Press Releases 2007
U.S. Supports Water Utility Improvement Workshop
October 1, 2007
On Wednesday October 3 at 9:00 am Joseph Taggart, Officer in Charge of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Sinisa Stankovic, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Environmental Protection for the Republic of Montenegro, and Carl Mitchell, Infrastructure and Environment Team Leader, USAID Washington Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, will open a three-day regional workshop titled: "Best Practices in Water Utility Management, Finance and Performance Improvement" at the Hotel Hunguest in Herceg Novi. USAID is organizing the workshop together with its cooperating organizations: International Water Association (IWA), European Water Association (EWA), and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
On October 2 at 7:00 pm Mayor of Herceg Novi Dejan Mandic will welcome, on behalf of the City, the nearly 100 participants and speakers from over 20 European countries at a reception at the Hotel Hunguest.
The Workshop is focused on the water utility sector, grouped into theme sessions which address:
- Sector Reform as a Foundation for Utility Success
- Corporate Governance and Utility Accountability
- Utility Management Practices and Actions for Performance Improvement
- Capital Financing Strategies, Instruments and Practical Applications
Each session is then structured to have four brief topic presentations, of 15-20 minutes each, under the session theme, followed by time for in-depth discussions around each of the topics in separate break-out sessions. Selected presenters for each topic are practitioners from the region, who can speak to specific programs that they are implementing, and can objectively report on their success in bringing about positive changes in a quantifiable manner.
Media interested in covering the October 2 reception should be at the Hotel Hungest in Herceg Novi on Tuesday, October 2, at 7:00 pm. Media wishing to record the opening session on Wednesday, 3 October, are asked to have their equipment set up by 8:45 am in the workshop presentation room on that day. Arrangements will be made for individual interviews with senior officials after the first workshop session on October 3, from 11:20 to11:45 a.m.
For more information on the workshop, please do not hesitate to contact the following: Workshop Planning Coordinator: Dragana Petronijevic-Tel: +382 69 507 680; E-mail: aldra@cg.yu.