2018-10-06

German Bundestag and ODIHR at OSCE Academy

On 5 October the OSCE Academy hosted a number of high-level visits, welcoming on its premises representatives of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) from Warsaw as well as members of the Bundestag, the German Parliament, accompanied by the German Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan.

Dr. Marcin Walecki, Head of the ODIHR’s Democratization Department, and Jacopo Leone, Democratic Governance Officer, visited the Academy in order to discuss with Academy Director Dr. Wolters new opportunities for cooperation and the possible establishment of an institutional partnership. Following an introductory presentation about the Academy’s running activities and plans for future development, Dr. Walecki described several directions for joint projects of the two institutions. Special attention was given to internship opportunities for students at ODIHR, trainings for faculty and staff members in Warsaw as well as joint research projects.

In the afternoon the Delegation from the Bundestag arrived at the Academy as part of the programme of the Delegation’s participation in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 17th Autumn Meeting, taking place in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on 3-6 October. The delegation was headed by MP Doris Barnett, Treasurer of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Head of the German Delegation to the OSCE PA and also a member of the Council of Europe and MP Michael Georg Link, Vice-Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Democracy and Human Rights, former head of ODIHR, and accompanied by Prof. Dr. Joachim Rickes, Head of International Relations at the German Bundestag and German Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic Ms. Monika Iversen. During the visit the distinguished guests had a short meeting with students from both MA Programmes and discussed the Academy’s current developments and ambitious plans for the future with Director Wolters and newly arrived DAAD Visiting Professor Dr. Anja Mihr.

Both the representatives of ODIHR and the members of the German Delegation showed great interest in the Academy’s work and confirmed their continuous support to the further growth of the Academy’s programmes and its contribution to regional development.