FORUM PREPARATIONS

In each CBSS member country there is a preparatory committee and an NGO which acts as a national focal point, co-ordinating together the local preparations and informing the NGOs in the country.

In Finland, the preparatory process started in May 2002 soon after the II Baltic Sea NGO Forum in Saint Petersburg, when a national organising committee and a work group were established and contact persons for different thematic groups were nominated.

Representatives of the national committees had a joint preparatory meeting 17th -18th of October 2002 in Turku, where they agreed on the preparatory process and the programme outline of the forum. After the second international meeting on 14 - 15 February 2003 in Helsinki a preliminary programme will be published.

We hope that NGOs in all Baltic Sea countries take an active role in the preparatory process, especially in planning the programme of the thematic working groups. Please contact the national focal point of your country or the contact person of the thematic group if you want to give your contribution to the preparations.