Dr. Raed bin Shams has announced the creation of a Middle East Public Administration Research (MEPAR) group, the largest Group of Public Administration institutions in the entire Middle East. It will be one of the most important groups in the region given that the Middle East-based Arab-speaking international public administration organizations are actually resorted to by the local governments seeking solutions to their public administration issues, so BIPA is eager to be an Arab reference in terms of researches and public administration sciences, Says bin Shams.
The announcement came during a press conference held here at BIPA headquarters on Monday by Director General of the Institute of Public Administration (BIPA) Dr. Raed bin Shams, during which he also revealed the arrangements made by the kingdom of Bahrain to host the 29th Joint IIAS-IASIA International Conference on public administration, scheduled for the period of June 1-6, 2013 under the theme of “the Future of Public Administration: Professionalism and Leadership”. BIPA Education and Development Advisor Dr. Sofian Sahrawi was also at the press conference.
Welcoming the participants, Dr. Raed bin Shams says by hosting this conference, BIPA has added a qualitative initiative in the field of public administration pointing out to the several steps it has taken to gain the support of the Member States to make Bahrain's hosting of this important international gathering of public administration possible.
Bin Shams ascribes Bahrain's hosting of this Conference, held every three years, to the tenacity of BIPA strategic partnerships binding it with the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) and the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Public Administration (IASIA), the two largest organizations specializing in administrative sciences in the world.
This conference has added Arabic as a third official language along with English and French, he says noting that Bahrain is able to position itself on the world economic map as it possesses all the necessary human and material resources capable of producing the kind of knowledge that could be invested in public administration to sustain the national economy.
The conference does not only serve Bahrain but it will also have a positive impact on the Gulf, the Arab region, and the entire Middle East and by hosting this conference, Bahrain does not aim for the event itself but rather to create a promising future for the Kingdom of Bahrain and to contribute with distinction to the enrichment of international public administration, says bin Shams.
As to Dr. Sofian Sahrawi, BIPA Education and Development Advisor, he says Bahrain is honored to host the conference which is expected to add a lot to its shining international reputation in the field of public administration. He also points out that BIPA has run for the seat of Vice-President of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) for the year 2016 which once gained it will allow it to participate in the public administration sessions of the United Nations and will serve the Arab region and make of it a regional reference for public administration researches.
Elaborating on the importance of the conference, Sahrawi says the kingdom prides itself for hosting this international event and having the chance to highlight local experiences and expertise in public administration in order to develop a local agenda in the field with the purpose of benefiting the whole International community, stressing that no similar local agendas in the field of public administration have ever been put forward during the previous conferences.
The conference will unprecedentedly shed light on the role of women in public administration, which has not occurred in the previous international conferences and a special session will be held with the participation of a number of prestigious female figures in the Arab world to share their experiences in public administration, he concludes.