UN, African leadership forum launch Governance Institute

African government officials and civil society leaders meeting in Dakar, Senegal have joined the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to launch an institute to foster research, advocacy and policy dialogue on urgent governance issues for the continent.

“The African Governance Institute is an idea whose time has come…it has enormous potential, serving as a on-stop-shop for information and research on governance in Africa and across the globe, and how it relates to development," said Abdoulie Janneh, Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa at the UNDP.

UNDP said the unveiling of the institute comes at a time when African countries are making unprecedented strides in regional integration through the African Union and democratic governance with the African Peer review Mechanism of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The agency is making an initial contribution of $3 million to the institute so that its work can begin as soon as possible.

The Institute’s goal is to deepen understanding of democratic governance in African countries and to explore African perspectives on what constitutes good governance.