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Professor Maria Nyström, on the birth of the East African Academy

The East African Academy: Creating better living conditions in African slums

On the outskirts of most African big cities, slums are mushrooming. East Africa is no exception; cities like Nairobi and Kisumu are growing by the day, seemingly without a plan and without any guarantee for good living conditions. “Change will only occur when there is both political will and expertise. There is a great need for education”, says Maria Nyström, Professor of Design in Urban Development at the University of Chalmers in Sweden, at the ‘birth’ of the brand new East African Academy in Kisumu, Kenya.

The East African Academy is a brand new university that will start its academic year with 40 students, preferably from all East African countries. “They will be the architects, designers and engineers of tomorrow, providing new ideas for all city problems, from safe and low-cost housing to lighting and good sewer systems”, says professor Maria Nyström. She will play a major part in the foundation and ‘building’ of the Academy that is collaboration between the universities of Chalmers and of Gothenburg and several local universities around Lake Victoria.

Living in slums

The problems the future architects, designers and engineers face is huge. One in three of the world’s city dwellers live in a slum, lacking water, electricity or sewage. Professor Nyström has worked in cities like Kisumu and Nairobi for almost a decade now, studying the living conditions. Now it is time for a more permanent solution. “Apart from a school of Planning at Maseno university, none of the universities in the region teach students how to create better city living conditions. We are up for the challenge to offer high-level education in that area.”

Nyström´s approach to the curriculum is definitely hands-on. “We want the students to study the real living conditions of the African people. The best ideas come from the field in cooperation with the dwellers.”

Low-key campus

As for the formal side of the East African Academy, there is still much to be developed. “We are working on organizational issues, but in the meantime classes will already begin. You could call this a ‘soft opening’.” The campus of the new university will definitely be low-key and low-cost; part of it will be built inside the city. “We really want to reach out to the community. Inspired by the Luo tribe villages, for example, the school will be built in smaller pavillions that can be expanded later on. The gardens will be designed for outdoor teaching.”

Better marketplaces

Some students already have their first study project: creating better marketplaces for Africa. “This means marketplaces with more hygienic working conditions for butchers, with better light, and with solutions for mothers to look after their children while they sell their produce”, says Maria Nyström, who believes that the new East African Academy can also play a role in reviving East African handicraft, like woodworking and pottery, as part of its design education. “Craft is really in danger in Africa. We truly believe this new university can make a difference in people’s lives, on all levels.”

Comments

PAUL VAN BEERS

22 February 2012 06:05

Great. Regarding the marketplace project: Everything always starts with good Water & Sanitation (WatSan) facilities.

We have been involved in the past in setting this up for market places in Africa in a simple way. The basis is to have a professional and commercial facility that provides these facilities on the market itself. People often come from far and need water & sanitation and are willing and able to pay for this, as long as the water is safe and the sanitation is clean.

You can compare the set-up as a toilet-block facility in any modern camping site.

Is such a WatSan Block also part of your plans?

Paul van Beers
www.fairwater.org
...

Marie Imbrova

31 January 2012 20:01

Great vission.... Can you send me the mail or another contact of Maria Nyström – Professor of Design in Urban Development , I am the former diplomat , now feelance expert with the wish to come back to Kenya.
www.imbrova.cz
marie.imbrova@post.cz
Thank you
Imbrova