TUNIS, OCTOBER 3 – Communication officers from 24 municipalities across Libya arrived in Tunis on October 1 to attend a three-day technical workshop on strategic communications. The workshop is jointly organized by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in coordination with the Ministry of Local Governance within the framework of the programme“Recovery, Stability and Socio-economic Development in Libya” financed under the EUEmergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF)
Objective of the workshop is to improve communications between local authorities and communities at the municipality level, raise awareness and build ownership on the programme implemented by the three partners in 24 municipalities from different regions in Libya .
Sandra Goffin, Head of Operations at Delegation of the European Union to Libya, stressed: “Since 2017, the EUTF is supporting the restoration of basic services and the strengthening of financial resources and of services management for the benefit of municipal populations. 53 municipalities across Libya are benefitting from European Union support, including the 24 covered under the“Recovery, Stability and Socio-economic Development in Libya” programme. We are very gratefulto our partners AICS, UNDP and UNICEF for mobilizing their implementation capacity to help Libyan communities, and communication plays in this endeavor a vital role. We are grateful to the communication officers to be with us today: they have a key function to inform the municipal populations of what is done by the local authorities with the support of the EU partners. Providing information is essential to engage and empower the citizens and the other communities on their own local development”
Led by partners’ experts and media professionals, the workshop adopts a blended format ofinstructional sessions and experiential learning aimed at improving access to information about basic and social services at the municipality level. The workshop will enable the participants to develop communication strategies tailored to their context and to communicate about the programme throughout and beyond its three-year lifespan.
The partner communication experts expressed their appreciation for the high participation, and emphasized the importance of the event as a forum to discuss, share experiences and provide guidance towards a continuous and prosperous collaboration. The Recovery, Stability and Socio-economic Development of Libya programme is funded by the European Union, through the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa – North Africa Window, to improve living conditions and build resilience among vulnerable populations, including migrants, refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs), returnees and host communities. In this framework, the 50-million-euro allocation was assigned to the three implementing partners (AICS, 22 million euros; UNDP, 18 million euros, and UNICEF, 10 million euros) to enhance access to basic and social services and strengthen local capacity in 24 conflict and displacement- affected municipalities with a focus on health, education, water and sanitation. (@OnuItalia)
