And let me assure you, that as I know you are eager to catch your planes or some last minute shopping or sightseing before leaving for home, I will be brief. In sharing these experiences and discussing the challenges we have encouraged and inspired each other, and helped one other to overcome the sense of isolation we often feel in our daily work. Most of these expectations were met and probably more has happened. Our learning agenda was greatly enhanced from the examination of the five thematic areas, and we have understood the interconnectivity of these different and distinct areas of knowledge and how they impact on decentralization and local governance.
Decentralization embraces much more than the five themes.
Our challenge is to learn more and build on this knowledge in the way we formulate and manage programs. We have also learnt that there is a wealth of experience on decentralization in the Africa region and that through increased interaction we should network and share lessons and best practice. We would like to see more than regional conferences and meetings, greater recognition of African skills and more utilization of these skills nationally and between countries. Indeed the learning agenda must be defined and owned by African institutions, scholars and researchers. Firstly we would like to consolidate the proceedings of this meeting into a publication.