurement in local communities has proactively lured her to advocate for investment in Uganda.
She has strategized with the NDF delivery structure for example to ensure that it is showcased on to international platforms, hence her support towards the Convention.
The Chairman of the Convention, Willy Mutenza was also pleased to announce that the Nnabagereka will be presiding over the first ever Ekisaakaate Kya Nnabagereka chapter in the UK on the 5th Sept at the luxury Rafayel hotel, to be held a few days before the Convention.
Ekisaakaate, meaning ‘Royal Enclosure’, is aleadership development flagship programme that aims to revitalise and strengthen moral values, leadership qualities, domestic duties and spiritual and practical skills to young people between the age of 6 and 18.
This program in the UK will give a unique opportunity to the Diaspora youth to reconnect with their Ugandan roots and embrace traditional and cultural Ugandan values.
This event will be key in instilling in the younger generation a sense of pride and patriotism in being Uganda.
The Nnabagereka perfectly encapsulates the Convention’s ethos in her following statement:
“The Nnabagereka Development Foundation (NDF) aims to utilise forums such as The Uganda-UK Convention to build momentum and promote the various investment opportunities within the country.[…] Entrepreneur skills reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves from being indigent to being active agents of change.’
The Convention
The Ugandan Convention has become the largest gathering of Ugandans in Europe and will be holding its 5th event in London on 12th Sept 2015.
One of the main aims of the Convention is to encourage investors to expand their current businesses to the East African region, or to start new ventures between the UK and Uganda in both directions.
The conference will address the essential need-to-know topics most prevalent to East Africa (Uganda), such as opportunities within the priority sectors of infrastructure development, Power & Energy, Health-care, Agriculture & Agri-business, Real Estate, tourism, increasing intra-regional trade and developing risk mitigation strategies through collaborations and private equity, and VC finance access.
The Forum will also enable investors to talk directly with senior Government officials and business leaders on how to use Uganda as a hub to access an expanding market of nearly 374m consumers in the EAC Common Market and Southern African Development Community (SADC) Market.