Launching the National Network on Community Structural Fund Communication

On July 24th 2008 in light of the formal establishment of a national network on Structural Fund communication, the Department for Development Policies (DPS)  (Dipartimento per le Politiche di Sviluppo) of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and UCOFPL of the Italian Ministry of Work organized an opening meeting in Rome aimed at the directors for communication of the Operational Programmes 2007-2013.
Nicola Masi, Head of the Communications and External Relations Office and Sabina de Luca, Director General for Structural Fund Policies at the DPS, opened the event by asking the participants for shared remarks on the usefulness of content and methods for starting up and managing a national network, in order to support the policies to be realized in the current planning period. Gianfranca Iorio, Head of Communication of the European Social Fund, highlighted how this network may be instrumental to reciprocal learning. Elisabetta Olivi from the European Commission Representation (Rappresentanza della Commissione europea) in Italy, focussed on the opportunity for strengthening collaboration through the Europe Direct network of the European Commission in terms of implementation of the communication plans related to Structural Funds.
Through their speeches, the participants unanimously acknowledged the usefulness of a network which joins the directors for communication for the purpose of greater efficacy of the interventions.
In the following months, the participants will be working together on the elaboration of a draft programme of the activities and organizational methods. Formez experts present at the meeting, were asked to support the activities of start-up and enhancement of the network through online information and communication tools which were tested during previous Structural Fund planning periods.
The second phase of the meeting was dedicated to the online publication of the list of Structural Funds beneficiaries which is one of the Commission priorities for the end of 2008. This ensured transparency in the use of those funds directed to EU budget. In order to fulfil this request within the terms indicated by the European Commission, the participants were suggested to introduce in their websites one page dedicated to the list of beneficiaries following the example of the DPS. Awareness-raising activities will be carried out aimed at the Managing Authority, so as to designate a referent for collecting and systematizing the information to be published by the Directors for Communication.