Regional Programme Division <<< NEWSLETTER >>> Regional Programme Division

§ Higher Education Workshop Qualifies Peer Reviewers
Two representatives from each of the 17 business administration programs participating in the Higher Education project met in Amman (November 29-December 7) with training consultants from the UK Quality Assurance Agency and the project management team. The workshop reviewed the progress in implementing the first phase of the review cycle and provided the delegates with interactive training. By the end of the workshop, 24 out of 34 delegates had been certified qualified to act as external (peer) reviewers. The project’s final workshop will be held in May 2004.

§ Second Human Development Forum at the League of Arab States (LAS)
The LAS and UNDP (RPD/RBAS and Human Development Report Office) jointly organized a workshop for Human Development Data, Indicators and Information Systems in the Arab Region with the ultimate objective of starting a new project that will set up an Arab human development database. The workshop took place at the League premises 8-10 of December. Heads of Arab National Statistical Institutions, National HDR Coordinators, and selected experts and researchers participated sharing their knowledge and experiences.

§ Beirut Roundtable on Discrimination Against Women
A round-table discussion titled “Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women” was held in Beirut 26-27 January. The talks, which were organized by UNDP Programme on Governance in the Arab Region (POGAR) and the UN-Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in association with the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR), were part of the Project on Human Development and Human Rights in the Arab Region (PARDHUR), which was officially launched in September 2002. PARDHUR is a joint project of UNDP-POGAR and OHCHR. Its main objectives are to build national and regional capacities in the Arab world in the areas of development and economic, social and cultural rights.

§ Exploratory Meeting on “Good Public Governance for Development in the MENA Region”
Under the initiative on Accountability & Transparency in the Arab Region (IATAR), UNDP-POGAR in collaboration with OECD organized an exploratory meeting on “Good Public Governance for Development in the Middle Ease and North Africa (MENA) region” in Istanbul, on 10-11 February 2004. This meeting comes as a follow-up to a previous meeting organized by UNDP-POGAR in collaboration with OECD in Beirut, 23-24 October, 2003. The purpose of that meeting was to start explore and develop an agenda for greater engagement of MENA countries in a potential OECD/UNDP Activity on Promoting Public Governance for Development.

§ Arab Civil Society Mobilized for Transformation
The second annual Regional Arab Network Against AIDS (RANAA) Workshop organized by HARPAS and UNAIDS took place in March 4-8, 2004 in Beirut, Lebanon. The workshop follows the first regional workshop on Leadership, Partnership, and Networking of Civil Society Organizations in the Arab States, held in Tunisia, December 2002. Great progress has been made from the advent of the first RANAA workshop. As a direct result of RANAA, national NGO HIV/AIDS networks have emerged in Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt, Djibouti and Algeria. These networks (national and regional) bring Arab civil society together creating a unified, stronger response to HIV/AIDS. During this second workshop, CARITAS Egypt was democratically elected to take over RANAA’s Secretariat for the next 2 years. RANAA’s Charter and Code of Conduct were adopted, guidelines for strengthening country networking were produced and a Plan of Action for 2004/5 was developed. RANAA will soon be launching its website and we will keep you updated on the URL in future Newsletters.

§ Modernizing Public Prosecution Conference in Morocco
A conference entitled Modernizing Public Prosecution Offices in the Arab Region was held in Morocco from 12-13 March. POGAR organized the event in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice in the Kingdom of Morocco. The conference was inaugurated by the Minister of Justice of Morocco along with representatives of regional and international organizations. The purpose of the conference was to facilitate an exchange of experiences and expertise in the area of public prosecution.

§ E-government Discussions in Morocco
ICTDAR, UNDP Rabat and the Moroccan Ministry in charge of public sector modernization held a workshop in Rabat 23-24 March. The workshop focused the subject of e-government as an instrument towards better governance and efficiency, a field that ICTDAR sees as a key area for intervention. The workshop brought together experts and decision makers from the region working on projects related to on-line administration and provided an opportunity to the hundred high level participants to share experiences and to learn from best practices, success stories as well as failures in the region. A session on public private partnership was organized and major companies from the region attended it. A second workshop will take place in Tunisia 19-20 April, with a regional workshop planned for later this year.

§ AHDR 2004 due in the Fall
The Arab Human Development Report 2004 will be launched in September or October. In preparation for the release of the report, which will cover the themes of freedom and good governance, a series of consultations are planned in the coming months with members of the AHDR’s Advisory Board, Readers’ Group and UNDP Resident Representatives.

§ Translation Commissioned
UNDP-POGAR has commissioned an Arabic translation of Assessing Legislation - a Manual for Legislators. The project will facilitate the process of evaluating and drafting legislation in the Arab world.

§ Released Documentary Film entitled ‘My Child, the Foreigner’
London-based OR-TV released early March a documentary film entitled My Child, the Foreigner. The film, which was commissioned by UNDP-POGAR, IDRC/Canada and GTZ/Germany, revolves around the right of Arab women to pass their nationality to their children and is aimed at the general public. It will be soon broadcasted on television throughout the Arab world.

§ Reports to be distributed to Arab Universities
Individual final review reports were distributed last year to all universities that participated in the computer science review cycle within the Higher Education Project. Similar reports on the state of their program detailing strengths, weaknesses and needed reforms will be distributed by June 30 to universities participating in the ongoing business administration review cycle. In addition, a number of regional overview reports and documents resulting from the project’s two cycles of reviews and tests will be published and widely disseminated by RBAS this year.

§ Major Field Test to be offered in French and Arabic
Arabic and French versions of the American-based Major Field Test in computer science and in business administration will be produced in collaboration with UNESCO’s Beirut Office. The tests follow on last year’s successful administration of the test in programs that use English as the teaching language. A two-day workshop in Beirut on 4 and 5 March 2004 provided a forum for representatives of each program to discuss and finalize draft samples of test translations prepared by UCO. All tests should be completed before 15 May 2004.

§ Center for Arab Women Training and Research (CAWTAR) network and upcoming report
CAWTAR established the Arab Network on Gender and Development (ANGAD) in April 2002. This network comprises more than 180 members from 18 countries, including researchers, academics and media professionals, as well as institutions, research centers and NGOs. With AGFUND financial support, and in collaboration with institutional partners, the center has successfully organized training sessions targeting both decision makers and trainers. CAWTAR has also created a database of more than 2,000 experts and compiled a bibliography in 10 Arab countries with more than 3,000 references.
CAWTAR publishes Arab Women Development Reports and holds workshops, seminars and roundtables. The next report, titled “Gender and Decision Making” is expected out in 2005.

§ Microsoft Working with UNDP
ICTDAR starts operationalizing a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UNDP and Microsoft. The agreement creates in the region a partnership with ICTDAR to make use of information and communication technology to enable people improve their lives and strengthen their communities The first countries to benefit from this partnership are Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. Projects in those countries will have started by June 2004. The second phase will concern Lebanon, Sudan and Yemen; were projects should begin in October 2004. ICTDAR will be also implementing the open application sharing centre which is a platform to allow and enhance pan Arab exchange of information, knowledge and applications related to e-governments, national programs, and e-learning.

§ Developing a Portal for Youth in Arabic
ICTDAR and UNESCO have agreed to work together towards developing a portal for youth in Arabic. The portal is meant to be presented to the WSIS 2005 as one of the regional projects that will operationalize the Arab platform of action.

§ Nationality and Gender Research Finalized
Regional research on the issue of nationality and gender in the Arab Region was drafted and finalized in February with the help of the Center for Research and Training on Development (CRTD), an NGO based in Beirut. The research falls under the Gender and Citizenship initiative, a partnership with the International Development Research Center in Canada, which was launched in March 2002.

For more information, please visit
http://gender.pogar.org
http://www.pogar.org/publications/gender/nationality/crtdesum.pdf

§ Women’s Centers to Receive Legal Information
A project aimed at assisting poor and marginalized women to receive legal information was launched in December 2003 by ICTDAR. The project - partly funded by the EC - will distribute information on legal rights to community and women centers in three countries. It will be implemented by NGOs working in each of the three countries. The Centre for Arab Women and Research (CAWTAR) in Tunisia, the National Council of Women (NCW) in Egypt and the Lebanese Centre to Resist Violence Against Women in Lebanon will be involved in the project.

§ The case of Identity Cards for Women
“A research on women’s citizenship in the Arab world” Regional Workshop organized by POGAR in collaboration with ADEW (Association for the Development and Enhancement of Women) at the League of Arab States 26-28 April.

§ Africa Telecom in Cairo
ICTDAR is involved in the preparation of Africa Telecom, which will take place in Cairo 4-8 May. Arab African countries will have the opportunity to show case projects in ICT4D.

§ Arts and Media Workshop
As part of the second phase of a two-part arts and media initiative by HARPAS aimed at recruiting high profile artists, media professionals and celebrities to publicize HIV/AIDS issues, a workshop on arts and the media in Arab francophone countries, will be held in Dakar in June. The meeting will include well-known figures from the arts and media communities in Algeria, Djibouti, Morocco and Tunisia. At the workshop, HARPAS will debut the French version of their HIV/AIDS Arts and Media Kit. HARPAS held the first meeting of the initiative--the Arab Anglophone Arts and Media Meeting--in Cairo in July 2003.

§ Study on educational trends looks at the Middle East
In an effort to improve the quality of education at all levels in the Middle East, UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Arab States is supporting the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in five Arab countries—Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Yemen. Researchers and educational experts from the participating states will be called upon to review the findings of TIMSS and to recommend measures and policies to enhance the performance of primary and middle schools in math and science education. Their findings will be published in mid-December. Their recommendations for follow-up at the national and regional levels will be considered at a UNDP sponsored ministerial meeting of participating Arab states within the first two weeks of January 2005.

CAWTAR (Center of Arab Women in the Arab Region)
www.cawtar.org.tn
Contact them at: cawtar@planet.tn

HARPAS (HIV/AIDS Regional Programme in the Arab States)
www.undp.org/rbas/regional/aids
Contact them at: khadija.moalla@undp.org

ICTDAR (Information and Communication Technologies for Development in the Arab Region)
www.ictdar.org
Contact them at: info@ictdar.org

POGAR (Programme on Governance in the Arab Region)
www.pogar.org
Contact them at: pogar@pogar.org

REGIONAL PROGRAMME
http://www.undp.org/rbas/regional/index.html
Higher Education Project
Contact Project Manager Isam Naqib at: isam.naqib@btopenworld.com

<<< DID YOU KNOW! >>>

§ New colleagues
Ghaith Fariz (Jordan) has recently joined RPD. He will be managing the regional programme's gender and MDG portfolio as well as collaboration with the League of Arab States.
Contact him at ghaith.fariz@undp.org
Elissar Sarrouh, who was recently appointed Senior Policy Advisor in the RBAS Directorate, will also serve as the RPD focal point for Governance.
Contact her at elissar.sarrouh@undp.org

§ New AHDR Unit
RBAS is establishing an AHDR Unit to support the preparation and operationalisation of its flagship publication.

§ AHDR 2003 Related Publications
Publications related to the AHDR 2003 are available from RPD.
A publication entitled: Perspectives on the AHDR 2003, presenting the Executive Summary of last year's AHDR as well as articles by the Administrator, the Assistant Administrator and Regional Director and other contributors; A 700-page compilation of press clippings.
Please request free copies from randa.jamal@undp.org

Contact Us

In the following Issue...

We would like to hear from you!
If you have comments, suggestions, questions, would like to add more news, etc.
Contact Marta Vallejo at marta.vallejo@undp.org

»Africa Telecom in Cairo
»Last workshop of the Higher Education Project
»Arts and Media meet in Dakar
»AHDR 3 in progress
And much-much more!