This past Friday (October 21st) the Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC), in collaboration with the Slovenian Ministry of Defence, successfully organised a refresher course for civil experts on the topic of Stabilisation and Reconstruction at Grad Jable.
The goal of the course was to review and upgrade the knowledge of civilian experts on civil-military cooperation happening on Slovenian missions abroad.
All in all 35 civilian experts attended the Stabilisation and Reconstruction refresher course. Diverse lecturers, who have returned from international missions, shared their insights from the ground, including:
presenting the changes in the international arena such as the fallout of the Afghanistan retreat;
the current work of Slovenians on international missions and operations like the cooperation in the Western Balkans;
past work done for KFOR;
many more topics and future post openings.
Afterwards, the civilian experts were engaged in a lively debate with the presenting experts, mainly wanting to know more about new developments from international missions and highlighting the importance of civilian experts on missions. The knowledge and experience shared during the course will hopefully contribute to future mission success.
Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC) would like to thank the Slovenian Ministry of Defence for their input and collaboration on this course.
Communication is essential for the well-being of all. Great communication leads to good cooperation. That is why EUSAIR Communication Academy was launched in 2022. Good cooperation between the EUSAIR Facility Point Lead Partner and the Centre for European Perspective led to this new project.
EUSAIR Communication Academy aims to equip stakeholders with communication knowledge, skills, and tools to enable them to fulfil the mission of EUSAIR to promote together economic and social prosperity and growth of the Adriatic and Ionian Region, focusing on sustainable tourism, environment quality, connecting the region and blue growth. Stakeholders, from government communicators and key implementers to young participants, must have great theoretical and practical knowledge of internal and external communication to develop cooperation and address common challenges through a holistic approach.
To continue and finalise our capacity building program Modul III of EUSAIR Communication Academy will take place from 24 to 28 October in Bled. There will be 40 young participants joining us first three days and 30 government communicators and key implementers last three days. Participants will learn from practical experiences in the third module using the knowledge acquired in the previous two modules, meet great experts, and expand their network. They will attend several workshops and trainings. Participants will gain knowledge about the importance of consistent messaging, enhance rhetorical skills, and discover different tools for better (digital) communication. They will also gain knowledge in digital campaign development and digital communication trends.
EUSAIR (EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region) is a Macro-regional Strategy joining 10 countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, San Marino, Serbia, and Slovenia) striving to find solutions for common challenges in the common sea basins and its hinterlands.
Centre for European Perspective (CEP) together with the Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC) presents
Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT) 2022: Aftermovie.
Take a look at what 18 participants from different police and gendarmerie institutions across Europe have been up to during our HEAT course in Gotenica, Slovenia. Green forests and pristine nature provided an almost idylic backdrop for both theoretical and practical exercises where the trainees under a professional expert guidance honed their skills in orienteering, evacuation planing, 4×4 driving, negotiating, stress management and so much more.
Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC), in collaboration with the Slovenian Ministry of Defence, will organize a refresher course for civil experts on the topic of Stabilisation and Reconstruction at Grad Jable on Friday, October 21st.
The goal of the course is to review and upgrade the knowledge of civilian experts on civil-military cooperation.
The whole-day course will cover diverse topics, including but not limited to:
familiarisation with the changed international situation;
the current work of Slovenian personnel on international missions and operations (MOM);
Slovenia’s vision in regard to participation in international missions and operations (MOM)
the basic working principles of international missions and operations (MOM) such as cooperation with representatives of different cultures, technical knowledge, personal safety, etc.
In the course, 6 civilian experts will share their knowledge from recent mission experience, followed by a debate and a Q&A section.
The Serbian police are integrating more and more of their police directorates into the new patrol management system to improve the safety of people and police officers and to provide the best possible service to the citizens. It is a system that pays particular attention to strengthening its role in saving lives. The capacity of patrol management in Serbia is increasing with the expansion of the system, bringing its functioning closer to EU standards. Currently, 14 out of 27 police directorates in the Republic of Serbia are already included in the system. Organizational units of the Border Police Directorate of the Republic of Serbia on these territories are also already part of the system. In developing and implementing the patrol management system, the Serbian Police are working with the Slovenian Police, which provides support through the international development assistance of the Republic of Slovenia.
Thus, the second workshop this year was held in Serbia from 26 to 29 September 2022 for the integration of 4 additional police directorates into the patrol management system. The workshops were organized for senior representatives of police directorates and organizational units of police directorates in the areas of Kragujevac, Leskovac, Smederevo, and Jagodina. Representatives of the Border Police Administration also participated in the workshops.
During the workshops, a Slovenian-Serbian mixed team of experts presented the management of patrols under the new system, shared experiences on its use and benefits with future users, and assisted in practical training.
Future users have recognized the benefits of the patrol management system: easier and more transparent organization of work, more effective communication, and more effective responsiveness to people’s needs. They particularly stressed the security aspect of police officers in the field, who put their lives and health at risk daily in the interest of public peace and order. The new patrol management system provides them with reliable communication and faster and more comprehensive information for their work in the field so that they can react optimally and appropriately to calls and incidents and help each other more effectively in situations where they are exposed to increased threats.
The Republic of Slovenia, through international development assistance, represents an important partner in strengthening patrol management capacity in Serbia. In addition to being based on Slovenian expertise, the system also provides adequate guidance for progress towards EU security standards. With efforts to improve security in Serbia, the Serbian police are also contributing to greater security beyond its borders.
The project is part of the program activities of international development cooperation, financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior and the Police of the Republic of Slovenia.
On Wednesday, 28th September 2022, the Centre for European Perspective (CEP) in cooperation with the Polish Embassy organized a closed Panel discussion on Russian disinformation with Mr Piotr Skwieciniski, deputy director of the Department for public and cultural diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland. The event was organized for Slovene governmental representatives.
The attendees addressed Russian disinformation and how the Polish government counters it. They also touched upon various aspects of this phenomenon and discussed how to tackle it, the content of disinformation, its identification, and its scope. Mr Skwieciniski and Polish ambassador Mr Krzysztof Olendzki also presented concrete activities the Polish government uses as regards the issue.
During the lively discussion, Slovenian government representatives got valuable input on the Polish perspective on disinformation and ways to counter it. Disinformation is a very complex issue, and we can successfully tackle it only by addressing it unitedly.
The project is part of the program activities of international development cooperation, financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior and the Police of the Republic of Slovenia.