The international conference was attended by approximately 150 participants and panellists from several municipalities, ministries, universities, private education institutions, and donor organizations.
Foreign speakers like Mr. Eugenio Caperchione (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy), Prof. Matthias Einmahl (University of Cologne, Germany) and Prof. Dr. Alexander Wegener (Interpublic Consultancy, Germany) attended the panel sessions and provided insight to the academic systems and ways how continuous education is organized in Europe.
The aim of the conference was to give an overview of the current situation, the challenges and the options of education within local government units in the Palestinian Territories and to find concrete recommendations to improve the situation.
After discussing the challenges, like the lack of a uniform education system for municipal employees and elected representatives as well as the lack of responsibility within local administration to train their employees and to distribute financial support, the panellists focused on the concrete education needed. Subsequent financial and practical resources for continuing education and the problem of assuring the quality of the education were discussed.
During a concluding workshop at the end of the conference, the participants collected and discussed concrete recommendation to improve the effectiveness of human resources management of local government units to the key players of municipal education, such as the ministries, the local administrations, universities and the donor community.
The results of the conference will be published and presented to the Ministry of Local Governance, the Ministry of Education and Continuous Education as well as all the other key players in this field.