PRESS RELEASE 318/2015

THE AFRICAN UNION ACADEMY PROJECT DISCUSSION WORKSHOP, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – 02-04 November 2015. The African Union Academy Project Taskforce, under the leadership of the Director (Administration and Human Resources Management), convened a Discussion Workshop at the Hilton Hotel (Addis Ababa) with African Scholars; Management Development Practitioners; and African Union Academy Partners. The purpose of the workshop is to: (a) discuss the formulation of the underpinning philosophy and vision of an AU-led Academy; (b) reflect on the need to produce African International Civil Service fraternity that has a continental orientation; (c) share lessons of experience on the financial sustainability of academies in deploying capacity building interventions;(d) share experiences on the way investments in training are evaluated and communicated; and (e) explore the prospects of developing and deploying specialized and professional certifications courses for young Africans aspiring to pursue careers in the AU Organs, RECs and civil service within Member states.

In her opening remarks, the Chief of Staff of the African Union Commission (AUC), Mrs Jennifer Chiriga underscored, as was done by the AUC Chairperson H. E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in the African Union Learning and Development Strategy; that ‘African Union is a learning organization’. In practical terms, she said, this meant a conscious effort to ensure that AU program implementation is knowledge-driven through the AU-led development; deployment and application of knowledge and skillsets that add value to the business of the AU, its organs, RECs and Member States. She also emphasized that ‘all the seven aspirations outlined in Agenda 2063 require substantive investment in capacity’ and that stakeholders would be encouraged to support the African Union ‘when there is evidence of successful implementation of our capacity building interventions’. Mr. Amine Idriss Adoum, in his keynote address, spelt out the target group of the African Union Academy as the staff in the AU Organs; African civil servant engaged in the implementation of AU programmes; decision-makers within the African Union processes (especially the Permanent Representative Committee and Sub-Committees) and young Africans aspiring to pursue their careers within the African Union. Mr. Adoum said African Union needs to establish itself as a centre of excellence in learning and reference that produce the next generation of leaders. He welcomed and expressed appreciation to the African scholars; management development practitioners; experts and partners that made time to contribute to this workshop as art of the plan to pilot the AU Academy Project. Outcomes of this workshop will be integrated to the outcomes of other preparatory processes undertaken by the AU Academy Project Taskforce members to produce to vision; business plan; results measurement; partnerships and sustainable financing of L&D interventions. Mr. Christopher Kachiza, the Acting Director of the Strategic Planning, Policy, Monitoring, Evaluation and Resource Mobilization (SPPMERM) Directorate, made a presentation of the Agenda 2063, its First-ten Year Implementation Plan and the capacity building requirements (e.g. program/project implementation; resource mobilization) that are pivotal to the realization of the African vision and AU mandate. Emeritus Professor Pius. A. Obanya (Institute of Education, University of Ibadan) called upon for learning programs that are responsive to the complexity that characterizes Africa and its challenges. Mr. George K. Scott (Executive Secretary General - African Association of Public Administration and Management) will lead discussion on the synergies between skills acquisition and application that can make L&D valuable.

Participants of the workshop include academics, AU Academy Project Taskforce members; staff and education experts within the AU; Egyptian Embassy in Ethiopia; representatives from United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s (UNECA) Capacity Development Division; African Association of Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) and the World Bank.

For further information, please contact:

African Union Academy Taskforce

C/o Mr. Amine Idriss ADOUM Email: ADOUMA@africa-union.org

For further information contact:

Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@african-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia

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