27. 6. 2019 | PR, U-LEAD: with Europe
The Centre for European Perspective has again hosted the U-LEAD with Europe International Study Visit of Ukrainian Local officials in Slovenia. The event begun on Monday, 23rd of June at Jable Castle and ended on the 27th of June with a closing ceremony in Maribor.
The main topic of the visit was “Improving Institutional Capacity Development Measures of Ukrainian Local-self-government (LSG) Associations”, which is an important step towards ensuring a quick and successful decentralization process in Ukraine.
There were 15 local officials from Ukraine, who took part in the study visit, coming from different spheres – from Project coordinators, Advisors on regional development, Experts of strategic planning from Ministry of Regional Development, Construction and Communal Services, Heads of amalgamated hromadas to the Head of regional development centre from Chernivtsi region.
The first day started by welcome speeches from the CEP Executive Director Katja Geršak and CEP Administrative Director Andrej Vrčon, followed Andreja Purkart Martinez, Head of Sector, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Slovenia, who gave an insight into general work Ministry does with Ukraine and the region. The participants were also greeted by Andrii Borodenkov, from the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Slovenia, who introduced the participants to Slovenia, spoke about doing business here and the topics the Embassy handles in general. Later on, Meliha Muherina, Project Manager at CEP, followed the introductory remarks with an overview of the agenda for the following days.
The first lecture of the day was given by Mr. Robert Drobnič, discussing the topic of Regional Development Planning. He focused on planning of regional development, implementation of national programs and implementation of EU programs. The second lecture was given by Dr. Roman Lavtar, who focused on the system of local self-government in Slovenia. The third and last lecture of the day was given by Dr. Vladimir Prebilič, representative of the Association of Municipalities of Slovenia (ZOS – Združenje občin Slovenije) and Mayor of Kočevje, who gave an insightful lecture on the financing of municipalities, project management in municipalities, the work of ZOS and the important role of ZOS in relation between the state and municipalities.
In the following days, the participants met the Deputy Mayor of Bled, Mr Jaka Bassanese, who spoke about the municipality, the development of tourism in Bled and the projects the municipality is currently undertaking. In Bohinj, they learned more about the development of mountainous regions and the strategy of development of culture in municipality.
On Wednesday, the participants met Mr Matej Ogrin from CIPRA Slovenija, who presented the work of CIPRA and Alpine Convention. The main goal of the organization is protection of the Alps at national government level and working bottom-up by supporting towns, villages and civil society initiatives in their efforts to realise the objectives of sustainable development of the Alpine region. Later, they visited the municipality of Podčetrtek, where they met with Mr Bostjan Misja, the director of Visit Podčetrtek, who talked about the successful development of Podčetrtek from a rural municipality into a municipality, known for its biggest wellness centre in Slovenia – Terme Olimia.
On Thursday, the participants met Ms Saša Kek, a representative of Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia (SOS – Skupnost občin Slovenije), who spoke about the work of SOS, their national and international activities and issues they are facing, which sparked a lively debate amongst the participants. The day ended with the closing ceremony in Maribor.
The U-LEAD with Europe study visits are taking place in the framework of the multi-donor action U-LEAD established by the European Union and its Member States Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Poland and Sweden. They aim at contributing to the establishment of multilevel governance that is transparent, accountable and responsive to the needs of the population of Ukraine. U-LEAD with Europe is supporting the Ukrainian Government, represented by the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine (MinRegion) as a key political partner in the coordination and implementation of the decentralization and regional policy reforms. The Program carries out demand-driven and targeted trainings for officials at the national, regional and local level.
27. 6. 2019 | Albania - Election, Development (ODA), PR
Click here to read more about the project in Slovenian language. 
Within the framework of the international development project “Strengthening the transparency of the electoral bodies – exchange of experiences between Slovenia and Albania 2019-20”, the activity of monitoring of the integration of good practices in the conduct of local elections in Albania will be carried out on Sunday, 30 June 2019, the day of local elections in Albania.
CEP experts will, in cooperation with local partners, monitor the implementation of the observation of domestic election observers and Albanian NGOs involved in the project, based on recommendations developed within the March workshop.
The project is financed from the funds for international development cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia.
26. 6. 2019 | European Digital Diplomacy Exchange, PR
The Centre for European Perspective, together with the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Embassies in Greece and North Macedonia, co-hosted a workshop entitled “Empowering Journalists to Address Disinformation in Greece & North Macedonia” in Thessaloniki, from 24 – 26 June 2019.
Developments in the last few years have transformed the communications landscape, raising questions about the quality, impact and credibility of journalism. At the same time, agents of disinformation are using anonymous online spaces to seed rumors and false content aiming to reach professional news outlets and multiply their effect. How can journalists protect themselves from being manipulated?
The workshop gathered 40 journalists from Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA), North Macedonia’s Media and Information Agency (MIA), private media outlets, as well as academics and representatives from civil society to discuss how to address the disinformation challenges faced by both countries and multisector approaches to combating it.
The project is a result of a joint cooperation between the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Embassies in Greece and North Macedonia, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), along with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA), and the Centre for European Perspective.
24. 6. 2019 | PR, U-LEAD: with Europe
Centre for European Perspective is hosting its 8th International Study Visit in Slovenia. The event begun on Monday, 24th of June at Jable Castle and will continue throughout the week.
The topic of the visit is “Improving Institutional Capacity Development Measures of Ukrainian Local-self-government (LSG) Associations”. Among the key players in the capacity development process arena with regard to local self-government reform are Ukrainian LSG associations such as Ukrainian Association of Rayon and Oblast Councils (UAROR), All-Ukraine Association of Village and Settlement Councils (VASSR), Association of Amalgamated Territorial Communities (AATC) and Association of Ukrainian Cities (AUC) which undertake initiatives in raising awareness of their members and local self-government officials on various decentralization-related topics. However, the resources and capabilities of the mentioned associations in terms of durable capacity development measures to be provided for LSG bodies need to be enhanced. The Ukrainian LSG association experience a shortage of EU practices in organisation of on-going capacity development measures towards the Amalgated Hromadas (AHs). The lack of coordinated mechanisms to identify and prioritise intervention measures for the stakeholders at both regional and sub-regional levels as well as poor practical experience in identification of their needs may lead to inefficient and, at times, overlapping efforts while designing and implementing interventions for AHs. The role of each of the associations in the course of the decentralisation and post-decentralisation period is to be clearly understood with the help of additional insights and practical examples especially from the EU associations such as, for example, the Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia – Skupnost občin Slovenije (SOS) and the Association of Municipalities of Slovenia – Združenje občin Slovenije (ZOS).
There are currently 15 local officials from Ukraine taking part in the study visit. Participants are coming from different spheres, ranging from Project coordinators, Advisors on regional development, Experts of strategic planning from Ministry of Regional Development, Construction and Communal Services, Heads of amalgamated hromadas to the Head of regional development centre from Chernivtsi region.
The event was open by Katja Geršak, Director, CEP and Andrej Vrčon, Administrative Director, CEP, who warmly welcomed the participants at Jable Castle, and gave an overview of its work. Opening remarks were given by Andreja Purkart Martinez, Head of Sector, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Slovenia, who gave an insight into general work Ministry does with Ukraine and the region. Finally, welcome speech was given by Andrii Borodenkov, Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Slovenia, who introduced the participants to Slovenia, doing business there and the topics handled in general. Meliha Muherina, Project Manager at CEP, followed their introductory remarks with an overview of the agenda for the following days and answered all the questions participants had.
First lecture of the day was given by Dr Robert Drobnič, discussing the topic of Regional Development Planning. He focused on planning regional development, implementation of national programs, implementation of EU programs and development of mountain areas.
Second lecture of the day was given by Dr. Roman Lavtar, who focused on System of Local Self-Government, political and territorial structure of Slovenian government and organization, tasks and financing of local communities.
Finally, participants were greeted by Dr. Vladimir Prebilič, Mayor of Kočevje and Representative of Association of Municipalities of Slovenia, who presented some selected projects for growth and Public Procurement of Association of Municipalities.
The visit is taking place in the framework of the multi-donor action U-LEAD established by the European Union and its Member States Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Poland and Sweden. It aims at contributing to the establishment of multilevel governance that is transparent, accountable and responsive to the needs of the population of Ukraine. U-LEAD with Europe is supporting the Ukrainian Government, represented by the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine (MinRegion) as a key political partner in the coordination and implementation of the decentralization and regional policy reforms. The Program carries out demand-driven and targeted trainings for officials at the national, regional and local level.
23. 6. 2019 | European Digital Diplomacy Exchange, PR
Click here to read more about the project in Slovenian language.
Bohinj and Bled were the settings of the European Digital Diplomacy training this week, bringing together government communicators from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. The event was prepared as a joint effort between the U.S. Department of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia within the framework of the Official Development Cooperation, the U.S. Embassy in Slovenia and Centre for European Perspective. Activities of the three-day training enforced the participants to join forces, ideas, and best practices to bridge challenges in the field and build a strong network for the future of the project.
On Wednesday morning, the participants were addressed by CEP Executive Director Katja Geršak, Public Affairs Officer Jean B. Leedy from the U.S. Embassy in Slovenia and Miriam Možgan, Head of Public Relations Office within the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The training was then set off by Matt Jacobs from the U.S. Department of State and Centre for European Perspective’s very own Project Coordinator Ingrid Omahna, who have been supporting and coordinating the project from the very beginning.
The first day of the training was devoted to a series of discussions, workshops, and lectures that covered the communication sphere of governmental institutions and the ever-growing threat of misinformation/disinformation. The digital revolution has yielded a unique opportunity for individuals and communities alike to stay informed and engage within their audiences. At the same time, digital innovation is proving the importance of communication activities governments and other state institutions have to undertake in order to build on the engagement of their communities. Digital platforms, social media and other methods of digital data transmission, therefore open the door to transparent and more effective politics with engaging policies that can more closely listen to the needs of communities affected by them.
The sharing of ideas and best practices among peers working at the same capacities have always been in the heart of the overall EDDE project, so to better address the challenges that occur in their profession. Being no different for the training in Bohinj, the afternoon of the first day continued with a presentation of successful digital campaigns. Jane Lazevski working as a Special Adviser to the Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia presented a successful digital campaign from North Macedonia meanwhile Nataša Adlešič Barba working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia presented the most recent Slovenian successful digital campaigns within the scope of Official Development Cooperation. The participants were also engaged in a lecture on how to address disinformation so to preserve information integrity. The debate based on the participant’s experiences and challenges continued within a Night Owl Session on identification and responses to misinformation.
The second day of the training moved the participants to the ambient of Lake Bled, where the event was hosted by the IEDC Bled School of Management. Participants were divided into two smaller groups who sequentially cooperated in interactive lectures. The first pair of workshops covered Photography training (led by the experienced journalist Uroš Hočevar) and Infographic and Design Training (led by Ingrid Omahna). Both of the workshops covered practical aspects and skills, which can help public officers build on better and more effective visual material for their campaigns and digital efforts. The afternoon session engaged participants in a discussion on analytics (prepared by Paolo Ganino working at the European External Action Service) and Matt Jacobs on the topic of social listening. Both the presentations covered many useful aspects on how to better engage with their audiences and secure digital campaigns that more effectively resonate within communities. The evening program continued in Bohinj, where the participants once more engaged in a Night Owl Session, this time on the topic of Policy as Lifestyle.
All of the lectures, infographic and design training, debates, photography training, exchange of experiences and best practices were brought to a practical test on Friday, when the participants were faced with a digital challenge. A hands-on simulation based on a descriptive storyline challenged the groups of participants to prepare a specific digital campaign for their imaginary country Frakya. All of the groups were innovative and successful in their efforts to build visually appealing campaigns and content with creative solutions for the task in question. The evening continued with closing remarks and a certificate ceremony.
