JOINT PRESS RELEASE

Experts Group Meeting on Capacity Development on Land Policy in Africa

Addis Ababa- 27 June 2012- The African Union (AU), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and Africa Development Bank (AfDB) Land Policy Initiative (LPI) is holding an Expert Group meeting (EGM) on Capacity Development for Land Policy in Africa. The EGM will take place in Addis Ababa at the AU Headquarters (CR2) on 27- 28 June 2012.

The EGM is part of the Land Policy Initiative (LPI) activities aimed at facilitating the implementation of the AU Declaration on Land issues and Challenges in Africa. It will be organized in partnership with UN-Habitat and aims at providing a review of the methodology for developing the Capacity Development Framework, reaching agreement on its content and clarifying the partnerships for its development and implementation.

The specific objectives of the EGM are to: (1) review the methodology for the preparation of the capacity development framework; (2) reach agreement on the criteria for identifying partner centers of excellence to facilitate data collection and anchor capacity development activities in Africa; (3) identify the categories of stakeholders who will be targeted by capacity development activities and from whom data and information will be collected; (4) identify development partners and related on-going initiatives that could inform the capacity development framework and provide a basis for partnerships in training activities; (5) discuss modalities to engage in capacity development initiatives at regional and national levels; and (6) agree on the content of the capacity development framework.

The EGM will gather representatives of African Governments, Regional Economic Communities, as well as African Land policy experts, Centers of Excellences and CSOs from across the Continent. Development partners will also participate in the EGM.

The discussions of the EGM will be informed by a concept note on Capacity development for Land Policy in Africa as well as a draft outline of the Capacity Development Framework.