If you spend any time working with specifiers, end-users, designers and contractors who are involved with EIFS, you’ll find out right away that the environmental friendliness (“eco-friendliness”) of EIFS is a hot topic.

The findings come from Third Sector’s inaugural Charity Employer Index

MAPEI's Ultrabond ECO 885, which will be unveiled at Surfaces 2011, has been specifically designed to provide both permanent and releasable bonds for non-PVC, polyolefin and most “eco-type” backed carpet and carpet tile.

PBOT leaders say they’ve already addressed many of the auditor’s recommendations. They also say the scale of Portland’s traffic violence crisis is too big for just one bureau to address. by Taylor Griggs

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) adopted its Vision Zero Action Plan in December 2016, with the goal of eliminating traffic crash deaths and injuries in the city. But in recent years, Portland has seen its highest numbers of traffic injuries and fatalities in decades. Pedestrians have faced a heightened risk of traffic violence in recent years, and parts of Portland with higher low-income populations and communities of color are also disproportionately impacted. 

The daylight between PBOT’s stated Vision Zero goals and the increase in recent traffic crash deaths prompted scrutiny from the Portland Auditor’s Office. A new report from the Auditor’s Office, released Wednesday, says PBOT “partially completed” safety projects identified in its Vision Zero plan, but notes the bureau doesn’t adequately evaluate the outcomes of the safety projects it completes. 

The Auditor’s Office recommends PBOT create a plan to evaluate its projects “to determine which get the desired outcomes and where Vision Zero efforts are most needed.” The office also asks the bureau to install promised speed cameras to help with traffic safety enforcement and recommends PBOT “revisit its equity methodology to ensure it accounts for smaller scale improvements that could have positive equity impacts.” 

“These efforts to collect data, analyze, evaluate, and carefully track which safety projects have the most desired outcomes could help move toward Vision Zero’s goal of zero fatal and serious injury traffic crashes,” the audit report states. 

The audit report highlights concerns about the Vision Zero program that many transportation and safe streets activists have raised for years—though the Auditor’s Office didn’t issue as harsh an indictment of PBOT as some critics may want. Earlier this year, when PBOT leaders presented their 2023 Vision Zero report to City Council, some Portland advocates didn’t mince words about their thoughts on the city’s implementation of the program. 

“There is no question that Portland's Vision Zero Program has been an abject failure,” Sarah Risser, a local transportation safety activist, wrote in public testimony to City Council in April. “Given its abysmal track record, it is reasonable to conclude that it will continue to be a failure.”

The Portland Auditor’s Office didn’t mark PBOT’s Vision Zero plan as a failure in its report, and PBOT leaders ultimately agreed with its recommendations, some of which the bureau says it has already implemented on its own. 

PBOT, too, acknowledges that larger structural changes are needed to save lives on the streets. Bureau leaders say they will continue working on their Vision Zero plans, but they hope the city government transition will break down silos and encourage more involvement in solving the problem of traffic violence on Portland’s streets. 

The year PBOT adopted the Vision Zero plan, 42 people died in traffic crashes on Portland’s streets. In 2019, when the bureau updated the plan to emphasize transportation system safety and focus more on actions within PBOT’s control, 48 people were the victims of traffic violence. In the last three years, more than 60 people have died in traffic crashes in Portland each year, with 69 fatalities in 2023. 

When PBOT leaders presented the 2023 Vision Zero report to City Council earlier this year, they acknowledged the rise in traffic fatalities since the program was adopted. But they said the program is successful in areas PBOT has been able to invest in, and said the bureau’s budget woes have curtailed its progress. The audit report suggests PBOT could get more out of the projects it does complete by improving its evaluation processes, which have historically been lacking. 

“Without systemic evaluation of safety outcomes, the Bureau is missing the opportunity to create more alignment between the work they do on safety projects and the overall goal of Vision Zero,” the report states. “A more systematic approach would allow trends to be identified and analyzed to better understand the outcomes of completed projects, and which may need to be altered or dropped. As traffic deaths continue to increase it is vital that the Bureau consistently evaluate completed safety projects so they can see which are working best at shifting the trend towards the intended goal of zero traffic deaths and serious injuries.” 

The second major recommendation the audit report suggests is that PBOT “do more to enforce speed limits” by following through on its promise to install more speed cameras throughout the city. Despite research showing the effectiveness of enforcement cameras as a way to reduce speeds and increase traffic safety—without involving the police—PBOT has been slow to install them. The bureau has blamed its camera vendor for the lag in speed camera implementation, but says it now has 37 cameras in operation or construction, and current contracted cameras will be online early next year. (By March 2023, PBOT had only installed nine cameras in the prior eight years.) 

The report also states despite PBOT’s attempt to prioritize and fund safety projects equitably—based on both crash data and neighborhood demographics—it may be missing “smaller safety projects with possible equitable outcomes” if they aren’t located on high-crash corridors. The Auditor’s Office recommends PBOT use more qualitative data to determine the projects it carries out. 

In response to the auditor’s recommendations, Public Works Service Area Deputy City Administrator Priya Dhanapal and PBOT Director Millicent Williams said while they “largely agree with the recommendations in the audit,” it’s a bit outdated. Last year, PBOT issued a Vision Zero Action Plan update for 2024 and 2025, which addresses many of the issues outlined in the audit report. 

“Our current Vision Zero Action Plan includes priorities directly tied to evaluation, delivery of the camera program and speed management as well as equity objectives,” Dhanapal and Williams wrote. “The audit was conducted on work and commitments outlined 3-5 years ago and work that took place during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

Dhanapal and Williams also said PBOT needs help from other city bureaus to solve the crisis of traffic violence. 

“Eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries in Portland is possible [and] PBOT can lead the way,” Dhanapal and Williams wrote in a letter responding to the auditor’s report. “However, Portland will not reach Vision Zero with street design alone…. A societal commitment to meet basic human needs and implement strategies to change current conditions are necessary to reach many of our shared goals, including Vision Zero. These changes require leadership, investment, and commitment from partners beyond PBOT.”

PBOT leaders say they hope that collaboration and commitment will be easier due to the upcoming changes in Portland’s government. 

“Eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries is a City commitment and goal, but as a City we have focused the discussion on what PBOT does to change streets,” Dhanapal and Williams wrote. “We believe the City transition provides an opportunity to reengage City bureaus in Portland’s Vision Zero commitment and integrate the Safe System approach to traffic safety as a comprehensive prevention strategy to save lives.” 

Republicans made their picks for party leaders in the U.S. Senate and House, as President-elect Trump announced new nominees, including Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general.

ARRIVE Together of Middlesex County, NJ, run by University Behavioral Health Care (UBHC) at Rutgers Health, has expanded its partnerships to include the East Brunswick, South River and Cranbury police departments, making New Jersey the first state in the nation to have a statewide law enforcement and mental health alternative response program.

KRICT sets a new world record for large-area perovskite solar module efficiency and accelerates commercialization

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new commission on cutting government spending and regulation. ...

ARRIVE Together of Middlesex County, NJ, run by University Behavioral Health Care (UBHC) at Rutgers Health, has expanded its partnerships to include the East Brunswick, South River and Cranbury police departments, making New Jersey the first state in the nation to have a statewide law enforcement and mental health alternative response program.

[Politics] :
Anchor: The annual state-administered College Scholastic Aptitude Test took place Thursday. This year, around 522-thousand people registered to take the exam at one-thousand-282 locations across the country. That includes a record number of retakers, after the quota increased for medical school ...

[more...]

[Politics] :
The ruling People Power Party has decided to take steps to ensure that the National Assembly recommends candidates for the post of special inspector to look at allegations against members of the president’s family. The ruling camp adopted the party policy during a general meeting for its lawmakers on ...

[more...]

When talk turns to the economy, it's clear that LA brings out the best and the worst.

Steve Julian: Business analyst Mark Lacter, where do you see the best of it here?

Mark Lacter: You see the best of the economy, Steve, with all kinds of startup activity - much of it tech-related - and you also see the large number of auto sales, the improved housing market, and the record number of people visiting Southern California - all indications of a growing economy.  But then, you have the other L.A. economy, with large numbers of families struggling to make ends meet, and seeing very little sign of recovery.  You know, the government has been releasing income data covering the last few years, and what you see is that the disparity between the richest 1 percent and the other 99 percent is at its widest point since the 1920s.  You especially see that kind of bifurcated economy in Southern California, which has some of the wealthiest people in the country, and also some of the poorest.

Julian: Now, the split between rich and poor has been happening for a good long time, hasn't it?

Lacter: Yes, but L.A. is in a special class because there are so many immigrants with limited job skills - in fact, a new study by the UCLA Anderson Forecast says it's a much higher percentage than immigrants living in Miami, San Francisco, and New York.  What's interesting is that 20 years ago the job skills among immigrants were significantly higher in L.A.  Limited job skills mean there's very little opportunity to move up the income ladder.  That factors into buying homes, sending your kids to college - really becoming part of the middle class.

Julian: I imagine that's particularly true for factory work…

Lacter: Yes, some of the same jobs that newly-arrived immigrants in previous generations would gravitate to.  Today, many of those jobs are gone, and they're being replaced by positions that require greater skill that's borne out of greater education.  And that, of course, is another problem: a sizable percentage of recently-arrived immigrants never finished high school, much less college, and that makes it even less likely that they'll be able to move up.

Julian: Related, or unrelated, to the recession?

Lacter: Actually, L.A. had serious income inequality in December of 2006, before the recession, when the county's unemployment rate was just 4.3 percent - a stunningly low rate when you consider that as of July, the jobless rate was almost 10 percent.  This points out that the division of haves and have-nots can happen even when the economy is doing well.

Julian: And it seems the last C-17 to be built for Air Force is a reminder of wage gap.

Lacter: That's right - it'll be up to foreign customers to keep the program in Long Beach alive.  Boeing currently has an order from India for 10 of the cargo planes, which will keep the line moving through the third quarter of next year.  Frankly, the only reason the C-17 has lasted this long is heavy political pressure by congressional lawmakers whose districts have an economic stake in the program.  At one time, as many as 16,000 people may have worked on the C-17 in Long Beach, but that number has fallen sharply over the years.

Julian: Still, this is the last airplane manufacturing plant in Southern California.

Lacter: And that, of course, speaks volumes about the state of the aerospace business, which had been one of the main economic drivers back in the days leading up to World War II.  Aerospace continued to be very important until the end of the Cold War, when you had a huge industry consolidation that resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of local jobs throughout the 1990s.  There's still quite a bit of aerospace activity locally that involves missiles, satellites, and electronics - both for the major defense contractors like Boeing and Northrop, and for smaller contractors and sub-subcontractors that still get a piece of the military pie.

Julian: But most of them require high skill levels…

Lacter: Yes, and that gets us back to the folks who are stuck in low-paying jobs with little prospect for moving up.  This is what the L.A. economy is all about, the good and the bad.

Mark Lacter writes for Los Angeles Magazine and pens the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle Corporation, gestures as he makes a speech during the New Economy Summit 2014 in this file photo taken in Tokyo on April 9, 2014. The company said Thursday, September 18, 2014, that Ellison would step aside as CEO and become chairman and chief technology officer.; Credit: TORU YAMANAKA/AFP/Getty Images

Oracle says Larry Ellison is stepping aside as CEO of the company he founded. The business software maker promoted Safra Catz and Mark Hurd to replace him as co-CEOs.

Ellison will reclaim the title of chairman at Oracle and is also taking the role of chief technology officer. Oracle says Ellison wants to focus on product engineering, technology development and strategy. Jeff Henley, Oracle's chairman since January 2004, is now its vice chairman.

Catz and Hurd were co-presidents of the Redwood Shores, California, company. Catz will be in charge of the company's manufacturing, finance and legal functions. Hurd will be in charge of sales, service, and other global business units.

Ellison founded Oracle Corp. in 1977 and was its chairman from May 1995 to January 2004.

The sponsorship bolsters the company’s presence in the sport, as it enters the second year of the #PassTheLove campaign, a fully integrated program to help spread the passion for soccer.

Here at the Safety 2016 annual meeting of the American Society of Safety Engineers in hot Atlanta, safety pros are expressing concern over OSHA's new electronic recordkeeping rule.

eCommerce further integrates itself with the alcohol industry, leading beverage brands to take a greater look at the channel.

As of 2012 Wheelcare Ireland Ltd are an official agent for Ravaglioli in Ireland.

Accident lawyers in Atlanta, McAleer Law, know defensive winter driving is important, even in this city. The weather may be favorable most of the time, but snow and ice are not complete strangers, and practicing proper driving techniques is advised.

Meeting will be held in Naples, FL, March 12-13, 2013.

For those of us who can't afford to fly Business Class, design studio JPA has designed a better Premium Economy seat.

The new design takes cues from a wingback chair, providing greater privacy on either side of your head.

A nice, unexpectedly elegant design touch is this reading light integrated into the headrest.

Thigh support is offered when the seats recline.

There's also a footrest you can fold down.

The seatback monitors are gigantic, and the seatback tray has been replaced with a phone/tablet tray, in case you want to supplant the onboard programming with your own.

The trays are now located in the armrests.

The non-tray armrests of each seat feature a storage compartment with a light and a USB-C port.

Between the seats, on the center console are conventional power outlets.

The new seat designs are slated for Cathay-Pacific's 777-300ER wide-body planes.

ICE cotton futures saw a slight rebound after recent lows, capped by a stronger dollar. Traders have shifted focus to the March 2025 contract, with trading volume remaining high. Crude oil's recovery offset earlier price declines, easing polyester costs. Other agricultural commodities showed mixed trends. Traders await the USDA export sales report, with attention on Chinese demand.

Nearly 34.6 million people traveled to Florida from July through September -- shattering another tourism record for the state.

The new Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (JAEPA), signed on 8 July 2014, will strengthen economic ties between the two nations. Japan is Australia’s third largest direct foreign investor with A$130 million worth of investment stock in Australia in 2013.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has reaffirmed Australia's triple-A credit rating and stable economic outlook, stating that the sovereign credit ratings on Australia benefit from the country's strong institutional settings, its wealthy and resilient economy, and a high degree of monetary and fiscal policy flexibility. “These factors provide Australia with a strong ability to absorb large economic and financial shocks, as was demonstrated during the global recession in 2009,” S&P said.

Applications are now open for the second round of the prestigious A$1.8 million Victorian Postdoctoral Research Fellowships Program, being delivered by veski. The fellowships aim to strengthening Victoria’s innovation capabilities by enabling talented young researchers to work at world leading research centres before returning to Victoria. The Victorian Government offered six fellowships in 2013 and is again offering up to six fellowships to begin in 2015.

Event Begins: Thursday, November 14, 2024 4:00pm
Location: Lorch Hall
Organized By: Department of Political Science

*The Ford School's International Policy Center is a co-sponsor of the 2024-2025 Political Economy Workshop events.*

Tuesdays, 1:00 - 2:20 pm

Eldersveld Room, 5670 Haven Hall

Faculty Coordinators: Hoyt Bleakley, Edgar Franco-Vivanco, Mark Dincecco, Iain Osgood

Graduate Student Coordinators: Jun Fang and Pedro Luz de Castro

Fall 2024

9/26: Christopher Blattman, University of Chicago (Thursday, 4-5:20pm, 201 Lorch) (joint with Economic Development Seminar) (note different time and place)

10/22: Volha Charnysh, MIT

11/5: Hoyt Bleakley and Paul Rhode, UM Economics

11/14: Ceren Baysan, University of Toronto (Thursday, 4-5:20pm, 201 Lorch) (joint with Economic Development Seminar) (note different time and place)

11/21: Saumitra Jha, Stanford University (Thursday, 4-5:20pm, 201 Lorch) (joint with Economic Development Seminar) (note different time and place)

12/3: Cristina Bodea, Michigan State University

Winter 2025

2/4: Amy Pond, Washington University in St. Louis

2/11: Megan Stewart, UM Ford School of Public Policy

2/25: Luis Schenoni, UCL

3/11: Hye Young You, Princeton University

4/8: Layna Mosley, Princeton University

4/15: Aditya Dasgupta, UC Merced

4/22: Christopher Paik, NYU Abu Dhabi

Event Begins: Thursday, November 14, 2024 4:00pm
Location: Stockwell Hall
Organized By: Michigan Housing Diversity and Inclusion

Stockwell Residents are invited to the Rosa Parks Multicultural Lounge for some fun crafting with the Stockwell MLCA! Make DIY felt pennants to decorate your door, enjoy snacks, and vibe to some music in the background. This event is a great way to bond with your roommates and fellow residents in a creative, relaxing atmosphere.

Event Begins: Thursday, November 14, 2024 3:00pm
Location: East Hall
Organized By: Topology Seminar - Department of Mathematics

The Torelli group is the subgroup of the mapping class group of a surface acting trivially on the first homology of the surface. The first rational homology of the Torelli group is known for a closed surface of genus 2 by work of Mess, and for closed surfaces of genus at least 3 by work of Johnson. We will discuss forthcoming work with Putman that computes the second rational homology of the Torelli group for all closed surfaces of genus at least 6. In particular, we will show that this homology group is an algebraic representation of the symplectic group. Combined with the work of Kupers and Randal-Williams, this partially resolves Church and Farb's conjecture that the rational homology of the Torelli group is representation stable over the symplectic group.

Event Begins: Thursday, November 14, 2024 9:00am
Location:
Organized By: University Career Center

Did you know that if you have at least a bachelor's degree in any area, you may be eligible for teaching certification? During this virtual information session, you will learn about the steps to become certified to teach in Florida and get a snapshot of our career opportunities, benefits, employee perks, and more!To receive a meeting link, register here: https://forms.office.com/r/MMpsLGrGRiThe Osceola School District is located in Centra Florida - https://www.osceolaschools.net/Connect with us!https://www.linkedin.com/company/osceolaschoolsfl/https://www.facebook.com/SDOCHumanResources.  

Decorating the Wharf by Sally Caldwell Fisher is a(n) Limited Edition. The Edition is Limited to pcs

Panasonic Eco Solutions Canada Inc. announced that it has received a Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA) Game Changer Award, the Energy Management Award, as part of the annual Game Changer Awards Gala.

Panasonic Eco Solutions Canada Inc. announced it won the 2016 Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA) Game Changer Award in the “Project Finance Category,” presented at the Game Changer Awards Gala. This is Panasonic’s second CanSIA Game Changer Award.

Data recording can help less experienced technicians troubleshoot refrigeration systems. 

Key players from the financial services industry are looking forward to the latest edition of the highly anticipated Finance Magnates London Summit (FMLS:24), taking place at the historic Old Billingsgate between 18-20 November, in the heart of the City.

Now in its 13th year, the summit is expected to bring together more than 3,500 attendees, over 150 speakers, and 120+ exhibitors from across the world. As one of the premier financial events on the calendar, FMLS:24 is where executives in fintech, online investing, crypto and payments go to connect.

Among the most notable firms signed up to attend is X Open Hub, a leading provider of liquidity services. The company has just been confirmed as an official exhibitor at the event, meaning it will have a prime position on the expo floor via its own dedicated exhibition stand.

Open for business in London

X Open Hub will be bringing its expert team of professionals along to the prestigious UK event, with representatives on hand to showcase the excellent range of innovative products and cutting-edge technologies available to potential clients from Booth 77.

Interested attendees are invited to visit the booth within this high-calibre setting, which serves as an ideal meeting point for meaningful interactions, personalised live product demonstrations, and potential networking opportunities. With its visible presence in London, the company not only reinforces its position as a top-tier liquidity provider but also signals its commitment to growth and expansion in both the UK and broader international markets.

Top provider of award-winning services

Alongside its attendance at FMLS:24, X Open Hub has been nominated for a prestigious industry award, with the firm on the shortlist to be crowned ‘Best B2B Liquidity Provider (Prime of Prime)’ at the London Summit Awards.

This latest nomination represents the latest in a long line of industry recognition the company has received over the years, underscoring its commitment to delivering high-quality liquidity solutions, while further solidifying its standing as a trusted partner in the financial services industry.

The voting round closes on 11 November, with the winners set to be announced at a special awards ceremony at the London Summit on 20 November. For those wishing to cast their vote for X Open Hub, please visit Finance Magnate’s website.

The go-to liquidity provider

With its extensive experience in the financial sector, built up over a number of years since its inception in 2013, X Open Hub has a track record for providing world-class trading technology to banks, brokers and startups.

The exhibition offers the perfect opportunity for interested parties to meet the team face-to-face and explore the latest market trends, strategies, and best practices for thriving in today’s ever-evolving financial landscape. Thanks to its mission of providing unmatched liquidity solutions designed to meet the needs of today’s trading environment, X Open Hub is a standout choice among its peers within the financial services industry. With deep order book execution and ultra-fast data feeds, the firm delivers not only reliable performance and seamless market access but also upholds full regulatory compliance with EMIR and MiFIR standards. Adding to this, its flexible offerings – such as rebates for spreads and book-share models – further enhance the value provided to clients. At FMLS:24, X Open Hub welcomes potential collaborators to explore strategic partnership opportunities designed to drive mutual growth and innovation. Visitors are encouraged to discuss customised liquidity solutions tailored to meet industry demands and engage directly with the X Open Hub team to discover their adaptable, high-performance offerings.

To schedule a meeting at the upcoming FMLS:24 event, please click here.

About X Open Hub

X Open Hub is a leading CFD liquidity provider, offering over 5,000 instruments. This includes more than 2,500 stocks and ETFs on 16 major exchanges worldwide, over 60 currency pairs, more than 50 cryptocurrencies across 9 exchanges, over 30 indices, and the most popular commodities. The company has 100+ partnerships in more than 25 countries. It also holds licences in multiple jurisdictions, including the FCA, CySEC, KNF, FSC, DFSA, FSCA and FSA, enabling it to provide compliant broker solutions with risk sharing. X Open Hub is dedicated to delivering tailor-made solutions that support clients in achieving their business ambitions.

Follow X Open Hub on its social media channels for live updates and exclusive content during the FMLS:24 event, including on LinkedIn and Facebook.

• Prior +0.3%
• GDP +0.9% vs +0.9% y/y second estimate
• Prior +0.6%

No changes to the initial estimates as this just reaffirms more modest growth in the euro area in Q3. But this is old news, as the focus is on the outlook next year with Trump tariffs set to come into the picture.

More hawkish comments from the St Louis Fed President

• Inflation data is also stronger but has not yet changed view that policy is on a path to neutral
• There is likely space for a gradual easing of policy towards neutral rate
• Stronger data likely pushing Treasury yields higher
• Too soon to understand new administration
• Rising bond yields also offer a sense of higher inflation risk and some sense the Fed may not cut as much

Non policy-related comments.

TASHKENT, 21 September 2015 – An OSCE-organized week-long training course for Uzbek law enforcement bodies on identifying and tracing illegitimate assets and the various instruments of asset forfeiture and recovery began today in Tashkent.

Experts from the Basel Institute of Governance will share international best practices with senior representatives in charge of international legal co-operation and the fight against corruption and money laundering within the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Interior and other law enforcement bodies.

“The ability to launder ill-acquired assets outside of the jurisdiction of their country of origin is one of the major enablers of corrupt behaviours,” said Ambassador Gyorgy Szabo, Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan. “This is why the OSCE regards the identification and recovery of illegitimate assets, no matter where they might be hidden, as a crucial element of the fight against corruption.”

The OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan organized the training course jointly with the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation, the Basel Institute of Governance and the General Prosecutor’s Office of Uzbekistan.

During the course, participants will also learn about the mechanisms of international mutual legal assistance and how they can be used during anti-corruption investigations.

Related Stories

• OSCE supports roundtable discussion in Uzbekistan on a methodology for assessing money-laundering and terrorism-financing risks
• OSCE organizes Regional Conference on Horticultural Trade in Tashkent
• OSCE Project Co-ordinator lights up central Tashkent with 20 solar-powered street lamps

Awards recognizing best practices in local governance in Montenegro’s municipalities over the course of this year were presented at a ceremony organized on 28 December 2015 in Podgorica by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro in co-operation with the Union of Municipalities and the Ministry of Interior.

The annual Awards, now in their eighth year, are open to all local government units and allow them to showcase successful and innovative solutions and initiatives in providing services to their citizens.

Opening the award ceremony, Chairperson of the Executive Board of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro and Mayor of Cetinje, Aleksandar Bogdanović, said the Awards were the product of the excellent co-operation of national authorities, local government and international organizations with the aim of supporting sustainable development at the local level.

Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission Dan Redford said: “The OSCE Mission to Montenegro has always and will continue to support each and every effort of local governance units in Montenegro to enhance principles of good governance in their communities. These are of fundamental importance because local government is closest to citizens and provides them with essential services. Our goal has always been to mobilize and stimulate action by local stakeholders so that the citizens may benefit from good democratic governance at the local level, through the continuously improving quality of local public services.”

General Director of Directorate for State and Local Authorities in the Ministry of Interior Dragana Ranitović said this programme is of great importance for local governance units as it enables the sharing of best practices among municipalities and that it could be expanded further to facilitate bilateral cross-border co-operation.

The winners of this year’s Awards are:

• Žabljak Municipality for its economical financial practices;
• Budva Municipality for its effective human resources management through an electronic personnel recording system;
• Petnjica Municipality for establishing institutional models to enhance co-operation with citizens and the diaspora;
• Bijelo Polje Municipality for its work in economically empowering women;
• Berane Municipality for establishing a Secretariat for Sports, Culture, Youth and Co-operation with NGOs, and a Youth Council.

Berane Municipality also received a special award for introducing a more efficient accounting management system for budget spending, and for establishing the post of an Internal controller.

Related Stories

• OSCE Mission to Montenegro-supported campaign on benefits of composting kicks-off in Pljevlja
• OSCE Mission to Montenegro supports seminar on strengthening co-operation between prosecutors and police on forensic evidence
• OSCE Mission to Montenegro and Montenegrin parliament hosted meeting of Secretaries General of Western Balkans parliaments

A two-day workshop on  ways to improve the recording of hate crimes  was organized on 11 and 12 July in Prishtinë/Priština by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the Kosovo Police.

In addition to reinforcing their understanding of the OSCE’s approach to hate crime, workshop participants identified a series of additional improvements in the way local authorities monitor and record hate crimes. Participants also agreed to establish a permanent national mechanism to co-ordinate hate crime data collection.

"Police recording is the key point of entry for information about hate crimes into the criminal justice system. But, the police cannot operate alone," said Ales Giao Hanek, ODIHR Hate Crime Officer. "Co-ordination between all the agencies concerned is crucial, and political support will be required to make the changes identified and agreed upon by participants."

Workshop participants included Kosovo Police specialists responsible for recording and managing crime statistics from all eight policing districts. Police and Prosecution Service focal points on hate crimes took part, as well as representatives from the Kosovo Judicial Institute.

This workshop follows up on an event held in May 2015, which mapped hate crime data collection in Kosovo.

Related Stories

• OSCE/ODIHR final report on the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s postponed early parliamentary elections recommends continuing electoral reform process
• OSCE/ODIHR final report on early parliamentary elections in Serbia recommends comprehensive review of legislation and ensuring the level playing field for contestants
• OSCE/ODIHR event in Kyiv supports dialogue platform in Verkhovna Rada on parliamentary ethics

The final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on Serbia’s 24 April 2016 early parliamentary elections recommends a comprehensive review of legislation to further improve election process.  

The report, while finding the elections were efficiently administered and held in a competitive environment, spells out key areas that would benefit from such a review, including unclear rules on candidate registration, inadequate regulation of campaign finance, deficiencies and loopholes in dispute resolution mechanisms, an absence of sanctions for some violations and the lack of provisions on election observation.

The report, published on 29 July 2016, notes that, while fundamental freedoms were respected and candidates were able to campaign freely, biased media coverage, undue advantage of incumbency and a blurring of the distinction between state and party activities hindered a level playing field for contestants. To this end, the report recommends specific campaign regulations, including the introduction of ceilings on campaign expenditures and preventing the misuse of administrative resources and the abuse of office.  

In noting the absence of an effective mechanism for monitoring media conduct during the campaign, the report recommends clarifying the competences of the media regulatory body in investigating and sanctioning breaches of legislation in a timely manner.

A review of the election appeals system to guarantee an effective and timely remedy for all complaints, and particularly in cases related to electionday irregularities and election results, is also among the report’s recommendations.

Additional recommendations relate to providing unrestricted access of citizen and international observers to the entire electoral process, including voting, counting and tabulation, and enhancing the transparency of the tabulation of results.

Related Stories

• OSCE/ODIHR final report on Serbia’s parliamentary elections notes respect for fundamental freedoms, recommends steps to further improve election process
• Parliamentary Elections
• International election observers in Serbia to hold press conference on Monday

VIENNA, 8 July 2016 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović, today expressed concern about a proposed law on the German Foreign Intelligence Agency (BND, Bundesnachrichtendienst), which was debated in the Bundestag, Germany’s Federal Parliament, today.

“Increasing surveillance capabilities of journalists is a clear threat to media freedom,” Mijatović said. “This draft law runs counter to the very core of fundamental freedoms such as media freedom and freedom of expression.”

The draft law increases BND’s capabilities to place foreign journalists under surveillance. Moreover, no exemption is made for the work of journalists, and journalists without citizenship of the European Union can be subjected to surveillance without an explicit court order.

“I call on the German Bundestag to revise the current draft law and ensure proper the protection of journalists regardless of their nationality,” Mijatović said.

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom. 

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THE HAGUE, 20 April 2016 - Education is in many ways the space where issues of equality, national identity and the concept of nationhood are being negotiated, said OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors today as she opened a high-level conference to mark 20 years of The Hague Recommendations Regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities.

Underlining how education can contribute to preventing conflicts and to peace-building efforts, Thors said it is crucial that governments and education ministries analyse and anticipate tensions that may arise from competing demands placed on the education system such as questions on the language of instruction. These tensions often reflect the widespread societal debates about the place of national minorities as a whole, she added.   

Thors was addressing the start of a two-day conference, which brings together 180 government representatives, experts, teachers, education professionals, non-governmental actors and other local and international stakeholders active in the field of education, conflict prevention and peace-making to discuss the challenges in adapting education systems to ethnically diverse societies.

Gernot Erler, Special Representative of the Federal Government of Germany for the 2016 OSCE Chairmanship, highlighted how challenges in this area have evolved in the two decades since The Hague Recommendations were launched.

“Today, we should realize more and more how crucial the right treatment of minorities by ensuring equal rights, tolerance and cross-border dialogue, is for preventing conflicts,” he said.

In his keynote speech, Fernand de Varennes, Dean of the Law Faculty of the University of Moncton in Canada underlined that the first HCNM recommendations - The Hague Recommendations - are the building block, the foundation upon which latest, The Ljubljana Guidelines on integration, must be understood. When it comes to education in minority language, he pointed out that to an increasing degree it is already perceived as an internationally recognised human right.

During a panel discussion, Srđan Verbić, Minister of Education, of Serbia, Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, First Deputy State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality of Georgia as well as leading human rights academics, Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark and Jan de Groof discussed what role education should have when building stable multi-ethnic societies. .    

At the margins of the conference, HCNM premiered its film charting the story of the founding of the Bujanovac Department of Economics as the first multilingual and multi-ethnic higher education institution in southern Serbia. The Department has been supported by the HCNM since its inception. To learn more about the project, watch the film here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsiKoZKtZhU

HCNM also screened the winning entries from its first-ever video contest, “Our school, our diversity” during the conference. School pupils across the OSCE region were invited to shoot and script a video of no longer than 60 seconds illustrating why diversity matters in the classroom. Having received 101 submissions from 15 OSCE participating States, HCNM carefully reviewed each entry to select the winning films. Watch the movies at: www.osce.org/hcnm/234801

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In promoting education as a tool for conflict prevention, The Hague Recommendations Regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities have offered a toolkit for preservation, inspiration and dialogue, said OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Astrid Thors as she opened an expert meeting on 21 April 2016 at The Hague to mark two decades of these ground-breaking Recommendations.

Thors said that the Recommendations had been instrumental in preserving minority education during times of transition and education reforms, and an inspiration in calling for a proactive approach by OSCE participating States towards a progressive yet realistic realization of minority rights in education. She said the Recommendations have also encouraged the involvement of parents and minorities in formulating policies as well as providing a framework for dialogue that is useful for both the participating States and national minorities.

Discussions during the meeting focused on reforms to the education sector and accommodating diversity, language in multilingual educational contexts, and respect for diversity and pluralism in education content.

Participants agreed on the need to further share best practices, promote broader engagement and to adapt to changing environments.

Particularly emphasized was the need for teachers to receive adequate training to be equipped to manage multilingual and multicultural classrooms and for the foundations of education systems to be solid enough to handle adversity, such as budget cuts and extensive reforms.

Acknowledging the role of education in fostering a sense of opportunity and belonging, experts said that the politicization of history is not conducive to conflict prevention. Instead, different views should be allowed as an increased level of historical knowledge and understanding will lead to historical empathy, which can in turn lead to a unifying feeling when the pain of the past is shared.

The experts agreed a set of recommendations for future work in the field of minority education rights, which will be published as follow up to this event.

The expert meeting was held a day after a HCNM-organized conference gathered 180 participants from 32 participating States to assess two decades of The Hague Recommendations. Among the participants of the conference were government officials, experts, teachers, education professionals, non-governmental actors and other local and international stakeholders active in the field of education, conflict prevention and peace-making.

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The need for a risk management system for Tajikistan’s Customs Service and simpler procedures for transparency and accountability are key recommendations of an integrity assessment of the Customs Code, presented to international donors, private and international companies and NGOs by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan on 18 July 2016.

The assessment, which was commissioned by the OSCE Office in consultation with government representatives and international development partners, is the third in a series of assessments to examine the administrative codes and legal acts relevant for international business and cross-border trade in Tajikistan. Previous assessments focused on the Tax Code and different administrative legal acts.

Ambassador Markus Müller, the Head of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan welcomed the positive reception of the current anti-corruption assessment not only by international organizations but also within government circles and confirmed the Office’s readiness to work with all the relevant stakeholders involved.

The presentation of the Customs Code assessment followed a series of practical workshops on anti-corruption assessments for experts from the government and NGOs. During these workshops, participants learned how to identify in legislation provisions that might lead to corruption and draft recommendations to eliminate potentially corruptive provisions in law.

The Customs Code assessment is part of a multi-year initiative by the OSCE Office with the objective of designing a training module on anti-corruption assessment to be included in the mandatory training curricula for civil servants. 

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