The two-and-a-half-year integration phase of the Sonderhoff Group into Henkel AG & Co. KGaA has been completed. As of January 1, 2020, all Sonderhoff companies have been merged into the Adhesive Technologies business unit. 

A brief summary of major personality theories, including trait, psychodynamic, cognitive, and humanistic theories, and typologies and taxonomies of individual differences.

A brief overview that focuses on the symptoms, treatments, and research findings by the National Institute of Mental Health.

Personality tests approved for evaluating students for Exceptional Student Education services, Florida Department of Education.

Information about personality disorders and diagnostic classification, with DSM-IV-TR criteria.

Epson ColorWorks on-demand color label printer with 6-axis robot delivers print-and-apply label application system.

Brand continues sustainability mission with specialty bottle timed to release of Warner Bros. Pictures’ highly anticipated motion picture.

Eviosys is a leading global supplier of metal packaging, producing food cans and ends, aerosol cans, metal closures and promotional packaging to preserve the products of hundreds of consumer brands.  

The new Chameleon bottle from Berry Agile Solutions features an outstanding construction that enables a base section with a special textured finish.

This innovative approach to wine packaging marks a first in the U.S. market, underscoring a commitment to recycled packaging solutions without compromising on the quality and flavor of wine that customers expect.

From tethered caps to a plethora of recycle bins, a trip to Europe this summer revealed a variety of approaches to sustainable packaging.

It’s no secret that 2020 has been a year like no other. As the coronavirus pandemic swept across the globe, Americans had to adjust to a new reality: wearing masks, social distancing and staying home as much as possible. 

The shrink film bundler was designed and manufactured to package liquid soaps and cleansers for a contract packer that manufactures under license for well known brands.

New 34,000 square foot facility enables Atlantic Packaging to further support West Coast customers and the continued transition to sustainable packaging.

The egg brand is using the redesign to celebrate spring and attract more customers.

"Carry Me Back to Old Virginia" was the official state song of Virginia from 1940 to 1997. Written in 1878 by the famed Black minstrel performer James A. Bland, it was one of a number of popular minstrel songs that sentimentalized life in the Old South and perpetuated a myth of Black nostalgia for life in slavery on plantations. Legislation to replace "Carry Me Back to Old Virginia" was introduced every year between 1988 and 1994. From 1994 to 1997, the Virginia General Assembly made lyric changes to remove Black dialect and references to slavery in an attempt to make the song less offensive. In 1997, the General Assembly demoted "Carry Me Back to Old Virginia" from the official state song to "state song emeritus." In 2015, the General Assembly designated two official state songs: "Our Great Virginia," based on the folk song "Oh Shenandoah," was named the official traditional song, and "Sweet Virginia Breeze" was named the official popular song. 
Wed, 16 Dec 2020 09:11:41 EST

In the summer months, scheduling music lessons flexibly is possible. How do you want to schedule your summer music lessons?

Deutsche Bank has revised its forecast for the European Central Bank’s (ECB) terminal rate, lowering its central-case projection from 2.25% to 1.50%. The bank now anticipates the ECB’s policy rate will dip slightly below the neutral rate by the end of 2025, rather than returning to neutral by mid-year as previously expected.

This shift in outlook is driven by several factors, including the potential for new tariffs from a Trump administration, which would likely impact trade, along with weaker macroeconomic performance in Europe and the increasing risk of inflation falling below target.

According to Deutsche Bank, the uncertainty surrounding these dynamics is considerable, especially given the unclear timing and effects of U.S. tariffs and potential European responses. Reflecting this uncertainty, the bank has outlined a broad target range of 1.00% to 1.75% for the ECB’s terminal rate.

Deutsche Bank notes that the terminal rate’s trajectory and ultimate level will depend on key influences such as:

1. European fiscal policy,
2. the economic health of Germany,
3. developments in China,
4. and fluctuations in oil prices.

The bank further suggests that the global economy may be entering a new phase, with Europe potentially experiencing increasingly divergent economic conditions compared to the U.S.

The election is going to dominate early November trading so making moves based on seasonals is unwise. That said, it's useful to keep them in mind as the dust settles.

• November is the best month for USD/JPY
• Best month for the Nasdaq
• Third-best month for the US dollar
• The November through February is strong for gold
• Second-best month for the S&P 500
• Second-best month for the MSCI world index
• Second-best month for the German DAX
• Best month for the Nikkei 225
• The final month of the seasonal slump for oil. Seasonals neutral in Dec-Jan then strongly positve from Feb-June

Going into last November, the S&P 500 had declined for three straight months but that month marked a turning point as it recouped nearly all the gains in what was the beginning of a five-month rally. This time, we're coming into the month with better momentum, though October was negative for stocks.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) today announced the launch of “Voices From the Field,” a new digital campaign highlighting stories of local broadcasters through first-person accounts. The campaign, part of NAB’s “We Are Broadcasters” initiative, will spotlight how broadcasters are using their expertise, experience and dedication to local broadcasting to serve their audiences and uplift their communities.

Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation (NABLF), in partnership with Hearst Television, announced a new fellowship program honoring the legacy of distinguished broadcast professional Emerson Coleman last night at the Celebration of Service to America Awards. Through the Emerson Coleman Fellowship (ECF), NABLF and Hearst Television will work to create a more diverse workforce at every level of the broadcast industry that is representative of the communities served. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In response to the passing of Broadcasters Foundation of America President Jim Thompson, the following statement can be attributed to NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt:

WASHINGTON, DC -- The National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation’s (NABLF) inaugural Emerson Coleman Fellowship class met for the first time in-person at Hearst Tower in New York City last week. During the opening session, program participants had the opportunity to participate in TV upfronts, hear from industry executives and attend a live taping of the Tamron Hall show.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) announced Donnie Simpson as the 2024 NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductee for radio. Simpson, a legendary media trailblazer and award-winning program director, will be inducted at the Achievement in Broadcasting event at NAB Show, Monday, April 15, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) will present the Television Chairman’s Award to award-winning talk show host, actor, producer and recording artist, Jennifer Hudson. The ceremony will take place on the Main Stage at NAB Show during the We Are Broadcasters session on Tuesday, April 16 at 9:30 a.m.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) announced today that Kirsten Donaldson has joined NAB as vice president of public policy. Donaldson will report to Shawn Donilon, executive vice president of Government Relations.

Yet again, Mr. Ransley delivers another awesome Pentatonic guitar lesson. If you haven't yet checked out part 1 of Robert's Pentatonic lesson, I highly recommend that you check that one out first, before continuing with this one. You can find the first installment here. I'll now turn over the reins - enjoy!

Pentatonic Scales (lesson 2)
(For any instrument)

Hi all,
Robert here with the second part to the pentatonic lesson. I hope you got a grasp on lesson one because this lesson is a direct continuation. Enjoy it and remember if you have any questions place them in any comment section of www.bluesandjazzguitar.blogspot.com. Have fun!

What follows is the superimposing of a major pentatonic scale, whose root will change, over a static root. This will produce the relationship of:

Maj. Pent.
Static root

The major pentatonic scale will ascend by half step and we will analyze the resulting tones when played over a fundamental static bass note (root).

At this point I will refer to all non chord tones (2nds, 4ths and 6ths) as their compound interval equivalent (9ths, 11ths and 13ths). These are also known as the extensions of the chord or scale. So:

2nds = 9ths
4ths = 11ths
6ths = 13ths

Let’s start with C major pentatonic (1, 9, 3, 5, 13) over a root C or mathematically I/I (Maj. Pent./Fundamental static root)



Note that in the “fraction” I/I, the fact that both roman numbers are the same simply means that the roots are the same. The roman number on the left will be the major pentatonic scale and it shares the same root as the roman number on the right which is the fundamental bass note.

Now, we want to analyze this relationship and see the resulting tones to determine over what chord(s) it will fit.



So, when a C note is sounding in the bass and you play a C maj. pent. scale, the resulting tones are those listed above the scale. We need to see which notes are chord tones (part of the structure of the chord), that way we’ll know what type of chord it fits. Chord tones in this case are 1 = Root; 3 = Major 3rd; 5 = Perfect 5th. A clear major triad is formed inside the structure of a (or any) major pentatonic scale. So this scale must sound good over a C major chord. The 9th and 13th are the extensions or color tones.

In lesson 3 we’ll start to compare this scale with other roots and you’ll see all the neat sounds it produces! ‘Til then, bye…

When I first started getting into recording my own music, I tried every way to find the best free solutions in recording software. I can remember like yesterday, scouring the internet for the most mediocre of recording programs. I would download and use them, but still the results were always limited, and probably because of the times. Now why did I choose to do this? well the reason back then was because I didn't know anything about recording my music, and especially not by way of direct, digital methods, so I didn't want to waste any money at this time.

I can now honestly say that I am a proud owner of Ableton Live, which I use religiously, and would recommend to absolutely anyone. However, the program is a little pricey AND it requires months of experimentation just to get the basics down. Is this recording program worth all the money and effort? yes it is, but a lot of people want something that they can use immediately, without having to spend hundreds of hours devoting their time to reading through training manuals, and investing just as much time by way of trial and error.

I recently found a great solution to this problem. Though this is a guitar
instructional blog, I have no problem talking about recording software or anything related, because recording your own music also benefits the expansion of learning and recording musical art, well....duh!

There is a beat creation program that is now available called Sonic Producer. This beats program, mainly assists a musician in creating music of a hip hop or rap flavor, which you would think would only benefit those who are interested in hip hop music or similar styles. I beg to differ.

I have a drum set, yet I do not have the space, amount of mics, equipment, nor acoustic set up to facilitate the process of recording live drums. This is great if you have a drummer to work with, but if you are an independent guitar player such as myself, and you want an easy solution, then a recording program like Sonic Producer is the way to go.

I do have Ableton Live which is in my opinion the most phenomenal recording program ever to grace the face of the planet, and is pretty much the cream of the crop for beats, but I know that it isn't the cheapest solution. With the release of Sonic Producer, I can seriously say that this is the cheapest solution for creating backing tracks to compose to or jam over that I have ever seen. Sonic Producer contains thousands of samples to work off of, and if you are more traditional, you don't just have to work with new age hip hop beat sounds. Yes, it can deliver exactly what you want, no matter what your style is. Its 30 bucks!!! my God!!

I can't believe this, because anything of this high caliber is always in the multi-hundred dollar price range. I'm really thrilled, because though it can't do what a program such as Reason or Ableton can do, it isn't that far away from the quality of these programs.

I look at it this way, and from the perspective of a mainly lead guitar player - the drums and bass are the bones of the song, and the rhythm guitar is the meat. What's the candy of this operation? lead guitar of course! It doesn't matter what your deal is, you gotta have the bones to make this music thing work. Sure, you can turn the bones into the candy of your masterpiece, but you still gotta have 'em!

There is nothing tastier than creating raw beats to either practice guitar over, or to recording with. How do you think I practice or find inspiration? I gotta have beats and bass!! with my recording program, it takes me five minutes to get a good, basic backing track down. Sometimes I just practice over a set of drum beats, but a lot of times it amounts to a complete song.

I also like the fact that Sonic Producer is so easy to use, and it the necessity of it easily fits in with other plugins or bits of recording software.

If you feel that rhythmic backing tracks are what is lacking in your arsenal, then definitely check out Sonic Producer.

Before I begin, I wish that I could give you some sort of formula for transcribing guitar parts from songs, but I really can't because its done on intuition and from focus. Plus, I have no idea what song or what type of music you may be interested in tackling.

However, I am well aware that many guitar players, both young and old are out right intimidated by the thought of, or word of "transcribing".

As someone who continues to do it to this day, I have learned quite a bit about doing so, and have been proven time and time again that there are tricks that can aid you. I will do my best to help you, but first, why should a guitar player learn to transcribe music?

First, in my opinion, the ultimate goal of any musician should be to find their own voice, and throwing away the tabs and buckling down will unlock the whole world for you. Everything that I teach by way of videos, article lessons, or even rants was born from trying to figure it out on my own. I can't even begin to emphasize this, and words cannot describe.

Second - even if you simply wish to play pre-written songs for the rest of your life, learning them the old fashioned way makes things like soloing, and improvising a total synch. If someone puts you on the spot in front of a bunch of people and you are expected to learn a song right then and there, as that person is playing it, it will be no problem anymore.

So now we begin...

STEP ONE

The first thing is where DO you begin? most people could listen to one note, and they can't picture where its at, and so they assume that its going to be anywhere, and yet it is in one
specific place as expected.

If you do the math, you've got 6 strings, and on a full 24 fret guitar, 2 octaves per string. Let's take a random note. Say G#. On the low E string alone there will be 2 G#'s - remember, two
octaves per string. Now you've got 6 strings - 2 x 6 = 12. So you've got 12 of each note on the guitar - pretty cool.

Even if your guitar doesn't have 24 frets, thinking like this makes playing so much easier.

Now, let's imagine the fretboard as being divided into 4 sections.

We'll say that from frets 0 to 6 are section 1, 6 - 12 are section 2, 12 - 18 are section 3, and 18 - 24 are section 4.

There is a HUGE difference in pitch when a note like G# is played in section 1, 2, 3, or 4. Its the same note, but the sharpness grows as you move on up the neck. By the way, we're not just sectioning off one string, we're handling all of them.

I don't expect you to get it right away, but playing around with this mindset could very well mean that you will be able to go to the correct area of the fretboard, even if you don't have
perfect pitch and know what note it is that you are trying to find.

STEP TWO

Since man does not sport monstrous hands, nor 13 fingers on each hand, you can pretty much assume that the next set of notes will be in close proximity to the one that you first found. The first note by the way gets it started. In my opinion, if you can find the very first note of a guitar solo or melody, you can crack the code for the entire thing.

You should put a LOT of emphasis on that very first note and remember where its at, because if you get lost - this is your starting point again.

The next question to ask yourself is, are the next notes higher or lower, and how much so?

Let's say that you've come to the conclusion that the next note is lower. Even if you have to do half steps, or one fret at a time to find that next note - do it. Once you find the next note, again - lock it in. Go back and play those 2 notes over and over again. We'll worry about the mechanics
of how the notes are played/expressed later.

Even for me, if I encounter a song that's pretty fast and hard to keep up with I will tend to have trouble, but you and me both have a secret weapon. The pause button on our computer or CD player. where ever you are at in the song, hit the pause button immediately after the part that's got you hung up. Don't let those other sounds interfere and throw you off. One block at a time.

Though this process might seem confusing now, if you take my advice of breaking it down, over time it will tend to happen on auto pilot. Hope this helps - best of luck.

I've got a pretty cool (I think) sweep picking lesson that I just added to GSS.com. It is definitely directed towards beginners, but advanced players can get some good out of it too.

It starts off with a more manageable pattern, and then expands into something really hot at the end. I've been jamming with this one a lot late because I think its a lot of fun to play. Its very simple in sound - nothing too fancy, and its not a barre sweep either, so it may be a little easier for some of you to tackle.

Read through the text guide, which explains how to develop and practice it. If you like it, let me know and we'll work on some more sweeps together! I bet we can get pretty crazy with this stuff ;)

Manufacturing

Room 29, Parliament Buildings

Technological advancements allow diabetes patients to monitor their glucose levels remotely. Stanford Medicine researchers are refining similar tools for Parkinson’s patients and the providers they don’t see often enough.

The post The new tech that could improve care for Parkinson’s patients appeared first on Scope.

dklaughman has added a photo to the pool:

Town Crier reads the Election Results at Return Day in Georgetown, Delaware.

Town Crier article:
www.coasttv.com/news/the-history-of-the-town-crier-on-ret...

More info about Return Day at this website: www.returnday.com/

Chabot development comes with a unique set of requirements and considerations that may prove challenging to those making their first excursion into this new breed of services. This podcast features a panel of developers who have been there, done that, and are willing to talk about it.

The previous podcast featured a discussion of chatbot development with a panel of developers who were part of a program that provided early access to the Oracle Intelligent Bots platform available within the Mobile Cloud Service. In this podcast we continue the discussion of chatbot development with an entirely new panel of developers who also had the opportunity to work with that same Intelligent Bots beta release.

• Oracle ACE Director Mia Urman is Chief Executive Officer of AuraPlayer Limited. She’s based in Brookline, Massachusetts.
• Peter Crew is Director at SDS Group, and Chief Technical Officer with MagiaCX Solutions, in Perth, Australia
• And Christoph Ruepprich is Infrastructure Senior Principal with Accenture Enkitec Group. He’s based in Dallas, TX

In this program Mia, Peter, and Christoph compare notes on the particular challenges that defined their chatbot development experiences, and discuss what they did to meet those challenges.

Representational State Transfer, known to its friends as REST, has been around for nearly two decades and has a substantial following. GraphQL, on the other hand, became publicly available in 2015, and only a few weeks ago moved under the control of the GraphQL Foundation, a project of the Linux Foundation. But despite its relative newcomer status, GraphQL has gained a substantial following of its own. Are you a RESTafarian? Or are you a GraphQL aficionado? Either way you'll want to listen to the latest Oracle Groundbreaker Podcast, as a panel of experts weighs the pros and cons of each technology.

View the complete show notes.

Hackmakers: Part 2: Jim Grisanzio talks with Jason Lowe about his experiences participating at the Hackmakers World Innovation Day​ Hackathon in April 2021. Jason spoke about the people, skills, and software technologies that Oracle contributed to the event and some of history and upcoming hackathons as well. Developers and non-developers alike came together to work on projects to help support the people in need around the world -- and in the process they learned valuable new skills they can use in their careers. The experience was a continuum of learning for everyone.

Oracle and other organizations sponsored the event in collaboration with UNESCO and UNEP. The areas of focus for the projects included health, education, and work -- all based on the larger list of United Nations world development goals. 

Jason Lowe, Master Cloud Specialist Engineer, Oracle, @jlowe000

Podcast Host: Jim Grisanzio, Oracle Developer Relations
https://twitter.com/jimgris
https://developer.oracle.com/team/ 

Here are some photos, stories, and lessons I've collected over the years building Open Source software development communities at Sun Microsystems, Oracle, and on my own. I like taking photos and I like talking to developers — it's how I learn. So in this comprehensive commentary I talk about pretty much everything I've learned during the previous 15 years or so doing community development. Everything I've learned I still use today.

You can follow along with the photos below or view the video. I gave an earlier version of this talk at the All India Oracle User Group's (AIOUG) virtual OG Yatra in 2020, and I've talked about bits and pieces of the content in many other presentations. That's why I wanted to bring it all together into a single narrative centered around some specific images and stories. Hope it hangs together. 

Podcast Host: Jim Grisanzio, Oracle Developer Relations

https://twitter.com/jimgris
https://developer.oracle.com/team/ 

Photos

https://jimgrisanzio.files.wordpress.com/2021/07/grisanzio-community-stories.pdf

Video

https://youtu.be/nzo0PYv4tUM

Article

https://jimgrisanzio.wordpress.com/building-communities/

All India Oracle User Group OGYatra 2020 Slides

https://jimgrisanzio.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/2020-grisanzio-ogyatra.pdf

All India Oracle User Group OGYatra 2020 Video

https://youtu.be/gz7nMtWaUB0

Oracle Developer Relations Social

https://twitter.com/jimgris

https://twitter.com/groundbreakers

https://twitter.com/oracleace

https://twitter.com/oracleugs

https://developer.oracle.com/

Jim Grisanzio from Java Developer Relations talks with Josiah Davisson, a teacher from A-TECH (Advanced Technologies Academy) in Las Vegas, Nevada, about his experiences teaching Java to high school students. Josiah is passionate about learning technology himself and also teaching Java to his students so they are fully empowered to enter the software industry directly or go on to seek further computer science education in college. If you'd like to contact Josiah, ping him at Davisjm4@nv.ccsd.net. You can find Jim @jimgris on Twitter  or at jim.grisanzio@oracle.com

Jim Grisanzio from Java Developer Relations talks with Sharat Chander, Sr. Director, Java Product Management & Community Engagement, about the Java community. The conversation explores Shar's beautiful summary of his experiences with the Java community in 2023 that he published on Inside Java:

https://inside.java/2023/12/21/seasons-thanks/

Shar on Twitter: @Sharat_Chander
Jim on Twitter: @jimgris

BISHKEK, 30 July 2016 – To mark today’s World Day against Trafficking in Persons, the OSCE Centre in Bishkek supported a public awareness-raising campaign and held a public discussion with academic representatives in Bishkek and Osh.

On 29 July, in co-operation with the State Service on Migration, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and local partners, the OSCE Centre raised public awareness about the risks of human trafficking in Bishkek and Osh.

Information material such as pocket calendars with the hotline number and contact information of the Kyrgyz Embassies in the five top migrant destination countries were distributed among the public. Illustrated silhouettes of people, symbolizing victims of trafficking, were displayed on posters in public places with stories in the Russian and Kyrgyz languages narrating their experience of human trafficking.

“Public awareness campaigns play an important role in the prevention of trafficking in human beings,” said William Leaf, OSCE Senior Field Representative in Osh. “The OSCE works to assist the government in improving its education and outreach efforts at the local and central levels in line with its commitments to prevent and combat all forms of human trafficking.”

In addition to the awareness-rising campaign, today the representatives of five local universities in Osh participated in a roundtable discussion organized by the OSCE Centre in co-operation with the Centre for Support of International Protection. The discussion focused on the ways of promoting inter-disciplinary research efforts among students and professors on the scope, tendencies and root causes of human trafficking in southern Kyrgyzstan.  

“As trafficking in human beings is a complex phenomenon, it requires a multi-disciplinary approach, covering, among others, socio-economic, legal, migration, human rights, gender and law enforcement aspects,” said Akylbek Tashbulatov, Director of the Centre for the Support of International Protection. “The academic community have the necessary research potential and tools to positively contribute to the development of such an assessment.”

The events were organized as part of the OSCE Centre’s project on addressing human trafficking in Kyrgyzstan through grassroots initiatives and multi-agency cooperation.

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BERLIN/WARSAW, 8 April 2016 – Political leaders must play a primary role in in countering discrimination and prejudice against Roma and Sinti and improving their situation, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Germany’s Federal Foreign Minister, and Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), said today, on the occasion of International Roma Day.

“Political leaders at all levels must be at the forefront of efforts to end the systematic discrimination and racism that have long afflicted Roma and Sinti communities and individuals in many countries in the OSCE region,” OSCE  Chairperson-in-Office Steinmeier said. “They have to lead both by word, in delivering positive messages and not resorting to negative stereotypes and scapegoating, and by example, in ensuring the implementation of policies at all levels of government to promote the integration and full political, economic and social participation of Roma and Sinti in their societies.”

In particular, they condemned the use by some politicians of racist language and messages aimed either at promoting hatred towards Roma and Sinti or reinforcing negative stereotypes.

“Alarmingly, we still see instances where politicians resort to the politics of fear and hatred for their own perceived gain, thus stoking unfair and dangerous prejudice against Roma and Sinti. This contributes to an atmosphere in which members of Europe’s largest minority are in danger of being targeted with hate crimes, including violent assaults, and even murder,” Director Link said. “Leaders must not only refrain from such statements, but take a step further – they must publicly condemn racist speech and acts against Roma and Sinti, and counter racism and discrimination in a systematic way.”

The subject of racist, anti-Roma rhetoric used by politicians was addressed at a side event organized by ODIHR and the Central Council for German Sinti and Roma, during the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw, on 30 September 2015, at which participants highlighted the important role of state institutions in overcoming racism.

The Organization’s work in this area is guided by the Action Plan on Improving the Situation of Roma and Sinti in the OSCE Area, adopted in 2003, which includes measures to combat racism and discrimination, to promote greater public and economic participation, and to ensure equal access and opportunities in the areas of education, employment, housing and health services.

“The blueprint for addressing racism and discrimination against Roma and Sinti and for improving their situation already exists, in the form of the Action Plan,” said Mirjam Karoly, Chief of ODIHR’s Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues. “Greater political will and leadership are vital to making this a reality.”

Related Stories

• OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Steinmeier stresses importance of ODIHR’s work during visit to headquarters in Warsaw
• OSCE States explore role for the Organization regarding migration and refugee flows
• 2016 OSCE Annual Security Review Conference focuses on reviving co-operative security in a challenging environment

WARSAW, 19 April 2016 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, today visited the headquarters of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in the context of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Office.

Chairperson-in-Office Steinmeier, who was joined for the visit by Witold Waszczykowski, Foreign Minister of Poland, met with ODIHR Director Michael Georg Link, before addressing guests and ODIHR Staff. In his address, he highlighted the background to the decision for the establishment of ODIHR in Warsaw, while stressing the continued importance of the Office’s work.

“The first democratic elections in 1989 in Poland marked the start of great change in Europe. It was not by coincidence that Warsaw was chosen as the seat of ODIHR – with this the OSCE paid tribute to the important role of the first Polish non-communist government since 1947 in the democratic re-shaping of Europe,” the German Foreign Minister said. “Today, 25 years later, I am in Warsaw to commend ODIHR, with its team of 150 people from 34 OSCE states, for its outstanding work: You are the chief promoters and defenders of the OSCE’s principles and commitments in the Human Dimension.”

“This task is never easy – it builds on your dedication to human rights and fundamental freedoms, it requires a reliable budget and it deserves the full support of all OSCE participating States,” he added. “ODIHR can count on Germany’s commitment, as OSCE Chairmanship, but also beyond.”

Director Link took the opportunity to express his thanks to both guests for their countries’ support for the Office.

“Over the past 25 years, ODIHR has grown into the OSCE’s principal human rights body, and this work is more important today than ever,” he said. “We are grateful for our host country’s continued support and appreciate the Chairperson-in-Office’s commitment to ODIHR and its mandate to promote human rights and democracy throughout the OSCE region.”

“ODIHR plays a major role not only in the process of monitoring human rights, but also in providing assistance with the implementation of commitments undertaken in the OSCE area,” said Polish Foreign Minister Waszczykowski. “ODIHR is an institution that truly makes a difference and, therefore, we fully support the work of every member of its highly devoted team.”

ODIHR was established in 1991 – originally as the OSCE Office for Free Elections – by a decision of OSCE heads of state and government at the Paris Summit in November of the previous year. The name was changed to its current form and its mandate significantly expanded in 1992, to providing assistance to governments and civil society in OSCE participating States in improving democratic governance, guaranteeing human rights and fundamental freedoms, and promoting tolerance and non-discrimination. 

Related Stories

• Holocaust remembrance reminds us of the need to work for tolerance and non-discrimination in our societies, say keynote speakers at OSCE Permanent Council
• Political leaders have primary role in countering discrimination and prejudice against Roma and Sinti, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and ODIHR Director say on International Roma Day
• OSCE Chairperson-in-Office expresses gratitude to outgoing ODIHR Director Lenarčič