Mawazo Ideas Events: Building Platforms for Innovative Engagement

At Mawazo, we believe that ideas are the essence of creativity, the spark to innovation, and the call to research. This is why we invest in getting good ideas out into the public domain. To do this, we organise a variety of events under the Mawazo Ideas platform. These include, the Mawazo Ideas Night (MIN), a recurring public event that offers local researchers, scholars and other self-identifying nerds an informal and engaging platform to present their ideas to the public, and the Mawazo Ideas Exchange which gathers participants to deep dive into issues in their unique fields of practice.

Find out more about our past events below and check our events calendar to join the next Mawazo Ideas event.

Return to our main Mawazo Ideas Events page click here.


Mawazo Ideas Night presents The Future of African Cities : A Science Quiz Night

During this edition of the Mawazo Ideas Night, the Mawazo Institute tested celebrities on the topic of how innovation is helping create futuristic African cities. Moderated by Kari Mugo, our science expert was 2021 Mawazo Fellow Dr. Mutono Nyamai, and our brave competitors were Georgie Ndirangu and Just Ivy Africa.

You can find out more about the event here

(November 1, 2022)


Mawazo Ideas Exchange: Gender Lens Investing

In this edition of the Mawazo Ideas Exchange, the Mawazo Institute hosted a panel discussion workshop with experts from Bamboo, Capital Persistent Energy and the Kenyatta University. The panel discussion offered insight for female researchers with ideas that have commercial potential. The panel and audience debunked investment myths, offered insight into the investment process and inspired those who had big ideas to commercialize them.

(July 21, 2022)


Climate Week: What is Planetary Health?

What is Planetary Health? In March 2022, Mawazo Institute’s Climate Week explored how human behaviour has been changing our planet’s health, and what we can do about it. Through in-person and virtual events, we presented local research, ideas, and approaches to planetary health that can strengthen community networks and instigate urgent action on climate issues for individuals and institutions in Eastern Africa, and beyond.

(March 22, 2022 - March 25, 2022)


Mawazo Ideas Exchange: African Women Innovating on COVID-19

On the International Day of Girls and Women in Science, the Mawazo Ideas Exchange celebrated Africa's female scientists and explored the value of science education in the continent's development. Women's research, labor, skills, and talent have been crucial to COVID-19 pandemic responses across the globe. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where women are estimated to make up less than one-third of all researchers, women are contributing to pioneering research into the virus and its control measures. African women have also been active in raising the alarm on food insecurity, fighting misinformation in the public arena, and innovating around access to education, for example.

(February 11, 2022)