Opportunities and Challenges of Civic Engagement in Socio-economic Policies in the Arab Region

High level officials and representatives of 17 Arab countries, a total of 65 participants representing government ministries and diverse institutions, private sector, civil society organizations, non governmental organizations, Academia, local authorities, parliament and media attended the Arab Regional Workshop on “Opportunities and Challenges of Civic Engagement in Socio-Economic Policies in the Arab Region. Held during 13-15 March 2007, in Amman, Jordan, the Meeting concluded that civic engagement in socio-economic policies is key to the effective and efficient implementation and achievement of national development objectives including the MDGs.

The following five issues have been highlighted as critical: 1) Civic engagement definitions, concepts and the way they relate to and impact on macro-economic policies, national and local development, and the internationally agreed development goals including the MDGs; 2) Methods, techniques, approaches and processes which are conducive to mainstreaming citizens, especially the disadvantaged people including women, handicapped, youth, elderly and poor, into the planning and budgeting systems, both at the local as well as at the national level; 3) Citizens’ participation in all phases of socio economic policies: design, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and audit at national and local levels; 4) Institutional arrangements, legal issues and feedback for sustained and result-oriented civic engagement; 5) Comprehensive capacity building, training and networking of stakeholders to enhance exchanges of innovative experiences and best practices among Arab countries and strengthen the capacity of their stakeholders and their institutions in civic engagement.

File added date: October 2021
Author: UN DESA/DPIDG
Download Publication: Arabic
URL: https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/745466?