APAP did an evaluation of its overall performance of the year 2007 at a one-and-a-half-day meeting held at Adama (Nazareth), at the Rift Valley Hotel, on January 18-19, 2008. Present on the occasion were three members of APAP’s Board of Directors and staffs.

The meeting was officially opened by Woiz. Kidist Alemu, APAP’s Executive Director.

In her short opening speech, Woiz. Kidist noted that APAP had been objectively evaluating its annual performance ever since the year 1998, and that doing so has greatly helped it build on its previous good practices and draw valuable lessons even from its “failures.” “We have once again called this meeting in the belief that everyone will actively participate by airing his or her view on APAP’s performance during the past twelve months. The organization’s main purpose of holding such a meeting is to find better ways of fulfilling the duties and responsibilities entrusted to it. That, of course, requires everyone’s contribution. I, therefore, call on each one of you to actively participate,” said the Executive Director.

Subsequent to the Executive Director’s opening remark, the Coordinators of the three Programs that APAP is currently implementing and the Head of the Administration and Financial Section presented the highlights of their respective performance reports. Accordingly, the first report was presented by the Coordinator of the Educational and Mobilization Program, the second by the Coordinator of the Research and Publications Program, and the third by the Coordinator of the Policy Work, Legislative Advocacy and Litigation Program. As disclosed earlier, reports were also presented on the administrative and finance-related activities that APAP undertook during the year under review as well as on its other activities. The reports centered on APAP’s achievements and on the challenges that it had faced during the year, as well as on the measures it took to overcome them (the challenges).

With regard to projects, too, the following reports were presented by the responsible staffs of APAP:

• The Project on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Project on Orphans and Venerable Children (OVC)—both of which are being financed by Save the Children-Sweden;
• The Project that is aimed at improving the working situation of workers in the informal sector—which is being financed by Pact Ethiopia; and
• The Project on Access to Justice—which is being implemented in Dire Dawa with financial support from ActionAid-Ethiopia.

Following these presentations, an open discussion was held on the various points raised by the presenters, based on the indicators set for evaluating the organization’s performance. At the end of the discussion, nevertheless, the participants were able to reach a consensus about the following points:

• Compared with its performance of any of the previous years, its (APAP’s) performance during the year under review was almost to plan;
• APAP was able to utilize more than the approved budget;
• Various systems were developed and put in place, with a view to enabling APAP to accomplish its mission and implement its programs more effectively ;
• The organization was, more or less, adequately staffed, for its earlier understaffing had been identified as being one of the underlying causes for its failure to perform to plan; and
• A system has been developed and put in place, whereby individuals, as opposed to teams and groupings, will be held accountable for their actions.

Accordingly, APAP was told to keep up the good work and strive even for a better performance. As one of the members of the Board of Directors put it, “we have no doubt whatsoever that the evaluation of your performance a year from now will kindle twinkles in our eyes.”