The first information meeting on the Global Fund for Decent Work and Tripartite Dialogue was held in the Bulgarian capital Sofia Wednesday last week. Similar events are already scheduled in the Baltic States. Information meetings will be held in Latvia and Estonia before Christmas, while the meeting in Lithuania will take place in January 2012.
Improved social dialogue
The Global Fund for Decent Work and Tripartite Dialogue, which is operated by Innovation Norway, focuses on how to promote the decent work agenda, foster tripartite dialogue and strengthen bilateral relations. It is the first programme in implementation for the 2009-2014 funding period.
The Fund will finance projects that contribute to the achievement of two goals:
- Improved social dialogue and tripartite dialogue structures and practices
- Enhanced understanding of the benefits of decent work
The ongoing open call for proposals covers all the 12 newest EU and EEA member states. The deadline for submitting project proposals is March 31, 2012 and more information as well as the application form is available on the programme website www.decentwork.no.
Partnerships with Norwegian social partners
At the information meeting in Sofia, the Bulgarian Minister of EU funds management Tomislav Donchev stressed that besides the funding, Bulgaria could also benefit from Norway's experience in tripartite dialogue. Norway’s Ambassador to Bulgaria Tove Skarstein said she hoped the new programme would provide an opportunity to build on the positive experience and results of the many partnership projects financed under the Norwegian Cooperation Programme with Bulgaria in the period 2007-2009. Bulgaria’s Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Policy Deyana Kostadinova, and representatives of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and the Confederation of the Norwegian Enterprises (NHO) were also present at the meeting.
Photo credit: Royal Norwegian Embassy, Sofia