Europe & CIS

UNDP invites religious communities in Azerbaijan to fight HIV/AIDS

BAKU, 1 December 2004 - A roundtable discussion in commemoration of World AIDS Day started with a minute of silence, prayer and candle lighting in memory of those who died of HIV/AIDS. The round table brought together religious leaders of different confessions in Azerbaijan, as well as NGOs, representatives of people living with HIV/AIDS and mass media.

For the First Time, More New HIV Cases in Eastern Europe than in the West

UNDP Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan prepare cross-border early warning report

CARNet expands its activities in Central Asia and holds a meeting in Kyrgyzstan

November 19, 2004 - A workshop, devoted to the activities of the subregional network CARNet, took place on November 13-15, 2004 in the Pinara Bishkek Hotel.The participants from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan discussed network activity results for the period from June 2004 to November 2004 and drafted a strategy for 2005-2006.

UNDP’s ICT-for-Development (ICTD) Focus Area Holds a Knowledge Management Training in Kiev

Bratislava, 2 November 2004 - The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 25-29 October, 2004 held a Knowledge Management Training 'Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)-DRIVEN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: How to support local development by improving access to ICTs and expanding associated public services through effective public-private partnerships'. The event was organized in Kiev, Ukraine jointly by UNDP"s Bratislava Regional Centre, UNDP Learning Resource Centre in New York and UNDP’s Country Office in Ukraine. Among the 55 training participants from 23 countries were UNDP ICTD focal points and community development practitioners from the Commonwealth of Independent States as well as from Central and South-Eastern Europe.

UNDP Report on Roma in Eastern Europe wins Prize

BRATISLAVA, 9 November 2004 – A panel of distinguished judges has chosen the report ‘The Roma in Central and Eastern Europe: Avoiding the Dependency Trap’ as one of seven winners of the 2004 Awards for Human Development. The winners will be honoured at a ceremony hosted by the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Mark Malloch Brown on 15 December in New York City.

Ukraine's Accounting Chamber Counts on a Bigger Role

Slovakia helps Uzbekistan deal with waste

BRATISLAVA, 26 October 2004 – UNDP’s Bratislava Regional Centre (BRC) recently welcomed Juraj Farkas, the first expert to take part in Slovakia’s assistance programme for lesser developed countries. He gave a lecture on his experience in Uzbekistan, where he advised the government on how to improve its waste management systems.

Silk Road Project Builds Trade Ties in Central Asia

BRATISLAVA, 22 October ­2004 – Central Asian countries are starting to trade with one another, but fears of domination by larger neighbours still persist, Wojciech Hubner, UNDP’s Regional Economic Advisor in Central Asia, told the Bratislava Regional Centre this week.

Belarus University Teaches Course on Human Development

Brest, 21 October 2004 - With the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Pushkin State University of Brest has become one of the first schools in Belarus to teach a course on human development. The course's first session on 15 October began with a presentation by Dr. Eric Brunat, UNDP Senior Economist, who discussed the link between economic growth and human development. About 150 students attended the event.

World Bank Briefs UNDP on Its Community Foundation Programme

UNDP Regional Director Visits Eastern Slovakia

BRATISLAVA, 30 September 2004 - Kalman Mizsei, the United Nations Assistant Secretary General, Assistant Administrator of UNDP and Regional Director for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), recently visited the Spiš Region in Eastern Slovakia and met with mayors of local villages and towns as well as with representatives of community development Centres in Levoca, Spišské Podhradie, Spisský Hrhov and Svedlár.