Newsletter 3/2010

meeting with AIC Forum representatives in view of the recent candidature of the AIC Forum as member of the prestigious Participation in AIC Forum European network of Chambers of Com- merce and Industry. the Ascame The ultimate goal of the meeting, which heading towards was formally requested by Eurochambres, Arbitration was to openly discuss the actual moti- vations of the candidature and the orga- Commission meeting nizational and economic tasks involved, Eurochambres should the request for membership in the The 21st General Meeting of Ascame, the as- network be positively accepted. sociation uniting the Chambers of Commerce The meeting saw the participation of the and Industry throughout the Mediterranean, membership Vice-President, Secretary and a represen- is scheduled for 27th-30th October 2010. And tative of the Secretariat of the AIC Forum, along with the event, the ASCAME Arbitration as well as the official in charge of the Eco- Commission shall also meet, chaired by Mo- n 25th June last the Deputy Presi- hamed Choucair, President of the Chamber of dent of the Eurochambres associa- nomic Development Department of the An- cona accompanied Commerce of Beirut. The items on the agenda O tion Mr. Pierre Gramegna visited include preparatory works to the setting-up of the Ancona Chamber of Commerce for a by the official in charge of the EU Project Management and International Coopera- the Ascame Arbitration Centre. Ms. Frontini tion Department. The meeting also saw will also be attending the Commission meeting, the participation of the AIC Forum Pre- presenting the experience of the International sident, who attended in videoconference Court of the Adriatic and Ionian Area, set up mode from the Chamber of the Economy with the main aim of facilitating businesses in of Split. Interesting hints emerged from cross-border transactions by providing them the meeting, which makes room for opti- with suitable assistance and efficient support in mism with reference to the outcome of the the event of potential disputes. It also presents candidature, in view of an ever closer col- itself as an element of competitiveness and ad- laboration between international networks ded value for the entire business system. and especially of a timely and particularly strategic institutional recognition of Euro- pean macro-regions that are increasingly interesting for the chambers of commerce of the Adriatic and Ionian basin. NEXT ISSUE: CONTACTS www.forumaic.org Patras (Greece),13th December: Training Secretariat of A.I.C. Forum c/o Ancona Chamber of Commerce session on “Conciliation and arbitration 1, XXIV Maggio sq. - 60124 Ancona - for dispute settlement in the Adriatic and Ph.: +39 071 5898249 - +39 071 5898266 Fax: +39 071 5898255 e-mail: [email protected] Ionian Area” Office c/o Unioncamere Bruxelles - Square de Meeus, 37 - 1000 Brussels Brussels, 14th October: of Enterprises

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Participation in WORKGROUP ON WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP the 2nd Economic 5th Congress of the Women’s Enterprises and Financial of the Adriatic and Ionian Area Forum for the Mediterranean n 12th July last the AIC Forum participa- ted with one of its representatives in the 2nd Edition of the Economic and Finan- O www.womeninbusiness.forumaic.org cial Forum for the Mediterranean, which was held Under the auspices of : With contributions from: in Milan upon the initiative of the local Chamber

of Commerce. Representatives of the European CAMERE DI COMMERCIO D’ITALIA Union, the higher echelons of the Italian State, other institutional representatives and about 200 he 5th Congress of the Women’s En- The call for competition therefore aims to be entrepreneurs from various Euro-Mediterranean terprises of the Adriatic and Ionian a useful too to identify, support and stimulate, countries participated in the event, which can TArea will be held in Međugorje (Bosnia- also indirectly, the value created by “enterpri- now be rightly considered as a reference point Herzegovina). The Congress is promoted by sing women” in their business activity. for the “Union for the Mediterranean” initiative. the theme-specific Workgroup on Women’s The Congress will also be the occasion for Entrepreneurship of the Adriatic and Ionian the approval and official launch of the Charter Area. The initiative goes under the title “In- of Values of Women Enterprises, i.e. a vo- novate to compete” and will take place on two luntary tool available for women enterprises days, i.e. 8th and 9th November 2010 with the in the Adriatic-Ionian area for the promotion participation of outstanding speakers who will of ethical and responsible entrepreneurship. focus on innovation as a major driving force Also those chambers of commerce willing to for growth as well as main resource for global enhance their initiatives and good practices competition. The event will also be the occa- in favour of enterprises can sign the Charter sion for the launch of the competition call for of Values. Both the contest and the charter innovative women enterprises in the Adriatic- of values to be launched during the 5th Con- Ionian area. The contest, which has already gress of women enterprises are to be framed been given the patronage of the Union of within the broader objective of sustainability 800 million inhabitants, a GDP growth ranging Italian Chambers of Commerce Unioncamere and inclusive growth, with the aim of achie- between 4 and 6%, also during the current period and sees the collaboration by the Province of ving economic, social and territorial cohesion. of international economic downturn, trade betwe- Ancona, is in line with en the EU and the countries on the Southern and Community guidelines Eastern Mediterranean shore worth 250 billion that have all too often Euros in 2009: these are just some of the major highlighted the need figures showing the high potential of the Mediter- to promote talents and ranean basin for the development of increasingly encourage women’s strong trade relations also with the enterprises of entrepreneurship. the Adriatic-Ionian Area. Statistics namely It is thus particularly important also for the AIC show that in the field Forum network to pay the utmost attention to this of innovation women initiative in view of a possible future collaboration are faced with more involving the system of chambers of commerce difficulties. By way of that can support the already ongoing process of example, the process economic and financial integration of the Euro- innovation rate is 7.8% Mediterranean area, which can then lead to the in men-run enterprises implementation of a real free trade area also as against 4.1% in wo- thanks the economic cooperation between mi- men businesses. cro-sized, small and medium-sized enterprises.

2 NEWS LETTER - Forum of the Adriatic and Ionian Chambers of Commerce - 3/2010 Istanbul, 21st-22nd September 2010 Participation in the first Forum for South East European Women Entrepreneurs n 21st and 22nd September, Istanbul Nations – Economic Commission for Europe was precisely on this latter aspect that the () a representative of the AIC (UNECE) and the KOSGEB. intervention of the representative of the AIC OForum attended the first Forum devo- The Meeting falls under the scope of the Forum focussed, who, highlighting the situa- ted to women entrepreneurs in South East various activities envisaged by the project tion of entrepreneurial relations in the Basin Europe. The event was organised within the “Women’s Entrepreneurship – a job creation of reference in the speech entitled “Women’s framework of the Greek Presidency of the engine for South East Europe”, again pro- Entrepreneurship – State of Affairs in the South-East European Cooperation Process moted by RCC and UNECE and which was Adriatic and Ionian Area”, launched the Fo- – SEECP, and was sponsored by the Regio- discussed during the event. rum network and the works carried out within nal Cooperation Council (RCC), the United The various contributions made during the the Workgroup on women entrepreneurs as two days highlighted the desire to face up a real ‘best practice’ to all intents and purpo- to the main issues encountered by women ses, declaring willing to share activities with entrepreneurs of South East Europe on se- other associations and/or institutions of other veral different levels, both in institutional and countries of the SEE in attendance. Impor- entrepreneurial terms. Such issues include: tant contacts were therefore made with the a lack of support by government institutions, FYROM, and , in view of an excessive administrative procedures, and involvement of these countries in the coming lack of trust by women in their own entre- activities of the AIC Forum as from the next preneurial skills, difficulty in accessing in- Congress on women entrepreneurs, schedu- formation and credit, cultural barriers and led for November 2010. the scarce possibilities of networking. And it 3rd “Giro d’Italia” INTERNATIONAL COURT OF THE of women ADRIATIC AND IONIAN AREA entrepreneurs Coming activities he city of Cagliari, Sardinia, marked the offi- Since December 2008, when the Coo- undertook a structured training path in 2008. cial start of the third “Giro d’Italia” of women peration Agreement was signed for the This aimed to spread the use of recourse to ex- Tentrepreneurs on 15th September 2010, i.e. Dpromotion of conciliation and arbitration trajudicial tools by which to solve commercial di- the itinerant event coordinated by the Union of in the Adriatic-Ionian Area, a great many activi- sputes on both a national and international level. Italian Chambers of Commerce Unioncamere and ties have been carried out aiming to encourage On a secondary level, it also aimed to provide with the collaboration of Italian chambers of com- not only the promotion of arbitration and conci- technical-legal information on conciliation and merce and local committees for entrepreneurship, liation procedures within the Area, but also the arbitration in order to make the assistance of which aims at enhancing, supporting and promo- coordination of existing national operators in this operators dealing with disputes with their com- ting women enterprises. This year’s programme territory, with a view to spreading use of ADR mercial partner, more efficient. After the first se- of the initiative foresees nine stages, all focussed tools on an international level too, by involving minar held in Zagreb in December 2008, further on business transfer and generational turnover the International Court of the Adriatic and Ionian meetings followed in nearby countries (Bosnia linked to internationalisation. The Pesaro stage on Area. and Herzegovina, , and Al- 30th September 2010 was organised under the The Bodies signing the Agreement (Leone Levi bania) in 2009 and the first half of 2010. The suc- slogan “Continuity, modernisation and internatio- Arbitration Chamber, Ancona, Permanent Cen- cess enjoyed by the last course held in Durres nalisation” in business management, with special tre for Mediation and Zagreb Permanent Court), () in December 2009 has encouraged focus on the role of women entrepreneurs. The points of excellence in the tangible administra- the Forum to pursue the path undertaken. The event also saw the participation of a delegation of tion and management of arbitration and conci- next seminar is scheduled for 13th December the Forum of the Chambers of Commerce of the liation procedures in their respective countries, 2010 in Patras (). Adriatic and Ionian Area.

NEWS LETTER - Forum of the Adriatic and Ionian Chambers of Commerce - 3/2010 3 WORKGROUP ON AGRICULTURE International training course for panel leaders off to a good start he training pathway for expert professional of the group of judges carrying out the senso- olive oil tasters developed within the AIC ry analysis of virgin olive oils. The course was and presentation of samples to tasters, as well TForum Workgroup for agriculture has now granted the patronage of the Croatian Ministry as of the abstract of data, their statistical proces- reached its final stage. for Agriculture, the City of Split, the Province of sing and the drafting of the official tasting certi- After the organisation of basic courses on the Ancona and the Ancona Chamber of Commer- ficate. Panel leaders furthermore select tasters physiological eligibility for the tasting of virgin ce. Its aim is to provide training for panel leaders and provide for their training and the control over olive oils, advanced training courses and the in compliance with the norms currently in force their actions, so as to guarantee and adequate necessary training sessions to be awarded the of the International Olive Oil Council, i.e. Doc. level of abilities. second level certification as olive oil tasters held T20, thereby providing all the necessary tech- Lecturers in the proposed course included Pa- in both Zadar and Split, the Croatian Chamber of nical and practical tools for the acquisition of nel Leaders and highly qualified national and the Economy of Split in collaboration with OLEA specific knowledge International experts and university professors. (Laboratory Organization of Experts and Tasters Panel leaders are expected to have consoli- The teaching methodology included theoretical – International School for Sensory Analysis and dated professional skills and experience in the lectures, practical classes and selection tests Food Culture) organized a training course for tasting of the various olive oil varieties. They are for the assessment of participants, as already panel leaders in the period between 3rd and furthermore responsible for the Panel, i.e. of the envisaged by the International Olive Oil Council 7th September 2010. These are fundamental official and professional tasting committee, its programmes, as well as in-depth lectures on to- professional profiles for the correct guidance organization, functioning, preparation, coding pics of current interest.

EU PROJECTING ACTIVITIES Final termination of the ITAC project following the financial extension granted by the European Commission: An example of best practice for the AIC Forum n compliance with the European Commis- tion and technological transfer. te stakeholders, both Italian ones like Union- sion’s decision of 14th July 2009 authori- The time extension of the project and the cor- camere Veneto, Chambers of Commerce of Izing for an extension in the final term for responding financial extension have made it Trieste, Ravenna, Teramo, L’Aquila; and fo- the eligibility of expenses related to projects possible to implement a series of activities, reign ones like Chamber of the Economy of financed within the Interreg IIIA Community which can be seen as real follow-up actions Split (), Podgorica (Montenegro) and Initiative – NPPA to 30th June 2010, and of the original project that was initially termi- Durres (Albania). following the formal request by the Ancona nated on 30tj June 2009. Other partners followed, both chambers of Chamber of Commerce acting in its capacity The final objective of the extension project commerce and other organizations. All of of lead partner of the ITAC project (cod 151), has remained unchanged in comparison to them shared the spirit of the project and in May 2010 the competent Managing Autho- the original one, i.e. establishing new forms more tangibly the implemented activities in rity granted a time extension and subsequent of networking collaboration between cham- view of a future collaboration and a constant financial extension for the implementation of bers of commerce, public and private bodies technical exchange of views on the specific new activities in view of the good spending active in the field of research and enterpri- topic of innovation and technological transfer performance of the project in comparison to ses, thereby stimulating new projects, new It is worth mentioning here that this was pos- the overall initial budget (with a final spent innovative ideas, experimentation, develop- sible also thanks to the fact that some of the and reported amount equal to 899,659.41 ment and the pre-engineering of new pro- initiatives carried out could were organised EUR). ducts and processes within the wider international framework of The ITAC project has been and still is an All implemented activities were carried out in the AIC Forum 10th Edition, which took pla- extremely positive example of how well an the first six months of 2010 and made it pos- ce from 26th to 28th May 2010. international network of chambers of com- sible to actively involve some of the most im- Details over all implemented activities are merce can work, indeed on a fundamental portant Italian and foreign project partners, available on the updated project website: issue for SMEs competitiveness, i.e. innova- as well as some of the local public and priva- http://itac.seadriatic.net/.

4 NEWS LETTER - Forum of the Adriatic and Ionian Chambers of Commerce - 3/2010