Europe & CIS

Thoughts on human resources management

Mao Kawada blogs live from Tirana where she is attending the Fourth Annual Conference of the Western Balkans Human Resources Management community of practice meeting. This year's theme is : managing performance in the work of the civil service. Mao pontificates on performance appraisals and non financial incentives....

Photo: Carlo Benedetti 2009

UNDP Georgia's new Quick Capacity Assessment Methodology

Ivane Shamugia shares UNDP Georgia's new "Methodology for Quick Capacity Assessment(s)" (pdf) and jumps head first into the ongoing discussion between "Short vs. Long" when it comes to capacity development....

Have a look at the new methodology and join the conversation!

Development in the 21st Century and the nature of helping others...

Live from Zagreb! At the annual meeting of UNDP capacity development practitioners in Europe and CIS, Jens Wandel, Deputy Regional Director and Regional Centre Director, talked about systems thinking, and how this helps us to work in complex environments, to see interrelationships and patterns of change - necessary skills for dealing with 21st Century challenges.

Regional Workshop on Programming in Support of Anti-corruption Agencies

Bratislava, Slovak Republic, 30 June - 1 July 2009 - Contries in Eastern Europe and the CIS are facing significant challenges in tackling corruption. After having ratified the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), many of them have established specialized anti-corruption agencies (ACAs), and UNDP is sometimes called upon to help. However, these institutions are not only confronted with the complex issues of corruption, but as part of a country’s public system may suffer from the usual failings of post-communist administrations, such as lack of resources, vague mandates, poor coordination, defficient planning and performance monitoring, politicization, structural inefficiencies, lack of well-trained and qualified staff. With its significant track record both in supporting anti-corruption policies, as well as institutional development, UNDP is uniquely placed to support ACAs with regard to both technical and functional capacities that they need.

Joint United Nations Development Programme (Bratislava Regional Centre),Council of Europe and Open Society Institute/Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative

The UN Development Programme’s Bratislava Regional Centre, the Council of Europe and the Open Society Institute/Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative held a regional workshop designed to encourage cooperation between municipalities in Eastern European countries.

From the street to the school, to the future

Kyrgyzstan, 8 August 2008 – At the Youth Conference in Issyk-Kul, forty young leaders from vocational lyceums and universities developed skills in critical thinking, leadership and participation. The conference last week was organized by the UNDP project ‘Vocational Education for Street Children in the Kyrgyz Republic,’ which aims to ensure the right of a child to participate in the decision-making processes that impact their lives.  This event provided knowledge and skills to young leaders representing children from vulnerable families, orphans and street children obtaining vocational education in the lyceums of Bishkek.

Partner organizations invited to the conference to present their work included the UNV-UNDP Youth Programme, which provided information about the volunteer clubs and its activities, and the Center for Protection of Children, which conducted trainings on child participation, team building and leadership using interactive methods.

Business incubation and job creation in Bulgaria

Bulgaria, 24 July 2008 – The Business Incubator in Kozloduy – the tenth incubator in the JOBS Project countrywide network – was officially inaugurated on 22 July, . The JOBS project (Job Opportunities through Business Support) promotes development of the private sector in Bulgaria, supporting start-up and establishment of small and medium businesses and helping reduce unemployment – and increasing the services available to the local community.

Taking part in the opening ceremony were Stuart Peters, Second Secretary EU/ Economic at the British Embassy in Sofia; Chris Bailey, Consultant of the UK Programme “Social Consequences of Nuclear Power Plant Closure in CEE”; Lene Jespersen, UNDP Bulgaria Deputy Resident Representative; Antoaneta Tsoneva, representative of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and JOBS Project National Coordinator; Rumen Manoev, Mayor of Kozloduy; representatives of Vratsa District Administration; local entrepreneurs and many citizens.

Human development: policy and practice

Hungary/region, 20 July 2008 – Graduate students, civil servants and researchers had the chance to take part in the third Sustainable Human Development summer school organized by UNDP and the Central European University. With the aim of improving understanding of human development, the Millennium Development Goals and the interaction of theory and policy, experts from the UNDP Regional Centre, CEU and other European institutions presented their experiences in poverty reduction, social inclusion, civil society, environmental challenges and climate change, and localizing the MDGs. 

Social enterprise: a new answer to poverty

Barcelona/region, 9 July 2008 – Today sees the launch of the publication Social Enterprise: A new model for poverty reduction and employment generation. Prepared by UNDP and the EMES European Research Network, this marks an important step toward raising the regional profile of social enterprise as a tool for community-based development. UNDP’s regional advisor on poverty reduction and civil society, Geoff Prewitt, explains what it’s all about.

Civil society, young people and development

Ukraine/region, 8 July 2008 – UNDP Civic Engagement Practice and UN Volunteers last week held a workshop on boosting the participation of young people, youth organizations and other civil society actors in efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals. At the workshop – held in Kiev – participants from across the Europe and CIS region shared experiences on support to developing civil sicety actors, and discussed regional trends and developments influencing civil society and youth volunteerism.

Over forty participants from youth NGOs, volunteer organizations and UNDP and UNV offices across the region, took part in the workshop, entitled “Advancing youth inclusion, civic engagement and volunteerism towards achievement of MDGs”

Impact assessment - making transition work for all

BiH/Croatia/Moldova/Serbia, 4 July 2008 – In Budapest last week, UNDP held the first training event in its regional project on ex-ante policy impact assessment. Participants included civil servants and civil society representatives, from the four countries involved in the project – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Moldova and Serbia. Ex-ante policy impact assessment (PIA) is a means of predicting the effect of policy measures, particularly the unintended effects, on a range of social groups, including those not targeted by the policy measure. This training focused on identifying the impact of proposed regulations on poverty reduction and on equal opportunities for vulnerable and marginalized groups.

Demography and development in Russia

Russia, 28 April 2008 – The demographic problem remains one of the most severe challenges in modern Russia: the ongoing population decline and shrinking workforce caused by low fertility, high mortality, ageing, a reduction in the working share of the population, and so far indistinct migration policy pose risks for the future of the country. The United Nations in the Russian Federation and the Center of Strategic Research present the UN in Russia joint publication Demographic Policy in Russia: from Reflection to Action, prepared by a group of independent national experts.

UN Action Plan Prepared for Chernobyl Decade

New York, 25 April 2008 — At a high-level meeting of UN agencies convened to mark the 22nd anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident on 26 April 1986, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) presented a draft “action plan” covering UN work on Chernobyl until 2016. Preparation of the plan was mandated by a 2007 General Assembly resolution, which proclaimed 2006-2016 the Decade of Recovery and Sustainable Development of areas affected by Chernobyl. The aim of the Decade is to promote a “return to normal life” for the region. After review by the International Atomic Energy Agency, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and other agencies involved in recovery efforts, the UN action plan will be approved later this year.

Global economy, local effects: poverty in Ukraine

Ukraine, 17 April 2008 — Many experts say that the excellent progress the whole East European region has made in reducing poverty in the last ten years is now being threatened by growing uncertainties in the global economy. At an international conference organised by UNDP, government executives from Eastern Europe, business leaders, international experts, think-tanks and NGOs shared their experiences of poverty alleviation and social inclusion through multilateral partnerships. The Conference’s participants called for an immediate response to resist further increases in poverty in Ukraine.

Embassy of Japan awards a new grant for a project in Chornobyl

Ukraine, 15 January 2008 - The Government of Japan has provided a grant, amounting to 161,769 hryvnias, to reconstruct the water supply systems in Lystvyn Village in Ovruch District of Zhytomyr Region.

Drought in Moldova is of catastrophic proportions

Moldova, December 11, 2007 - In 2007, the Republic of Moldova is facing great difficulties caused by an extraordinary drought that is affecting nearly all the country. According to international estimates of the impact this phenomenon is having on ecology and agriculture, this drought is of catastrophic proroportions.   

To find out more on drought in Moldova please visit http://www.un.md/drought/.                                                                 

http://undp.edgeboss.net/wmedia/undp/undp_live_site/moldova/moldova.wvx 

Austrian Chancellor and Administrator of UNDP presented Human Development Report

The Report warns of an irreversible ecological disaster if urgent action is not taken to reverse the damaging impacts of climate change and cautions that the poorest countries would suffer the most as a result. 

In Romania 87 scuba-divers received specialized rescue training.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Interior have created the “Capacity Development for Crisis Situations” program, with 87 scuba-divers receiving specialized rescue training.

 http://undp.edgeboss.net/wmedia/undp/undp_live_site/romania/undp_rom.wvx 

United Nations Secretary General message on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2007

“Whatever our role in life, wherever we may live, in some way or another, we all live with HIV. We are all affected by it. We all need to take responsibility for the response. On this World AIDS Day, let us show the leadership required to live up to that responsibility.”

UNDP Global Human Development Report Launched in Russia

Energy and environmental experts discussed findings and recommendation of the new Human Development Report ‘Fighting climate change: human solidarity in a divided world’ in the International Institute of Energy Policy and Diplomacy in Moscow