Press Releases
East Africa Radio and Television presenter plans to bring U.S. study tour experiences to Tanzanian audiences
November 5, 2007
The East Africa Radio and Television presenter and producer Louissa Wairimu Kabae popularly known to her listeners and viewers as Babbiez Kabae is going for a three-week International Visitor Leadership Programme in the United States. Kabae will visit various cities in the U.S. for programming on ‘Grassroots Democracy’. The programme runs from November 8 through November 29, 2007.
Asked how she feels about the programme, Kabae said, “I am grateful to be selected for this Multi-Regional Programme on Grassroots Democracy, for this will give me a chance to see how developed communities deal with politics, social issues, disaster management and connect with the legal system, also in place will be a youth leadership meeting-council, of which will be interesting to see what role the youth play in social, economic, and political issues of the community, state and country at large.”
According to a statement from the embassy, Kabae’s programme is designed to introduce participants to the structure of the U.S. government with emphasis on the significance of citizens’ participation in the democratic process. They will also explore the diversity of views held by Americans, and examine how various citizen action groups organize to articulate their interests and views to elected representatives at the local, state and federal levels.
Kabae with 19 other participants from Angola, Bahrain, Burma, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Lebanon, Lesotho, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Philippines, Spain, Turkey, Uganda, Viet Nam and West Bank will start out in Washington D.C. with an overview of the history of grassroots democracy in America. Later, a workshop will teach skill-building for a civil society leadership action plan, such as budgeting, recruitment, communications, and training, all skills essential for the smooth operation of grassroots organization.
The participants will visit the Capitol Hill to learn how members of Congress respond to their constituents and how constituent pressures influence legislation. The group will meet with advocacy groups that monitor government activities to ensure accountability and fairness in government. The role of the media in promoting grassroots concerns will also be addressed.
The group will then visit New Hampshire, which despite being one of the smallest U.S. states, is very significant and strategic in the U.S. presidential campaign. There Kabae will see a good example of the concept of “citizen participation in retail politics.” Next, the participants will visit New Orleans, Louisiana where case studies will explore involvement of local and national volunteers in post-disaster recovery – still ongoing from Hurricane Katrina. In New Orleans, Kabae will meet with a grassroots organization that provides full support to individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS, as well as a grassroots Parent-Teacher organization. The visitors will see “Katrina Corps” in action – a volunteer organization working to re-build 25 schools in the coming year.
The team will then split into four smaller groups and Kabae will proceed to Seattle, Washington. The city split is designed to give participants with more opportunities for individualized programming and their itineraries will offer case studies in such topics as natural resources protection, Native American Indian rights, human trafficking and immigration issues.
The participants will reconvene in Washington D.C. where they will focus on the structure of participatory democracy at several different government agencies such as The Corporation for National and Community Service, The Neighborhood Networks-Housing and Urban Development, The Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Panel discussion focusing on youth mobilization to include representatives from “Youth Vote” and The American Council for Young Political Leaders will be organized for the group to participate. Another panel discussion will focus on the different aspects of a voting democracy, such as referendums, ballot initiatives and issues advocacy, while visits to a few major think tanks will cover the role of U.S. civil society formulation.
Kabae said the visit to America will be a good learning experience if the lessons can be localized to suit our very own communities here in East Africa- Tanzania, because “we largely face the same issues and dealing with them and finding a sustainable solution is what hinders progress.”
“I am hoping through the leadership programme, I will see first hand, community development and social issues management and come back to educate my community here, through my radio programmes,” she added.
This International Visitor Leadership Programme is run by the U.S. State Department on behalf of the American people. It is intended to facilitate personal and professional contacts between the people of the United States and Tanzania. It is part of overall U.S. Government direct and multilateral assistance to Tanzania of more than half a billion U.S. Dollars (over 625 billion Tanzanian shillings) in fiscal year 2007.