EvalMENA – the Evaluators Network of the Middle East and North Africa region – successfully held its 8th Conference from 27 February to 1 March 2020 in Dead Sea, Jordan. Focusing on “Evaluation for Sustainability and Change”, the conference was organized in partnership with UNICEF, WFP, FAO, and 3ie among others, and attracted the participation of 150 representatives from MENA countries and other regions. UNICEF in partnership with EVALSDGs and the Global Parliamentarians Forum for Evaluation (GPFE) organized two panels at the conference.
Download the brief on UNICEF, EVALSDGs and GPFE interventions here and read more about the panels and key messages:
Panel on “Making the case for country-led evaluations of the SDGs: building on MENA country experiences (a multi-stakeholder perspective)”
The panel was jointly organized by EVALSDGs and UNICEF to highlight the importance of country-led evaluations in the context of the 2030 Agenda. Multi-stakeholders including the government, development partners, civil society and the evaluation community highlighted the challenges as well as the way forward to strengthen country- led evaluations in the region.
Panel on “Follow up to Colombo Declaration and EvalColombo2018 — Progress towards regional commitments”
Jointly organized by GPFE and UNICEF, this panel focused on the progress on the Colombo Declaration on Evaluation. The Colombo Declaration on Evaluation was signed at the Parliament of Sri Lanka in the context of EvalColombo2018. Following the Declaration, the Parliament of Sri Lanka implemented a comprehensive programme to institutionalize evaluation, including establishment of a Parliamentary Select Committee on Evaluation, drafting the National Evaluation Bill, and strengthening the Parliament Research Unit. The report of the Committee was presented to the Parliament on 20 February outlining their recommendations for evaluation capacity development including the proposed National Evaluation Bill and establishment of an Independent Commission on Evaluation. The progress of the Sri Lanka Parliament was showcased at the beginning of the panel for other countries to learn from it.