Development Office Newsletter: Issue N°5 2010
Column
2010 –Development Office back on track
The end of the year is approaching – a good moment to look back at the past months and to take a glimpse at what the future might bring. For the Development Office, 2010 has been a very special and important year. While 2009 was a turning point in the history of our department, the past year has been the beginning of a new ‘era’: we have experienced the arrival of new colleagues, the change of the internal structure and the launch of projects as well as new challenges, ideas and enthusiasm.
While the first half of 2010 has been earmarked by the design of a new internal structure under the guidance of the new management team, the second half has seen the arrival of new Project Managers and Interns.
Regarding the scope of our work, we have not only continued providing services to the EU institutions in a variety of areas such as legal analysis of EU, digital inclusion or energy policy, but also in various parts of the world like Asia-Pacific, North-Africa, Central America, Middle East, Russia and, of course, Europe.
In line with our original core competence, we have provided professional training activities at the highest level. Special target groups in 2010 have been professionals working in the public sector. Among our key projects have been programmes to prepare civil servants from Poland for the country’s Presidency 2011, a course for officials from the Turkish Competition Authority and training activities for civil society representatives and officials from Serbia and Central America.
In response to the new political developments at EU level, we have also launched a pilot activity, the ‘Executive Training for the European External Action Service’ for national diplomats and European officials who will be joining this service. And we have supported the creation of ‘PORTIUS’, the world's first academic centre with a focus on international and EU port law.
Last but not least, we should underline the extraordinary popularity of our internal training programmes, first of all the 17th edition of the ‘Intensive Seminar on the EU’ but also our renowned EU ‘fact finding’ sessions and negotiations workshops.
To say it in a few words: in 2010, the Development Office is back on track. And it’s not standing still – the next year will see more innovative ideas, interesting projects and new initiatives. More news will be coming soon…
At this point, we would like to thank you, dear partners and friends, for your loyal support. We look forward to continue our cooperation and wish you happy holidays and a successful New Year 2011.