First class graduates from Governance and Management Program

The Governance and Policy Management Program sponsored by CAF jointly with Andrés Bello Catholic University and George Washington University, today graduated its first class in a ceremony in the headquarters of this multilateral financial institution in Caracas.

CAF Executive President Enrique García said that this first group of 133 graduates were the best evidence of the success of the program, which has been extended to all the other CAF Andean shareholder countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. "These first 133 graduates will become 800 in a few months when students from the other countries receive their certificates." he said.

The Governance and Policy Management Program is offered in the Andean universities that have joined the agreement. After its success in Bolivia since its start in 2001, the program has been extended to other countries in the subregion in an effort to train actors from civil society, and municipal leaders and their support teams.

The purpose of the program is to provide a critical mass of actors with a sense of strategy and the capacity to settle disputes and generate consensus, with the aim of strengthening institutional development and improving governance in the countries of the region and their communities.

The program is based on four working areas: ethics and transparency; institutional strengthening; decentralization and citizen participation; leadership for transformation.

For the CAF, this program, which is organized by its Governance and Technical Cooperation Office, is a priority area of action designed to give leaders and their support teams at national and decentralized levels an integrated political, economic and social view and the capacity for strategic communication and consensus building.

Christopher Arteton attended the graduation ceremony for George Washington University, and Father Luis Ugalde for Andrés Bello Catholic University. Professors Alejandro Villar and Francisco Sagasti spoke on Decentralization and Local Development and Development and Governance, respectively.