WORLD EXPERTS TO REVIEW CHALLENGES FOR ENHANCING LEADERSHIP OF PUBLIC MANAGEMENT IN GLOBALIZING WORLD, IN TURIN 19-20 SEPTEMBER

WORLD EXPERTS TO REVIEW CHALLENGES FOR ENHANCING LEADERSHIP OF PUBLIC MANAGEMENT

IN GLOBALIZING WORLD, IN TURIN 19-20 SEPTEMBER

NEW YORK, 19 September (DESA) -- At the initiative of the Division of Public Economics and Public Administration, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA/DPEPA), and the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA), 25 leading public management experts will meet in Turin, Italy on 19 and 20 September, in the first event of a four-year effort to improve the quality of education and training in public administration for both current and future generations of governmental leaders.

The expert group meeting will be hosted by the United Nations System Staff College.  The goal is to strengthen institutional capacity and, in so doing, have a significant impact on the development of effective and transparent governance throughout the world –- both now and in the future.  As was demonstrated in the United Nations Committee of Experts in Public Administration and more recently in the United Nations World Public Sector Report, “The underlying indispensable element of improving human resources and strengthening State capacity have not received the same attention as economic liberalization”.

The United Nations Millennium Declaration lays out an agenda for the next

15 years that, if even partially achieved, will represent a significant step forward for humankind.  Major findings point to the fact that States’ capabilities to achieve the ambitious goals for 2015 in education, health and other socio-economic areas will be highly dependent on the kind of leadership that will inspire real change.  The unfortunate reality however is that, in far too many instances, governmental leaders in many countries will not have all of the skills and knowledge necessary to provide the kind of excellent leadership that will be necessary for the successful implementation of the Millennium Declaration. 

It is hoped that the Meeting will promote the exchange of experiences and ideas on this issue among leading experts and practitioners from all regions of the world.  It will create opportunity for new thinking and will lead to the production of guidelines and standard curricula for more effective capacity-building for top-level governmental leaders.  The United Nations System Staff College has been associated with this first activity of the UN/IASIA Initiative with a view to pursue the same line of thinking for the development of senior executives of the United Nations system.

The Meeting will conclude with a plan of action and recommendations by the experts for effective capacity-building programmes for senior executives in the public sector.  Additional information about the Meeting and background papers can be found at:  http://www.unpan.org/whatsnew.

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