On 14 July 2010, the Director of the Venice-based UNESCO – BRESCE (Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe), Mr. Engelbert Ruoss, paid a visit to the CEI Secretary General, Amb. Gerhard Pfanzelter.
Mr. Ruoss was accompanied by Prof. Mario Scalet, who has recently been appointed as chair of the Science Unit. The meeting was an opportunity to exchange views on the cooperation between the two organisations, in line with the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding, signed in 2009, which provides a framework for cooperation in a number of priority areas. The CEI and UNESCO-BRESCE have developed a number of joint activities, such as the upcoming Summer School on “Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in South-eastern Europe”, to be held in Fojnica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 23 August to 4 September 2010.During the meeting, special attention was given to the activities to be organised in 2011 in the framework of the CEI Serbian Presidency.
In order to strengthen the coordination and the exchange of information between the two organisations, the UNESCO-BRESCE has shown its readiness to appoint a Focal Point among its staff (as already done by the CEI). An expert-level meeting will be held in the near future in order to discuss next year’s joint activities.