News

Within the framework of SNIECODA Project (Strengthening the national institutional and educational capacity to implement official development assistance projects/programmes) 6 awareness campaigns (Pay it forward, Constanta’s vision , My world in development, A ray of hope) were funded by the Government of Romania and implemented by the Romanian civil society targeting young people throughout December 2008-March 2009. The role of these campaigns was to mobilize young people to highlight Romania’s role as an ODA donor and inform them about the Millennium Development Goals.  The results of the campaigns may be consulted here.

 On Thursday, April 14, UNDP invited representatives from line ministries to discuss Romania’s competitive advantages in the field of official development assistance (ODA) within the framework of SNIECODA Project (Strengthening the national institutional and educational capacity to implement official development assistance projects/programmes). This project is jointly implemented by UNDP Romania and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the period 2007 - 2009. Representatives from 12 ministries, MAE and UNDP gathered at the UN House to identify the sectors in which Romania’s expertise is well recognized. Discussions highlighted best practices with the potential to be shared with Romania’s three priority countries (Republic of Moldova, Serbia and Georgia) and reviewed the most relevant projects that are currently implemented in each line ministry. A follow up meeting will be convened by mid June, date to be confirmed soon. For further information, please see the meeting agenda and supporting documents.

 On May 15th, within the framework of the SNIECODA Project (Strengthening the national institutional and educational capacity to implement official development assistance projects/ programmes), the permanent working group to create the Masters Curricula on International Development Studies was reunited in its 4^th workshop. The 4 represented universities followed up on the study visit to Leeds and Bradford Universities (May 10 -14, 2009) and elaborated a work plan to meet its goals by the end of the year. The agenda included a synergy meeting with the NGO sector, The Romanian National NGDP Platform (FOND) being represented by Mrs. Andra Tanase. The working group created the profile of the Academic Conference, activity of SNIECODA meant to jumpstart academic research in the field of development.

The meeting benefited from the experience of UNFPA in similar initiatives as well as offering valuable feedback with regards to mainstreamed topics. UNFPA was represented by Ms. Stela Serghiuta.

 The Inception Workshop of the CB2 Project "Strengthening Capacity to Integrate Environment and Natural Resource Management, for Global Environmental Benefits"  was hosted on April 29^th by the Ministry of Environment. The project is implemented by UNDP and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The meeting brought together 38 government partners from various ministries, agencies and civil society,  who jointly debated over the project work-plan, expected deliverables and success indicators. The opening statements were presented by  Mr. Jan Sorensen, UN Resident Representative and Mr. Silviu Stoica, Ministry of Environment General Director of the International Projects Department. The project implementation modality and UNDP-GEF rules were presented by Ms Monica Moldovan, UNDP Romania environment portfolio manager and the discussions around objective and results expected as well as stakeholders involvement were moderated by  Prof. Dan Manoleli, Project Manager, University of Bucharest (Project Delegated Executing Agency). For more information please consult the workshop agenda and documents.

The Romanian Government Special Scholarship is a project jointly implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Education, Research and Innovation (MERI). Currently, there are 73 on-going scholarships. The balance of the funds needed to cover the scholarship payments for the second semester of the 2008/2009 academic year amount to 297.572 USD (tuition fees, accommodation and meals only). All the fees (tuition, accommodation etc) for which invoices have been received before 10 December 2008 have been paid to the Universities in due time. Currently, the UNDP does not enjoy the formal discretion to effect payments to third parties, in the absence of an agreement for 2009 between MERI and UNDP in line with the Standard Basic Agreement (signed on 23 January 1991, Official Monitor no. 81/15 February 1991) governing UNDP’s operations in Romania.

Expenditures for the year 2008:

MERI funds: 1.484.561,99 USD

UNDP funds: 296.440,39 USD

Available funds in UNDP account at end 2008, according to the financial report dating  31 March 2009: 307.012,59 USD

April 10^th, 2009 - UNDP and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will organize a roundtable to present the results of a nation-wide opinion survey on how Romanians perceive the status of their country as official donor in official development assistance (ODA) programmes. The results of 5 ODA awareness raising and fundraising campaigns implemented by Romanian civil society organizations and young volunteers will also be presented, through interactive audiovisual means. For further information, you can consult the Media Advisory (in Romanian).

The Assistance Centre for NGOs - CENTRAS and The Romanian NGDO Platform is organizing “Think globally. Youth and development education!” workshop in the framework of “Pay it forward” campaign targeted at students, on Thursday, 26^th of March 2009, UN House premises. “Pay it forward!" aims to raise awareness among Bucharest young people on the Millennium Development Goals and human rights issues. This initiative is supported by the United Nations Development Program Romania and by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The event will identify how youth can contribute towards the creation of a better world and the steps that Romania should take to assist other developing countries.

The world is preparing to celebrate World Water Day, on March 22, this year’s theme being “Transboundary Waters: Shared Water – Shares Opportunities”. On this occasion, H.E. Jan Sorensen, UNDP Resident Representative, delivered a Statement at the opening of the national conference “Investing in Waters-Believing in the Future” (March 18), organized by the Ministry of Environment to promote the Sectoral Operational Programme Environment. You can read the entire statement here.

Upon advise from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UNDP will have a consultative meeting with its select government partners to review its proposed Country Program for 2010 – 2012. The proposed Country Program will benefit from partners’ advice and recommendations with regard to the specific results, partnership strategies and funding framework. The meeting will also provide a chance for the UNDP to renew partnership with government organizations and to identify best strategies to support the realization of the objectives of the Program. The meeting is scheduled to take place Tuesday, 17 March 2009, at 11 am at UN House, Blvd. Primaverii nr. 48A, Bucharest, Sector 1.

For further information, you can consult the Country Program Document (together with Annex I, Annex II, Annex III) and the Agenda of the Meeting.