In the framework and strategy document for building the community reviewed in preceding sections, SADC sees regional integration as dependent on a strong commitment on the part of national governments. In addition the document stresses the need to facilitate popular participation in the process. It places emphasis on the need to create conditions for attracting contributions from all sections of society, society, beyond government ministers and officials. Efforts must be deployed to encourage the participation of the business and private sector, professional bodies, private education a)1d training institutions, sporting and cultural organizations, churches and nongovernmental organizations. This principle should constitute the core of the strategy of the SCUs in the implementation of the treaty. The following recommendations are made with specific reference to the Human Resources Development Sector Coordinating Unit:

• There is need for more opportunities to broaden the level of participation in the various organs created, or being established, for the implementation of protocol. This should include a review of the terms of reference and working procedures of the policy and technical structures. The purpose of the review will be to facilitate the widening of the participation as a permanent feature of the protocol process. Decisions in the Council of Ministers and the sectoral committees of officials and ministers need to be more regularly informed by views of organizations outside government systems.

• Guidelines and and criteria for membership of regional and national technical committees may need tobe reviewed to ensure that the membership is more comprehensive, diversified and more broadly representative. Participation in regional technical workshops, meetings and similar exercises should also be guided by this consideration. Participants in the Lusaka workshop were overwhelmingly from government and related institutions. There were only two representatives of non-governmental organizations. There were none from the private sector.

• At least in the initial stages of the implementation of the protocol, country level activities should be viewed as a joint responsibility of the country concerned and the Sector Coordinating Unit This is to-say that there is need for constant policy and technical guidance from the SCU to ensure that outputs from country activities are of the level of quality required to advance the regional agenda.

• As new programmes and activities in the various areas of cooperation are agreed, their implementation and coordination should be decentralised toinstitutions and organizations around the region.The selection of institutions should include both public and private sector institutions. NGOs and civil society organizations should also be offered opportunities to serve as implementing agencies for the SCU. The latter will then have the space and time it needs to provide policy guidance and to mobilise resources for the programmes.

• The SCU should prepare a comprehensive and diversified roster of specialists and advisers from around the region whom it can call upon for assistance in certain tasks.

• The fonnat of the Consultative Conference mayneed to be reviewed to allow for more in-depth and wider interaction on the state of education and training in the region and the way forward. At the moment the sectoral consultations seem to be an occasion more for interaction between the SCU and donor agencies with regard to projects listed in the conference document.

• SADC could institute the idea of a SADC conference on education and training every two to five years. The launch of the protocol seems to be a good occasion to plan one such conference. The conference could be staged along the lines of the Southern African International Economic Dialogue series. The conference would need to be systematically and well organised, and based on the principle of wide participation. Its conclusions would then provide points of reference for the work of the SADC Secretariat, member states and cooperating agencies and the SCU. Development agencies would find it appropriate to support the organization of such a conference.