On 20 November 2024, the Founder and Executive Director of ACCORD, Dr Vasu Gounden, was invited to be a virtual speaker in the opening session of the 2024 International Relations Society of Kenya (IRSK) Annual Conference. The topic of this year’s Conference was ‘Fostering Integration and cooperation in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) region through International Relations and Diplomacy’.
Held over three days (20-22 November 2024) in Nairobi, Kenya, IRSK, the professional body for international relations and diplomacy in Kenya, held its second annual conference which was organised in partnership with COMESA and ACCORD. This second IRSK Annual Conference builds on the inaugural conference held in 2023, and represents a significant milestone in advancing the discourse and practice of international relations and diplomacy in Kenya, the COMESA region, and the wider African continent. Related themes under discussion looked at climate change, youth in diplomacy, security challenges in the COMESA region and regional economic integration.
The conference featured high-level, insightful evidence-based deliberations regarding current challenges and priorities in international relations and diplomacy. It also critically interrogated theoretical, conceptual and methodological approaches, as well as instruments adopted to deal with issues within the context of regional integration and cooperation in the region. During the conference, ACCORD launched its recently published Monograph 2/24 – Institutionalising Wisdom: the role of the panels and councils in peacemaking. A lively and engaging discussion was facilitated between the respective monograph authors and the conference participants around issues of conflict prevention and diplomacy.
The conference also provided an important space to engage with university students from across the COMESA region and offered platform for emerging scholars to present their research. This feeds into ACCORD’s ongoing work to support youth-led engagement in peace and security on the continent.
