Kyiv, 30 November 2007

On 4 December 2007, the European Commission and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will organise a conference to mark the launch of a €13.3 million project to support local communities' capacity to organise village and neighbourhood associations to identify and address problems at the local level. The conference is organised with the support of the Secretariat of the Government of Ukraine and the Ministry of Municipal and Housing Economy of Ukraine.

The Launching Conference, which will take place in the Business and Cultural Cooperation Centre of Kyiv's “Ukrainian House”, will present the project's concept and discuss key aspects of its implementation with national and local collaborators, and other international partners. The Conference will initiate a long-term cooperation between the central and local state bodies, local authorities and self-governing community organisations.

The duration of the project will be 3.5 years with a budget of €13.3 million. The project is aimed at supporting communities in all oblasts of Ukraine in covering the most urgent developmental needs through self-organization, capacity building, and implementation of community initiatives (mini-projects).

At least 1,000 of small-scale community led projects will be selected and supported by the project in the following priority areas: health, water supply, environment, energy, and local transport. The project's target groups are villages, urban villages and small towns (up to 10,000 residents), as well as representatives of local authorities in the 200 rayons where the project will be implemented.

Representatives of mass media are invited to take part in the Launching conference and the press briefing with the participation of Mr. Volodymyr Rybak, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine on Regional Policy, Urban Development and Housing and Municipal Economy, Mr. Oleksandr Popov, Minister of Housing and Municipal Economy of Ukraine, Mr. Volodymyr Yatsuba, Minister of Regional Development and Construction, Mr. Yevgen Sukhin, Head of National Agency for Efficient Energy Use, Mr. Sergiy Romanyuk, Deputy Minister of Economy, Mr. Ian Boag, Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Ukraine and Mr. Francis M. O’Donnell, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Ukraine.

The press briefing will be held as follows:

Place: Media Centre , Ukrainian House (1^st floor)
2 Khreschatyk Street, Kyiv

Date: Tuesday 4 December 2007
Time: 11:40 am

Media representatives should register before 13:00 on 3 December 2007 by phone (8-044) 279-85-75 (contact person – Ms. Olena Palivoda).

For detailed information on the “Community based approach to local development” Project and the Launching Conference please visit the Delegation of the European Commission to Ukraine website: http://www.delukr.ec.europa.eu/cba_project_en.html.

For any logistics and organizational issues concerning the Launching Conference please contact the Conference Secretariat at (8-044) 279-85-75.

EU-funded “Civic education – Ukraine” project has edited and submitted to Ukrainian Education Ministry two typescripts of pilot handbooks on civic education that had already passed expert examination and are expected to be approved. These works, “Civic Education: Teacher’s Methodic Handbook” (for undergraduate and postgraduate education of teachers) and “Civic Education: Theory and Practice of Training” (resource handbook containing study materials), were created jointly by project’s working group and teaching practitioners. Having received a green light from the European Commission to publish these manuals, the project is going to hold training workshops in pilot regions.

During November, project’s international experts have already visited pilot schools where they talked with high school students, representatives of regional education and research departments, and also attended civic education lessons. On November 25, experts David Royle and Karl-Heinz Dürr presented “Civic education – Ukraine” Project at the final conference “Ukrainian Leaders of European Education” held within an initiative implemented by Ukraine’s Association of School Directors along with Warsaw Center for Teachers’ Training.

The project “Civic Education – Ukraine” also held a number of conferences on its own. On November 14 – 16 a workshop for inclusive education trainers held jointly with the National Foundation “Step by Step” brought together 29 participants. On November 8, in Teacher’s House in Kyiv the project carried out a final conference which summed up a range of events in the pilot regions. Within this event project’s experts visited pilot schools, took part in school-based lessons and workshops, and later discussed their impressions and project’s outcomes.

The goal of the “Civic Education – Ukraine” project lies in introducing civic education into curricula of Ukrainian high schools. Elements of civic education supposed to raise high school students’ awareness of civil society foundations are included in various curricula on natural science, mathematics and humanities.

For more information, please contact David Royle, international leader of the project’s team, “Cambridge Education” company, tel. 8 (044) 466 54 67; 238 63 89; 56857 80; fax 8 (044) 230 81 02; e-mail david.royle@ced.kiev.ua; you may also contact Tetyana Klykota (8 (044) 238 63 89).

November 15, 2007

On November 9, 2007 the first Steering Committee meeting of the Environmental Collaboration for the Black Sea Project funded by the European Union took place in Brussels. The Project is implemented within the framework of the TACIS Regional Action Programme 2004. The Steering Committee meeting was attended by the members of the Committee, which include representatives of the European Commission (EC) and the beneficiary countries, and by observers from other countries and experts of the Project team.

The main goal of the Project is to contribute to the sustainable development of the Black Sea Basin through improvement of the legal tools for the regional cooperation. In particular, one of the Project tasks is to develop the text of the amendments to the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (known as the Bucharest Convention). In addition, the Project will provide assistance for improving the national capacities to implement and enforce the related environmental legislation. The Project also provides support for implementation of certain activities from the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (BSC) yearly work plans.

The beneficiaries of the Projects are: Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine. The Project partners in these countries are: Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources in Georgia; Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources in Moldova; Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation; Ministry of Environmental Protection in Ukraine; and other relevant institutions whose activities are connected to achieving the Project goals. The final beneficiaries are the population (urban and rural) living within the coastal areas and river basins.

The first Steering Committee meeting was convened to consider and approve the Inception Report which defines activities and results to be achieved by the Project.

Members of the Steering Committee reached agreement on the allocation of the Project components among the beneficiary countries. Thus, the pilot project on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ISZM) will be implemented in Georgia (Tskaltsminda village); the pilot project on Marine Reserves in Ukraine; and an inter-laboratory comparison exercise on water monitoring will take place in Moldova. International experts who are participating in the Project will meet with the partners to agree upon further Project activities and work plans in the near future.

The Steering Committee supported the decision of the EC to add the Permanent Secretariat of the BSC to the beneficiaries of the Project. In this capacity, the Permanent Secretariat will be engaged in drafting amendments to the Bucharest Convention.

The first meeting of the Steering Committee approved the Inception Report and the decision to further elaborate the Project activities bilaterally between the Project and the beneficiaries.

On November 15, 2007 the Georgian town of Poti hosted a workshop on Integrated coastal zone management: a way forward. One of the conclusions of the workshop was to begin the implementation of ICZM principles in order to promote sustainable development of the Georgian coastal zone.

The end

For more detailed information please visit the website of the Project: http://ecbsea.org

Kyiv, 22 November 2007

7 December 2007, Kyiv Teacher’s House

An international conference on NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL GOOD PRACTICE IN DEVELOPING CITIZENSHIP IN YOUNG PEOPLE THROUGH EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, organized by Cambridge Education and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine as part of the EU-funded Civic Education project, will be held on 7^th of December in Kyiv. The conference will focus on the results of activities carried out within the project’s Community Development and Extra-curricular Activities component and make recommendations for further development of civic competencies through such activities . The conference will bring together teachers from secondary schools, methodologists from teacher training institutions, teachers and students from pedagogical universities, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Education and Academy of Pedagogical Sciences. There will also be presentations by project and other international experts from the UK, Germany, Poland and USA. The number of participants is expected to be 150.

The Community Development and Extra-curricular Activities component carried out the following activities during the project:

• Learning to choose. Teacher workshops and activities for young people to prepare them to be aware and responsible participants in elections.
• www.citizen.org.ua. This website collects together experience of civic education and civic upbringing through extra-curricular activities. Students at secondary school and their teachers can use it to access teaching ideas and techniques for different aspects of civic education or to take part in national projects with practical advice and support.
• Programme of project work to support extra-curricular activities in democracy development in secondary schools. Participants include secondary schools, extra-curricular institutions, youth NGOs. The main aim of the programme is to develop different forms and methods of civic upbringing through extra-curricular work and to stimulate the active introduction of the project method into the work of schools.
• Youth acts. Teaching and learning materials on how to organize project activities in schools and the local community.
• Democratic school. Presentation of effective models of how to develop a democratic environment in schools and active partnerships with the school’s community for their mutual benefit.
• Teachers’ forum. Internet-based forum (www.teachers.in.ua) for teachers, giving them the opportunity to discuss online the challenges of delivering civic education and how to improve its teaching in schools..

For further information on the component or conference please contact: Polina Verbytska, Project Long-term national Expert .Tel. (032) 297 66 89, Email: center@novadoba.org.ua

For further information on the project please contact: David Royle, International Team Leader, Cambridge Education, Ukraine; Civic Education Project

Tel: (+380-44) 4665467; 2386389; 5685780; Fax: (+380-44) 2308102

Email: David.Royle@ced.kiev.ua

During these seminars the following presentations were delivered by the experts of the Country Contact Point: Neighbourhood Programme Romania – Ukraine and the second call for proposals in the framework of the Neighbourhood Programme Romania - Ukraine. The experts of the Project Regional Capacity Building Initiative II Anna-Maria Ososinska and Vlad Chopak carried out a mini-training session on How to fill in the Grant Application Form, annexes and to put together the application package.

In order to increase the efficiency of work and with the aim to better inform the wide circle of potential applicants the participants received information materials: information booklet and a CD-ROM, which contain all the information necessary for preparing the application in the framework of the current call for proposals.

There was significant interest to the current call for proposals in all the cities. In Odessa mo than 60 participants took part in the seminar, in Chernivtsi their number was above 100, in Ivano-Frankivsk about 50 and in Uzhgorod - about 60 participants.

The participants pointed out the importance of these seminars, as with their help potential applicants obtained detailed information about the Programme, conditions of the second call for proposals, practical advice on fillin in the application forms and other documents which form the application package as well as expert explanations and answers to questions regarding their future applications.

Following the seminars, CCP experts will update the FAQ section of this site, publishing there the most interesting questions from the seminars' participants and answers to them. Also practical advice on filling in the Grant Application Forms will be prepared in Ukrainian and placed on this website.

Additionally almost all of the seminars participants filled in special questionnaires prepared by the CCP experts, which will be instrumental in identifying their needs in the framework of the current call for proposals (for example Partners' fair organisation) as well as in updating the mailing list to be used to send the most up-to-date information about the Programme to all the interested parties.

http://susidstvo.od.ua

The European Commission has responded to a request for assistance from Ukraine through its Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC), which is the office responsible for civil protection and marine pollution actions. Ukraine requires expertise to assist its own authorities in evaluating the environmental impact of the oil pollution in the Kerch Strait.

Stavros Dimas, Commissioner responsible for the Environment and Civil Protection stated "This situation has led to a tragic loss of life and has caused environmental damage. I would like to express sympathy to those families that have been affected. We are ready to respond to Ukraine in providing the experts it requires. By assisting the Ukrainian authorities we will work to address the environmental damage caused by the impact of the disaster in the Kerch Strait."

The experts, made available to the MIC by Denmark, Latvia, Italy, France and Portugal will both assess environmental impacts and advise on immediate remediation needs. The team of 8 experts, which will be joined by a liaison officer from UN OCHA/UNEP, has already arrived in Kiev on Sunday, 18 November, less than 48 hours after the Ukrainian request for assistance. They will immediately fly to the emergency zone in the afternoon of 19 November to provide a first on-site assessment of the situation and look at the relief and recovery needs.

The MIC has been monitoring the development of events in this maritime region that connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov. Violent storms have dispersed oil pollutants affecting communities living in the region as well as the environment. The pollution was caused by the sinking of several ships containing oil and sulphur, and in addition to human casualties has also directly affected fauna and flora, with possible long-term impacts on the ecological quality of the affected natural habitats. The MIC has also been in contact with Russia.

Over the last number of years, the MIC has gained considerable experience in combating marine pollution incidents, having been involved in crises such as the Prestige accident in Spain and the oil pollution caused by hostilities in Lebanon.

The European Commission has signed Administrative Arrangements on civil protection with Russia and Ukraine in May 2005 and in May 2007 respectively.

The European Commission has also been active in supporting multilateral initiatives on the protection of the Black Sea against pollution. For instance, it actively encourages the work of the Parties to the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (Bucharest Convention), and the related Strategic Action Plan for the Rehabilitation and Protection of the Black Sea, working together under the auspices of the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (the Black Sea Commission or BSC), in the light of the ambitions of the European Marine Strategy.

For more information on European civil protection and marine pollution visit - http://ec.europa.eu/environment/civil/index.htm

Barbara Helfferich +323 496 58 38 29

Time of release: Kyiv, 15 November 2007, 1700

The overall BOMMOLUK budget amounts to 9.9m EUR of which 3.3m EUR have been released for the first phase till December 2007. 2,2m EUR of this sum have been spent for procurement of equipment for the border guard and customs services of Moldova and Ukraine. The State Customs Service of Ukraine will receive equipment worth approximately 440 000 EUR, including: portable X ray TV introscopes, hand held detectors of drug and explosives, digital video cameras, digital dictaphones, software, computers, printers, servers.

Today, on 15 November 2007, 45 personal computers, 5 laptops, 112 printers, 7 servers and 6 multifunctional devices were handed over to the State Customs Service of Ukraine. This equipment will help improve the work of the Risk Analysis Department as well as its operational sub-units of the State Customs Service of Ukraine. Delivery of other technical assistance to the border guard and customs services of Moldova and Ukraine is in progress.

During this week also representatives of the State Customs Service of Ukraine are taking part in a study tour to Belgium. Two officers of the Risk Analysis and Audit Department from Kyiv and one officer of South Regional Customs of the Ukrainian Custom Service are staying in Antwerp city in order to look at the way information is gathered, analysed, shared and used for risk based, effective controls by customs units in a port setting. In particular they will look at the use of technology and large scanners in port control by the Belgian Customs Service.

The first phase of BOMMOLUK runs until the end of December 2007 and consists of three components:

• Development of risk analysis capacity in the Border Guard and Customs Services of Moldova and Ukraine;

• Development of a joint training course for staff from the four counterpart agencies deployed at the jointly operated border crossing points of Moldova & Ukraine;

• Procurement of equipment for the Border Guards and Customs of Moldova and Ukraine.

During March 2006 – November 2007 in the framework of the BOMMOLUK project there were seven study tours for Ukrainian Customs Service. So far there have been visits to Greece, Austria, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Turkey, and Belgium. Further tour to the United Kingdom is planned.

The project also contracted short term experts in the following areas: Human Resources and Legal Questions concerning Risk Analysis, Border Management and Development of Training programs etc. They work within the Mission and provide assistance in relevant areas to the counterparts.

For additional information please contact Anastasiya Trotska, PR Assistant, EUBAM by office tel./fax (+38 0482) 36-52-74, mob. +38 050 386 89 73 or e-mail: press@eubam.org; and Janet Gunn Communications Officer, EUBAM, tel. (+38 0482) 36 52 63.

Kyiv, 15 November 2007

On 14 November 2007 the EU-funded project “Ukraine: SME Support Services in Priority Regions” held its final press conference in Kyiv in the UNIAN information agency. The project has been working for 18 months in the following 3 priority regions: Zhytomyr, Rivne and Chernigiv. The activities were based around the following 3 priority spheres: capacity building support to the State Committee of Ukraine for Regulatory Policy and Entrepreneurship (SCURPE); capacity building support to business support organisations and capacity building support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Over the project period 60 training courses for civil servants engaged in SME support and business consultants were delivered. One major capacity building programme of nine specific business development training modules was delivered to selected representatives of small and medium enterprises. Over 100 Ukrainian entrepreneurs from Zhytomyr, Rivne and Chernigiv oblasts obtained in-depth insights into the best practices of European business development and are now implementing changes at their enterprises in the areas of marketing and promotion strategies, diversification of product portfolio, communication with clients and investor relations. Furthermore, the State Committee of Ukraine for Regulatory Policy and Entrepreneurship acquired the European experience in implementing regulatory impact assessment on various regulatory acts.

During the press conference the following people communicated with the media: Mr. Arman Gamzyan, Deputy Director of the International Entrepreneurship and Cooperation Department, Head of International Relations and Protocol Department of SCURPE, Mr. Grigorios Kontzoglou, Project Manager and Mr. Luis Manuel Portero Sanchez, Head of Trade and Economic Section of the Delegation of the European Commission to Ukraine and Mr. Philip Santens, Project Team Leader. And most importantly, the press conference was attended by the representatives from the project priority regions who shared their experience and achievements gained through the project with the media.

In particular, Mr. Olexander Chepa, Director of Rivne “CHIP” enterprise informed that after his participation in the project management training courses he effectively reorganised his enterprise and restructured his marketing and sales department. Mrs. Svitlana Dobryakova, senior consultant of the Zhytomyr Association of Scholars and Business Consultants shared her first successes in developing and delivering new training courses in financial control for start up businesses using the materials and know-how gained through participating in the project’s training and consultations with the project experts. Mrs. Olena Dudko, lead specialist of the entrepreneurship and regulatory policy department of Chernigiv state oblast administration highlighted the changes she introduced in her department’s communication strategy following the training in effective communication skills received. She especially informed the audience about the first positive changes at her workplace: “I can honestly say that the training in Effective Communication Skills had a great impact on me as a manager. I manage differently now. I shared all the information gained through the project with my colleagues and I see the first improvements in their work now too. We started to listen to each other, not just hear each other. From the many training and seminars I have attended, this particular one is the most practical and sustainable, delivered with passion and will be with me for all my life.”

Mr. Kontzoglou and Mr. Luis Manuel Portero Sanchez answered numerous questions on the EU contribution to small and medium enterprise development in Ukraine and on the new assistance projects launched in this area. Mr. Gamzyan informed about current and planned SCURPE programmes directed to support the SME sector.

For more information please contact:

Victoria Tetyora, Project Training and Dissemination Expert, Tel.: 044 501 10 42, Victoria.tetyora@smeuk.org.ua

Kiev, November 13, 2007

In the framework of the 6^th Project Steering Committee held by the EU-funded Project “Ukraine: SME Support Services in Priority Regions” in Kiev on November 9, 2007, the Project as a whole and its core team of international and local experts received a citation from the State Committee of Ukraine for Regulatory Policy and Entrepreneurship (SCURPE) for their contribution to the development of the small and medium-sized enterprise sector in Ukraine.

Citing from a letter specially issued by Mr. K. Vaschenko, Acting Head of SCURPE, for this occasion, Mr. G. Bilous, Deputy Head of SCURPE, mentioned the contributions of the project and in particular of the individual experts to “the further development of small and medium-sized enterprises in Ukraine, the enhancement of the country’s competitiveness and the growth of the SME sector as a whole”.

The citations were presented to the project’s team in the premises of SCURPE and the award ceremony was attended by (see photo from left to right) Mr. David Wood, Project Expert, Mr. Philip Santens, Project Team Leader, Mr. Vincent Williams, Project Expert, Mr. Grigorios Kontzoglou, Project Manager of the Delegation of the European Commission in Ukraine, Mr. Igor Ivanov, Acting Head Ukrainian Center for Enterprise Restructuring (UCER), Mr. Gennadiy Bilous, Deputy Head SCURPE, Mr. Alexander Markus, Project Expert, Mr. Igor Rogoshevskyy, President of the Ukrainian Association of Management Consultants and Mr. Arman Gamzyan, Head of SCURPE Division.

It goes without saying that all experts receiving citations were delighted with the award as it reflects the State Committee’s appreciation of overall and individual project efforts delivered and results achieved since the start of the project in May 2006.

For more information please contact:

Philip Santens, Team Leader

+38 044 332 41 64

Philip.Santens@smeuk.org.ua

Wednesday 14^th November 2007, 11:30, UNIAN Information Agency (Khreschatik 4, second floor)

“I can honestly say that training in Effective Communication Skills had a great impact on me as a manager. I manage differently now. I shared all the information with my colleagues and I see the first improvements in their work too. We started to listen to each other, not just hear each other. From many training and seminars I have attended, this particular one is the most practical, sustainable, delivered with passion and will be with me for all my life.” – Olena Dudko, Head of Entrepreneurship and Policy Advice Development Department, Chernigiv Oblast State Administration.

The above is a direct feedback quote on the impact of the Training in Effective Communication Skills delivered by the EU-funded project “SME Support Services in Priority Regions” as part of capacity building support programme to the civil servants of Chernigiv, Rivne and Zhytomyr oblasts.

On Wednesday 14^th November 2007 at 11:30 this project will conduct its final press conference. The conference is intended to inform media representatives of the particular and specific results achieved by the project and the impacts made during the lifespan of the project since May 2006.

This we believe will be of particular interest and will be directly communicated by the people who actually benefited from and participated in the different project activities carried out, i.e. Ukrainian SME Managers, business consultants and civil servants from Chernigiv, Rivne and Zhytomyr (the project’s priority regions). They will tell their stories. Stories of success, achievement and change similar to that highlighted above will be recounted for public dissemination.

The conference will be hosted by Mr. Gennadiy Bilous, Deputy Head of the State Committee of Ukraine for Regulatory Policy and Entrepreneurship, Mr. Grigorios Kontzuglou, Project Manager of the Delegation of the European Commission to Ukraine and Mr. Philip Santens, project Team Leader.

The event will be moderated by Ms. Victoria Tetyora, Project Dissemination and Training Expert.

For more information and registration please contact:

Project Representatives: 

Victoria Tetyora (Expert Training and Dissemination)
+38 (044) 501 10 42
Victoria.Tetyora@smeuk.org.ua

In the framework of the tour, the Ukrainian servicemen studied European good practices in promoting healthy lifestyle, safe behavior and HIV/STI prevention. Delegation received a high-level reception at the Germany’s Ministry of Defense in Bonn. Official lunch was held at the Ministry's official delegations lounge to welcome Ukrainian delegation.

During the tour, Ukrainian delegation visited federal and military facilities in Koblenz, Cologne and Munich dealing with HIV/STI prevention and educational activities in this area.

The Ukrainian delegation involved representatives of psychological services, pedagogical units, higher education institutions and medical services of Ukraine's Military Forces, Ministry of the Interior, and National Border Control Service. The delegation was led by Oleksandr Kopanytsia, First Deputy Head of the Major Directorate for Personnel of Ukraine’s General Staff.

Information and experience obtained during the tour will be used to establish specialized courses promoting commitment to healthy lifestyles and safe behavior in higher education institutions of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, Ministry of the Interior, and National Border Control Service during 2007-2008.

For more information, please contact Vlad Ostryanskiy, Project Manager, "Prevention of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases among Ukrainian military and police servicemen " at + 380 44 499-1175.

Kyiv, 6 November 2007

On 8 November, the EU-funded project ‘Civic Education Ukraine’ is organizing a one-day project conference together with the Kyiv City Education Department and Kyiv State Pedagogical University of Grinchenko on “Implementation of Civic Education and Up-bringing in Modern Schools”. The first part of the conference will be a series of five master classes in project pilot schools also attended by project international and national experts at the basis of its pilot schools: gymnasia “Dialogue”, gymnasia # 191 of Tychina, gymnasia “Obolon”, Lyceum of International Relations # 51 nd a specialised school # 41 of Slusarenko.

The second part of the conference will be held in Teachers’ House (where there will also be an exhibition by pilot schools) and will consist of plenary sessions following up the morning’s master classes and presentations by the project’s Teacher Development and Curriculum Development Experts on the project’s two key outputs: the Teacher Training Guide and Teacher’s Resource Manual.

The plenary sessions will be opened by the Director of the Education Department, Lilya Hrenevych, a representative form the Ministry of Education and the Project’s International Team Leader. 150 participants are expected, including teachers, methodologists and representatives from other project pilot oblasts.

Two publications will be produced after the conference: a booklet of articles by teachers and related to the conference them and a booklet of information about the project’s Kyiv City pilot schools, their approaches to the delivery of civic education and their view of the impact of the project on.

For further information on the conference please contact

Svitlana Babinets, tel. 279-24-13

For further information on the project please contact

David Royle, International Team Leader, Cambridge Education, Ukraine Civic Education Project

Tel: (+380-44) 4665467; 2386389; 5685780; Fax: (+380-44) 2308102 E-mail: David.Royle@ced.kiev.ua

Kyiv, 05 November 2007

EU-funded project ‘Civic Education Ukraine’ organized a study tour for a group of 50 Ukrainian teachers and teacher trainers as well as 13 students to the State Centre for Civic Education of the Southern German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The participants were drawn from the four main civic education teachers’ associations which the project works with, namely: Nova Doba – the All Ukrainian Association of Teachers of History and Civic Education, Teachers for Democracy and Partnership, the Ukrainian School Heads’ Association (USHA) and the All Ukrainian Association of Teachers of Social Sciences and Civic Education. The tour was made possible by the proactive involvement of USHA and the project’s Long-term International Curriculum Development Expert, Dr Karlheinz Duerr, who is based at the Institute and has experience of hosting previous groups of USHA members and students.

The programme included activities and presentations related to issues of civic education/citizenship teaching and learning in Germany and Europe, within the curriculum as well as in terms of extra-curricular activities. A visit to the European Parliament and to the Council of Europe (both in Strasbourg, France) enhanced the participants' understanding of the work and importance of both organisations. During a school visit to a vocational school of commerce in Stuttgart, Ukrainian and German students learnt about each other’s countries and the group as whole discussed approaches to civic/citizenship education in both countries. It is hoped that the study visit will lead to increased contacts and networking between the two countries and the schools and organisations who participated in the programme in order to enhance their international, and especially, European links.

The project will produce a report on the activity and publish the training materials on its websites. There will also be a presentation and exhibition at the project’s final conference in February 2008.

For further information on the project please contact

David Royle, International Team Leader, Cambridge Education, Ukraine Civic Education Project

Tel: (+380-44) 4665467; 2386389; 5685780; Fax: (+380-44) 2308102 E-mail: David.Royle@ced.kiev.ua

Kyiv, 5 November 2007

1 November 2007, Kyiv 

A meeting of Heads of Oblast State Administrations and Oblast Radas of Volyn, Rivne, Zhytomyr, Khmelnitsk and Kyiv oblast, where the Agreement on Co-operation in the field of Protection and use of Water resources in Pripyat basin was signed, was held on 1^st of November 2007 in premises of Rivne Oblast Administration. The Agreement was prepared in the framework of EU-funded project “Transboundary River Basin Management, 2^nd phase for Pripyat river” and widely discussed in the regions. It was the first time when such Agreement on Co-operation in the field of basin water management at the territory of the five oblasts of Pripyat basin was signed.

The main goals of the Agreement is to achieve safe for human health ecological state and good quality of water; to promote rational water use as factor of sustainable development and protection of biodiversity and nature reserves in the Pripyat basin. The two attachments to the Agreement – “Regulations on Pripyat basin council” and “Regulations on Informational exchange in the Pripyat basin” promote basin management principle and decentralized management of water resources. It is worth to mention that the prepared Agreement fully incorporates requirements of EU Water Framework Directive.

The signing of the Agreement shows the interest of regional authorities at the highest levels to water management and its harmonization with the EU ones as well as promotes general improvement of ecological state of the Pripyat basin.

For further information on the project please contact

Stephen Parsons, Team Leader, Mott MacDonald Ltd., Ukraine

Trans-boundary river basin management. Phase II for Pripyat project.

Tel: (+380-44) 279 2149; 537 5917; Fax: (+380-44) 537 5917

E-mail: pripyat@i.kiev.ua

Kyiv, 5 November 2007

The EU-funded project “SME Support Services in Priority Regions” conducted in Kyiv two national seminars on attracting investments.

The purpose of these seminars was to attract the attention of both, civil servants and businesses from all Oblasts of Ukraine to the importance of drawing (foreign) investments to Ukraine and to demonstrate what needs to be done to create a favourable environment for foreign investors.

The first of the two seminars took place on October 24 and brought together over 50 people from the Economic Departments of the State Oblasts Administrations from all Oblasts of Ukraine.

The second seminar took place on October 25 and gathered over 40 representatives of the business communities from the project priority regions – Rivne, Zhytomyr and Chernihiv.

An excellent mix and balance of speakers made the seminars very practical. Lana Hopkinson, EU Investment Expert, informed on how other countries tackle the issue of attracting foreign investments and Ruslan Svirsky of “Invest in Rivne” and Igor Zaglada of “Invest Ukraine” shared with the audience their experiences, successes and lessons learnt while promoting investments in Ukraine.

Especially, the presentation made by Ruslan Svirskyy (“Invest in Rivne”) prompted many questions by the audience. In addition, a number of requests for assistance in establishing similar Investment Promotion Agencies were made to him from representatives of Zhytomyr and Chernihiv.

The audience was very participatory and an open and enthusiastic discussion took place on almost all aspects of the seminar programme provided. Also an exchange of experiences from companies that had been involved in seeking an investor took place during the seminar.

Mrs. Lana Hopkins was able to give highly relevant information in response to questions on specific subjects (such as Techno Parks) and provided contacts of companies from her own project in Serbia.

The open discussion created a very positive dynamics, in particular, on the financial and operational issues of establishing similar organisations such as “Invest in Rivne” and ensuring their sustainability.

For more information please contact:

Vincent Williams, Innovative BDS Expert

+38044 332 41 64

Vincent.wiliams@smeuk.org.ua