BY Edward Tujunirwe
Introduction
Early this week, it was reported that the President of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni was in support of a proposal to close 60% of Ugandan embassies as part of the government efforts to reduce expenditure and eliminate diplomatic missions that do not bring muchvalue to the country. Uganda has 38 embassies and it is reported that the President has directed that the country should keep only about 15 of them. The call for closure of embassies comes in the wake of dismal performance by many embassies, corruption and other scandals, involving staff of various Ugandan diplomatic missions. In August 2024, Ugandans were embarrassed after receiving shocking news concerning their High Commissioner to Canada, H.E. Joy Ruth Achieng who was declared persona non grata. Usually, this declaration is followed by a diplomatic request for the ambassador to be urgently withdrawn by his/her country for breaching either national or international laws, something that is unexpected of the calibre of an ambassador. A Consul General of Uganda, H.E. Henry Mayega was recently recalled from Dubai as part of an investigation to uncover information on how he superintended over the procurement, installation and operation of a casino with a full range of gambling machines on the entire Second Floor of the Ugandan Diplomatic Mission in Dubai.
There is also an ongoing investigation of high-ranking officials at Uganda’s Embassy in Nigeria, including Ambassador Nelson Ocheger, over money laundering. Government’s decision to close the embassies is not a well thought through idea. The restructuring of the foreign service sector should be undertaken but not with a predetermined conclusion of closing embassies. There are so many alternatives that government can employ to make the existing embassies work for Uganda. It is well known that Ugandan embassies have for a long time been heavily underfunded and understaffed. There are also reports that many staff in the embassies may not be qualified for the positions that they hold putting the country’s diplomatic footprint at risk. The restructuring should not target only embassies but the entire foreign service sector.
Eliminating embassies while at the same time keeping a heavy top management structure is counterproductive. At the highest level of managing Uganda’s international relations, the country has the following: Ministry/Minister of Foreign Affairs; Ministry/Minister for East African Community Affairs; Minister of State for Regional Cooperation; Minister of State for International Affairs; and Minister of State for East African Community Affairs. Essentially, having all these structures at the same time is a huge waste of diplomatic resources which could be better utilised to promote Uganda’s international relations.
These structures have overlapping and sometimes conflicting mandates with various reporting channels. A well thought through restructuring process can very easily eliminate this diplomatic bottleneck. It should be noted that the embarrassing behaviours and actions of our staff partly stem from the training deficiencies of the Ugandan diplomatic staff; lack of clear focus on the approved priorities of diplomatic missions; and poor supervision. These embarrassing situations can be easily avoided by adopting a more progressive science diplomacy approach to international relations and ensure that the country greatly benefits from the work of its diplomatic missions. What is Science Diplomacy? Science diplomacy is a fast-growing field of research, education, and practice which is dedicated to better understanding and reinforcing the connections between science, technology, and international affairs to tackle national and global development challenges. Globally, there is growing interest from early career scientists, young diplomats and policymakers to learn more and engage at the science diplomacy nexus. However, in Uganda, the level of interest is still low and, in some instances, knowledge about this relatively new and multidisciplinary field is completely absent. What has always been generally taught is general diplomacy as part of the field of international relations courses in a few universities in Uganda
1 . Science diplomacy is broadly understood as a series of practices that stands at the intersection of the two fields. These practices can help to address global challenges, promote understanding, and increase influence and prosperity. Science diplomacy is divided into three phenomena: science for diplomacy – the use of science to advance diplomatic objectives; diplomacy for science – the use of diplomatic action to further scientific and technological progress; and science in diplomacy – this is direct involvement of science or scientific actors in diplomatic processes. So far, very few Ugandans have gained access to science diplomacy trainings, most of which are through extracurricular courses and workshops, often organized by university student groups outside Uganda or international scientific organizations, targeting specific disciplinary and geographic audiences
2 . The fragmented landscape, short time span of the trainings and other factors limit the output of the current science diplomacy educational offerings in higher education for Ugandans. The establishment of a dedicated Centre for Science Diplomacy either as an independent or as part of an existing training institution will enhance training and research in this relatively new field and benefit not only Uganda but the rest of the world. Objective of this Article The objective of this article is to bring to the attention of Ugandan policy makers and the general public, the need for Uganda to focus her national attention on science diplomacy. This focus should initially be put on establishing the Centre for Science Diplomacy and deployment of professional science diplomats into diplomatic missions, key government departments and agencies and international agencies for the attainment of Uganda’s national 1 Of the over 59 universities and other degree awarding institutions in Uganda, only Makerere University, Cavendish University, Uganda Martyrs University, Victoria University, St. Lawrence University and Virtual University of Uganda teach International Relations/Diplomatic Studies at both Undergraduate and Masters level of education. 2 NAM S&T Centre is one of the few institutions that have been consistently organizing training sessions in science diplomacy for the last 12 years.
interests. This Centre will be the first of its kind, not only in Uganda but also on the entire African Continent. The Centre will help the country to add more value to and diversify its delivery of services – teaching, research, community development and consultancy services. The Centre will develop and implement university-level syllabus to create introductory and advanced classes for the new generation of students interested in science diplomacy. This syllabus will ably respond to the increasing interest in science diplomacy education and training in the country and beyond. The training will help create employment opportunities, generate more revenue and contribute to increased student enrollment for any of our public universities that agrees to host the Centre.
The Centre and its activities, once adopted by the University will help promote the National Unity Platform as a vibrant and proactive institution that supports demand-driven science and education training for Uganda’s development and transformation. Opportunity for Growing Uganda’s Science Diplomacy Across the world, there is increasing demand for higher education and training. Yet our higher education institutions offer few opportunities to bridge traditional departmental silosto embed a global policy understanding in science education, or introduce science, technology and innovation in international affairs curricula. In this article, we define science in its broadest sense, as the general knowledge of natural and social sciences, both basic and applied, including technology and innovation.
We approach diplomacy as the art and practice of conducting international relations between governments through dialogue, negotiation, and cooperation. Even though this dichotomyisan over-simplification, it reflects the existence of two distinct communities – scientists and diplomats – with different cultures, values, knowledge, and skills. Providing comprehensive training in science diplomacy requires exploring the knowledge and skills the two communities of scientists and diplomats should learn from one another for them to be able to work closer together and more effectively. The practice of science diplomacy encompasses a spectrum of roles, organizational configurations and professional profiles that remain fluid and do not align with a traditional career path in science or international relations.
Science diplomats conduct arange of activities (also occasionally, part-time or full-time) from promoting international cooperation in science and technology out of an embassy, diplomatic mission or international organization, providing scientific advice to a foreign minister, negotiating a multilateral agreement, or navigating scientific collaborations between countries under political strain.
The above functions are performed by scientists, diplomats, and other professionals most frequently without specific training and no defined career path, thus limiting their potential impact. Because our scientists and diplomats have been siloed both educationally and professionally for a long time, it is urgent to bridge the divide between current and future professionals by developing common capacity within specialists in each community.
To bridge the working relationships of the two communities, there is a need to provide educational opportunities for students and practitioners with backgrounds in science and in diplomacy. It is the government, through its Centre for Science Diplomacy, that should lead the rest of the governments on the African continent in providing this missing key ingredient. The Centre will help to bridge the disciplinary divide and facilitate students and teaching faculties’ engagement in science diplomacy scholarship and practice. In 2015, the Centre for Science of the None Aligned Movements (NAMS&T Centre), a47Member international organization extended request to Uganda to host its Regional Office for Africa – a huge opportunity to grow and expand Uganda’s influence on the world’s science diplomacy platform. To my knowledge, this opportunity was never taken partly due to Uganda’s inadequate capacity to harness science diplomacy gains.
Not Reinventing the Wheel Uganda will not be reinventing the wheel by developing university-level syllabus of this kind. Other institutions have already done part of the work. One of the most successful examples that we can learn from is the European Union’s S4D4C Research Consortium which has developed and implemented a science and innovation diplomacy training curricular for some universities within the European Union. More specifically, the S4D4C Research Consortium has developed: · A number of training materials to support various universities with their trainings on science diplomacy.
A Toolkit for Training of Trainers for teaching science diplomacy has also been developed – this is vital in guiding planning, delivering and evaluating training activities on Science Diplomacy. · Free 6-module S4D4C Online Course on science diplomacy has also been created. · Implemented an Open Doors Programme – this is a “learning-by-doing” competitive training grant scheme in which highly motivated scientists are trained in science diplomacy and engage with different diplomacy stakeholders and gain hands-on experience. · The EU also continues to organize training workshops on science diplomacy. The Centre for Science of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM S&T Centre) has also been consistently organizing training sessions in science diplomacy for the last 12 years. We can engage them and other partners as we learn from their experiences and we can seek partnership with them as we establish the Centre for Science Diplomacy in Uganda. By developing a university-level syllabus Uganda through this centre, will ensure that it is not left behind as far as knowledge generation, transfer, exchange, and application of science diplomacy are concerned. Proposed Activities of the Centre The Centre’s activities should revolve around the following:
- Teaching ii. Research
Community service iv. Consultancy services Partnerships the Centre can prioritise partnership development as one of its core principles. As such, key partnerships can be developed with a wide range of institutions both within Uganda and outside in the implementation of the above activities. Beneficiaries the Centre, through its activities will first and foremost benefit the Government of Uganda. It will help project government as a vibrant and proactive institution that supports demand-driven science and education training for Uganda’s development and transformation. Other beneficiaries will include: i. Students ii. Teaching staff iii. Policy Makers iv. University Partners v. Scientific and Diplomatic Communities Conclusion Uganda has adequate capacity to develop and implement a robust and meaningful science diplomacy training curriculum as we expand our capacity to manage science and innovation-led foreign policy missions. With support from various stakeholder, this is achievable. Emphasis on science diplomacy will help us to ably achieve our national interests.
