Online International Sessions, June 22, 2023 - The Independent Evaluation Department (IEVD) of the Islamic Development Bank led two sessions in the Development Forum titled “Online International Exchanges Sessions in Arabic - Canadian Evaluation Society Conference 2023” held virtually on June 22, 2023. The event was co-organized by the Canadian Evaluation Society, the IsDB, and the Canadian National School for Public Administration (ENAP).

Dr. Ahmed Abdelgawad from IEvD led the discussion during the first panel, which shed light on the challenges of creating an evaluation lexicon in Arabic as well as the main initiatives in promoting Arabic Content in evaluation development. The panel also included speakers from the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, the Inspector General of Secondary Education in Tunisia, and an Associate Professor from ENAP.

Dr. Abdelgawad emphasized the IsDB’s momentous contributions through the launch of the Arabic language version of the OECD DAC Evaluation Criteria – “Better Criteria, Better Evaluation” to facilitate monitoring and evaluation and promote a results-based culture in development interventions within the Arabic-speaking countries. Br. Elmoiz Mahmoud from the IEvD participated as a panelist in another session titled "Pioneer Training Programs in Arabic in Evaluation", which focused on the training program for excellence in the field of evaluation in the Arabic language, especially highlighting the role of IsDB in the capacity building of the member countries in development evaluation and the potentials for developing capacities for evaluation in the Arab countries.

The forum was attended by over 100 participants, providing them with the opportunity to interact directly with global development evaluation practitioners. It created a supportive environment for establishing networks for knowledge exchange, capacity building, and weaving relationships with the greater international development community.