This Annual Report explains how the Regional Environmental Center's programs promote cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe. In 1994, we began much more actively promoting cooperation through all of our programs, often acting as broker between our constituents. The Strategic Environmental Issues report and our Manual on Public Particpation in Environmental Decisionmaking, for instance, brought together experts from ten countries from all sectors to analyze crucial issues and propose solutions. In 1994 the REC became the coordinator of a five-country network of Environmental Manage-ment Training Centers. We were also responsible for translating and disseminating the Environmental Action Program for Central and Eastern Europe into thirteen Central and Eastern European languages. This complex project required cooperation among international organizations such as the OECD and the European Union and among Central and Eastern European ministries of environment.Our core programs laid the groundwork for cooperation, in many cases facilitating direct personal contact among our constituents. Our publications also strive to make connections easy. Our NGO Directory, our Government and Environment directory, our Grant Project Summaries, and our newsletters all provide useful contact information. But much more effective are face-to-face meetings. In fact, the REC prides itself on being a convenient meeting place for environmentalists from both the West and from Central and Eastern Europe. In 1994 we invited numerous experts, such as the president of the Polish Ecofund, to share their hard-earned experience with colleagues from other countries.
Furthermore, we regularly bring the recipients of earmarked grants to our head office in Budapest so they can meet not only each other, but also the REC staff who monitor their projects. Both our Senior and Junior fellowship programs enabled Regional cooperation as well. The Junior Fellowship Program selects young environmental activists from twenty-one countries to learn basic NGO management skills at the REC for one month. The Senior Fellowship Program brings more experienced leaders to the REC head office where they are free to explore a topic of their choice and to meet with others throughout the Region working in similar fields.
I know that as you read this report of accomplishments in 1994, you will be convinced that the Regional Environmental Center is the most effective organization for promoting cooperation among environmental groups in Central and Eastern Europe.