"Strengthening of Czech Cooperation with Developing/Transition Countries in the Area of Sustainable Industrial Development and Good Governance" 
 

Czech Republic - UNDP Cooperation
The Government of the Czech Republic has stated in 1999 that it wishes to continue its co-operation with the UN system in providing assistance to developing countries to strengthen their sectoral capacities. As such it would like to link the activities, which were previously implemented under the Joint Programme with UNIDO, to its development co-operation activities with UNDP.
The Czech Government has established a Trust Fund with UNDP envisaging a yearly contribution of US$ 260,000 over a three years period and a contribution of US$ 270,000 in the last year. The objective of the Trust Fund is to serve as a development assistance fund supporting the sharing of Czech expertise in selected areas of competence with developing and transition countries. Activities carried out under the Trust Fund will strengthen Czech capacities to deliver development assistance and pilot modalities for the country's future co-operation with UNDP as a net contributor country.

Project implemented by EDUCON
Two projects are implemented under the Trust Fund, building on present institutional and human capacities derived during the long co-operation with UN system under the Joint Programme. The one project is implemented from the year 2000 by EDUCON Prague, an NGO which has specialised in organising training courses in selected areas for developing and transition countries, and has vast experience in this area. This project will focus on sharing of Czech experience and provision of technical support in the following areas:

• Sustainable development and environmentally friendly technologies
• Small and medium enterprise development, marketing, management, quality control
• The Czech reform experience in the area of good governance and regional development.

The main focus area of activities are different sectors (metallurgy, engineering, energy efficiency, agricultural engineering and food processes technologies, laboratory equipment and technologies) as well as cross-sectoral areas (environmental protection, SME, marketing, management, quality control, EMS, competitiveness and export increase, regional development, good governance and decentralisation). The identification of topics for workshops and study tours each year will rely on actual needs, requests and recommendations of developing/transition countries, the Government of the Czech Republic and UNDP.
The project is executed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by EDUCON Praha.

EDUCON Prague
EDUCON Praha is a non-governmental, non-political, non-profit association of citizens, individual and legal persons according to the Czech Republic law No. 83/90. The mandate of EDUCON is to facilitate sharing of know-how, information and experience from various areas of the Czech Republic economy, including providing technical assistance to developing and transition countries. Its goal is to improve the level of knowledge and know-how of managers and specialists from institutions, educational organisations, non-governmental and private sector from the Czech Republic and from developing and transition countries.

EDUCON was established as a non-governmental organisation. EDUCON has been established by persons with long-term experience in the area of providing of development assistance and co-operation with the UN agencies. Activities of the project are focused on organisation of workshops and study tours in areas selected on the base of needs of developing countries as well as priorities of UNDP and Czech Government. Part of activities is providing of consultation and training services in the field of feasibility studies analyses, inquiry services and consultancy missions