TESIM support update
Is it because of the arrival of spring? We don’t know, but the fact is that we have been very laborious during the month of March. On all fronts.
Bringing programmes together
Networking for us is not just a contractual mandate: it is one of our passions! In March we organised in Warsaw the first networking meeting of ENI CBC Audit Authorities. 20 participants representing 14 programmes attended the event, exchanging views and experiences for one and a half days on all topics related to this very specific field of intervention. The meeting also allowed for direct exchange with different units within DG NEAR, who joined – a first time for us! – online. Coinciding with the celebrations of March 8th, it was not only a fruitful meeting, but one that yielded blossoms too.
Everything is ready for the meeting of the ENI CBC communication managers that will take place in Brussels this week. A forum for exchange, but not only: it will include, with the support of Interact Office Turku, a training on the use of KEEP and, in addition, a workshop on storytelling held by John Holland, a recognised journalist, former Bureau Chief and Senior Correspondent at CNBC Europe. Certainly lots of engaging stories will be told!
Next on the calendar is the meeting on ENPI CBC closure, followed by the 2nd LabGroup on LIPs. Venue and dates will be announced shortly.
Increasing capacities
Major efforts in March focused on the organisation and delivery of 9 project preparation events in the framework of the first call for proposals of the Black Sea Basin Programme. Events have taken place in Armenia, Georgia, Turkey and Ukraine, in capital cities and/or selected regional locations, in cooperation with the Managing and National Authority, and have also involved, in some cases, the participation of the EU Delegations. All in all, nearly 550 participants, representing all types of eligible organisations, have learnt about the key aspects they need to take into consideration for successfully building a proposal and participating in the call, including practical demonstrations on the new online application system. Here again, new actors join the CBC community; less than half of the participants had previous experience in ENPI CBC. This round of events will be closed during the first week of April, with 3 seminars taking place in the Republic of Moldova.
In our next issue we will let you know more about our plans for online capacity building, including the production of video tutorials on project preparation in English, French, Russian and Arabic. Scripts and storyboards will be ready in April and filming will start in early May. This will be one of the core TESIM products this year and we are very excited about it. Stay tuned!
Spreading the word
Making ENI CBC known requires work on all sorts of initiatives. This month we have produced a series of leaflets about ENI CBC funding opportunities in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. Available both in English and in national languages, they will contribute to the dissemination of information not only in the countries, but also in Brussels. They will soon be also available for download from our website. The ones covering Mediterranean Partner Countries will follow.
And, together with DG NEAR, we have launched our application for the European Week of Cities and Regions 2017, under the theme “Cities and regions as change agents”. Good panellists, a diverse geographic representation, meaningful contents. Hopefully we will make this workshop a success again!
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