14. 10. 2019 | local self-government, PR, Slovenian Development Assistance, U-LEAD: with Europe
Jable castle is bursting with curious energy as Centre for European Perspective is again happy to welcome International Study Visit within the U-LEAD programme. The event began on Monday, 14th of October and will continue throughout the week.
The topic of the visit is “Cooperation between Business and Local Communities”.
There are currently 15 local officials from Ukraine taking part in the study visit with the vast majority being heads of amalgamated hromadas.
The study visit began with a welcome speech by Ms Meliha Muherina, Project Manager at CEP, who warmly welcomed the participants and presented CEP team and the work of CEP. She continued with an overview of the agenda for the following days. She was followed by Mr Grega Kordež from the Directorate for Regional Development at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, who briefly presented the regional development of Slovenia and the work of local actions groups. Participants were also welcomed by Ms Berta Mrak, the Head of the Department for Eastern Europe, South Caucasus, Central Asia and the Arctic at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Slovenia, who welcomed the group from Ukraine and gave a brief insight into work the Ministry does with Ukraine. She was followed Mr Andrii Borodenkov, First Secretary from the Embassy of Ukraine in Ljubljana, who expressed his pleasure at being able to greet the 10th study group from Ukraine on a U-LEAD study visit to Slovenia. He shared a few examples of the work the Embassy does and examples of Slovenian and Ukrainian cooperation.
After a short warm-up session and introduction of participants, the theoretical part of the visit begun.
First lecture of the day was given by Ms Irena Meterc, from SPIRIT Slovenia – Public Agency for Entrepreneurship, Internationalization, Foreign Investments and Technology, who spoke about SME support in Slovenia and establishing environmental conditions conducive for entrepreneurship.
The following lecture was given by Ms Larisa Vodeb, who focused on the work of Chamber of Craft & Small Business of Slovenia and Enterprise Europe Network.
With the theoretical part done, we will move to ‘the field’ in the following days.
On Tuesday, the participants will visit the Municipality of Sveta Ana, where they will hear more about the historical ties between Slovenia and Ukraine. They will also meet with the Mayor, Mr Slaček and visit LAS Ovtar and Development Agency Slovenske Gorice.
Wednesday is a day for visiting the municipality of Juršinci, where participants will hear more about the development of the municipality, local projects and LAS Bogastvo podeželja projects. On Thursday, participants will travel to the municipality of Odranci, where they will meet with the Mayor, Mr Markoja. Thursday activities will end with a meet and greet with local business representatives and representatives of local communities at Kodila.
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.
9. 9. 2019 | PR, U-LEAD: with Europe
Centre for European Perspective again has the honour of hosting International Study Visit within the U-LEAD programme. The event begun on Monday, 9th of September at Jable Castle and will continue throughout the week.
The topic of the visit is “Infrastructural Management and Rural-Urban Cooperation”.
There are currently 16 local officials from Ukraine taking part in the study visit with the majority being heads of amalgamated hromadas.
The study visit began with a welcome speech by Katja Geršak, Executive Director, CEP who warmly welcomed the 9th group from Ukraine and Andrej Vrčon, Administrative Director, CEP, who welcomed the participants at Jable Castle, briefly described the work CEP does and presented the organizing team. Opening remarks were given by Berta Mrak, the newly instated Head of the Department for Eastern Europe, South Caucasus, Central Asia and the Arctic at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Slovenia, who gave an insight into general work Ministry does with Ukraine and the region. 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.
After a short warm-up session and introduction of participants, the theoretical part of the visit begun.
First lecture of the day was given by Ms Alina Cunk Perklič, from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry who spoke about the history of rural – urban agenda in Slovenia since its inception – from Programme on rural development and village renewal CRPOV to the todays local action groups (or LAGs).
Second lecture of the day was given by Mr Bojan Dejak, who focused on infrastructure management in Slovenia and the development of infrastructure on local level.
Third lecture of the day was held by Ms Slavka Zupan, who evaluated results from the first days of the development of rural-urban agenda and spoke about forming rural-urban partnerships. She also presented some challenges facing the partnerships and future of rural-urban agenda.
Last but not least, participants were greeted by Mr Josip Pintar director of CIZA – Institute for Rural Development and local action group Sožitje med mestom in podeželjem, who commented on the rural-urban agenda in Slovenia, spoke about setting up local action groups and spoke of the work local action groups do.
On Tuesday, the participants will visit Ljubljansko barje nature park, where they will learn more about the rural-urban cooperation, learn about managing tourist infrastructure in nature parks and learn about successful projects the park lead in cooperation with 7 municipalities in the park. Wednesday is a day for visiting the municipality of Grosuplje, where participants will hear more about the development of the municipality, local projects and LAG projects. On Thursday, participants will travel to Dolenjska region, where they will meet with the mayor of Šmarješke Toplice, learn about the development of municipality and the development of its tourism infrastructure.
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.
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.
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.
14. 6. 2019 | PR, U-LEAD: with Europe
The Centre for European Perspective has hosted its 7th International Study Visit of Ukrainian Local officials in Slovenia. The event begun on Monday, 9th of June at Jable Castle and ended on the 14th of June with a closing ceremony in Vogrsko.
The topic of the visit was “Local Economic Development”. Local economic development is one of the key issues for ensuring the success of the decentralization process in Ukraine. However, the number of enterprises and economic activity at the local level remains very low.
18 local officials from Ukraine have taken part in the study visit, coming from different spheres – from Heads and Deputy Heads of hromadas to Land managers, Capacity development advisors, Experts of the expert group on strategic planning from Ministry of Regional Development, Construction and Communal Services to the Head of regional development centre from Chernivtsi region.
The first day started with a welcome speech from the CEP Executive Director Katja Geršak, followed by the opening delivered by Andrii Borodenkov and Oleksandra Yanushevska from the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Slovenia. Later on, Meliha Muherina, Project Manager at CEP, followed their 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, implementation of national programs, implementation of EU programs and social entrepreneurship.
The second lecture was given by mag. Peter Medved, who focused on the functioning of development councils of cohesion regions, initiating consultations, coordination, cooperation and joint action of ministries, development regions and development partners in the development region (representatives of municipalities, the economy and the non-governmental sector).
The third and last lecture of the day was given by Dr. Boštjan Grabner, from the Development Agency of Savinjska Region. Dr. Grabner spoke about regional sustainable development in Slovenia; national and international regional development; connecting and developing partnerships for sustainable development; finding financial resources and promotion of the region.
The following day was full of good practices in the field of social entrepreneurships in Slovenia, as the participants visited Skuhna and social farm Brinjevka. They also visited Štanjel, where they heard more about Interreg projects between Slovenia and Italy and the process of application for such cross-border projects.
The third day began in Nova Gorica, with a lecture on theoretical approach to historical ties between Slovenia and Ukraine by Mr Sašo Radovanovič. Later, the participants visited the municipality of Nova Gorica, where they met with Deputy Mayor of Nova Gorica, Mr Simon Rosič, who spoke about the history of Nova Gorica and the development of the municipality. He also spoke about cross-border cooperation and EPK project. Later on, the participants visited the Europe square – the joint square of Gorizia (Italy) and Nova Gorica (Slovenia), which honours the entry of Slovenia into EU and the cementery in Zalošče, where they paid their respects to the soldiers of the 22nd Domobranski regiment from Chernivtsi in Ukraine who died during WWI.
On Thursday, the participants visited the Municipality of Renče-Vogrsko, where they met with the Mayor Mr Tarik Žigon, who spoke about the municipality, their projects and plans for future development of the municipality. They also visited main investments that took place in the municipality with the help of EU funds. The participants also paid their respects by laying a wreath at the WWI. cemetery in Bukovica in memory of Ukrainian soldiers, who died in the region during WWI. The study visit ended with a closing ceremony in Vogrsko.
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.
10. 6. 2019 | PR, U-LEAD: with Europe
The Centre for European Perspective is hosting its 7th International Study Visit in Slovenia. The event began on Monday, 10th of June at Jable Castle and will continue throughout the week.
The topic of the visit is “Local Economic Development”. Local economic development is one of the key issues for ensuring the success of the decentralization process in Ukraine. However, the number of enterprises and economic activity at the local level remains very low. It concerns both the lack of enterprises in general and the problem of registration outside the place of operation.
There are currently 18 local officials from Ukraine taking part in the study visit. Participants are coming from different spheres, ranging from, Heads of hromadas Head of departments, Land managers, Advisor on capacity development, Advisor on regional development, State Experts of the Expert Group on Strategic Planning of Regional Development of Directorate of Regional Development at the Ministry of Regional Development.
The event was open by Katja Gersak, CEP Exeutive Director and Andrej Vrčon, CEP Administrative Director, 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 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Slovenia, who gave an insight of the general work the Ministry does with Ukraine and the region. Finally, a 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.
The first lecture of the day was given by Dr Robert Drobnič, discussing the topic of Regional Development Planning. He focused on the planning of regional development, implementation of national programs, implementation of EU programs and Social Entrepreneurship. Dr Drobnič continued with a lecture on East and West Slovenia Cohesion Region Development Councils, the Functioning of development councils of cohesion regions, Initiating consultations, coordination, cooperation and joint action of ministries, development regions and development partners in the development region (representatives of municipalities, the economy and the non-governmental sector).
The third and last lecture of the day was given by Dr. Boštjan Grabner, on the topic of the Development Agency of Savinjska Region, where he gave an insight to regional sustainable development in Slovenia; National and international regional development; connecting and developing partnerships for sustainable development; finding financial resources and promotion of the region.
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.
