On the 31st of May, 2016 the Kenya Philanthropy Forum (KPF) and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MO EST), under the auspices of the SDG Philanthropy Platform (SDGPP) held an inaugural meeting on fostering collaboration between the Government of Kenya and philanthropy sector in Kenya in order to accelerate progress on national development objectives in education while recognizing philanthropy's meaningful contribution towards sustainable development.Â
The participants of this historic first meeting comprised of individuals, foundations - family, institutional and corporate, - the Director General from the MOEST, Mrs. Leah Rotich, Principal Secretary (PS) of Education, Dr. Kipsang, and the PS for Vocational Training and Technical Education, Dr. (Ms.) Mwinzi, accompanied by senior officers from the MOEST. In total, 83 participants attended this high level event.
A growing and progressively more active philanthropy sector in Kenya has led to increased demand to determine an organized approach for philanthropy to engage in the country's development processes, this resulted in the formation of the Kenya Philanthropy Forum (KPF) in March 2015. This harmonized and centralized forum seeks to: coordinate and support the needs of any organization with an interest in philanthropy; help guide the growth ofthe sector as a whole; and increase the recognition of philanthropy's contribution to the national development agenda. Additionally, coordination and cooperation is not only encouraged among philanthropic organizations but also between philanthropy and stakeholders in the private and public sphere.
To date KPF has brought together more than 50 foundations and trusts to be part of its membership, including private, corporate and community foundations. Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF) together with the East African Association of Grantmakers (EAAG) currently acts as the interim virtual secretariat with rotational leadership among the steering committee members.
Photo credit: Global Partnership for Education