Tunisia, 17-19 December 2013
Hotel Golden Tulipe-Mechtel, Tunis
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8.30 – 9.00 Registration
9.00 – 9.30 Welcome and introduction of the Consultation:
Mr. Mounir Tabet, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Tunisia
Official from Tunisian Government
Mr. Abdel Basset Ben Hassen, President of the Arab Institute for Human Rights, Tunisia
Presentation of the Consultation: Marwan Abi-Samra, RCC Governance Practice Leader
9.30 – 11.00 Plenary opening session:
Local Governance and developmental challenges in Arab countries in transition:
Dr. Abdallah Al Dardari, Director of the Economic Development and Globalization
Division, UN-ESCWA
Dr. Lotfi El Kaabi, Advisor to the President of Tunisia on Innovation and Social
Development and co-founder of Institute for Citizenship, Tunisia
Mr. Marwan Abi-Samra, Governance Practice Leader for Arab States Region, UNDP
Session facilitated by: Dr. Khaled Amin, Associate Professor of Public Administration at Cairo
University and at AUC, Egypt
11.00 – 11.30 Coffee break
11.30 – 13.00 Local Governance, Decentralization and Constitutional reform process
Dr. Chafik Sarsar, Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Tunis, Former member of the Committee of Experts of the High Commission for the Realization of the
Objectives of the Revolution, Political Reform and Democratic Transition in Tunisia
Dr. Samir Abdel Wahab, public administration professor and director of the Center for
Public Administrative Studies, Cairo University, Egypt
Dr. Amen Al-Maqtari, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Local Administration, Yemen
Session facilitated by: Mr. Khaled Ali, Founder of the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social
Rights, Egypt
13.00 – 14.00 Lunch
14.00 – 15.30 Decentralization and strengthening municipalities: lessons learnt from comparative experiences
Ms. Geraldine J. Fraser-Moleketi, Special Envoy on Gender, Asian Development Bank;
(Former Governance Director, UNDP)
Mr. Leonardo G Romeo, Former UNCDF Senior Advisor, USA
Mr. Hervé Paris , Director of the center for local development studies, France
Dr. Diane Singerman, Associate Professor, American University, Washington DC and
TADAMUN: Cairo Urban Solidarity Initiative
Session facilitated by: Dr. Ellen Lust, Associate Professor of political science and director of the local governance- local development program, Yale University, USA
15.30 – 16.00 Coffee break

16.00 – 17.30 Local Governance, local economic development& service delivery: the role of municipalities
Mr. Aladeen Shawa, UNCDF Senior Advisor, Cairo
Mr. Amr Lashin, CARE International in Egypt; Governance and Civic Engagement
Program Director
Dr. Diane Singerman, Associate Professor, American University, Washington DC and
TADAMUN: Cairo Urban Solidarity Initiative
Session facilitated by: Mr. Abderrahmane El Yessa, Governance Team Leader, UNDP Tunisia
20.00 – 22.00 Dinner
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9.00 – 9.30 Conclusion of Day 1 and introduction of Day 2
9.30 – 11.00 Local Governance and Municipalities: reform process in selected Arab countries (Tunisia,
Egypt, Libya, Morocco)
Mr. Hesham Abdel Rahman , Executive Director of Information, Ministry of Local
Development, Egypt
Dr. Khaled Amin, Associate Professor of Public Administration at Cairo University and at
AUC, Egypt
Dr. Mohamed El-Mensi , Local development &Local Governance international consultant and former assistant professor at the University of Tunis,Tunisia
Dr. Nabil Farjani, Former governor of Médenine, Tunisia
Dr. Abdellah Herzanni, National Observatory for Human Development (ONDH), Morocco
Mr. Ibrahim Bachir El-Retayeb
,
Ministry of Local Government, Libya
Session facilitated by: Mr. Aladeen Shawa, UNCDF Senior Advisor, Cairo
11.00 – 11.30 Coffee break
11.30 – 13.00 Local Governance and Municipalities: reform process in selected Arab countries (Yemen,
Jordan, Palestine)
Mr. Leonardo G Romeo, Former UNCDF Senior Advisor
Mr.Mohammed Al-Sanhany, General Manager of the Ministry of Local Administration,
Yemen
Dr. Raed Al Adwan
, Governor, Local Development Directorate, Ministry of Interior, Jordan
Mr. Isam Aqel, Executive Director of the Association of Palestinian Local Authorities
(APLA) and Chief Advisor of United Cities and Local Governments network (UCLG) for
Middle East and West Asia, Palestine
Session facilitated by: Dr. Samir Abdel Wahab, Public Administration Professor and Director of the Center for Public Administration studies, Cairo University, Egypt
13.00 – 14.00 Lunch
14.00 – 15.30 Local Democracy and participation: Local elections, women & youth participation, and role of civil society organizations
Dr. Ellen Lust, Associate Professor of Political Sciences and Director of the Local
Governance- Local Development Program, Yale University, USA
Dr. Simon Alexis Finley , Asia-Pacific Electoral Advisor, UNDP
Mr. Abdel Basset Ben Hassen, President of the Arab Institute for Human Rights, Tunisia
Mr. Khaled Ali, Founder of the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, Egypt
Session facilitated by: Ms. Khadija Moalla, international consultant, UNDP
15.30-16.00 Coffee break

16.00 – 17.30 Local Governance assessment and localized data system
Dr. Hayat Zerari, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Casablanca, Gender budgeting Expert, Morocco
Mr. Herve Paris, Director of the Center for local development studies, France
Ms. Ela Ionescu, Governance assessment Specialist at UNDP Oslo Governance Centre
Dr. Khaled Abdelhalim, Executive Director of the Local Development Observatory, Local
Administration Reform Unit, Ministry of Local Development, Egypt.
Session facilitated by: Dr. Jaleleddine Ben Rejeb, General Director of the National Institute of
Statistics (INS), Tunisia
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9.00 – 11.00 Open debate on the challenges related to Local Governance and Municipalities in Arab countries in transition
Introductory remarks by:
11.00 – 11.30 Closing session