The 2022 Aarhus Centres Annual Meeting was held in Vienna and online on 19 and 20 October 2022. The meeting focused on the role of Aarhus Centres in strengthening peace and security, their new Strategy and Action Plan, and on the contribution of the Centres to sustainable development.
The 2022 OSCE Polish Chairmanship and the incoming 2023 Macedonian Chairmanship expressed support for the Meeting, stressing relevance of the Aarhus Centres’ contribution to strengthening good environmental governance in the OSCE area and supporting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
During the opening of the meeting, the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities Igli Hasani highlighted the role of the Centres in assisting countries across the OSCE area to tackle complex environmental challenges in times of conflict and increased security risks.
Marco Keiner, Director of the Environment Division at United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), which hosts the Aarhus Convention Secretariat, underlined how the Aarhus Centres network matured over the years and continues to provide an instrumental platform for governments, communities and business in finding sustainable solutions to environmental challenges.
Noting the Aarhus Convention’s role in increasing accountability and transparency, the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office on Combating Corruption Anita Ramasastry emphasised that the Aarhus Centres serve to promote open, inclusive and resilient governance in the environmental sphere.
The second day of the meeting was dedicated to a capacity-building workshop on effective fundraising strategies and tools, highlighting best practices and experiences from the Aarhus Centres in terms of environmental and organizational sustainability.
