Local governance in the MENA region

This training programme aimed to increase awareness of and knowledge exchange between policy and decision-makers at national and sub-national government level working on issues related to decentralisation and local governance in Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia.  It was organised yearly by The Hague Academy from 2013 to 2015.

The first part of the training took place in The Hague, The Netherlands where the focus was on best practices in The Netherlands, challenges and opportunities in dealing with local governance, decentralisation issues, local economic development and local solutions to local problems. The second part took place in Tunis or Morocco where participants reflected on the first part of training in The Hague and actively presented and shared different countries experiences.

After completion of the programme, the participants :

• Had a thorough understanding of the basic concepts of decentralisation and multilevel governance;
• Had insight into the way decentralisation and local governments function in The Netherlands;
• Were able to use the acquired knowledge and best practices as a source of inspiration for dealing with challenges related to decentralisation policies in their own countries;
• Were trained in the practical application of specific subjects and in a number of needed practical skills
• Had the opportunity to share knowledge and experiences;
• Had the opportunity to create new professional cross-border networking relations.

This programme was part of a larger Matra-South programme that has been developed by the Ministry of Foreign affairs to support the sustainable democratic transition in the Arabic region. The programme intended to support a sustainable transition to pluralistic and democratic societies governed by the rule of law in the Arabic region.