Max Planck Foundation leads a workshop on federalism and decentralisation
On 20 August 2016, the Max Planck Foundation organised a workshop for selected staff of the Office of the Prime Minister of the Somali Federal Government (OPM) entitled “Introduction to Federalism and Decentralisation”. The workshop is part of a series of knowledge building trainings and was attended by 21 staff members of the OPM, including nine women.
In addition to introducing important concepts in federalism and decentralisation, the first workshop addressed a number of emerging issues concerning the on-going federalisation process in Somalia. The participants were able to compare and contrast the state structures established by previous constitutions of Somalia with that provided for in the 2012 Provisional Constitution. Furthermore, they draw useful lessons from comparative examples based on the laws and experiences of federal countries in Africa and beyond.
The Max Planck Foundation’s Technical Advisors led the workshop presentation and ensuing discussion, which focused on pertinent issues of the Somali state-building process in terms of federalisation and decentralisation. The Max Planck Foundation’s comparative materials delivered in the workshop enabled the participants to undertake detailed comparative analysis so as to contextualise Somali particularities from a comparative perspective.
The workshop forms the first workshop for staff of the OPM delivered under the Foundation’s project “Support to the Federalisation Process”, with support from the German Federal Foreign Office. The project supports key institutions in the Somali federalisation process through the provision of continuous legal assistance and capacity building.