Egypt's NIGSD concludes training of municipal employees in African countries

The National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (NIGSD) - the training arm of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development - concluded, the activities of his first initiative to train municipal employees in African countries.

The training dubbed "Governance and Sustainable Development and Their Impact on the Performance and Objectives of the Institution", was conducted virtually. It witnessed the participation of 28 trainees who work in administrative positions in various municipal bodies and those whose work relates to the design and implementation of projects of the sustainable development file on the local level. 
The training was done in cooperation with the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development (EAPD), the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs development arm that is tasked with supporting the efforts of African countries in implementing Africa's Agenda 2063.
Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the NIGSD emphasized that the launch of the training program in its first version stems from the Ministry and the Institute's keenness to support capacity building internally and regionally in light of Egypt's important role in implementing the African Agenda 2063. 
She added that the Egyptian government is keen to actively contribute to the development efforts in the African continent, invest in the human element and build African cadres as a basis for the progress and renaissance of the continent.
For her part, Sherifa El-Sherif, NIGSD Executive Director, explained that the program targeted middle management employees in municipal units whose work is related to the sustainable development file in African countries. 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. Sherif added that this makes this initiative one of the NIGSD's initiatives that contribute to achieving the tenth goal of sustainable development, which is to reduce inequalities.
El-Sherif indicated that the condition for passing the program and obtaining the certificate is the commitment of the trainees to attend 90% of the lectures. The program included 15 lectures and workshops in English provided by two Egyptian experts on governance and sustainable development in 15 training hours over five days from 2 to 6 April 2021. 
It covers governance issues and the principles of good governance, its applications and mechanisms to achieve development goals, the training also included the concept of strategic planning and management by goals and how to raise the efficiency of institutions to reach the aspirations of the African continent's Agenda 2063.
Hanan Rizk, Director of the African Development Center and Director of the Training Network of Management Institutes in Africa, “Tanmia”, said that the initiative aims to train human cadres in various African organizations. She added that 18 employees and 10 female employees between 25-45 years old have been trained. Trainees come from municipal employees who work in various ministries such as agriculture, health, education, planning and economic development, communications and information technology.