This week has definately allowed us to see more than the UNDP basement office. Though independent work on updating the Judicial Training Program "Turn Guide" continues, several meetings have enabled us to gain insight into the general UNDP mandate in Serbia and to assess where our efforts fit into the various projects aimed at accomplishing that mandate.

Cluster Progress Report
The first meeting occurred just within the Cluster where we learned about the progress of the various projects with which the team was involved. Last week, most of the team attended a meeting in Bratislava to discuss strategies to improve access to justice and other legal empowerment initiatives. We had in fact prepared a memo summarizing the Commission on Legal Empowerment's Manuals for this meeting. We were happy to learn that Serbia's UNDP presentations went very well. The feedback was positive on the Cluster's initiatives with regards to Judicial Training and the Turn Guide as well. This made our efforts in updating the Guide even more vital.

I was personally struck by two things at this particular meeting. The first had to do with the number of times donors and funds were mentioned when discussing projects. Most of the obstacles seemed to center on gaining a firm committment from donors, whether they be the government or other agencies. This seems to be wide-spread issue since I have come across it as a hindrance to the progress of projects when reviewing the Turn Guide and other similar initiatives.
The second observation was the addition of members to the Cluster and the UNDP team. The qualifications of new members and consultants were set out and I look forward to meeting them. Particular mention was made of a Canadian consultant, who will be providing expertise on mediation techniques. I was happy to learn that Canada is viewed as a pioneer in that field.

Marlene and I were next invited to a General Meeting convened by the new UN Resident Coordinator for Serbia, Mr. Infante, to introduce the Assistant Secretary- General, Ms. Udovicki.

General Meeting, General Observations

Ms. Udovicki began the meeting with her observations of the efforts in Serbia and suggested stragies that would quicken EU accession. Aside from these general comments, I became aware of an issue in the municipalities of Serbia on which I would like to do further research. I learned that these municipalities, as part of "budget cuts", no longer have access to social security and the welfare net that most of these regions desperately require. Given the current deficit in Serbia, this problem has been ignored. I would like to speak with the Clusters that work with the municipalties to discuss a joint effort that focusses on eradicating this issue as part of the empowerment of the poor mandate. I am enthusiastic to learn more about the municipalities and how legal empowerment can be utilized in this matter, if at all.

I will keep you all posted on this project.

Hope you're all well and enjoying your placements,