Addis Ababa, December 16, 2024 (FMC) – Ethiopia is set to host the Africa Evaluation Association’s continental conference from June 16 to 18, 2025, in Addis Ababa.
The management body of the Africa Evaluation Association held discussions today with high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Planning and Development to review the ongoing preparations for the conference.
During the meeting, Planning and Development State Minister Bereket Fishatsion emphasized the importance of the conference and highlighted the country’s readiness to serve as the host country.
He noted that technical and steering committees have been established to oversee the preparations, demonstrating Ethiopia’s commitment to effective evaluation practices, and promising a fruitful exchange of ideas and best practices in evaluation across Africa.
The conference will feature a variety of presentations showcasing Ethiopia’s successful experiences in evaluation practices, Bereket stated.
Tirumar Abate, State Minister of Planning and Development, expressed her anticipation that the conference would mark a historic milestone in strengthening the evaluation system across the continent.
Praising the African Evaluation Association for choosing Ethiopia as the host country, she underlined the conference’s importance for sharing and learning from evaluation practices and experiences among stakeholders.
She also noted the event would be crucial to provide Ethiopia with an opportunity to showcase its own evaluation practices.
President of the Ethiopian Evaluation Association, Dereje Mamo for his part, emphasized the various opportunities the conference would offer, stressing that the event would foster collaboration and facilitates the exchange of ideas and best practices in evaluation.
Furthermore, the conference is expected to contribute to achieving the sustainable development goals outlined in the African Union’s Agenda 2063 by enhancing the continent’s evaluation framework, he stressed.
Miche Ouedraogo, President of the African Evaluation Association, also reiterated the importance of the event in showcasing the commitment to advancing evaluation practices and evidence-based policymaking across Africa.
He added that Ethiopia was chosen as the host country due to the enthusiastic interest from the Ethiopian Evaluation Association and the Ethiopian government’s willingness to support, facilitate and organize the event, emphasizing that the gathering is crucial for promoting evaluation and supporting evidence-based policies in African nations.
The event will address key issues related to the development of national evaluation systems across Africa and explore how to align evaluation practices with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, ENA reported.
It will focus on strategies to strengthen evaluation systems, enhance the provision of evidence for policymaking, and identify ways to support their implementation, he pointed out.
Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the African Evaluation Association, the conference is set to be a major milestone in the organization’s mission to foster a robust evaluation culture across the continent, ensuring that policies are guided by reliable data and evidence.