EU-Information
Project title: “Establishing of a Team
Europe – Latvia”
Country: Latvia
Recipient authority: European Integration
Bureau (EIB), Riga, Latvia
Concept of Team Europe.
The
European Institute has established national networks of Team Europe in Estonia
(1998), Lithuania (2003) and Latvia (2003).
Project description:
The overall objective of the project was to establish
a Team Europe – Latvia. The project took place from March to July 2003
and consisted of an introductory
meeting, seven EU-courses and three
seminars.
The
introductory meeting, implemented by the European Institute,
included for instance a general introduction to the concept of Team Europe
and elements of teambuilding.
The seven EU-courses
were implemented by the Latvian School of Public Administration (LSPA) and
bore the following titles:
-
“Generel EU introduction” (two days)
-
“The Accession Process” (one day)
-
“Internal Market” (one day)
-
“Common Agricultural Policy” (one day)
-
“EU Regional Policy + Employment and Social Affairs Policy (one
day)
-
“EU Environmental Policy” (one day)
-
“Consequences of EU membership for Latvia” (one day)
The courses were meant to enhance team members’
capacity to provide information on EU-issues. The three seminars (described
below) further strengthened this capacity through knowledge sharing with
other team members and training in presentation techniques. The seminars
were implemented by the European Institute.
The first seminar was entitled “Knowledge-sharing
with Team Europe – Estonia and Team Europe - Lithuania” and lasted
three days. During the seminar, three members of Team Europe – Estonia
and three members of Team Europe – Lithuania acted as resource persons
sharing their experiences with their Latvian colleagues. It was decided to
establish a network of Team Europe in the Baltic States. The study visit
also included elements of team-building to strengthen team members’
networking mentality.
The second seminar, “Presentation techniques and
media training” (three days) included training on general
presentation skills and specific EU-presentations by the potential team
members. FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) were used as a model for the
presentations of EU-information.
During the “Closing seminar” in July (two
days), 53 Latvians received a diploma, issued by the European Integration
Bureau and were appointed as members of Team Europe - Latvia. The team
will have further regular training, envisaged to take place twice a year
for two to three days.
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