OOn Monday, April 04, 2016, the Participatory Development Programme in Urban Areas (PDP) participated in a Conference on Informal Settlements Development called ‘Think.Unite.Work’ organized by the Informal Settlements Development Facility (ISDF) under the auspices of the Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities, HE Dr. Mostafa Madbouly. In the opening address, Dr. Ahmed Darwish, Deputy Minister of the ISDF thanked the GIZ-PDP for their financial contribution to the conference.
The event was very successful, with the opening session featuring a speech by HE Dr. Ghada Waly, Minister of Social Solidarity, HE Dr. Ahmed Zaki Badr, Minister of Local Development and finally HE Dr. Mabdouly. The event also had a number of Governors, with HE General Kamal El Dali, the newly appointed Giza Governor.
The event drew a large number of influential guests including development practitioners, scholars, national and international organisations working in the field of upgrading informal areas.
Sundus Balata, PDP’s Deputy Programme Coordinator, delivered a presentation on the PDP’s approach and history here in Egypt and concentrated special attention to PDP’s current phase where it cooperates heavily with the ISDF on informal area upgrading.
Dr. Mohab El Refaie, PDP Senior Advisor, led the roundtable discussion in the afternoon on institutional capacity. The session aimed at discussing the main pillars of empowering structures in terms of legal and organizational frameworks, capacity development and fiscal resources. ISDF, UNHabitat and GIZ/PDP presented their experience in this regard.
The event was sponsored by PDP within the framework of a measure that is funded by the Study Expert Fund (BMZ) working on developing a National Strategy on Informal Settlements. The measure cooperates heavily with ISDF on developing a national strategy with all concerned entities and institutions.
The PDP is a German-Egyptian development measure that receives core funding from the German Government (BMZ) and co-financing by the European Union. The programme operates on all political levels cooperating with decision makers on the national, local and regional levels for upgrading informal urban areas. The program focuses on the provision of participatory methods in the field of integrated urban development, and its dissemination and adoption within the local administration. The PDP also builds capacities of local administration, youth representatives, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector, to enable them to improve quality of services and environmental conditions in their areas.
