Management Training for the Iraqi Municipalities of Erbil and Basra

UNESCWA Iraq Task Force has completed two management skills training workshops for the benefit of two groups of senior government and municipal officials from Erbil and Basrah. The two training workshops are part of the UN HABITAT project “Strengthening the Urban Sector in Iraq through Building Capacities in Municipal Planning and Management” that is funded by the UNDG Iraq Trust Fund. The participants of the two workshops will come back to follow-up modules at the end of the year. The training program focused on topics that included modern trends in public administration, strategic planning and management, human resource management, and individual management skills (leadership skills, managing teams, communication and presentation skills, stress management). The program also included field visits to the Municipality of Tripoli, the Environment and development Observatory of the Association of Municipalities of Faiha’. Each of the two modules also included four days of deliberative discussions with the participants on the current organizational structure of the two municipalities, whereby they discussed proposals for restructuring the organizations of their respective municipalities. The discussions also focused on developing a training and capacity development plan for the staff of the two municipalities.