1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
        May Jun Oct Nov Dec

Throughout 2000, members of the Ombudsman staff have taken part in training seminars and short-term missions in Southeast European states.

The sole funding source of the project "Contribution to the creation of mediator institutions focusing on Southeast European countries and their respective networking" is the Greek Foreign Ministry. The funding commenced at the beginning of 2001 and its implementation is anticipated to last at least one year. During 2000 successive meetings took place in Strasbourg and in Athens, at which the Ombudsman himself represented the institution. The aim of those meetings was to put on track the first steps of the collaboration between the Ombudsman and the Council of Europe and to clarify its operational framework. It is noteworthy that even before the inauguration of the project, the Ombudsman is already a central partner of the Council of Europe, regarding the activities of the organization related to mediating institutions, especially in the states of Southeastern Europe. In this context the following activities were undertaken:

In May, the Ombudsman, Prof. Nikiforos Diamandouros, participated in a seminar organized by the European Commission for Democracy through Law, of the European Council (Venice Commission), and the Marangopoulos Foundation for Human Rights. The seminar on "The ombudsman institution in Europe and the challenges for the consolidation of democracy" took place in Athens in the framework of the First Table of the Stability Pact. In his speech, the Greek Ombudsman presented, for the first time in public, the Ombudsman's agenda of activities pertinent to the Stability Pact.

In June, the Greek Ombudsman took part in a coordinating meeting in Strasbourg, on the implementation of the Council of Europe activities pertinent to the Ombudsmen. On the agenda of the private sessions between the Greek Ombudsman and the Director of Human Rights in the Council, Ms. Jane Dinsdale, there was an analytical discussion of the procedural and substantial issues regarding the cooperation between the Greek Ombudsman and the Council of Europe.

In October, following an invitation by the Council of Europe, senior investigators Christos Adam and Andreas Takis took part in a conference organized in Tirana by the OSCE delegation in Albania and the Council of Europe. The subject of the conference was "The Albanian Ombudsman". In their respective presentations both participants focused on the issues of the "organizational problems of public administration" and "the relationship between the Ombudsman and the Mass Media". It is expected that cooperation with the Albanian Ombudsman will intensify during 2001.

Also in October, following an invitation by the Council of Europe, senior investigators Rena Papadaki and Dimitris Christopoulos participated in the round table-seminar "The Ombudsperson Institution in Kosovo", which was organized by the OSCE mission in Kosovo, the Council of Europe and the local Ombudsman office. The intention of this seminar was to contribute to the transfer of technical skills from the European Ombudsmen bureaus and the international organizations to the newly created institution in Pristina. A close cooperation was inaugurated between the two offices, starting with the participation of the Greek Ombudsman representatives in this seminar, which is being intensified and expanded in 2001.

In November 2000, the Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros, headed a Greek delegation to the Conference "Establishment of the Ombudsman Institution: The Bulgarian Perspective", which was held in Sofia, Bulgaria. The conference was organized by the Center for the Study of Democracy, in anticipation of the debate in the Bulgarian Parliament of the draft Ombudsman law, which was concluded at the beginning of 2001. Prof. Diamandouros presented some experiences of the Greek Ombudsman and compared its institutional framework with selected parts of the Bulgarian draft.

In December, the senior investigators Zinovia Asimakopoulou and Eftihis Fytrakis participated in a conference organized by the Council of Europe in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, with the subject "Mediation as a measure for the non-judicial solution of disputes". The delegation from the Greek Ombudsman participated in the seminars regarding mediation in family and penal issues.