Sheffer in Beirut on local government mission

John B. Sheffer, II, director of the Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth at UB, has joined a three-person delegation charged with assessing the structure and needs of local government in Lebanon.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has sent the team to recommend a strategic plan for local governments in Lebanon as that nation-emerging from a devastating 16-year civil war-works to reinvigorate its democratic institutions.

"The strength of local governments in this post-war era will be a critical factor in the rebuilding of Lebanon," Sheffer said. "Successful municipal elections were held this year for the first time since 1963."

Organized by the Center for Legislative Development at the University at Albany, the two-week mission to Lebanon is a part of a multi-year effort by the center to pursue democratic development activities in that nation. The team, including Abdo I. Baaklini, director of the center, and James P. Ketterer, the center's project manager for the program, will work with local officials and the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs in Lebanon. The team will return to the United States the weekend before Thanksgiving and draft its assessment and recommendations during December.