First training session held in Cyprus – 30/09/2012

/in

The first training session of the  Pro-I3T project took place in Nicosia (Cyprus) on September 11, 2012. Participants have been trained upon the use of the information tools of  Pro-I3T (in Greek) as well as online partner search tools and the application procedures for the Europe for Citizens programme. Best practices from various European Regions have also been presented.

The workshop involved Municipal and Regional officers from various European countries, who presented relevant material from previous experiences and good practices, as well as useful guidelines for municipalities wishing to submit project proposals.

The session started with a welcome speech from Mr. Yiannis Antoniades, Secretary General of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities and then Mr. Fanourios Pantelogiannis, Head of Brussels Office of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities presented the Pro-I3T project and its information tools, including the Thematic Guides to EU Funding.

Following this presentation, Mrs. Ourania Georgoutsakou, Senior Policy Coordinator and Mrs. Regine Kramer, Policy Coordinator of the Assembly of European Regions presented the AER, its activities and the opportunities it offers to Cypriot Municipalities.

Mr. Cédric Virciglio – Director of the Bureau Alsace, talked about building synergies between local and European strategies through European projects and presented the Alsatian example. Following this presentation, Dr. David Moser, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Renewable Energy of the European Academy of Bozen/ Bolzano (EURAC), presented the PV Initiative on photovoltaic technologies and Mr. Mario Miranda, President of the NGO Norte Crescente, talked about youth unemployment and mobility programmes in the Azores.

EU Funding Opportunities for Local and Regional Authorities. Pro-I3T final conference. 23/10/2012 in Brussels, Belgium – 03/10/2012

/in

The Union of Cyprus Municipalities and the Assembly of European Regions would like to invite you to the event:

EU Funding Opportunities for Local and Regional Authorities

Tuesday 23/10/2012

Committee of the Regions. Room JDE 51. Rue Belliard 99-101, Brussels

European funds have always been of paramount importance for local and regional authorities around Europe. In the context of the current economic recession and budgetary restrictions at every level, European funding becomes even more an important source of potential income for subnational public authorities. How can they make the best out of the available funding now and what can local and regional authorities expect from future European funding? This will be the topic of the upcoming conference, which takes place in the framework of the Pro-I3T project, under the auspices of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The event is divided in two parts. During the first part, participants will be taught on how to work with current European programmes (especially the Europe for Citizens programme) and will explore the possibilities of creating thematic networks among their members and with Municipalities from the rest of the EU. We will also present the deliverables of the project (15 thematic guides on EU financing in the following fields: education and youth, culture and media, employment and social affairs, research and development, industry and enterprises, external relations and development, commerce, energy, environment, transport, public health and consumer protection, justice and home affairs, information technology, agriculture and fisheries). During the second part we will discuss challenges and potentials of the future programming period.

 

For more information and registrations, please contact:

Mr. Fanourios Pantelogiannis
Head of Brussels Office
Union of Cyprus Municipalities

Second Training Session held in Brussels – Pro-I3T final conference – 23/10/2012

/in

European funds have always been of paramount importance for local and regional authorities around Europe. In the context of the current economic recession and budgetary restrictions at every level, European funding becomes even more an important source of potential income for sub-national public authorities.

The final conference of the Pro-I3T project, which took place in the Committee of the Regions (CoR) in Brussels on 23 October, addressed the question of how local and regional authorities can make best use of EU funding programmes.

During the event, participants got acquainted with the current European programmes and discussed the challenges of accessing European funding. Basis for this discussion provided Mr. Vanraes, AER Bureau member and member of the Brussels-Capital (B) Regional Parliament, with the presentation of the AER’s report: Information and access to European funding.

Mr. Fanourios Pantelogiannis, Head of Brussels Office of the Union of Cyprus Municipalities presented to the participants the current EU funding programmes, with the help of the Pro-I3T project and its information tools. Mrs. Anna Michaelidou, Municipality Commit-tees and Cultural Affairs Officer from Idalion, Cyprus talked about how to make the most out of thematic networking and gave a practical example of a Thematic Network. Following this presen-tation, Mr. Jean-Luc Vanraes, presented the AER Report on information and then Mr. Kyriacos Kyriacou, Counsellor to the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU updated the participants on the state of play of negotiations for the 2014-2020 budget. Mr. Petr Mooz, Head of Unit at DG Budget Information and Communication, presented the New MFF Post-2013 and Mr. Luc Van den Brande, former president of the CoR and member of the BUDG Ad-hoc Commission presented the CoR Opinion: New MFF Post-2013. Mrs. Françoise Chotard, Chairwoman of the ERRIN network talked about the “Horizon 2020 – New opportunities or new challenges?”  Then, Mrs. Isabelle Albertone, Head of sector, DG EAC B1 – Coordination of the Lifelong Learning Programme presented the European Commission proposal on the “Erasmus for All” programme and finally Mr. Nikos Lampropoulos, journalist on Regional Cooperation presented the Territorial cooperation after 2013. The presentations were followed by a long Q&A session.

The presentations of the speakers are available here bolow.

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Fanourios Pantelogiannis
Head of Brussels Office
Union of Cyprus Municipalities

Results and Conclusions of the project – 31/12/2012

/in

The 31st of December marks the end of the Pro-I3T project, which has been co-funded in the framework of the “Europe for Citizens” programme and aimed at promoting the cooperation between the Union of Cyprus Municipalities and the Assembly of European Regions, in order for them to commonly develop information tools for the promotion of thematic Twinnings between their members, but also with Towns from the rest of Europe.

Fifteen thematic guides have been produced in English and in Greek. Thus, local and regional authorities around Europe are now able to find out all possible solutions for financing their project ideas, either through the “Europe for Citizens” programme, or through other EU programmes.

Two training sessions (one in Cyprus and one in Brussels) taught local and regional practitioners how to use the provided information material (CD-Roms, websites etc) and therefore how to improve the quality and the implementation procedures of their activities. A study visit to Brussels gave to newly elected Mayors of Cyprus the possibility to share their experiences in working with European programmes and the “Europe for Citizens” programme and to explore the possibilities to develop twinnings with Towns from the rest of the EU.

The benefits from the Pro-I3T project were multiple for all the involved stakeholders:

Union of Cyprus Municipalities: Building upon the interest of Municipalities and the knowledge that the DECISIVE and SUSTAIN projects had created in 2010 and 2011, the UCM obtained through the Pro-I3T project, a series of practical tools and Guides (see left), through which it can now effectively support the efforts of its members to participate in Town Twinning.

Assembly of European Regions: Just like the UCM, the AER gained through the Pro-I3T project, access to the practical tools of the project, through which it can effectively support the efforts of its members to participate in Twinning actions and other European programmes.

European Union: The Pro-I3T project reached hundreds of Municipalities in several European countries and has given to hundreds of officials, elected people and citizens, the chance to take part in a European action.