Muscat: “Rafid”, the National Programme for Capacity Building in Urban Planning was launched here today with the overall objective of empowering Omani youth and grooming urban planning leaders capable of implementing the Urban Transformation Strategy, a pillar of Oman 2040 Vision.
The ceremony was held under the auspices of HH Sayyid Bilarab bin Haitham bin Tarik Al Said, and attended by Dr. Khalfan bin Said Al Shuaili, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, government officials and public and private sector representatives. An initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, Rafid seeks to hone the skills of employees of the State’s Administrative Apparatus in the field of urban planning through specialized programmes designed in partnership with Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona.
The program targets medium and senior urban planning leaders and empowers them in the fields of economic planning, urban innovation, smart cities, flexible governance, digital transformation, critical thinking, and community participation. The programme has two sections: the first is “Alpha” for senior and experienced leaders, and the second is “Beta”, which targets specialists and practitioners with moderate experience in the field of urban planning in the State’s Administrative Apparatus. Rafid provides a top of the range learning experience in the form of Blended Learning featuring live classroom sessions, video-based training courses, practical application, vocational guidance for individuals and groups and international study tours.
