3. 6. 2024 | North Macedonia - Nursing and Midwifery, PR, Regional cooperation, Slovenian Development Assistance
Novico v slovenskem jeziku najdete tu.
Ljubljana, Slovenia, 3 June 2024 – We are proud to announce the official launch of the project “Advancing nursing and midwifery education and establishing the system for the recognition of professional qualifications in the Republic of North Macedonia (2024–2025)”, aimed at supporting and advancing nursing and midwifery education in North Macedonia. The project, supported by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and co-financed by the Ministry of Health of North Macedonia, was succesfully launched today, before the commencement of a three-day study visit in Slovenia.
Distinguished speakers Mr Denis Kordež, State Secretary at the Ministry of Health, Ms Eva Dajčman Šterk, Head Division for Human Resources in Health at the Ministry of Health, Dr Pia Vračko, representative of the WHO Country Office in North Macedonia, Ms Elena Ristoska, representative of the Ministry of Health of North Macedonia, Ms Monika Ažman, President of the Nurses & Midwives Association of Slovenia and Ms Jelka Klemenc, Head of Development Cooperation at the Centre for European Perspective, contributed to the official launch of the project, which will run until 31 December 2025.
Distinguished speakers opening the event highlighted the importance of cooperation of various stakeholders and thanked representatives from North Macedonia for their engagement, the Centre for European Perspective for the support in officially launching and running the project and the Nurses and Midwives Association of Slovenia for their expert support. Speakers also highlighted the support of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia and the Ministry of Health of North Macedonia for the project.
Mr Denis Kordež, State Secretary at the Ministry of Health, who welcomed the Macedonian delegation to Slovenia, emphasized the importance of collaboration, stating, “Close and coherent cooperation between the various stakeholders in the health and education system to address nursing and midwifery education and to establish a system of recognizing professional qualifications in North Macedonia is crucial. We hope you will be able to learn from Slovenia and its practices and avoid the mistakes we made.”
“We are happy and proud of the project of international cooperation with the Republic of North Macedonia, within the framework of which we will advise Macedonian professional colleagues in the establishment of vertical education for nurses with an emphasis on the first and second Bologna level and in the preparation of the necessary tools and starting points for independent regulation of professions in nursing and midwifery. The established cooperation proves that the Nurses and Midwives Association, which takes care of the development of the health and midwifery profession and strives for its autonomy, has international recognition and validity. We want recognition of the autonomy of the profession at home as well,” said Monika Ažman, President of the Nurses and Midwives of Slovenia – the Association of Professional Associations of Nurses, Midwives and Medical Technicians of Slovenia.
Ms Elena Ristoska, a Representative from the Ministry of Health of North Macedonia, thanked the initiative of NMA and the work of CEP and acknowledged the urgency of the task ahead for North Macedonia: “A similar path to Slovenian awaits us, but we only have a year to do it.”
Dr Pia Vračko from the WHO Office in North Macedonia stressed the importance of unwavering dedication and teamwork: “Slovenia has always supported EU integration of the Western Balkans, and now we also cooperate in the field of health. We hope there will be more projects like this between North Macedonia and Slovenia, as without collaboration, this project will not be a success. This is why it is crucial to have representatives of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education together here. It is difficult to implement change, and we will have to be one team and act together. Never and never give up – this will bring us to a successful conclusion, and we won’t end until we achieve the goal.” Dr Vračko reiterated the gratitude of all involved stakehoders for the opportunity to bring this project idea to fruition and thanked CEP for responding to the request to take charge of the preparation and to facilitate implementation of this endeavour.
Ms Jelka Klemenc emphasised that CEP is privileged to have a part in this endeavour and will be able to utilise its vas experience both feom working in the same target country and also from implementating complex multi-stakeholder processes.
During the study visit, the Macedonian delegation will gain further insights into the work of the Nurses and Midwives Association of Slovenia and Slovenian and EU legislation on nursing, as well as the educational frameworks for nurses and midwives and their professional development. The study visit will include visits to the Angela Boškin Faculty of Health Care in Jesenice, where the representatives will learn more about the development process of the Angela Boškin Faculty of Healthcare and the building of quality nursing and midwifery education. Following will be the visit to Jesenice General Hospital, where the delegation will observe the nursing educational process in practice. On Wednesday, the agenda will focus on presenting the roles of nurses and midwives in primary health care at the Health Promotion Center in Ljubljana. The visit will conclude with discussions outlining the next steps and actions to be taken upon return to NMK (led by the Project Secretariat at the Ministry of Health NMK) and group discussions on the potential application of Slovenian models to the NMK primary healthcare context.
Check out the photos in the Flickr gallery below:
Project is implemented with the support of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia through the International Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Programme and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of North Macedonia.
29. 5. 2024 | PR, Transformative Power of Digital
How to improve Europe’s competitiveness through transatlantic relations?
This was the guiding question for a discussion we co-organised with the Atlantic Council in Warshaw on 29 May 2024. This was one of the discussions organized as part of the series promoting our recently launched publication Improving Europe’s Competitiveness – Role of Open Markets, Emerging Technologies, and Strategic Alliances.
The topic of increasing the EU’s competitiveness is a hot topic nowadays, especially in the period before the EU elections. At the discussion, the speakers focused on the obstacles and opportunities ahead of the EU Commission’s and parliament’s next mandate for increasing the EU’s competitiveness, especially related to new technologies and transatlantic partnership.
Continued and strong transatlantic cooperation is vital, especially for CEE countries, from two perspectives: geopolitical and practical. Strong transatlantic partnership can help, especially, smaller CEE countries that do not have the capacities for the economies of scale to catch up with the rest of EU countries.
All European countries are small compared to other countries, making the EU single market and its further integration the engine of its competitiveness. But while fragmentation of the European market decelerates scaling up, it does have positive consequences for consumers as it contributes to larger internal competition.
One of the primary missions of the next mandate should be to implement all the newly adopted regulations. This is especially vital for SMEs – the pockets of competitiveness in CEE countries. It should be noted that regulation is not the same as a restriction; regulation is also clarity and stability.
To be able to fully tap into the potential of AI and other new technologies, we need a robust data strategy if we wish to be competitive in the field. Additionally, one of the main issues that can spur competitiveness and growth is mobilisation of public and private investments.
This was discussed by
- Mr. Aleksander Siemaszko, Deputy Director, Department for International Trade and Cooperation, Ministry of Development and Technology of the Republic of Poland
- Amb. Tadej Rupel, National Coordinator for External Aspects of Digitalization, AI & Cyber Security, Republic of Slovenia
- Ms. Eglė Markevičiūtė, Head of Digital & Innovation Policy, Consumer Choice Center of Lithuania
- Mr. Marcin Nowacki, Vice President of the Board, Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers (ZPP)
The discussion was moderated by Mr. Aaron Korewa, Director, Warsaw Office, Europe Center, Atlantic Council
Many thanks to the Atlantic Council for this fruitful cooperation!
22. 4. 2024 | PR, Regional cooperation, Serbia - management of patrols, Slovenian Development Assistance
Last week we hosted a study visit of the delegation from the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia in the scope of the ‘Strengthening of Patrol Management Capacities’ project. During the visit, colleagues from Serbia heard more about the Slovenian system of patrol management, technical management of the 112 & 113 system, and patrol management in Slovenia’s border regions with support from colleagues from the Slovenian Police. In the scope of the visit, the Serbian delegation visited the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Slovenia and the General Police Directorate, where Slovenian and Serbian colleagues discussed the successful cooperation in patrol management.
On the second and third days of the study visit, the Serbian delegation visited the Police Directorate Maribor, the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief – branch in Podravje and the Police Directorate Novo mesto, where they more the process of establishing an efficient patrol management system in Slovenia.
On the last day, the study visit focused on the planning of further activities within the patrol management system in Serbia, which will take place this year.
Activities are part of Slovenian development cooperation, financed by the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and implemented in cooperation with the Slovenian Ministry of Interior and Slovenian police.
16. 4. 2024 | PR, Transformative Power of Digital
It’s been a week since CEP, in collaboration with the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE), hosted a discussion in Brussels focusing on improving the EU’s competitiveness. During this event, we officially unveiled our latest publication titled: “Improving Europe’s Competitiveness: Role of Open Markets, Emerging Technologies, and Strategic Alliances”.
At the discussion the speakers engaged in an in-depth discussion on improving the EU’s competitiveness, covering various aspects of the topic. Among the things they discussed was the consideration of adjustments needed to the EU AI Act, while acknowledging the complexities of negotiating regulations for swiftly evolving technologies at the EU level. In this context, they grappled with the challenge of striking a balance between regulations for protection and flexible frameworks to stimulate innovation.
They underscored the need for further integration of the EU’s Single Market as the engine for improving EU’s competitiveness. They emphasized the importance of fostering transatlantic cooperation and collaborating with like-minded partners to bolster the EU’s standing in the global arena. They also explored strategies for tapping into the digital transformation potential of the CEE region, recognizing it as a valuable opportunity for enhancing competitiveness.
Many thanks again to the speakers for and engaging and insightful discussion!
- Matthias Bauer, Director, European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE)
- David Brozina, Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Representation of Slovenia to the EU
- Guido Lobrano, Senior Vice President of Policy, Director General for Europe, The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)
- Karen Massin, Head Government Affairs and Public Policy – EU Institutions, Google
- Alexandre Roure, Head of Policy and Deputy Head of Office, CCIA Europe
For more on the topic, make sure to read the latest CEP publication here.
12. 4. 2024 | PR, Regional cooperation, Slovenian Development Assistance, Strategic Communication, Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in 6 Western Balkans Countries
The final act of the ‘Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in the Western Balkans’ project unfolded as a comprehensive three-day regional training held online from April 9 to April 11, 2024. This event served as a platform for civil society, media, and government representatives from the six Western Balkan countries to collaborate on addressing and combating the extensive issue of disinformation in the region.
The conference began with an address by Ingrid Omahna (CEP), setting the stage for subsequent discussions. After that, on the first day, we had experts from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Global Engagement Centre (GEC) and European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) with us. Craig Matasick (OECD) emphasised the importance of robust governance measures and institutional frameworks in safeguarding the information space’s integrity; Iva Nenadić (EDMO) talked about actionable insights for combating disinformation, and experts from GEC presented a Framework to Counter Foreign State Information Manipulation, new tool addressing the challenge of disinformation.
On the second day, the focus was on best practices to counter disinformation. The Elves, a Lithuanian civil society initiative, joined us, presenting the perspective of non-governmental organisations on disinformation. The governmental viewpoint was discussed by the Czech Centre against Hybrid Threats. The media’s perspective was discussed with Joscha Weber from Deutsche Welle. He highlighted the media’s role and the importance of responsible journalism in countering disinformation effectively. The program offered a comprehensive understanding of disinformation from diverse stakeholder perspectives. On the final day, they showcased case studies from Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, addressing different aspects of disinformation. They revealed distinct challenges and strategies.
The group work sessions were a pivotal aspect of the training, providing attendees with the opportunity to engage in collaborative discussions and exchange ideas. These interactive sessions were not just about preparing national proposals to counter external disinformation but also about recognising the crucial role of each participant in this process.
Overall, the regional training was not just a platform for collaboration and knowledge sharing but also a source of empowerment. Led by leading experts in the field, it equipped participants with practical tools, methodologies, and best practices to address the multifaceted challenge of disinformation effectively.
The Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Disinformation in the Western Balkans is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia through development cooperation funds.
4. 4. 2024 | Decentralisation, Economic development, local self-government, PR, Regional cooperation, Slovenian Development Assistance, U-LEAD: with Europe, Ukraine, Waste management
Več o aktivnostih v slovenskem jeziku najdete tukaj.
This sunny Thursday, the municipality of Idrija hosted the final event of the mentorship visit under the auspices of the project ‘Post-conflict reconstruction in Ukraine’.
The mentorship visit between Idrija and Pereschepinska focused on strengthening the heritage protection capacities of Pereschepinska hromada and the establishment of a waste management system in Pereschepinska and the sub-region. It took place from 20 March to 4 April 2024 and signals the end of the fourth mentorship visit between Slovenian and Ukrainian municipalities. Joining the mentorship in Idrija were Mr Iaroslav Tsvirkun, Mayor of Pereschepinska hromada and Ms Svitlana Bulava, Head of the Sector for Investments at Pereschepinska hromada. They were mentored by the municipality of Idrija mentor, Ms Lenka Grošelj and Mr Matevž Straus, Director of ID20 Institute.
Opening the Thursday final event at the castle Gewerkenegg in Idrija was Ms Jelka Klemenc, CEP Senior Advisor, who introduced the Slovenian Aid and Partnerships project and thanked both municipalities for the excellent work over the three weeks. Continuing was the Mayor of Idrija, Mr Tomaž Vencelj, who expressed strong support for the project and thanked the involved partners and experts, who aided the successful conclusion of the project. Mayor Vencelj also expressed the willingness for further cooperation between Idrija and Pereschepinska, signalling the openness for the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Idrija and Pereschepinska, where additional possible fields of cooperation could be expressed.
Speaking on behalf of the Pereschepinska mentees was the Mayor, Mr Iaroslav Tsvirkun, who thanked the municipality of Idrija and its mentors for excellent support and warm welcome, adding that their shared knowledge and willingness to help was crucial for the preparation of the project drafts. He also thanked all involved organisations, the organising team at CEP and the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs for their support. Continuing on, he presented the three weeks of mentorship and the two project drafts that were prepared during the mentorship visit. The drafts presented are a strong basis for the future cooperation between Idrija and Pereschepinska, especially in terms of natural and cultural heritage protection.
In the first week, mentees from Pereschepinska focused on building upon their knowledge of project management, project writing, and project funding with the help of CEP expert, Mr Klemen Srna.
The second week focused on heritage protection and waste management. Idrija, known for its excellent heritage protection and preservation projects, prepared a rich programme for mentees. It included site visits and presentations from Idrija ID20 Institute, Institute Dobra pot, Idrija Youth Centre, Šturmajce farm, Idrija Geopark, and Idrija Mercury Heritage Management Centre. Here, mentees learned more about heritage protection projects, UNESCO, funding possibilities, cooperation between the municipality and NGOs in the region, and more. Discussions with the municipality and Idrijsko-Cerkljanska Regional Development Agency highlighted possible energy efficiency projects connected to waste management and heritage protection. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the conversations and site visits turned to waste management and environment protection, with presentations on the Slovenian waste management system by CEP. Following was an important site visit to the Utility Company Idrija, where Idrija’s waste management system was presented in practice. On Wednesday, mentors and mentees visited RCERO Waste Management Centre Ljubljana, the biggest environmental project in Slovenia supported by the Cohesion Fund. It is the most modern facility for waste treatment in Europe and processes waste from more than a third of Slovenia.
The third week focused on the preparation of a project concept for the development of a heritage protection projects and waste management system in Pereschepinska municipality. Mentees were aided by CEP expert, Ms Slavka Zupan and Mr Matevž Straus and prepared a well-elaborated concept.
The mentorship concluded today with an internal debrief between CEP, mentors, and mentees, followed by a the closing event and the presentation of the mentorship results and projects drafts prepared during the mentorship visit. The plans will be elaborated and finalized during the project until its end in 2024, while initial activities have already begun during the mentorship visit in Idrija.
The Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs representative, Ms Mateja Urbanija, Ms Natalia Markevych Pritsa from the Embassy of Ukraine to Slovenia, Mr Lovro Klinar from the European Commission Representation in Slovenia. Media representatives, and representatives of organisations in Idrija involved in the activities joined the closing event.
The ‘Post-conflict reconstruction in Ukraine’ project is funded by the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs through the Slovenian Aid and Partnerships and implemented in partnership with ‘U-LEAD with Europe’. U-LEAD with Europe programme is a partnership of the Ukrainian government and the European Union, and its member states Germany, Poland, Denmark and Slovenia, to support the establishment of multi-level governance that is transparent, accountable and responsive to the needs of the population of Ukraine.
