We are excited to be back in the region, meeting our participants at face-to-face events. Colleagues Jasmina Popović and Želimir Stanić are continuing the journey of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) events, organized as part of the certification training project delivered in North Macedonia. It is offered to Macedonian PACT certified public sector accountants and to a limited number of accountants from the SEE public sector. This time it was organized in Ohrid, where the participants had the opportunity to hear from a wide range of experts covering different aspects of the IPSAS. The training was combining theory with practice, international with regional and local aspects, giving participants insights into challenges and opportunities they are facing within the local environment.

Also in North Macedonia, CEFs Program Facilitator Jovana Koloski had a meeting in Skopje with the Localization Working Group involved with the PACT Level1 project. The main goal of the localization process is to enable the environment for full localization: adjusting local legislation, strengthening the relationship between the recipient and the takeover institution, and preparing the takeover institution for independent work. This involves a lot of coordination among the participating parties, therefore such meetings are essential for successful competition of the tasks and project execution.

In Prishtina, our team delivered the course on Knowledge Sharing on the Costing of Structural Reforms as part of a continuation of the CEF’s support to the European Union candidate and potential candidate countries in preparation of their Economic Reform Programmes (ERP) for the 2022 – 2024 period. Sharing their expertise on the topic were CEF Associate Fellow Janez Šušteršič and Valmira Rexhëbeqaj, CEF Expert.

We were also especially delighted to host participants at the CEF after a long period of online events only. The first to experience our renovated lobby and classrooms were representatives from the National Bank of Moldova and the State Tax Service. The representatives of the Moldovan Ministry of Finance joined us online, making this a hybrid event. The delegation from Moldova met Slovenian counterparts from the Bank of Slovenia, Financial Administration, Ministry of Public Administration and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss the strategic role that modern HRM plays in helping institutions achieve their goals. The success of this inter-institutional knowledge sharing was underlined by the excellent relationship we enjoy with these institutions. It was also highly motivating to see our common understanding of how a people-centered approach and the nurturing of knowledge-sharing culture are the paths to thriving organizations and societies.