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In the context of the Programme “Advanced On-the-Job Training”, the Central European Initiative (CEI) is awarding two fellowships to Young Diplomats seconded by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the CEI Member States. Selected candidates will join the CEI-Executive Secretariat in Trieste (Italy) for a period of 6 months, renewable for a maximum of another 6 months. They will receive a fellowship of €1.500,00 per month.
 
The project know-how provider from Austria, the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw) and the Macedonian know-how recipient, the Finance Think - Economic Research & Policy Institute, Skopje met in Vienna on 21-22 December for the kick-off meeting of the project “Heroes and she-roes: knowledge for analysis of and advocacy for equal pay for women and mothers in Macedonia (SHE-ROES)”.

The beneficiary institution of the KEP AUSTRIA project Aim@Innovations, Knowledge Center, organised in Skopje on 12 November а business breakfast for the successful finalisation and promotion of the project and its I-LAB Center. Representatives from 10 universities, research centers, NGOs and student organisations, with whom Knowledge Center had signed memoranda of cooperation in the past period, attended the event.

The International Conference on Migration held in Skopje on 15-16 December under the Macedonian CEI Presidency, was hosted by H.E. Nikola Poposki, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia. 

The last meeting of the Committee of National Coordinators (CNC) under the Macedonian CEI Presidency 2015 was held in Skopje on 17 December 2015. On that occasion, participants took stock of the numerous activities and events organised throughout the year both by the Presidency and the CEI Secretariat.

Special attention was paid to strengthening relations with the EU and its institutions as well as to cooperation with other international and regional organisations.

The Institute of Public Health of Serbia “Dr. Milan Jovanovic Batut”, project beneficiary institution, hosted the project final conference at its headquarters in Belgrade on 15 December 2015.
 
The CEI Executive Secretariat signed yesterday, 15 December 2015, in Skopje, a Memorandum of Understanding with MARRI, the Regional Centre of the Migration, Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative, where all six Western Balkan candidate countries are cooperating on issues regarding  migration flows.
 
"Migration crisis as global problem and challenge: How realistic is only a regional solution? (Europe, CEI and Western Balkans)" and "Inter-connectivity in the EU context of the CEI region” were the central topics of the Meeting of the CEI Parliamentary Assembly, held in Skopje on 10 December in the framework of the Macedonian CEI Presidency 2015.
The consortium of the Danube-INCO.NET project  gathered in Budapest on 10-11 December for an overall assessment of the work progress, the main results achieved during its first two–year implementation phase and the future challenges.
 
Under the Macedonian CEI Presidency 2015, the Business Forum on “Promotion of Regional Cooperation for Improving Market Competitiveness of CEI Agricultural and Food Business” was held in Skopje on 26 November 2015. The event gathered more than 90 high-ranking participants from the various CEI Ministries of Agriculture, Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Small and Medium Enterprises and Embassies in Skopje.
Foreign Ministers of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Germany, Kosovo*, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia participated in the 7th Aspen Southeast Europe Foreign Ministers’ Conference in Berlin on 24 November. The Conference was organised by the Aspen Institute Germany in cooperation with the German Federal Foreign Office and the Italian Embassy in Berlin.
Five innovation vouchers for Moldovan SMEs, including start-ups and spin-offs have been financed in the framework of the CEI KEP Austria-funded project Innovation stimulation for Moldovan SMEs in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energies (CEI-ener2i-MD). The activity aims at raising awareness within the recipient institution - the Agency for Innovation and Technology Transfer in Moldova - on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.
Young diplomats from 12 CEI Member States (Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine) participated in the 1st Diplomatic Forum on "Macro and Micro Strategies for Development: Strengthening the diplomatic capacities of CEI region”, in Skopje on 11-13 November 2015. The event was organised in the framework of the Macedonian CEI Presidency 2015, in cooperation with the CEI Secretariat and under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Gjorge Ivanov.
 
The Macedonian Presidency of the Central European Initiative (CEI) declares its resolute and unconditional condemnation of the terrorist attacks targeting several locations in Paris, that have resulted in a great number of casualties and injuring dozens. Being deeply shocked by this desperate and deep tragedy, the Macedonian Presidency of the CEI expresses its deep condolences and profound solidarity to the families of the victims, as well as to the government and the people of France.
The event was organised within the CEI Parliamentary Dimension, which along with the Governmental and the Business Dimension, is positioned as one of the three pillars of the CEI. 

The meeting mainly focused on intercultural cooperation promoted by the CEI, with special attention to several best practices developed over the years and supported through CEI instruments, funds and networks. Topics such as interuniversity cooperation and management of linguistic and cultural minorities were debated upon, in line with the priorities of the current CEI Plan of Action.
In order to take stock of the various initiatives aimed at building the most important infrastructure networks in the area and on the path towards EU enlargement, the two General Committees - on Political and Home Affairs, and on Economic Affairs - of the CEI Parliamentary Dimension took place in Trieste on 9 November.
 
Freedom of the press, the future of media business and models of sustainable business were some of the topics discussed during the 9th edition of the South East Europe Media Forum (SEEMF) held in Bucharest on 5-6 November.
The international Ministerial Conference on Climate Change "Towards the Climate Summit in Paris in 2015, Challenges for CEI Member States," in Skopje on 6 November, gathered more than 150 high-ranking participants, including 9 ministerial-level delegations from CEI Member States and 16 representatives of embassies in Macedonia. Several scientific institutions, international and domestic NGOs also participated in the event to exchange experiences and views on the challenges faced in achieving low-carbon growth.
 
The CEI and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), in special partnership with the Media Program South East Europe of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), have announced the winners of the “CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism” 2015: Aleksan
Curators from Central and Eastern Europe gathered in Trieste on 23-24 October to discuss the key topic on public funding for research and experimental production in contemporary art. The event “Before Numbers. Issues and Activities”, was organised by the Trieste Contemporanea Committee, as a follow-up of the CEI Venice Forum for Contemporary Art Curators held in Venice at the Ca’ Rezzonico Museum in May 2015.

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