Singapore International Foundation Hosts First UNITAR Workshops for Afghanistan in Singapore

Singapore, 26 July 2009 - In support of the UNITAR Hiroshima Fellowship for Afghanistan (AF) 2009, an intensive training programme for Afghans involving multiple international parties, the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) will host the first-ever AF workshops in Singapore, from 26 July to 1 August, at the Fort Canning Lodge.

The AF is an annual eight-month-long programme by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). It seeks to build capacity and enhance the leadership, management and professional skills of a core group of senior government officials, academics and practitioners primarily from Afghanistan. Through a combination of in-country meetings, web seminars and workshops overseas, the fellows are coached and mentored by both Afghans and international experts.

The SIF and its Singaporean volunteers have been contributing to the post-conflict reconstruction of Afghanistan since 2004. To date, seven Singapore professionals have directly mentored a total of 17 Afghan fellows, as well as shared expertise in the areas of project management, organisation change management, administration and finance, and human resource management with a further 94 fellows.

This year, the SIF and UNITAR have organised two workshops in Singapore, and arranged study visits to organisations like the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, Singapore General Hospital, Urban Redevelopment Authority and Harmony Centre.

“We are happy to learn that some of the projects implemented as a result of the fellowship have led to improvements in the areas of human resource management, financial record management and office management training in organisations like the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency, Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission, and the Da Afghanistan Bank,” said SIF’s Executive Director, Ms. Jean Tan.

“We are optimistic that the workshops here and first-hand sharing of Singapore’s experiences in leadership and management will contribute further to the post-conflict reconstruction of Afghanistan. We also hope that site visits planned to organisations like the Harmony Centre will offer our Afghan friends a useful insight into Singapore, and its unique model for interracial and inter-ethnic harmony.”

Ms. Humaira Khan-Kamal, Coordinator of the Fellowship at UNITAR, said, “Sharing Hiroshima's lessons in post-conflict reconstruction, the fellowship discusses important themes such as organisational development and change, project design and management, and human resource development and management. The SIF supports the fellowship each year by fielding mentors and experts throughout the cycle, including on-site training workshops in places like India and Hiroshima. The SIF experts have also expanded their roles on the distance learning forums such as web seminars and have shown their commitment by accepting multiple challenges within the fellowship.”

Other key partners of the AF are the Hiroshima Prefectural Government, the City of Hiroshima, Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission of Afghanistan, Hiroshima University, the University of Calgary, the University of Texas and Microsoft Corporation.

Director of International Volunteerism and Community Partnerships Aaron Ng said, “This collaboration between UNITAR, Afghan agencies and the SIF has enabled a meaningful sharing of ideas which has proven to be mutually beneficial to all. This visit strengthens the bonds already forged between Singaporean volunteers and their Afghan counterparts.

“We are happy indeed to welcome our Afghan partners to Singapore. As they work towards reconstructing their own country, they have been particularly interested to learn how Singapore — a multi-racial country with limited land mass and no natural resources — has managed to build itself into a peaceful and economically advanced country in the region.

These study visits give our partners an opportunity to observe first-hand the ‘Singapore experience’.” Three volunteers from the SIF will be serving as mentors to a group of four Afghans focusing on human resource management. They are: Mr. Ernest Lee Kian Meng, Director of Organisation Excellence, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore; Ms. Patsian Low, Principal Consultant of Serenity Associates LLP that helps organisations build social responsibility in their work; and Ms. Janice Lua, Deputy Director, Quality Service Management and Project and Quality Management, Media Development Authority.