Egypt to hold 1st training program for municipal African officials

CAIRO - 22 March 2021: The National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (NIGSD) - the training arm of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development – announced Monday the launch of the first training program for officials at municipal councils in African countries as a scholarship.

That program will take place in cooperation with the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Developmen t(EAPD Egypt) - the arm of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for supporting the efforts of African countries in implementing Africa's Agenda 2063 as a main partner in the program.

This will be done through virtual education technology on April 2-6 for five continuous days under the title “Governance and Sustainable Development and their Impact on Organizational Goals and Performance”.

Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development and Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (NIGSD) said that the training program comes within the framework of the Egyptian government's keenness to effectively contribute to sustainable development efforts in the African continent, and in support of Egyptian efforts in building African cadres that have the necessary capabilities to achieve ambitions and agenda Africa 2063.

El-Said indicated that a training program was implemented for Egyptian leaders in this regard during the year 2020, noting that based on the success achieved by the program at the local level in the Egyptian governorates, it was agreed to implement it this year for the first time at the level of workers in localities in African countries.

For her part, Dr. Sherifa El-Sherif, Executive Director of the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (NIGSD), explained that the program targets 25 trainees of government employees in African countries of both genders in the age group between 25-45 years.

These government employees work in various administrative positions in local units whose work relates to designing and implementing sustainable development projects at the local level in various sectors. Trainees are also required to have proficiency in the English language.

El-Sherif added that the program aims to introduce the concept of sustainable development and its goals, and the African sustainable development agenda 2063 by identifying the concept of strategic planning and management with goals and the relationship of sustainable development to achieving corporate goals.

Dr. Hanan Rizk, Director of the African Development Center and Director of the Training Network of Management Institutes in Africa, “Tanmia”, indicated that the program aims to define the concept of governance, its objectives, and principles, and its role in improving performance within government agencies and institutions by applying the principles and mechanisms of governance, many of which have been used in procedures to improve the performance.

Rizk pointed out that the methodology for implementing the training program depends on theoretical lectures, interactive training, and workshops to develop skills, in addition to the use of visual informative media according to the nature of each training content.

To participate in the program, you must observe the obligation to attend 90% of the training lectures as a minimum to obtain the certificate and master the English language, along with sending a letter of nomination from the employer indicating approval to give the candidates a leave during the training period, and the registration form is filled out and sent along with the CV by e-mail to TNMIA@nigsd.gov.eg by April 28.

It is worth noting that the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development presents this program as the first initiative to train employees of government agencies and departments at the local level, through the Training Network of Management Institutes in Africa (Tanmia), which is the institute's African initiative through which it contributes to building human capabilities in the African continent and achieving aspirations of the Sustainable Development Agenda 2063.

This initiative focuses on providing training to employees in localities who do not have the same training opportunities available to their colleagues in central departments, which will contribute to achieving the tenth goal of sustainable development, which is to reduce inequalities.