Makerere University in Kampala was founded in 1922 as a technical college and is now one of the most prestigious universities in Africa. It offers a total of 284 different study programmes in a variety of subjects, which are attended by around 35,000 students. This makes Makerere University one of the most important centres for academic exchange and a venue for conferences.

SPACE (formerly CEFoRD) is a non-governmental and non-profit making youth led organisation that was established in 2005. It was initiated to respond to the existing social political and economic challenges facing communities at the time. SPACE engages in the thematic areas of governance, human rights, peace building, environmental protection, health and livelihoods. SPACE’s strength is working in collaboration with various ministries, networks, forums and coalitions for joint lobby and advocacy. This includes conflict-related sexual violence forums, diverse civil society forums and networks, and especially working with youth organisations.

The HORN International Institute for Strategic Studies is a non-profit, applied research, and policy think-do-tank based in Nairobi, Kenya. The Institute’s goal is to contribute to informed and objective research that positively informs policies of governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations on the topics of defence and security, terrorism, violent extremism, and radicalisation, as well as diplomacy and foreign relations, conflict management, transnational crimes and strategic threats, climate change, migration, and development. Therefore, the organisation engages in conflict resolution and peacebuilding through strategic communication and advocacy on those topics. HORN also designs courses and deliver trainings on themes relating to the above-mentioned focus areas.

Climate Resilient Borderlands Horn of Africa (CRBi) is an Ethiopian civil society organization dedicated to combatting the challenges posed by climate change in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. CRBi’s mission is to implement innovative solutions that build resilience in vulnerable communities, while their values drive them to empower women, embrace evidence-based strategies, and ensure sustainability. With deep academic roots, CRBi’s projects are grounded in rigorous research, designed to address the complex impact of climate change on migration, development, conflict, and more.

The Management Institute for National Development (MIND) Somalia is a non-governmental organisation that has been active since 2016 and aims to promote democratic governance, develop skills for Somali institutions and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the Somali administrative apparatus. To this end, MIND provides training, (field) research and advisory services, policy advice papers and security analyses in the areas of federalism, decentralisation and local government, better understanding of the causes of conflict, coping with the effects of climate change and building leadership and governance capacities.

The Academy for Peace and Development (APD) was established in 1998 as a as a non-governmental independent research, and policy-oriented think tank institute in Hargeisa. Its activities are focused on peacebuilding using participatory action research (PAR) methodology. APD brings together representatives of different sectors of Somaliland society to identify priorities in the process of rebuilding Somaliland. The Academy promotes the dialogue on issues of human rights, democracy, and good governance.

The Institut d'études diplomatiques (IED, Instiute of Diplomatic Studies) is part of the Djiboutian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. It is a regional training centre aiming primarily at executives from the Djiboutian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the IGAD countries, but also at senior officials from the public, semi-public and the private sector. In addition to training and further education, the institute also works as a think tank.

The Institut d'Etudes Politiques et Stratégiques (IEPS, Institute for Political and Strategic Studies) was created 2008 and is one of six institutes within the Centre d'Étude et de Recherche de Djibouti (CERD). The IEPS is a think tank that deals with both domestic and foreign policy, economic and social issues. It carries out research and prepares studies and analyses concerning the Horn of Africa, and thus also provides policy advice to the Djiboutian government.