First UA-SI mentorship visit begins at the Municipality of Domžale

First UA-SI mentorship visit begins at the Municipality of Domžale

9. 11. 2023 | PR, Regional cooperation, Slovenian Development Assistance, U-LEAD: with Europe

On November 7th, we began the first three-week mentorship visits under the auspices of the project ‘Post-conflict reconstruction in Ukraine’ at the municipality of Domžale.

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’ and aims to provide targeted transfer of knowledge and experience on the part of Slovenian municipalities and build the institutional capacities of Ukrainian municipalities, as well as establish arrangements for fostering cross-border partnerships between Slovenian and Ukrainian municipalities.

The first mentorship is taking place in the Slovenian municipality Domžale, which currently hosts two mentees from the Ukrainian municipality Hnivan. The programme of the mentorship is rich, encapsulating the needs mentioned by the Hnivan municipality (strengthening civil protection service at the municipality) as well as addressing topics crucial for further development of the municipality, such as project management, project writing and topics related to EU enlargement process on the local level. The municipality of Domžale, with its rich experience in civil protection, offers great knowledge not only through the presentation of good practices but also through site visits of stakeholders involved in the civil protection system of the municipality. Another expressed interest of Hnivan municipality was the waste management system of municipality Domžale, so the first site visit of the mentorship focused on the work of the central wastewater treatment plant Domžale-Kamnik, the history of the construction of the wastewater treatment plant, funding of the construction, as well as the upgrade of the plant, pointing out all the advantages for the people, region and environment.

In the next weeks, representatives of Hnivan hromada will learn more about project planning, preparation and management, project funding, civil protection and emergency preparedness and resilience building through interactive workshops and site visits.

Photos of the visit can be seen below:

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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, Sweden, Poland, Denmark, Estonia and Slovenia to support the establishment of multi-level governance that is transparent, accountable and responsive to the needs of the population of Ukraine.

In-Country Visits: Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia

In-Country Visits: Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia

3. 11. 2023 | PR, Regional cooperation, Strategic Communication, Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in 6 Western Balkans Countries

Novica v slovenščini je dostopna TUKAJ.

Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in the Western Balkans spent the last week on the road, visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

The tailor-made program for Bosnia and Herzegovina delivered some twenty participants from different sectors of the country discussions on the most relevant issues for Bosnia and Herzegovina when it comes to countering foreign perpetrated disinformation: how to define and regulate such phenomenon, how to address it in a country that has a complex state structure, what role it will play in the EU accession process, and what are the pitfalls of current business models of media and NGOs. In addition, an expert from the Finnish Mediapooli led a workshop on Countering Disinformation through a Strategic Risk Approach to Media Landscape, which sparked interesting exchanges and a lively debate among participants.

In Serbia, the project held a highly productive working meeting with some key actors in the field of countering disinformation, who had the opportunity to learn about the good practice examples of Estonia and Finland, as well as to hear about the new developments, initiatives and expectations coming from the EU. The meeting was marked by a high-quality discussion between participants, which strengthened the existing and established new networks, that will invaluably contribute to further work of the project in Serbia.

In both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, the project held closed-door consultations with the representatives of the Council of Ministers and the Government Ministries, respectively. The purpose of these consultations was both to present the objectives and the way forward for the project and to gain insight and feedback on the implementation of the whole-of-government approach in countering foreign perpetrated disinformation.

The project will continue to work with both countries as well as with the rest of the Western Balkan region in the coming months, and looks forward to the remaining visits to Albania, Montenegro, and Kosovo.

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 and European Affairs of Slovenia through development cooperation funds.

On SI-UA development cooperation at the 12th EUSDR Annual Forum

On SI-UA development cooperation at the 12th EUSDR Annual Forum

26. 10. 2023 | Decentralisation, local self-government, PR, Regional cooperation, Slovenian Development Assistance, U-LEAD: with Europe

At the 12th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region held under the Slovenian Presidency, CEP’s Executive Director, Ms Nina Čepon, contributed to the panel discussion titled ”Bottom-up recovery and transformation of Ukraine–Supporting Ukraine and Moldova on their way to the EU” on the 24th of October.

She shed light on CEP’s impactful collaboration with Ukrainian municipalities, a process initiated back in 2018 under the scope of the Programme ‘U-LEAD with Europe’ implemented by the German organization GIZ in Ukraine. The dedication to enhancing Ukrainian municipalities continues through our ongoing development project titled ‘Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Ukraine’ funded by the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and implemented in partnership with ‘U-LEAD with Europe’.

This project remains committed to transferring knowledge tailored to specific needs and providing sustainable assistance to Ukrainian municipalities as they advance in their development, modernization and contribute to the Ukrainian path toward EU membership while dealing with the everyday challenges of wartime. Activities are focusing on topics such as green transition, civil protection and resilience, economic development, anti-corruption and transparency in local governance, and deliver an important skillset to raise their absorption capacities in terms of donor engagement, namely those of efficient planning, project appraisal and obtainment of external funding.

Čepon emphasised that Ukrainian municipalities are set to play a pivotal role in post-conflict reconstruction and development in Ukraine as they are forward-looking, and they strive toward economic development and other objectives despite being faced with their complex everyday circumstances at this time. Slovenia’s wealth of experience in modernization and the EU accession process promises to bring significant, concrete value.

Successful consultation meeting on Slovenian-Ukrainian municipal cooperation

Successful consultation meeting on Slovenian-Ukrainian municipal cooperation

3. 10. 2023 | PR, Regional cooperation, Slovenian Development Assistance, U-LEAD: with Europe

A successful consultation meeting on Slovenian-Ukrainian cooperation and aid to Ukraine in post-conflict reconstruction and modernization was held yesterday at Jable Castle.

The event, organised with the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia (SOS), followed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Republic of Slovenia and U-LEAD with Europe Programme, and was intended to analyze the achievements to date, good practices in the cooperation projects of Slovenian municipalities with Ukraine to date, and a look into the future of cooperation between Slovenia and Ukraine in the field of post-conflict reconstruction and modernization. i.e. current needs, challenges and our tasks in advance.

Joining us were the Mayor of Domžale, mag. Renata Kosec, Mayor of Hrastnik, Mr Marko Funkl, Mayor of Logatec, Mr Berto Menard, Mayor of Idrija, Mr Tomaž Vencelj, Mayor of Kočevje, Dr Vladimir Prebilič, and Mayor of Lenart, Mr Janez Kramberger. We were delighted to welcome the delegation from the Ukrainian municipality Bucha, with the First Secretary of the Bucha City Council, Mr Taras Sharapivsky and the Head of International Relations of the City Council, Ms Viktoriya Danilova.

The discussions touched upon the Slovenian-Ukrainian cooperation of municipalities within the U-LEAD with Europe initiative “Bridges of Trust” and the CEP-led project Post-conflict reconstruction in Ukraine, financed by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia. Both projects aim to improve the institutional capacity of Ukrainian communities Bibrka, Bucha, Drohobych, Hnivan, Krynychansk, Pereščepensk and Polyana, in the spheres of reconstruction and local development, as well as in terms of nationwide efforts for accession to the EU. The mentorship program will be implemented by the Slovenian municipalities of Domžale, Hrastnik, Idrija, Lenart, Logatec, Kočevje and Puconci with the assistance of Slovenian experts.

During the event, the municipality of Kočevje signed a cooperation agreement with the city of Bucha with the intention of deepening cooperation in various fields, business relationships in the field of high-technology development.

Bucha’s representatives are continuing their visit to Kočevje today, where they met with representatives of the Japanese company Yaskawa and representatives of the Kočevje business area. They will also join the festivities on the municipal holiday.

 

The project and the event are funded by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia through development cooperation funds.

Delegations of Georgia and North Macedonia welcomed at Jable

Delegations of Georgia and North Macedonia welcomed at Jable

26. 9. 2023 | Macedonia - Finance, PR, Regional cooperation, Slovenian Development Assistance

We’re always happy to welcome guests at our beautiful castle, and today we were able to host not only one but two delegations working towards the same goal – preparing their countries to join the European Union in the shortest and fastest manner.

Mr Zurab Khamashuridze, Director, Department of European Integration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was heading the delegation of the Parliament of Georgia, which is a national coordinating body for all activities related to the process of EU integration. The discussion evolved around CEP experiences with candidate countries and 12 priorities set by the European Commission to be addressed by Georgian authorities before being granted candidate status. Building on good past cooperation on the digital diplomacy program, it was agreed that we can upgrade our relationships and provide concrete support in priorities linked to the rule of law, anti-corruption measures, and involvement of civil society in decision-making processes, to name a few.

State Secretary from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia, Mr Filip Toseski, attended bilateral consultations with his Slovenian counterparts and paid a visit to CEP. As this was his first visit to Slovenia, we presented the four pillars that CEP is working on, and we were happy to learn that he has already heard about interesting and useful CEP training courses. Topics of concrete Slovenian support to North Macedonia were discussed, not forgetting to praise the already established good cooperation between the Specialized State Prosecution Office, the Financial Police and the Customs Administration from both countries in the framework of bilateral cooperation on financial investigations supported by Slovenian Aid.

It was agreed that Slovenia has valuable expertise that can be utilised by North Macedonian colleagues to accelerate their way towards full membership of the European Union.

 

Conclusion of the second edition of EUSAIR Communication Academy

Conclusion of the second edition of EUSAIR Communication Academy

6. 7. 2023 | EUSAIR, PR, Regional cooperation, Strategic Communication

Countries and regions face challenges that know no borders; hence to tackle them successfully, they need to be addressed collectively. The EU Macro-regional strategies identify common needs and challenges of the region, as well as regional cooperation potentials. They connect people across borders, sectors and governance levels and help to coordinate joint policies. The EU Macro-regional strategies are meaningful and make regions stronger, more resilient and attractive.

EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region directly influences 70 million people from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia. It contributes to further integration of the internal market, to the region’s stability, and to foster cooperation between EU and non-EU countries.

It is of utmost importance that great results of the EU Macro-regional strategies are presented to the public, which is often challenging as the issues are complex. For that reason, in the framework of EUSAIR, the EUSAIR Communication Academy was organised for EUSAIR key implementers, government communicators and journalists. While the first edition focused on the tools and techniques needed for effective digital communication, the second edition focused on transferring abstract issues simply, comprehensively and persuasively.

EUSAIR Communication Academy 2.0 occurred from July 5th to July 6th in Thessaloniki. Thirty participants from seven countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia) attended the Academy. Four speakers shared knowledge with us and answered two main questions: what to communicate and how to communicate it successfully. All the lectures were followed by practical and short presentations. Some great ideas sparked, and we had interesting discussions. Like always, the official programme of the EUSAIR Communication Academy was combined with a rich informal part aiming to foster an environment for experience sharing, creating new links and strengthening the old ones. 

 

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