NCCCE held a staff retreat from the 23-27 August 2022 in Bwiam WCR to reflect on working processes and achievements collectively and to plan to implement its work plan. The retreat also offered the opportunity to review the progress of the NCCE Strategic Programme for 2015 – 2025. The purpose of the retreat was to enable the staff to take a step back from the day-to-day work of the institution to strategize, harmonize working processes and spend time to rejuvenate while building a solid team bond needed to achieve the Mandate and strategic objectives of the institution.

The Chairman of NCCE Alh, Sering Fye, in his welcoming remarks, lauded the timely nature of the retreat billing it as a valuable and timely opportunity for sharing insights and ideas on the progress in achieving the Mandate and strategic plan in anticipation of the transition of NCCE to a commission. He added that the “retreat provides an opportunity to discuss options for enhancing the efficiency, effectiveness and impact of the Council’s work to fulfil its constitutional mandate.”

For her part, Ms Maria Dacosta, an NCCE Council Member, in her opening remarks urge participants not to take the opportunity lightly describing the treat as a “rare but tremendous time for us to pool all of our thoughts and resources together to improve our institution”. She reiterated the purpose of the retreat and encouraged all to participate freely and actively and by so doing, participants would have the opportunity to socialize, and know each other better as meetings like the retreat those not happen often. According to Ms. Dacosta, although the approach to the retreat is friendly, it should ultimately lead to the achievement of its objectives.

The five day retreat was attended by staff and Council Members and punctuated by presentations on key policy documents, discussion and informal sessions. It also offered the participants to get to know each other better.

In her closing remarks, Ms Saffiatou Savage-Sidibeh, an NCCE Council Member commended staff for their energy and commitment and urged them to continue with the good work. She said, the renewed morale and vitality gained from the retreat should propel the staff to work together as a team and to deliver effectively.