German-Tunisian leadership programme to strengthen food safety BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment at the kick-off workshop of the leadership programme in Tunis
What it's about:
“Strengthening food safety and consumer health protection in Tunisia” – this is the motto of the German-Tunisian partnership between the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment), the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVLshort forGerman Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety) and the Tunisian Ministry of Health. The focus is on the establishment and expansion of effective official structures for risk assessment, management and communication following the entry into force of the new Tunisian food safety law in 2021. The objectives are the strategic and sustainable restructuring of the Tunisian authorities in the field of food safety and the development of the skills of their specialists and managers. As a result, the leadership programme “Governance and Food Safety” was developed by BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, the Tunisian Ministry of Health and the National School of Administration in Tunisia in order to train Tunisian managers in the field of food safety and promote networking between the participating ministries. The leadership programme was officially launched in Tunis on 27 November 2024.
Representatives of the Tunisian Ministry of Health, the Tunisian National School of Administration “École Nationale d'Administration” (ENA), the German embassy in Tunis and the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment took part in the opening ceremony of the leadership programme.
After introductory remarks by Rym Jlassi (Director General of the International Academy for Good Governance), Dr Mohamed Rabhi (Director General of the Tunisian Food Safety Authority), Jacqueline Groth (Head of German-Tunisian Cooperation at the German Embassy in Tunis) and Dr Nicole Gollnick (Head of the International Affairs Unit at the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment), ENA and the leadership programme were presented.
A total of 30 managers from the public sector were selected in a multi-stage selection process. The participants come from eight different Tunisian ministries, namely the Ministries of Health, Agriculture, Trade, Finance, Environment, Industry, Interior and Tourism.
Over a period of 29 weeks, the training units are completed on site two days a week on the ENA campus in Tunis and in the greater Tunis region. The programme comprises a total of four modules: the basics of food safety, the national and international legal framework for food safety, food safety-related risks and the characteristics of food chains in Tunisia. Using an integrative approach, all modules also teach relevant skills in the areas of communication, leadership and project management. International and Tunisian experts will lead the training units.
Since 2021, the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment has been working with the BVLshort forGerman Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety and the Tunisian Ministry of Health in the project “Strengthening food safety and consumer health protection in Tunisia” to improve national structures for food safety and consumer health protection in the North African country, e.g. through staff training, policy and organisational advice, train-the-trainer programmes and management training.
The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment communication is also available in External Link:French and External Link:Arabic.
About the BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment
The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment) is a scientifically independent institution within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMELshort forGerman Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture) in Germany. The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment advises the Federal Government and the States (‘Laender’) on questions of food, chemicals and product safety. The BfRshort forGerman Federal Institute for Risk Assessment conducts independent research on topics that are closely linked to its assessment tasks.
This text version is a translation of the original German text which is the only legally binding version.