On May 15th, 2024, the Go Blue project Tourism and Cultural Heritage Blueprint County Stakeholders Forum—Kilifi Chapter was convened by Jumuiya Ya Kaunti Za Pwani at the Kenya Convention Centre. Launched in 2021 as part of the Blue Economy Sector Strategy 2030, the Go Blue project is a partnership between the European Union and the Government of Kenya.
Implemented by Camões IP, in partnership with the JKP Secretariat, the Tourism and Cultural Heritage component interventions include strengthening inclusive and sustainable blue economy value chains in the Jumuiya Counties and contributing to advance inclusive employment in Tourism and Cultural Heritage cross-sector in JKP Counties. The A1.1 output focuses on the support to JKP counties formulation of the blueprint for Tourism and Cultural Heritage under Blue Economy Sector Strategy 2030.
Since the launch of the Kenya Coast Tourism and Cultural Heritage Blueprint on October 27th, 2023, a series of county stakeholders integrated governance meetings are now required to discuss the monitoring and evaluation parameters and record the progress of the implementation of the interventions as outlined in the Logframe in the Blue Print.
Integrated Governance is a strategy that seeks to coordinate the development and implementation of crosscutting policies with different actors, especially to address complex social problems in an integrated manner. More specifically, the integrated governance concept allows all the important stakeholders to effectively work together so that they can share the challenges they face in their organisations and think about solutions together. Some of the main stakeholders that are participating in this process are: Members of the County Government, National and Regional TCH Institutions, Kenya Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Kenya Maritime Authority, National Museums of Kenya, Universities, Tourism Organizations and Community Based Organizations (CBO).
The forum which was was graced by Herbert Mwachiro, Chief Officer for Tourism, and Mary Kabani, Director of Tourism Kilifi County Government, provided a platform to assess progress, fine-tune strategies, and reaffirm commitment to the overarching vision. Key objectives encompassed the acquisition of comprehensive data for informed decision-making, the formulation of policies conducive to sustainable tourism and cultural heritage preservation, the development and upkeep of essential infrastructure to enhance visitor experiences, the amplification of public awareness regarding the region's cultural and tourism assets, and the execution of targeted promotional campaigns to position the region as a premier tourism destination.
Looking ahead to 2030, the vision for the Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani region is to evolve into a secure, sustainable, inclusive, and internationally renowned tourism and cultural heritage hub. This transformation aims to symbolize socio-economic advancement while safeguarding the region's natural and cultural legacies.