Beginning of the second cycle of the Specialised Programme “Management of Regional Development through EU Funds”
The opening ceremony of the second cycle of the Specialised Programme “Management of Regional Development through EU Funds” has been held today at the Rectorate of the University of Novi Sad. The ceremony was attended by prof. Dušan Nikolić PhD, Rector of the University of Novi Sad, Branislav Bugarski, Provincial Secretary for Interregional Cooperation and Local Self-government and Siniša Lazić, Director of the European Affairs Fund of AP Vojvodina.
Branislav Bugarski, Provincial Secretary for Interregional Cooperation said that the programme was pure futurism because a thousand trainees, as many as planned to receive training, would be able to think within the EU framework and grasp the processes within the EU policies.
“There are three components that are preconditions for success: human resources, documentation and funds and they make the difference between those who are successful in acceding the EU and those who are not. The provincial administration has supported the programme by co-financing projects, and over 100 projects have come to Vojvodina from the pre-accession funds”, said Secretary Bugarski.
According to him, the Programme was to take us closer to the 21st century because processes were planned and managed through a systematic approach and argumentation. In his view, Serbia would have become a member of the European family by 2022.
“The objective of the Programme is for you not to become experts in project development, but within the scope of your activities, to be initiators of translating the needs of your community to the language of the EU administration, and thus, provide a socio-economic development and better future for your community“, indicated Bugarski and added that there were great things ahead of us and that we, as a society could do a lot, learn to tackle problems systematically.
Siniša Lazić, Director of the European Affairs Fund of AP Vojvodina, said that it was the second generation of programme trainees and emphasized that the goal was to build the capacities of the local-self-government, provincial administration and civil sector, so that they could submit applications for the available EU pre-accession funds.
He indicated that the programme contributed to the making of a society of balanced opportunities and the more we, as a community, were successful in that, the more success we would have in project implementation.
The opening ceremony was also attended by prof. Dušan Nikolić PhD, Rector of the University of Novi Sad, who on behalf of the academic community, wished the trainees stamina and success.
Within the framework of the Programme, there will be 195 lectures involving six modules: EU Law and Policies, Regional Development Policies and the EU, Project Cycle Management and Project Development, Basic EU Programme Guidelines and Principles, EU Programmes and Project Implementation and Evaluation.
The implementation of the second cycle of the Specialised Programme “Management of Regional Development through EU Funds”, organised by the European Affairs Fund of AP Vojvodina, in cooperation with the University of Novi Sad, with the support of the Provincial Government, will last until July and will be attended by 30 trainees coming from the provincial institutions and secretariats, local self-governments and civil society organisations from Vojvodina.
