The Eastern African Quaternary Research Association (EAQUA) inaugural workshop

The first PAGES/Eastern African Quaternary Research Association (EAQUA) workshop was held in Kampala, Uganda, from 7-8 June 2007. The workshop was jointly organized by Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Makerere University, and National Museum of Kenya, and was sponsored by PAGES, INQUA, PAST and BIEA. The EAQUA inaugural workshop was officially launched by Dr. Margaret Avery, the Vice President of the INQUA Commission for Paleoecology and Human Evolution. This two-day workshop aimed to enhance the growth of the Quaternary science community in eastern and central Africa, through training, promotion of regional collaborative research, and information exchange on Quaternary science research issues. A scientific conference was also held, under the theme “Understanding human-environment interrelationships in the Great Lakes region of central Africa during the late Quaternary”, with the aim of understanding the history of human and environment interdependencies in eastern and central Africa, and how environmental variability relates to the cultural and socio-economic changes in the region during the late Quaternary. The workshop also aimed at fostering dialog among young and senior research scientists from eastern and central Africa, with scholars from developed countries engaged in diverse Quaternary research disciplines. The primary objective of this was to build academic partnerships and enhance Quaternary research capacity in the region.