Event Date: February 4, 2026 - 11:30am to 3:00pm
Location: FSS 4007, 120 University Private, University of Ottawa

Please note that registration for this event is now closed. A recording of the event will be made available afterwards.

Presented by CIPS, Alinea International, and the Lake Chad Basin Commission, with funding from Global Affairs Canada

See this press release for the most up to date information on the event.

The partnership between the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), Alinea International, and Global Affairs Canada (GAC) under the Lake Chad Basin Conservation Project is a first-time collaboration. After nearly three years of joint efforts and in anticipation of the project’s conclusion in December 2026, it seems timely and necessary to invite a delegation from the LCBC to hold high-level meetings between the Executive Secretary (ES) of the LCBC and representatives from several Canadian ministries (Global Affairs Canada, National Defense, Environment and Climate Change, etc.) to exchange on the context in the Lake Chad Basin and Sahel regions, the LCBC’s mandate and achievements, and future collaboration prospects.

This visit will also be an opportunity for the ES to highlight the project’s contribution to the LCBC’s mandate and the results achieved in its main components (restoration, income-generating activities, gender and inclusion, and environmental peace). The working visit of the LCBC’s Executive Secretary, Technical Director, and the ES’s Assistant was proposed by Alinea as part of the Lake Chad Basin Conservation Project and approved by GAC.

Finally, this high-level visit will contribute to achieving one of the main objectives of Canada’s new Africa Strategy, namely to strengthen Canada’s diplomatic engagement and interpersonal ties by hosting a high-level African diplomat in Canada.

Ambassador Mamman Nuhu

The Executive Secretary, Ambassador Mamman Nuhu, is a Nigerian diplomat with nearly 40 years of diplomatic experience. He has held various strategic positions in Nigeria’s diplomatic missions around the world. Mamman Nuhu served as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe before joining the LCBC in 2016 as Senior Political Advisor, then becoming Executive Secretary in 2018. He is also the Head of Mission of the Multinational Joint Task Force.

EVENT PROGRAM

OPENING REMARKS

• Professor Nathan Young, Interim Dean at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa
• Celine Heinbecker, Director, Climate Finance Partnerships | Global Affairs Canada
• Alinea International Representative

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

• Ambassador Mamman Nuhu, Executive Secretary (ES) of the LCBC

ROUNDTABLE SPEAKERS

• Mr. Hycinth Banseka, Technical Director, CBLT /Lake Chad Basin Technical Director
• Dr. Yannick Beaudoin, Director of Climate Change and Nature-Based Solutions, Alinea International
• Ms. Michèle Laflamme, Director of Innovation, Centre for Forestry Education and Research (CERFO – Centre d’enseignement et de recherche en foresterie)

Moderated by Gervais Doumtsop Kanouo, Ph.D.

CLOSING REMARKS

Suzane Louchard, Senior Director, Francophone Programming, Alinea International.