The training phase of the Project for Awareness Raising on Lisbon Agenda undertaken by a TEPAV-British Embassy-EPIC partnership was completed in Ankara on October 16-19, 2007.
The training seminars for the Project for Awareness Raising on the Lisbon Agenda were carried out at Bilkent Hotel with the participation of 140 trainees.
The project is funded by the Global Opportunities Fund of the British Embassy and undertaken by a Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey (TEPAV)-British Embassy- European Policy Information Center (EPIC) partnership.
Experts on policymaking in certain policy areas from Turkey and the UK offered insight to participants on the reform process options ahead of Turkey. The objective of the four-day seminar was to inform the participants from the public and private sectors as well as the civil society on the relevant and useful aspects of the Lisbon process and the EU policymaking experiences for Turkey.
The future of the project entails the selection of a group among the participants to relay similar seminars to trainees at the local level in several cities in Turkey.
The project takes the necessity for the EU and Turkey to share experiences and knowledge to tackle similar challenges in the face of globalization and to improve the competitiveness of their economies. The first set of meetings was held on February 19-21 and March 12-14, 2007 in Ankara.
Lisbon Strategy
The Lisbon Process was devised as a response to the challenges posed by globalization and the expression of a resolution to boost the economic dynamism and competitiveness of the EU on the basis of an information economy. Through an open method of coordination, it enables member states to adopt individual methods and take the measures to achieve progress towards common goals. The Lisbon Strategy focuses on issues like education, employment, SMEs, innovation, environment and energy to improve competitiveness. The process also includes social responsibility principles and aims to keep topics like women's participation and environmental protection on the agenda. It also stresses the need for public institutions, the private sector and the civil society to contribute to policymaking processes in consultation and coordination.