Newsletter 16/2011 - RCC events calendar

17.10.2011 - 19.10.2011

‘Energy. Development. Democracy./Shaping a New Energy Future for South-East Europe’, Regional Conference, Belgrade, Serbia

The conference is being organized by regional political schools lead by the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence within the Serbian SEECP C-i-O and under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Serbia. The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat is providing substantial support in the organization and realization of the conference that will bring together representatives of parliaments, governments, European Parliament, energy industry and business, academia, international organizations, international financial institutions, NGOs, task forces and initiatives, as well as bilateral and multilateral donors.

The Conference will contribute to strengthening the public dialogue on the sustainable use of energy in the region of South East Europe and provide participants with an opportunity to demonstrate the relevance of their activities for reaching the EU 20-20-20 goals, becoming more and more relevant for the South East European region taking into account its European prospects. The regional conference fits to RCC’s priority to encourage and promote sustainable energy development in the region.

The organizer of the conference is the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence with its partners from the initiative “Public Dialogue for the Sustainable Use of Enegy in the South East Europe“: the Academy for Political Development and the Society for Sustainable Development Design (DOOR) from Croatia, and the School of Democratic Leadership from Montenegro. The initiative is supported by the International Visegrad Fund, and the Open Regional Fund for South East Europe - Energy Efficiency (ORF-EE), implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.


24.10.2011

Regional Conference: Urban planning in South Eastern Europe – challenges of regularization of informal settlements, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The conference is being co-organized by the Network of Associations of Local Authorities (NALAS), the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat, the German International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM). It will bring together local urban planning experts, representatives of municipalities, associations of local self-governments, relevant ministries from South East Europe as well as international organizations.

The conference will present and discuss results of the SCTM lead project “Comparative Analyses of Legal Frameworks Relevant for Urban Planning in SEE Region”, identify initiatives in the area of urban planning in South East Europe and assess possible synergies between them. By co-organizing and hosting the event, the RCC demonstrates its orientation towards strengthening cooperation with the ‘bottom-up’ stakeholders among which local authorities are to play an important role.


25.10.2011 - 26.10.2011

Regional workshop ‘Social Economy for South East Europe 2020’, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The conference aims at taking a first step towards bringing together relevant interested stakeholders in South East Europe and discussing opportunities for synergy among them in order to use the concept, tools and models of social development for the benefit of the region's communities, countries and peoples in the most productive way. The event is expected to contribute to discussions on the development of a long term vision of social economy in the Western Balkan countries that is closely aligned with the EU's economic and social model.

It will gather representatives of ministries of economy and relevant eco-social economy networks from the region, as well as leading experts in this area.

The workshop is being jointly organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat and the Eco-Social Economy Network South and East Europe (ESENSEE).


27.10.2011 - 28.10.2011

Regional Conference: New Skills for New Jobs, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The conference will discuss imbalances between labour demand and supply in the Western Balkan countries, with special attention to the importance of an analysis based on skills. It will address the role of key stakeholders in the labour market, with a focus on how to anticipate skills needs, generate new jobs and improve the matching process.

The event, which will gather representatives of relevant ministries, public employment services, and social partners from the region, as well as regional organizations, is being co-organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat and Friedrich Ebert Foundation.


06.11.2011 - 08.11.2011

High-Level Conference on Information Society, Tirana, Albania

The event is envisaged to adopt the High Level Statement that prioritises the key Information Society objectives for South East Europe (SEE), and to endorse the new deadlines for the regional action plan for the Information Society development in South East Europe: ‘eSEE Agenda Plus’.

The Ministry for Innovation, Information and Communication Technology of the Republic of Albania, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are co-organizing this event.

It will gather participants from all the eSEE Initiative members in the region.


14.11.2011

International seminar ‘South East Europe 20 Years On: Transformation from State to Public Broadcasting’, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The aim of the seminar is to analyze the state of public service media in South East Europe 20 years into the democratic transition, with a view to outline a future course of action in support of their freedom, independence and sustainability.

It will gather directors general of public broadcasters, senior government officials, representatives of regulatory authorities and civil society (media organisations) from South East Europe, as well as from relevant international organisations.

The seminar is co-organized by the European Commission (EC)’s Enlargement Directorate-General and the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat, with support of the European Association of Public Service Media in South East Europe and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).


15.11.2011 - 16.11.2011

IPA Multi-Beneficiary Coordination Meeting, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The two-day event, which will gather national Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) coordinators from South East Europe, is being co-organized by the European Commission and the Regional Cooperation Council Secretariat. It will provide a stocktaking at the implementation of approved IPA Multi-Beneficiary programmes and the programming for 2012, as well as sector plans and programming for 2013. More specifically, a report on results of the Study on National Energy Efficiency Action Plans, Refugee Return Programme, national programming 2012 and 2013 and preparation of the next (2014-2020) IPA regulations will be presented.

The meeting will also be an opportunity to exchange views on the most important findings, conclusions and recommendations of the European Commission’s Enlargement Strategy 2011-2012 and country Progress Reports published on 12 October 2011. It is expected to formulate, jointly with the European Commission’s Directorate General for Enlargement, appropriate guidelines in addressing common problems and possible regional solutions.


MORE FROM THIS ISSUE