Distinguished delegates and authorities, colleagues from UNDP and other United Nations organizations, ladies and gentlemen, Bongiorno!
It is my pleasure to welcome you at the International Training Centre of the ILO for this seventh National Evaluation Capacities Conference, which has been organized by UNDP Independent Evaluation Office in collaboration with the Global Evaluation Initiative of the World Bank. It is really an honour for me and my colleagues here at the Centre to resume our activities in person on a large scale with this NEC Conference, and in particular with this collaboration with UNDP. Thank you very much.
If we only go back for a second with our memories to what happened, at least here in this country, on 22 March 2020 and afterwards because of the COVID pandemic, this event really marks a major watershed in the organization of large events at international level, in particular in the city of Turin. It is really a great pleasure to see all of you here physically present, as well as those participants who are following this conference online.
As you know, this seventh NEC conference addresses the specific topic of resilient evaluation systems, particularly at a critical time for many countries in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and certainly in a world which is affected by political, economic and social turmoil, and unfortunately by too many armed conflicts, so the humanitarian toll is paying a very high price.
The International Training Centre, since its establishment here in 1964, has contributed through its training activities in reaching out to thousands of participants every year all over the world. Our main objective is to develop the capacity of our constituents to improve and implement decent work policies, for ensuring improved economic and social conditions, so this NEC conference squares perfectly well into the ILO mandate, and we are pleased to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs by leveraging the importance of evaluation systems to improve governance. As we all know, sound evaluation systems concur in tracking progress towards the achievement of our development goals.
We are also happy that the International Training Centre hosts this important conference on this beautiful campus, which is quite unique in Europe and in the city of Turin, which the Deputy Mayor Ms. Michaela Favaro represents here. Let me also say with the support of the Italian Government here, represented by Minister Marco Giungi, thank you.
On behalf of the Centre staff and those who really work hard and very closely with UNDP IEO organizers, let me once again welcome you to this important event, of course we remain at your disposal for giving you any support in the coming days. Let me also thank particularly our Welcome Ambassadors. These young volunteers have been doing tremendous work here to make sure that the organization of this conference runs smoothly.
Thank you, Merci, Gracias, Grazie!
