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The primary aim of the project
was to build the capacity of the CEEweb network through a
twinning program between Ecological
Tourism in Europe and CEEweb.
| On 22-23 March, 2004 the kick-off meeting
of the PHARE Twinning grants was held in Bratislava, Slovakia.
The meeting was organized by DG Environment for the grantees
of the programme Developing the capacity of environmental
NGOs, through transfer of best practice from NGOs in the
EU15 (under the PHARE 2003 Multi-country programme “Environment
and enlargement”). The participants represented 22 environmental
NGOs from the region. |
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The kick-off meeting provided good opportunities for the
participants for networking, getting to know each other's
organizations and the submitted programs. The representatives
of NGOs discussed the objectives they would like to achieve
through the implementation of the capacity-building and twinning
projects, which clearly shows that environmental NGOs, no
matter what specific field of activity they are focused on,
share some basic concerns and problems.
Unfortunately lack of appropriate information on the participants,
as well as the implementation of the meeting, especially the
unreasonable travel arrangements of the training also raised
some concerns. Actually some of the invited grantees decided
not to take part in the kick-off meeting, because they were
not convinced that these arrangements and the proposed agenda
served the purpose of the program in the most effective way.
The set of recommendations
based on the experiences of the kick-off meeting, supported
by several participants of the workshop, was delivered to
the European Commission.
After the twinning programs are finished, another meeting
was planned for the grantees. This meeting would be beneficial
for the participants in terms of sharing experiences, exchanging
ideas and also presenting the outcomes of the projects - and
hopefully these recommendations formulated after the kick-off
meeting would also be taken into account during the implementation
of the closing workshop, so that such useful initiatives of
the Commission can bring the most possible benefits for NGOs
as well as their partners, and can really effectively contribute
to the sustainable development of the region.
Supported by PHARE Multi-Country Programme
"Environment and Enlargement"
This program is implemented with the financial
assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document
are the sole responsibility of CEEweb, and can under no circumstances
be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.
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