Uganda
Name: Emmanuel Candia
Country: Uganda
Email: canemmy@gmail.com
Website: http://www.candiaadvocates.co.ug
Birthday: January 31, 1981
Education: Graduate (LLB Hons)
Occupation: Advocate (Legal Counsel)
Please describe your vision of a world that works for everyone.
My vision of a world that works for everyone is that of peace, justice, equity, integrity and unity in the diversities that exist. A world where leaders inspire courage, zeal and passion to achieve even what might appear impossible. A world where the poor and disadvantaged are included into the mainstream society and have access to the most basic social amenities like clean water, food, shelter, education and health care and that their human rights and dignity is respected that they freely participate in their governance and resource allocation issues.
What do you see as the most pressing problems facing the world today?
There are various pressing issues affecting the world today and the order of their priority varies from nation to nation. These issues affect our basic survival on planet earth. Population growth issues especially in sub-sahara Africa with families having too many children they are unable to feed, educate, cloth and raise well; Youth unemployment; HIV/AIDS and the attendant reproductive health issues; Democracy and good governance; dealing with corruption; terrorism, human trafficking, national and global security issues; poverty alleviation, food security and access to safe water most especially in rural settings, climate change, global warming and clean environment for living; access to ICT , investments and proper use of ICT for building social changes and development; urbanization challenges having grave impact on social amenities and infrastructure leading to growth of slums and the attendant slum settlement issues like crime, drug use and abuse; the threat of terrorism by organized terror groups infiltrating into countries and killing innocent lives.
How do you feel these problems could best be solved?
In order to address these issues in the most apt ways multi-prong approaches need to be applied.
Population growth issues are best handled through population control methods, which are effective ranging from behavior/attitude change sensitization campaigns aimed at convincing people to have leaner families, use of scientific birth control methods and provision of incentives for people who have fewer families.
The youth unemployment can best be eradicated through promoting skills based training and education, encouraging entrepreneurship skills, trainings and offering incentives for capital and other resources to equip them for self-employment.
HIV/AIDS –this can be resolved through promotion of behavior change, investment into research that can yield a medicine to cure it. Further approaches of practicing safe-sex must be encouraged. Other reproductive health issues of teenage sex, pregnancies are best addressed through appropriate sex education, provision of adequate health services.
Democracy and good governance –through building credible institutions that can manage/monitor electoral processes, having fair laws that govern electoral process and ensuring free and fair electoral process; setting term limits for leaders; building a sense of nationalism in the citizenry through which leaders can be held accountable; empowering the civil society to be more vibrant.
Vices like corruption, human trafficking, and national/global security can be best addressed through more careful and stringent implementation of the existing laws and strengthening them where they are weak.
Human Rights abuses –can be tackled through insisting on local and international justice systems and accountability mechanisms.
Poverty alleviation can be tackled through promotion of income generating activities like agriculture and other vocational skills and entrepreneurship, searching ready markets for products
Food security addressed through investment in agriculture, promotion of crop varieties that are draught, pest resistant, and quick to grow, investment in storage facilities, agricultural extension services and improved nutrition.
Climate change –addressed through proper waste disposal, promoting tree planting, protection of wetlands, forests, grassland.
Urbanization –through improved policies of settlement, waste management, access to safe water, and other amenities. Balanced development should be implemented and encouraged across the various nations.
Access to ICT –for development, ICT access can be provided through consortia investments, provision of legal framework to protect access and use of ICT.
Terrorism –can be dealt with through regional cooperation’s, investment in surveillance technologies, promotion of peaceful and tolerant religious and ethnic or racial views.
Profile
I am an Advocate of the High Court and its subordinate courts in Uganda. I have practiced law for seven years now with the past three years being in Candia Advocates and Legal Consultants as Managing Partner. My years of practice have been embroiled in litigation, arbitration, mediation and offering of legal advice to varied clientele.
Being a firm believer in access to justice for all irrespective of their socio-economic status, I have participated in pro-bono services sometimes at a volunteer level. As a Board member of Uganda Christian Lawyer’s Fraternity –a non-governmental organization focused on offering pro-bono legal services to widows, orphans, and children and offering public defense services in the criminal justice system in Uganda, I have had opportunities to speak to staff and law students relaying the values of the organization and the principles of justice. I have also involved in offering legal sensitization on various legal issues among the population.
As a father, husband, and a leader at various levels ranging from small groups, para-church and church organizations to other self-help or community based associations and professional bodies, leadership opportunities have exposed me to key skills and roles that have thus broadened my quest for more knowledge in leadership. Having participated in a Pepal International Leadership Challenge course that was key in among others revealing my leadership style, I am now keener in reaching out for more opportunities that can make me more versatile, develop my skills, widen my scope, stretch my imaginations, challenge my beliefs and make me better equipped while working at my weak links.
With good communication skills, research and interpersonal skills, public speaking skills among others and having high personal and moral integrity I am able to relate well to create trust, confidence, and clearly articulate goals and visions and build team spirit around such set objects to achieve results.
I love to sing, listen to gospel music, read inspirational books, travel, make and keep friends, play some board games. Interesting I do not play chess though many people assume that I am an excellent chess player. I also play guitar and keyboard, percussion drums and shakers (not at professional level).
Recently, I began to harbor interests in writing books, a thing I hope to practice, develop and perfect with time and look forward to earning some money through. I aspire to become a strategic thinker and leader at national, regional and international levels affecting policy, governance, justice, economics and the social platforms. Most of all I pray and want to be the greatest example of a husband and father that my generation ever had.
I am a person with disability in the lower limbs, using a wheel chair for mobility, and have had to deal with practical challenges of attitudinal barriers, accessibility to various facilities including churches, community centers, markets, recreation centers and court premises. Despite these daily challenges, more than ever, I have been invigorated in my drive, as a more silent advocate for attitude change and creation of accessible infrastructure in public places at various forums I am privileged to be party to. I have participated in writing articles, speaking at workshops or seminars focused on addressing disability issues in Uganda. I believe that more targeted sensitization through mass media can create that necessary tilt in mindsets of the population.
Click Here to Read My Book Assessments
Books Completed:
As A Man Thinketh
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Psycho-Cybernetics
Keys to Success
Success through a Positive Mental Attitude