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newsletter

The 2nd Steering Committee for the Human Dynamics led

project to reform public administration in Jordan took place

in Amaan on the 3 April 2017. The main topic of discussion

was the 1st Interim reporting period, and the presentation of

the Progress Report – as well as a general discussion about

the achievements so far, in addition to the challenges and

issues which have arisen. Members of the Steering Committee

provided their opinions and comments on the report, which

will subsequently be revised to incorporate these comments

for approval by the EU delegation.

His Excellency Majd M. Shweikeh, Minister of Public

Sector Development, stressed the importance of Public

Administration Reform as a national interest for the benefit

of the whole country. He also took the opportunity to

present the new strategic initiative in Jordan “Digital Jordan

2020”, which derives from a direct order from the Monarch,

Abudullah II, to his Prime Minister to fully digitise Government

services by the year 2020. This will involve the creation of a

paperless environment and the re-engineering of services and

procedures. The initiative will focus on around 7 ministries,

departments and agencies – and implementation is envisaged

to commence in 2018.

The Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology

(MoICT) will offer a wide range of technical platforms and

solutions to enable digital transformation within the selected

ministries, departments and agencies. Additionally, MoICT/

MoPSD will encourage the full participation of the Private

Sector, as outsourcing of Business Process Reengineering

(BPR) & Digitisation will be an integral feature of the initiative

– and the private sector will play a vital role in the delivery of

such ambitious objectives.

April 2017

Dedicated to inform

Public Administration Project in Jordan holds 2nd Steering Committee Meeting

Minister of Public Sector Development H.E Majd M. Shweikeh, First Counsellor and Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation Mr. Ibrahim Laafia, Project Team Leader Mr. Evangelos Bountalis and Human Dynamics Project Director Rade Glomazic with members of the Steering Committee in Amman, Jordan earlier this month.

Amman, Jordan

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Before working here what was the most interesting job you’ve ever had?

My most interesting job was during

my studies, when I was part of

one of the biggest international

student organisations: Association

Internationale des Etudiants

en Sciences Economiques et

Commerciales (AIESEC). I was in

charge of the outgoing Global Citizen

programme, and my job was to attract

and motivate Serbian students to

volunteer abroad, and to contribute to

community development worldwide.

I worked with people from all over

the world, and we strived to develop

our local communities and to create

more opportunities for young people

worldwide.

How long have you worked at Human Dynamics and what attracted you to working here?

I joined Human Dynamics in 2015. I was

excited to be given an opportunity to

work for Human Dynamics, as it is such

a well-known and respected company.

My first role was as a Research Analyst,

which was very appealing and I learned

a lot on various topics - in addition to

making many professional contacts

through my everyday work.

What is your favourite memory of working at Human Dynamics?

One of the most interesting memories

for me was getting lost in the huge

city of Beijing on a beautiful rainy day.

After the tender delivery, I decided

to take a walk to the hotel, which

was apparently ‘close’ to the EU

Delegation. After walking for a very

long time, I realised that I am lost and

that I should probably ask someone

for help, but more than anything I

needed a cup of coffee to calm down.

I went to Starbucks, enjoyed my coffee

and after a while I decided that I had

to find the hotel somehow. Luckily,

Chinese people were helpful and

within 20 minutes I was in the hotel

room packing my suitcase. Besides

Beijing, I had the opportunity to travel

to Zambia which is one of the most

beautiful countries I have ever seen.

What do you do on the weekends?

During the weekends I enjoy walking

by the Sava and Danube rivers in

Belgrade, especially in spring and

summer. I also play chess and Jamb (a

game similar to Yahtzee or Yatzy) with

my friends. In spring and summer I

enjoy playing beach volleyball.

Interview

Milan BabicBusiness Development Assistant, Belgrade

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During April and May, the Technical Assistance team for

the Planning for Climate Change (PCC) project in Malawi is

organising three mainstreaming trainings in Lilongwe, the

district of Blantyre (Zomba, Neno and Phalombe) and Mzuzu.

Field visits will also take place at the Presscane ethanol factory,

the Illovo sugar mill, the Nkula Hydroelectric power plant,

Kamuzu airport solar power plant and the Blantyre Water

Board at Walker’s Ferry.

The underlying purpose is to train all technical staff at DoI

headquarters and the district offices countrywide, as well

as members of the DEC and DESC. The Ministry of Local

Government and Rural Development took the initiative, in

2012, to develop a manual for training district personnel and

front line staff in climate change, and managed to train staff

in seven targeted pilot districts. This manual was specifically

highlighted in the PCC project’s Terms of Reference as a

starting point for the PCC work. The PCC manual therefore

builds upon the Ministry of Local Government and Rural

Development’s manual, and it has used it as a source of

information where appropriate. A pragmatic definition for

mainstreaming climate change has been selected for this

programme: awareness creation and sensitisation across all

levels. This means that the target group is made to be aware

of climate change-related issues, be concerned about climate

change, be able to make informed decisions, initiate remedial

activities whenever required and to be able to plan appropriate

district developments that are compliant with climate change.

The Government of Malawi, through the Ministry of Finance,

Economic Planning and Development, with support from the

European Union Delegation, is implementing the Planning for

Climate Change (PCC) Project, which is the first component of

the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) Malawi Financing

Agreement. The overall objective of the project is to alleviate

poverty through enhancing the resilience of Malawian

institutions and communities at national and local levels to

climate change risks and impacts.

Malawi Climate Change Project Develops Training Programme

Lake Malawi, Malawi

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The Second Monitoring for Environment and Security in Africa (MESA) Forum held in Dakar Senegal

The second Monitoring for Environment and Security in

Africa (MESA) Forum started in Dakar. The event runs from

24 to 28 April 2017. Delegates from around the globe are

sharing their experiences of Earth Observation on the

theme - “From Earth Observation to Policy Development and

Implementation”.

More than 200 international delegates composed of decision

and policy makers, planners, earth observation data users and

experts from 49 beneficiary countries are attending the forum

organised by the MESA project in collaboration with the African

Union Commission (AUC), Economic Community of West

African States (ECOWAS), the Government of the Republic of

Senegal and the European Union.

In her speech, H.E. Mrs. Josefa Leonel

Correia SACKO, Commissioner for

Rural Economy and Agriculture

of the African Union Commission,

emphasised the invaluable significance

of Africa’s access to Earth Observation

(EO) data and information to policy

and decision making, development planning, the sustainable

management of environmental and natural resources, and

socio-economic development. She remarked that:

“To reach our African destiny of a prosperous, peaceful, and

integrated Africa by 2063, Africa needs concerted efforts and

determination”.

There was wide media coverage of the

forum by local and international media

outlets. The team leader for the MESA

project, Dr. Bakary Diaby, was interviewed

for RTS1 news at the event. In his briefing

before the media, H.E. Abdoulaye Balde,

Minister of the Environment, credited

the efforts of the Human Dynamics led team in his speech:

“Initiatives such as the MESA Program have strengthened

the capacities of many Senegalese institutions, including

the Ecological Monitoring Centre (CSE) and facilitated the

development of specialised expertise in the exploitation and

use of spatial information.’’

Dakar, Senegal

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SECiM Project in Mongolia hosts Dialogues on ILO Ratification and Labour Migration

The Human Dynamics led project ‘Support to Employment

Policy for promoting job creation in Mongolia’ has been

making important progress, with a number of successful

project dialogue events which took place this month.

In the beginning of the month, a discussion was held

on the analysis of possibilities for the ratification of the

International Labour Organisation’s conventions on

‘Labour Inspection’. During this discussion, representatives

from the various beneficiary institutions weighed up

the economic benefits of ratification. This resulted in

statements of approval in support of ratification on the

part of the project’s social partners, and the preparation

of documents by the General Agency for Specialised

Investigation to submit to the Government of Mongolia for

approval.

One component of the project as a whole is to advise

and support the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection

on further elaborations of laws related to Mongolia’s

National Policy on Employment Promotion (NEP). In this

particular vein, two working groups were held in April on

the ‘Law on Labour force Migration’ – in order to discuss

the technicalities of laws regarding the sending of workers

overseas and receiving foreign specialists from abroad into

the domestic labour force.

In addition, the project has also been strengthening the

capacity of the MoLSP to assess current and future labour

market needs. These capacities will provide the Ministry

with the tools to adjust policies and formulate strategies

to strengthen the quality of the workforce, in addition to

facilitating labour migration to address specific skills and

expertise gaps in the labour market.

Project Key Experts Agrita Groza and Grieta Tentere meet with representatives of beneficiary institutions at the project Office in Ulaanbaatar in April 2017.

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

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CES-MED organises “Donors Conference” in Lebanon

The CES-MED project gathered representatives of various

national authorities, the EU delegation in Lebanon, funding

agencies, NGOs, financial institutions and the heads of several

Lebanese municipalities in the Phoenicia hotel in Beirut. Dr

Naguib Amin, project team leader of the Human Dynamics-

led multi-country project, mentioned in the opening session

that the meeting takes place after 4 years of successful project

implementation.

Ms. Abou El-Hassan, Director of Municipalities and Local

Councils in the Lebanese Ministry of Interior (MoIM),

confirmed the Ministry’s commitment to managing local

resources and to support the local economy in a sustainable

way. Mr. Gianandrea Villa, EU Delegation Representative,

remarked that during the last 10 years the EU has engaged

with all 25 Lebanese districts, which includes more than 150

municipalities and unions. Mr Villa added that Energy supply

is one of the greatest day-to-day challenges in Lebanon, and it

is something that existed even before the Syrian crisis and the

subsequent refugee influx.

At the meeting, Lebanese municipalities indicated that they are

taking initiatives and making efforts to fulfil the needs of their

cities and prepare well defined action plans. However, it was

noted that their needs often exceeded their financial capacities,

and urged donors to further assist them towards implementing

projects.

There is a central need to assure more visibility of funding

opportunities, to provide support along the preparation of

proposals and facilitate networking with potential funders and

international partners. Overall, the meeting was considered to

be an excellent opportunity for dialogue between donors and

the municipalities supported by the CES-MED project.

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International conference of judges on Performance Evaluation of Judges, Mediation and Juvenile Justice

The Human Dynamics led project in Georgia – ‘’Support to the

Independence, Accountability and Efficiency of the Judiciary’’,

is organising a two-day International Conference of the

Association of Judges between April 28-29, 2017.

The international conference is organised by the High Council

of Justice of Georgia and the Association of Judges. The event

will be held in Tbilisi and will gather delegates from Georgian

authorities, the European Commission, the Council of Europe,

the EU4Justice Judiciary Support Project, the USAID project

‘Promoting Rule of Law in Georgia’, and the UNDP.

Participants will also include members from judges’

associations in memorandum party states; Estonia, Moldova,

Poland, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, as well

as judges from Lithuania, Latvia and Germany. The first

official meeting was held in Tbilisi in 2010. Seven years later,

the project has brought them together again to discuss

important justice matters such as the appraisal of judges,

alternative case dispute instruments, mediation and juvenile

justice. Renowned international experts are expected at the

Conference in Tbilisi. Among them are Anthony J. Trenga,

Judge of Virginia district court in the USA, Mr. Mario Belo

Morgado, Head of the High Council of Judiciary in Portugal,

Mr. Jens Gnisa, Head of German Association of Judges and

Gerhard Reisner, former head of Consultative Council of

European Judges.

The Judiciary Support Project forms part of the comprehensive

EU/Georgia programme “Support to the Justice Reform”

("EU4Justice") in Georgia. The European Union has allocated

more than EUR 50 million since 2015. This demanding project

comprises of 7 components intended to improve Georgians’

access to fair and prompt trials.

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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CDLD Project Making Significant Progress in the Region

The KP-CDLD project team in Pakistan issued the monthly

e-bulletin with updates about the major highlights from

the programme implementation. By March this year, 2,889

projects were approved in the six regions covered by

the KP - CDLD project, with a total value of PKR

3,627,656,323 (approx. EUR 31,707,167)

The pipeline of projects successfully approved for

project funding were presented at the end of March by

the KP CDLD team of experts at their meeting with the

senior Minister of Local Government. The Human

Dynamics led project also presented a new template

Performance Matrix Indicator (PMI) to keep track of

the implementation progress of CDLD community

projects.

A particularly positive trend is the number of women’s

projects reported for the Dir Lower region, where a total

of 39 projects have been recommended and further

considered by the District Development Committee on

7 April 2017. In Swat, 4 women specific projects have

been approved with a CDLD allocated share of PKR 4,918

million.

During the latest 10TH PCRC MEETING in end of March,

the inclusion of new target districts was agreed. Nowshera,

Buner and Haripur will now join the programme in the

financial year 2017-18 of the envisaged extension phase

for the CDLD programme. Two more districts - Battagram

and Torghar, will be included in 2018-19.