BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:unctad.org BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6ad668df3e269 DTSTART:20261030T060000Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20261030T150000Z LOCATION:Kampala\, Uganda SUMMARY: 2nd East Africa Regional Sustainable Natural Fibres Symposium CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The 2nd East Africa Regional Sustainable Natural Fibres Symposi um 2026 will bring together public institutions\, businesses\, researchers \, financiers\, standards bodies\, producers and technology developers to advance an African-led agenda for sustainable natural and alternative fibr es.Hosted by the Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI) in partnershi p with the East Africa Alternative Fibres Forum (EAAFF) and national and r egional partners\, the symposium reflects the growing ownership of this ag enda by institutions and innovators in the region. It will provide a platf orm for participants to identify shared priorities\, showcase locally deve loped solutions and build the partnerships needed to move from promising a pplications to competitive\, investable and regionally connected value cha ins.Held under the theme “Towards a Coordinated African Alternative Natu ral Fibre Platform\,” the symposium will focus on circular industrializa tion\, investment\, business partnerships\, trade\, standards and regional cooperation. It will bring particular attention to the potential for conv erting agricultural residues and other locally available biomass into high er-value products\, while strengthening the productive capacities needed t o retain more value\, knowledge\, skills and employment within East Africa .The event builds on the first regional symposium\, held in Nairobi in 202 5\, which brought together producers\, buyers and enabling institutions to map the natural-fibre ecosystem\, explore financing and market opportunit ies\, and open dialogue on regional industry coordination. The second symp osium will take this process forward through stronger national leadership\ , practical regional collaboration and a clearer focus on industrial scale -up.REGISTER HEREFrom agricultural residues to regional industriesAcross E ast Africa\, residues including banana pseudostems\, pineapple leaves and sisal waste are frequently discarded\, left to decompose or burnt. Yet the se materials can provide inputs for textiles\, homeware\, paper\, sanitary products\, hair extensions\, packaging and other applications. Their prod uctive use can reduce waste and pollution while creating new sources of in come and opportunities for enterprise development.Capturing this opportuni ty requires more than the production of raw fibre. Competitive value chain s depend on reliable collection and aggregation systems\, appropriate mach inery\, product design\, testing facilities\, consistent quality\, entrepr eneurial capabilities\, access to finance and connections to domestic\, re gional and international markets.The symposium will therefore consider how East African countries can build the productive capacities required to pr ocess local feedstocks into value-added materials and finished products. T he objective is to help ensure that the region does not remain principally a supplier of unprocessed biomass or fibre\, but develops the technologic al\, institutional and commercial capabilities needed to retain a greater share of value locally.Standards as infrastructure for marketsStandards\, certification and conformity assessment will be central to the discussions . As alternative fibres enter applications such as clothing\, hair extensi ons\, household products\, sanitary items\, packaging and other consumer g oods\, producers and purchasers need confidence in material composition\, performance\, safety\, durability and environmental claims.Clear and credi ble standards can help innovative businesses demonstrate product quality\, reduce uncertainty for investors and buyers\, support access to public pr ocurement and export markets\, and protect markets against misleading or u nsubstantiated sustainability claims. Cooperation among national standards bodies can also reduce unnecessary regulatory fragmentation and support t he development of regional markets.The participation of the Uganda Bureau of Standards and other technical institutions will connect product innovat ion with the quality infrastructure needed for commercialization and scale . The event flyer lists the Uganda Bureau of Standards\, universities\, en terprises and other organizations among the symposium partners.Linking nat ural fibres to the transition beyond plasticsNatural fibres can contribute to the transition away from plastic-intensive products in selected applic ations\, including packaging\, textiles\, household goods and sanitary pro ducts. The symposium will connect East Africa’s emerging fibre industrie s with related work by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Sustainab le Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution (SMEP) Programme on non-plast ic substitutes and environmentally sound production.These links include em erging work towards a West Africa Plastic Substitutes Initiative (WAPAI)\, covering standards and certification\, trade conditions and regional coop eration. Exchanges between East and West Africa can help identify practica l approaches to material substitution while opening opportunities for Afri can producers and manufacturers.Standards\, markets and regional value add itionStandards\, certification and conformity assessment will be central t o the symposium. Reliable standards can help producers demonstrate product safety\, quality\, performance and environmental integrity\, while giving buyers and investors greater confidence in emerging materials.Regional co operation can also help connect producers\, processors\, researchers\, man ufacturers and buyers across borders. The objective is to build the produc tive capacities required to transform locally available biomass into highe r-value products\, retaining more processing\, knowledge\, employment and economic value within the region.ObjectivesThe symposium will seek to:cons olidate a nationally owned and regionally connected platform for sustainab le natural fibres\;showcase technologies\, enterprises\, products and rese arch from Uganda and the wider region\;identify commercially promising val ue chains and investment opportunities\;advance cooperation on standards\, certification and conformity assessment\;strengthen links among producers \, processors\, manufacturers\, researchers\, investors and buyers\; andag ree practical next steps towards a coordinated African alternative natural -fibre platform.The symposium will bring together government institutions\ , standards bodies\, research and technology organizations\, universities\ , producers\, manufacturers\, financial institutions\, buyers\, business a ssociations and development partners. Participation is in person only and requires approval by organizers.    Institutional announcements by partn ers can be found here:  UIRI\, EAAFF\, NDISI.https://lnkd.in/p/edQJHxQD\n \nView meeting on unctad.org\nhttps://unctad.org/meeting/2nd-east-africa-r egional-sustainable-natural-fibres-symposium DTSTAMP:20261019T190047Z END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6ad668df3e2a1 DTSTART:20261031T060000Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20261031T150000Z LOCATION:Kampala\, Uganda SUMMARY: 2nd East Africa Regional Sustainable Natural Fibres Symposium CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:The 2nd East Africa Regional Sustainable Natural Fibres Symposi um 2026 will bring together public institutions\, businesses\, researchers \, financiers\, standards bodies\, producers and technology developers to advance an African-led agenda for sustainable natural and alternative fibr es.Hosted by the Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI) in partnershi p with the East Africa Alternative Fibres Forum (EAAFF) and national and r egional partners\, the symposium reflects the growing ownership of this ag enda by institutions and innovators in the region. It will provide a platf orm for participants to identify shared priorities\, showcase locally deve loped solutions and build the partnerships needed to move from promising a pplications to competitive\, investable and regionally connected value cha ins.Held under the theme “Towards a Coordinated African Alternative Natu ral Fibre Platform\,” the symposium will focus on circular industrializa tion\, investment\, business partnerships\, trade\, standards and regional cooperation. It will bring particular attention to the potential for conv erting agricultural residues and other locally available biomass into high er-value products\, while strengthening the productive capacities needed t o retain more value\, knowledge\, skills and employment within East Africa .The event builds on the first regional symposium\, held in Nairobi in 202 5\, which brought together producers\, buyers and enabling institutions to map the natural-fibre ecosystem\, explore financing and market opportunit ies\, and open dialogue on regional industry coordination. The second symp osium will take this process forward through stronger national leadership\ , practical regional collaboration and a clearer focus on industrial scale -up.REGISTER HEREFrom agricultural residues to regional industriesAcross E ast Africa\, residues including banana pseudostems\, pineapple leaves and sisal waste are frequently discarded\, left to decompose or burnt. Yet the se materials can provide inputs for textiles\, homeware\, paper\, sanitary products\, hair extensions\, packaging and other applications. Their prod uctive use can reduce waste and pollution while creating new sources of in come and opportunities for enterprise development.Capturing this opportuni ty requires more than the production of raw fibre. Competitive value chain s depend on reliable collection and aggregation systems\, appropriate mach inery\, product design\, testing facilities\, consistent quality\, entrepr eneurial capabilities\, access to finance and connections to domestic\, re gional and international markets.The symposium will therefore consider how East African countries can build the productive capacities required to pr ocess local feedstocks into value-added materials and finished products. T he objective is to help ensure that the region does not remain principally a supplier of unprocessed biomass or fibre\, but develops the technologic al\, institutional and commercial capabilities needed to retain a greater share of value locally.Standards as infrastructure for marketsStandards\, certification and conformity assessment will be central to the discussions . As alternative fibres enter applications such as clothing\, hair extensi ons\, household products\, sanitary items\, packaging and other consumer g oods\, producers and purchasers need confidence in material composition\, performance\, safety\, durability and environmental claims.Clear and credi ble standards can help innovative businesses demonstrate product quality\, reduce uncertainty for investors and buyers\, support access to public pr ocurement and export markets\, and protect markets against misleading or u nsubstantiated sustainability claims. Cooperation among national standards bodies can also reduce unnecessary regulatory fragmentation and support t he development of regional markets.The participation of the Uganda Bureau of Standards and other technical institutions will connect product innovat ion with the quality infrastructure needed for commercialization and scale . The event flyer lists the Uganda Bureau of Standards\, universities\, en terprises and other organizations among the symposium partners.Linking nat ural fibres to the transition beyond plasticsNatural fibres can contribute to the transition away from plastic-intensive products in selected applic ations\, including packaging\, textiles\, household goods and sanitary pro ducts. The symposium will connect East Africa’s emerging fibre industrie s with related work by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Sustainab le Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution (SMEP) Programme on non-plast ic substitutes and environmentally sound production.These links include em erging work towards a West Africa Plastic Substitutes Initiative (WAPAI)\, covering standards and certification\, trade conditions and regional coop eration. Exchanges between East and West Africa can help identify practica l approaches to material substitution while opening opportunities for Afri can producers and manufacturers.Standards\, markets and regional value add itionStandards\, certification and conformity assessment will be central t o the symposium. Reliable standards can help producers demonstrate product safety\, quality\, performance and environmental integrity\, while giving buyers and investors greater confidence in emerging materials.Regional co operation can also help connect producers\, processors\, researchers\, man ufacturers and buyers across borders. The objective is to build the produc tive capacities required to transform locally available biomass into highe r-value products\, retaining more processing\, knowledge\, employment and economic value within the region.ObjectivesThe symposium will seek to:cons olidate a nationally owned and regionally connected platform for sustainab le natural fibres\;showcase technologies\, enterprises\, products and rese arch from Uganda and the wider region\;identify commercially promising val ue chains and investment opportunities\;advance cooperation on standards\, certification and conformity assessment\;strengthen links among producers \, processors\, manufacturers\, researchers\, investors and buyers\; andag ree practical next steps towards a coordinated African alternative natural -fibre platform.The symposium will bring together government institutions\ , standards bodies\, research and technology organizations\, universities\ , producers\, manufacturers\, financial institutions\, buyers\, business a ssociations and development partners. Participation is in person only and requires approval by organizers.    Institutional announcements by partn ers can be found here:  UIRI\, EAAFF\, NDISI.https://lnkd.in/p/edQJHxQD\n \nView meeting on unctad.org\nhttps://unctad.org/meeting/2nd-east-africa-r egional-sustainable-natural-fibres-symposium DTSTAMP:20261019T190047Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR