E M T C  N E T W O R K

  By using its network of 13 leading environmental management training institutions and more than 50 environmental training professionals across the whole region of Central and Eastern Europe, the EMTC Network and its members assist the region's stakeholders, including national and local governments, businesses, nongovernmental organizations and the public, to identify and effectively address their environmental training needs.

  In 1997, the REC and the EMTC Network will be pursuing major international training projects.

• The REC hosted a Strategic Planning Training of Trainers in April. Training networks from five Central and Eastern European countries attended. The training was conducted by Don Holub, a Peace Corps Volunteer working at the REC.
• The project "Training of Trainers" (TOT) in Albania started in March 1996 and is funded by USEPA and implemented by EMTC Network, REC. The project partner is the Committee of Environmental Protection in Albania and covers a one-year period. This project aims at building training capacities in Albania which will constitute the "nucleus" to institutionalize the environmental training in Albania. This project consists of three training modules: "Environmental Policy," "Solid Waste Management" and "Public Participation in Environmental Decisionmaking." So far 50 Albanian specialists have been trained.

  Since the beginning of 1997, the EMTC Network has a new project officer. Solomon Ioannou, who now replaces Miroslav Chodak, is from Cyprus and of Greek ethnic background. He received his B.A. degree in Environmental Studies from the State University of New York at Binghamton and spent a year in the southeastern Amazon basin working on a Brazilian environmental NGO project. Back in Cyprus, he was appointed general coordinator for Friends of the Earth-Cyprus and later, coordinator of Friends of the Earth-Europe in Brussels. In 1995 he received his M.Sc. in Resource Management from the University of Edinburgh. He joined the Regional Environmental Center in 1996 and worked as project coordinator for the Open and Effective Parliament project which was a joint venture with GLOBE-EU.

  To enhance its operations, the EMTC Network is offering the following products and services to its members in 1997:

• "Training, Management, Funding" - these monthly information sheets dealing with relevant aspects of training, management and funding contain a wide range of practical ideas and suggestions with the aim of providing environmental training professionals with practical advice which is brief, to-the-point and can be used right away.
• Insight - this quarterly newsletter provides features, interviews and columns on environmental training, trends, institutions, techniques and new developments in Central and Eastern Europe. After its eight-page debut issue, this publication has expanded to become a professional publication for environmental trainers in the region.
• Internet services - this expanded version of a service already available in 1995 provides the most pertinent information on the EMTC Network. For more information see http://www.rec.org/REC/Programs/EMTC/EMTCNetwork.html/.

  How can you make the best use of your membership?

• Take part in projects. Participate in our international training projects. Make the most of your training expertise and gain international experience. To find out about the opportunities, write to us about your expertise and inquire about new and upcoming projects.
• Try out the ideas. The information you will find each month in your mailbox is meant to be used rather than read. Scan it for ideas you can use in your practice and try them out.
• Turn the ideas into your own. Do not feel that you have to follow the suggestions to the letter - try them out in your own way. Find out how they best work for you.
• Let us know how you are getting on. Are you interested in learning how your colleagues throughout Central and Eastern Europe have been using the ideas? So are they! Write to us about your successes and we will be delighted to add your ideas and comments to the next issue of the Forum (with due acknowledgement, of course). Similarly, if you would like to share things that went hopelessly wrong for you, we shall be pleased to include them in the next Forum issue (with due anonymity, if you wish).

If you would like to enjoy the benefits of being a member of the EMTC Network, please write to:
The Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe, EMTC Network
Ady Endre ut 9-11, 2000 Szentendre, Hungary
Tel: (36-26) 504-000, Fax: (36-26) 311-294