INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE LOOKS AT PROMOTING COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS

Berhanu Mengistu, program director at the Graduate Center for Urban Studies and Public Administration, helped coordinate and conduct the third International Conference on Public Management, Policy and Development this summer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Attended by more than 350 government officials from around the world, the conference was hosted by the United Nations' Economic Commission for Africa. Speakers included distinguished international researchers and Ethiopian President Negasso Gidada.

Mengistu presented his research on four panel discussions, including budget performance and management, civil service reform and conflict management. Additionally, four Old Dominion students attended the conference and presented papers.

The focus of the conference was on the exchange of ideas, expertise and models for sustainable development and policy. Topics included civil service reform, good governance, public budgeting, conflict resolution, a variety of technology transfers, public and private health issues and systems, agricultural policy, education, gender issues in public participation, and the expansion of women's roles in policy making.