On 5-6 October Council of Europe organised a seminar within the Civil Society Confidence Building Programme for Moldova and Transnitria.
A seminar on “Cross River Communication and Cooperation” was organised within the “civil society” component of the Council of Europe programme on confidence building measures for the two banks of the river Nistru/Dniestr in Istanbul, Turkey.
The main theme of the seminar was to improve cross river communication and cooperation in the field of social protection and youth issues. An additional objective of the seminar was to encourage improved communication between civil society organisations and their respective local public administrations.
The seminar embodied the participation of 22 civil society NGOs (with 11 from each bank), working in the social field in different regions on two banks of the river, and 8 representatives of local public administrations from the respective regions (5 from the right bank and 3 from the left bank of the river). All participants manifested intense exchange of experience during the seminar. Also the Council of Europe programme organised relevant training for the participants.
During the seminar participants from both sides of the Nistru/Dniestr presented their experiences and practices of work and cooperation within their respective communities. Council of Europe experts from Ireland, Serbia and the United Kingdom provided examples of cooperation between civil society and local public authorities in their countries.
A Council of Europe expert from Belgium provided a training session on the drafting of project proposals for potential donor organisations, as well as on the need for auditing and transparency in the implementation of any project. Another training session provided by two journalists - one from Tiraspol and one from Balti - highlighted the importance of communicating with citizens through the media.
The next seminar within the “civil society” component of the Confidence Building Programme is scheduled for January 2011 to be held possibly in Strasbourg, France.
Other Confidence Building Measures undertaken by the Council of Europe are in respect of higher education and the media. This includes round tables between higher education establishments from both sides of the river. The media component will continue on 1-5 December when seven journalists - 3 from the left bank and 4 from the right bank - will travel to Strasbourg, France for training.
Contact person: Julia Cozacenco:
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, + 22 202 304, ext. 24