SESRIC will organise a Workshop on “Sustainable Human Resources Management (HRM) Practices: Building Resilience in African Tourism Boards” on 13-14 August 2024 in Istanbul, Republic of Türkiye, within the framework of its Project on “Strengthening the Capacities of African Tourism Boards through Sustainable Human Resource Management Practices”. This project has been successfully listed for funding by the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) under the 11^th Call for Project Proposals.

The workshop aims to bring together representatives from the African Tourism Boards in 15 OIC member countries, as well as prominent speakers and competent experts from relevant partner institutions. Its primary focus is to discuss the main challenges that face the tourism sector in their esteemed countries. The sessions will concentrate on providing potential solutions and Human Resources Management (HRM) practices that can contribute to advancing the sector and ensuring its resilience in the region.

Additionally, the Workshop will also include an experience-sharing session to highlight success stories and best practices. A List of Recommendations will be adopted at the end of the workshop to assist the participating member countries in further enhancing their HRM strategies in the tourism sector.

The COMCEC Coordination Office (CCO) introduced the COMCEC Project Funding (CPF) in 2013, a financing mechanism that funds projects submitted by the OIC member countries and relevant OIC Institutions. The funding is provided in the form of a grant through the Development and Investment Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, a main body in the CPF scheme. Since the initiation of CPF, SESRIC has implemented 13 projects so far under various cooperation areas and sectoral themes determined by the CCO.

For the 11^th Call for Project Proposals of CPF, the CCO has completed the evaluation process and announced the Final List of successful projects. Three SESRIC projects were found eligible to be funded in the 2024 implementation period. These projects, designed in collaboration with relevant national institutions in member countries, aim to strengthen human resources and institutional capacities in agriculture, poverty alleviation, and tourism cooperation areas.

For more details about SESRIC projects funded by the COMCEC, please visit: https://www.sesric.org/tcd-activities-projects-funded.php.