Newsletter 17/2011 - RCC events calendar

23.11.2011 - 25.11.2011

Launching of Western Balkans’ Research and Development Strategy for Innovation, Belgrade, Serbia

This three-day interactive workshop will launch a two-year Research and Development (R&D) Strategy for Innovation in the Western Balkans.  The event has been organized by the World Bank, the European Commission and the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat, with support of Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Serbia.

The event will gather decision-makers from relevant ministries of science, technology, and/or education, representatives of public and private sector agencies dealing with R&D and innovation policy, as well as representatives of research and higher education institutes.


24.11.2011

2nd Sustainable Energy Development Regional Initiative (SEDRI) Task Force meeting, Belgrade, Serbia

The meeting is being organized by the Central European Initiative (CEI), the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat and the Serbian Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, which is chairing the SEDRI Task Force.

The meeting will focus on SEDRI Project Proposals Inventory. Ministries and other institutions from the seven-membered Task Force, supported by the CEI and the RCC Secretariat, have produced a regional inventory of small-scale sustainable energy projects. Those projects will enable the members to cooperate more closely, raise funds, exchange information and best-practices. Representatives of relevant international organizations, particularly international financial institutions and the European Commission, have also been invited to take part in the meeting in order to explain potential support from their side.

The RCC Secretariat and the CEI launched jointly this initiative based on a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the two organizations and compatibility of their work plans.


24.11.2011

Ministerial conference ‘Building a 2020 Vision for South East Europe’, Paris, France

The conference will accommodate signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on the transfer of the South East Europe Investment Committee (SEEIC) from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC).

The event, which will gather South East European Ministers and other high level officials, is being co-organized by the OECD and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, with RCC Secretariat’s support.

More information on the event is available HERE


01.12.2011 - 02.12.2011

IV Annual South East Europe Coordination Conference on Justice, Home Affairs and Security Cooperation, Belgrade, Serbia

The Conference will assess common regional needs in justice, home affairs and security cooperation and key security trends and challenges, shaping the cooperation in South East Europe (SEE) in this area.

The event, which will bring together relevant South East European organizations and international partners, is being organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat

Meeting of the Steering Group on Regional Strategy on Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) precedes the conference. It is a follow-up to the ministerial conference, held on 18 March 2011 in Budva, Montenegro, which endorsed the SEE JHA Regional Strategic Document and Action Plan 2011-2013. The event will discuss implementation of the Strategy and approve its Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism.


08.12.2011

Meeting of RCC Board, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The last meeting in 2011 of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Board will hear a report by RCC Secretary General Hido Biscevic on activities of the organization’s Secretariat in the period September-November 2011, in particular those related to results achieved in the implementation of the RCC Strategy and Work Programme 2011-2013 and information on the work planned for the next three months. The RCC Board is expected to adopt the draft Budget of the RCC Secretariat for 2012 and to discuss other issues of importance for the work of the RCC in enhancing regional cooperation in South East Europe.

A Coordination Meeting between the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Troika, the RCC Secretariat and the European Union, to take place a day before, on 7 December 2011, will discuss cooperation and coordination of activities of the SEECP Chair-in-Office and the RCC Secretariat, as well as the process of streamlining of regional initiatives and task forces in South East Europe.

The RCC Board meets quarterly and is chaired by the RCC Secretary General. The Board provides the RCC with operational guidance and supervision. It consists of those RCC members contributing to the budget of the RCC Secretariat as well as the European Union. 


09.12.2011

Lecture: Images, meanings, and legitimation: Is the European story changing?, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat and the School of Economics and Business of the University of Sarajevo are organizing a lecture “Images, meanings, and legitimation: Is the European story changing?” by a distinguished professor and Head of the European Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Kevin Featherstone.

The event will take place at the Sarajevo School of Economics and Business. It will gather prominent representatives of government institutions, public officials, business community, academia, diplomatic community and civil society.


13.12.2011 - 14.12.2011

Conference: Regional Civil Society Organisation Networks in IPA countries, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The aim of the conference is to contribute to a structured participation of regional civil society organisation (CSO) networks in the accession process of the Western Balkans (WB) and Turkey to the European Union.

The event, co-organized by the Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations (TACSO) and the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat, will bring together representatives of key Western Balkans and Turkey CSO networks and their constituencies, as well as other relevant stakeholders.


13.12.2011

2nd Meeting of Regional Competitiveness Initiative Steering Committee, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The regular Steering Committee meeting of the Regional Competitiveness Initiative (RCI) is an EU-funded project implemented by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The event will be hosted by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It will review the progress of pilot projects currently being implemented in Bosnia and Herzegovina, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, and will look into the proposals for pilot projects to be implemented over the next year in Albania, Croatia and UNMIK/Kosovo.

The meeting will also discuss options for the evolution of the RCI Steering Committee beyond the life of the project. The participants will also be updated on the Private Sector Plan programming 2011-2013 of the European Commission's Directorate General for Enlargement.


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