Cairo, Egypt, 15 February 2024 - IsDB participated in the 10th The Middle East and North Africa Evaluation Network (EVALMENA) Annual Meeting under the theme Institutionalization of Evaluation in Arab Countries, and the inaugural The Egyptian Association for Evaluation EgyEval Meeting held during February 12-15 in Cairo, Egypt. The Bank was represented by Mr. Elmoiz Ismail, a Senior Evaluation Specialist at IsDB's Independent Evaluation Department, and Mr. Mohamed Mouatassim, a Senior translator within the IsDB Group General Secretariat. Mr. Elmoiz spoke on the Bank’s efforts in promoting Partnerships for Evaluation and learning and emphasized the significance of collaborative efforts and partnerships in leveraging resources for evaluation initiatives. He also spoke about the Bank’s efforts to promote development financing effectiveness and the role of evaluation learning and accountability.

Mr, Mohamed Mouatassim, discussed the utilization of the Arabic language in evaluation practices and shared the Bank’s experience in the development and utilization of the OECD-IsDB Arabic Glossary in evaluation processes. Mr. Mouatassim shed light on the challenges and opportunities associated with incorporating Arabic terminology into evaluation frameworks, emphasizing the importance of terminological and linguistic accuracy and cultural sensitivity in enhancing evaluation effectiveness within Arabic-speaking contexts. Participants appreciated the bank's efforts in localizing evaluation knowledge and developing the Arabic Glossary, recognizing its importance in advancing evaluation.

The event enabled the Bank to solicit suggestions for improving the validation process, demonstrating a collective commitment to enhancing evaluation standards in the region. The IsDB's active participation in these sessions underscored its commitment to advancing evaluation practices and fostering collaboration within the evaluation community for better development interventions in member countries. More than 80 evaluation professionals from 12 MENA countries, participated in the event For the first time, three member countries, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar attended the EvalMENA Annual meeting.