Daayitwa officially launches Public Administration Fellowship 2021

In a virtual launch event, Daayitwa officially proclaimed the 15 Nepal Public Administration Fellows 2021. The talented and energetic youth have been placed at 11 different municipalities across five provinces to support public officials and elected representatives in formulating and implementing local policies and programmes. The official public launch event was held in the presence of Eaknarayan Aryal, Secretary, Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) who joined the event as the chief guest, along with special guests Ashok Kumar Byanju (Shrestha), Mayor of Dhulikhel Municipality and President, Municipal Association of Nepal; Trilochan Pokharel, Director of Studies, Nepal Administrative Staff College; David Issak, Director of Democracy and Governance Office, USAID; Bhagawan Shrestha, Country Director of FHI360; Dr Pukar Malla, Founder and Chairperson of Daayitwa and representatives of partner municipal governments. Addressing the event, Aryal said, “It is important to institutionalise the key learnings of the Daayitwa Public Administration fellows from their policy experiences at the municipalities. This will enable policymakers at MoFAGA to formulate effective policies that result in prosperity and development at the local level.” Highlighting the importance of the fellowship programme, Susit Dhakal, Programme Director of Daayitwa said, “Effective implementation of programmes like DNPAF at local municipallevels will bridge the gap between local youths and the government, thus fostering collaboration opportunities to promote inclusive municipal governance, civic engagement, post-Covid economic recovery and evidence-based policy making.” Sher Bahadur Bhandari from Amargadi Municipality, Dadeldhura; Chitra Bahadur BK from Bheriganga Municipality, Surkhet; Sumitra Shrestha and Sharmila Khanal from Budhanilkantha Municipality, Kathmandu; Sajana Bhuju from Changunarayan Municipality, Bhaktapur; Dipendra Chaudhary from Gauriganga Municipality, Kailali; Rajju Poudel and Indra Chaudhary from Ghorahi Sub-Metropolitan City, Dang; Dipa Shree Bhattarai from Gorkha Municipality, Gorkha; Ganga Bahadur Sinajali and Kalpana Kunwar from Isma Rural Municipality, Gulmi; Diksha Dulal, Tamakoshi Rural Municipality Gaunpalika; Sanju Adhikari and Shobha Chhatkuli from Nilkhantha Municipality, Dhading; Padma Rijal from Panauti, Kavre are the Public Administration Fellows for 2021. The 15 fellows will receive research mentorship and undertake a multi-module course on leadership offered by Dr Malla, on public administration offered by Krishna Gyawali, former Secretary of the Government of Nepal and Dr Pramod KC (PhD Public Administration), and on social research offered by Prajol Joshi (research expert). Daayitwa Nepal Public Administration Fellowship (DNPAF) 2021 is a part of Civil Society: Mutual Accountability Project (supported by the United States Agency for International Development- USAID and implemented by FHI 360). The fellowship programme will engage the fellows in evidence-based policymaking and inclusive municipal governance through three-month placements.