UN-ESCWA organized a training workshop on “Building the Capacities of Yemeni Workers in the Field of Local Community Development (LCD)” from 9 to 13 December 2006 under the auspices of the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Abdel Karim Ismail Al-Arhabi and the Mayor of Aden District Ahmad Mohamed Al-Kahlani. The workshop was implemented within the framework of the second phase of a regional project entitled “Capacity-Building of Human Resources in the Field of Local Community Development” that UN-ESCWA prepared and began implementing in Yemen in cooperation with the League of Arab States (LAS), the Arab Gulf Programme for the United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND), the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and the United Nations Development Programme in Yemen.

The meeting aimed to strengthen the intervention capacities and provide technical references for the implementation of programs and projects according to an integrated local development approach. It also aimed to foster the partnership between concerned ministries, governmental departments and civil society institutions. Participants included cadres from concerned Ministries, local entities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society institutions, regional and international organizations, as well as other local actors involved in community development. 

The program of the meeting provided participants with skills and expertise on LCD approach; tools for management of LCD projects; techniques for identifying the needs of the local community; communication methods and motivation of the local community; mobilization of local community resources and popular participation in the implementation of the LCD approach; measures to follow-up on LCD projects and approaches to evaluate their performance.