We are proud to announce the annual Seminar Series on Partnerships for Sustainable Development. The trainings will take place in Istanbul and in Venice, for a total of two weeks. The training is made possible thanks to the generous financial support of the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea.

Civil servants from Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, the Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine are eligible to apply.

By attending the training on sustainable development, participants will:

• gain direct career benefits;
• deepen their knowledge on vital issues of sustainable development and its practical contexts;
• be trained by a group of top lecturers from governments, international organizations, industry and universities;
• contribute to the advancement of society by putting into practice the knowledge and experience acquired during the course; and,
• acquire an understanding of the best and worst practices in Black Sea Coastal Countries and Europe.

We would like to take this opportunity to highlight the success of the previous three seminars. There is currently a network of almost 100 participants from Black Sea countries. Over 100 influential instructors and panelists shared their knowledge and experience; thus expanding the diversity of the network. Since 2008, participants, instructors and panelists had the unique opportunity to network and exchange ideas not only during the time spent together in Istanbul and in Venice, but also afterwards.

In addition to a range of lectures given by highly experienced instructors and world leaders in their respective fields, there will also be interesting site visits and study tours in Istanbul and Venice where participants will get hands-on experience and an opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences. Moreover, fabulous sightseeing will be included.

We would like to encourage you to visit our web site () where you can find details of the previous training programs, upcoming trainings and detailed information regarding the current programme. Deadline for applications is 2 May 2011. For further information, please write to us at blacksea@rec.org.tr.

We look forward to coming together and working with your organization in Istanbul in June and in Venice in September, 2011.
Yours Sincerely,

Sibel Sezer Eralp, Ph.D.
Director for Turkey and the Black Sea
Regional Environmental Center (REC)