WELCOME TO EVITO!

Extractives Virtual Tours – EVITO, is a community empowerment platform of Ummah Initiative Group (UIG), in partnership with Base Titanium Limited, established in the wake of COVID – 19 pandemic to mitigate the challenges and comply with the emerging new normal protocols, and as a strategy to maximize local content opportunities. EVITO offers a perfect one stop platform connecting investors, stake-holders, and communities. As a grassroots community organization, Ummah Initiative Group (UIG) is happy and sincerely grateful for the partnership with Base Titanium, which has made it possible for EVITO to feature the Kwale world class mineral sands mine operation, as the first project on the platform. As the largest mine operation in Kenya, Base Titanium offers invaluable lessons and experiences for other investors, the government, other development stakeholders and the community at large. As an interactive platform, EVITO is creating the most favourable environment that enables effective engagement, and pursuit of diverse development agenda and interests, with the ultimate objective of furthering the growth of the sector itself, and maximizing local content community benefits in the overall. As an Extractives virtual hub, EVITO does not only build direct linkages among existing current and potential future investors, but also creates ample space for participation of other development stakeholders and communities.

Virtual means beyond boarders and boundaries, beyond physical boundaries as well as COVID – 19 new normal barriers. Even during pre COVID – 19 times, very limited numbers of visitors would be allowed to access mine sites under very strict terms and conditions. This situation has been exacerbated in the wake of COVID – 19 exposure risks. EVITO thus dissolves all the barriers of accessing such industries by offering virtual tours of leading world-class mining companies and other extractives projects in Kenya, Africa and beyond, therefore creating an everlasting window of opportunity for students and development stakeholders to learn, engage constructively and trigger innovation and community value addition. This will not only instil technical extraction knowledge amongst learners using a holistic, integrated, and flexible manner, but also cut down the cost of physical field excursions, therefore, saving on cost.

Virtual also means preserved, where extractives projects are limited in terms of project life, EVITO ensures the preservation of the knowledge, experiences and lessons, to extend the benefits to future generations and to support future development legislation, policies and planning.
Supporting Career Development Initiatives in Schools, Colleges and Universities
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Khadija Omar Said

EVITO Project Associate

Supporting Career Development Initiatives in Schools, Colleges and Universities.

Through club activities in schools, colleges and Universities, EVITO has created a perfect platform where students can explore areas of interest and relevant to the attainment of diverse career and life development goals, ranging from mining and general engineering, environmental studies, agribusiness, general community development, business and leadership. EVITO takes the mines to the institutions, classrooms and personal digital devices. This comes with enormous benefits including increased numbers of learners who can access such projects, especially during this time of the pandemic when access to extractives projects has been reduced to the bare minimum, or not granted at all. EVITO virtual tours and related custom learning programs comes in to fill the void. The monthly webinars and the interactive custom themed blog platform offers a perfect chance for learners to connect with professionals on matters extractives, industrialization, environmental conservation, skills and careers, value chain opportunities and general community development. EVITO’s exclusive mentoring platform is a database of seasoned and celebrated industry professional mentors available to support mentees, offering the appropriate opportunities for matching learners with professionals for career guidance and development. All these benefits including access to more custom trainings and coaching can be accessed through the EVITO Virtual Resource Center – VIREC.

Influencing Environmental Early Warning Reporting and Responses!
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Khadija Omar Said

EVITO Project Associate

Influencing Environmental Early Warning Reporting and Responses!

EVITO Extractives Virtual Hub is designed to Influence Environmental Early Warning Reporting and Responses. Number one, through virtual tours, EVITO is offering a platform for extractives projects to demonstrate their roles and efforts towards mitigating environmental challenges associated with their projects. This is an opportunity to use 360 digital images and videos to demystify misconceptions and misunderstandings among concerned community members and development stakeholders. Secondly, we are also challenging communities to identify the environmental gaps and challenges and share the same on the platform to seek responses from those responsible, and most importantly to seek solutions together as a responsible community. This opportunity is not limited to extractives projects and areas, rather it extends to include environmental concerns in schools, colleges, Universities, estates and neighbourhoods.

To ensure that the mining projects are compliant with the environmental protection regulations, EVITO enables a comparison of pre, during, and post-mining conditions of various projects as captured to ensure operations are conducted within acceptable standards, and successful rehabilitation and restoration of mined areas. More importantly, EVITO promotes transparency in the extraction industry for critical analysis of sustainable opportunities and risks by creating a channel of reporting any relevant environmental concern for a timely response. EVITO further enables cross-learning in the extractive sector as stored operations videos of various mining companies such as recorded in BTL will serve to guide new mining companies on how to conduct responsible mining, empower the community and the country at large.

We welcome the participation of all, especially local youth and women groups, to come up with solutions to the myriad environmental challenges affecting communities around us. We welcome local, national and global partnerships to make this a success! It is particularly our greatest interest as EVITO, to partner with extractives projects, other private sector companies, and both national and county government institutions and development agencies, as we engage youth and women groups to find community led sustainable solutions to environmental challenges affecting communities.

Incubating Innovative Community Led and Sustainable Solutions
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Khadija Omar Said

EVITO Project Associate

Incubating Innovative Community Led and Sustainable Solutions

EVITO incubates innovations by enabling submission of community driven solutions to be reviewed by a competent panel, and supported for successful and sustainable implementation. EVITO supports scientific research by conducting periodical competitions amongst various interest groups and offering lucrative awards targeting individual participants, groups, clubs, and patrons, as a motivation to ensure submission of quality and competitions solution proposals. By extension this is a huge contribution to the general development principle of public participation. To support actual implementation of the proposals, In addition to the project support winning cash awards, the EVITO crowdfunding platform allows for resource mobilization to support implementation of the various proposals submitted by contestants. Resource mobilization is one key evaluation component in the final determination of winners.

EVITO Awards & Participation Guidelines
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General Guidelines
AWARDS

Biasha Zito

EVITO Field Activities Coordinator
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GENERAL GUIDELINES 

  • Patron must be registered in the EVITO mentor platform, webinars and blog
  • Patrons to offer dedicated support to groups or clubs in project concept development, presentation, crowdfunding and implementation.
  • All patrons to subscribe to YouTube EVITO channel, Facebook Page and Instagram and participate actively.
  • At least 10 members of the group or club must register for active participation and certification in the EVITO Awards activities which include:
  • Virtual Tours
  • EVITO Blog
  • EVITO Monthly Webinars
  • Environmental Early Warning Reporting & Response
  • Virtual Resource Centre (VIREC) Capacity Building Programs
  • Except students in schools, all other participants must subscribe to EVITO YouTube Channel, Facebook Page and Instagram and participate actively.
Environmental Early Warning Reporting & Response – Registration for Quarterly Presentations
Q1 Presentations Concept Submission Deadline – 19 Feb 21
Q2 Presentations Concept Submission Deadline – 22 May 21
Q3 Presentations Concept Submission Deadline – 20 Aug 21
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EVITO and the Global Sustainable Development Goals
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