Amidst the policy transfer and learning processes in China-Africa relations, pertinent influences have arisen: dimensions of involvement, involved actors and process localization, especially regarding the youth. The presented insights highlight context and dynamics in the Kenya-China cooperation and implementation actors amidst policy transfer and learning processes. Integrative literature review methodology was adopted. Though Kenya-China relations involve state and non-state actors, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are the two core pathways that power development architecture. China's policy toward Kenya significantly manifests in the context of FOCAC and BRI initiatives and bilateral policy frameworks are generally aligned with Kenya's national development strategies. FOCAC drives policy debate and formulation whereas BRI drives its funding and implementation. Challenges like knowledge and skill transfer, processes localization and disparities in bilateral trade and treaties have persisted with notable improvements in sectorial bilateral and/or capacity exchanges engagements. Progressively, more emphasis should be engrained in information and communications technology (ICT) and education for skills capacity besides policy transfer and learning processes localization. This is so because they are the determinants that drive FOCAC and BRI's broader philosophical and ideological framework.
Teaching and learning of Chinese as a foreign language and its culture is complex for Kenyan learners. It requires them to consider contrasting intellectual, policy and economic dimensions that instead of aiding its propagation among Kenyan learners, could even facilitate a hindrance to its progression. Potential measures that could be embraced are examined in this study based on the current context in lieu of proper guidelines or policy for foreign language learning, and in the midst of China's reform and opening-up. The study adopts Stern's second language learning theoretical approach, documentary and discourse analysis as complementary to a preliminary exploratory survey. Chinese and Kenyan partnering institutions in higher education and its intersections through Chinese language development and cultural exchange are well-attuned towards attaining a competitive cadre of bilingually educated Kenyans who are appreciative of the cultural diversity between the two nations. This affords Chinese and Kenyan nationals the opportunity to engage with each other in efficient bidirectional exchanges for common intellectual and economic prosperity founded on various exchange agreements. In the quest for greater Chinese language and culture propagation, increased bidirectional participation of stakeholders in curriculum-related policymaking and implementation processes are sought. The mobilization of strategic resources through exchanges between China and Kenya hold the promise to a more certain cooperative future for all. Avenues on resource mobilization with a focus on efficient human resource management, together with an opportunities linkage framework, would benefit both countries, and thereby reinforce a common intellectual and economic prosperity.
Purpose: Following the COVID-19 outbreak in 2019, countries, including Kenya, implemented containment measures that had a significant impact on direct contact and transmission, which was consistent with relatively low epidemic in Kenya (and other Sub-Saharan African countries with similar early containment measures), but they also caused significant economic insecurity. To advance effective crisis response and recovery, what sustainable steps can the government take to ensure that no citizen or place is left behind, particularly in a post-COVID world? Design/methodology/approach applied: A literature review approach coupled with qualitative research was employed to elucidate discussions and conclusions. Main findings: Response and recovery must adhere to fundamental democratic governance principles such as citizen participation, representation, openness and transparency, rule of law, competence and capacity, sustainability and long-term orientation, human rights, cultural diversity and social cohesion, and accountability. Practical implications: Leveraging democratic governance principles to advance effective crisis response and recovery can have a cumulative effect and deliver lessons from a local, national, regional, continental, and global perspective. These include exchange of information and dialogue on regulatory matters; transparency of national regulations, common rules and guidelines on conformity assessment procedures, and references to international standards; cooperation and regulatory alignment around measures.
Purpose: To achieve the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), strong political leadership, willingness to change and effective outcome-based governance will be required. Governments must align national policies with the SDGs' scope and complexity. Effective governance is critical to achieving the 17 goals. Good governance will help by creating an environment conducive to collective action, holding actors accountable, and dealing with emerging complex trade-offs between goals. The Kenya Vision 2030's political pillar is "a democratic political system that is issue-based, people-centred, result-oriented, and accountable to the public." This highlights the importance of citizen participation in governance. This study delved into what can be done to promote citizen participation to enhance effective and accountable governance in Kenya. Design/methodology/approach applied: Herein, a literature review approach, drawing from published peer-reviewed journal articles and grey literature (working papers, reports from credible databases of research institutions, and official government documents) was employed to elucidate discussions and conclusions. Main findings: Tightening the democracy-education nexus, which aims at awareness creation and capacity building, is critical to promoting citizen participation and improving effective and accountable governance. Education promotes political interests and fosters civic skills thereby increasing the likelihood of political participation. An effective civic education teaches citizens about their rights and responsibilities as citizens, as well as the functioning of the government. Civic education in a democracy is self-government education. Democratic self-government entails citizens actively participating in their governance rather than passively accepting the dictums or demands of others. Education, on the other hand, should be linked to inclusivity and diversity. Practical implications: There is a need to develop an informed and empowered citizenry capable of successfully engaging in governance affairs to influence governance outcomes in the best interests of the community and posterity. Capacity building, similarly, should be an ongoing process incorporated into the community participatory framework or institutions at various administrative levels. Furthermore, training must be sensitive to, and target or capture, the community's various social categories' concerns and needs. Originality/value: While acknowledging the importance of addressing the status quo and need for citizen participation in governance, this study also delves into mechanisms that can be used to promote citizen participation in an intergenerational and intersectional manner while keeping in mind Kenya's national development blueprint, Vision 2030, as well as the United Nations' Agenda 2030 to "Leave No One, No Place Behind."
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