OSCE in Croatia donates surplus office, IT equipment to local schools
During 2007, the OSCE Mission to Croatia closed some of its field offices and its mandate was finally terminated at the year's end. Its successor, the OSCE Office in Zagreb had the task of facilitating all the technical activities that accompanied the complex operation of the closure of the Mission.
Apart from its regular work as determined by the new Mandate, the Office had to deal with - among other things - the disposal of materials and files accumulated over the eleven-year-long presence of the Mission.
The changeover meant that in 2007 and the first quarter of 2008, there was a major reduction in OSCE staff in the country, some restructuring in activities and processes, reduction of office space and a major effort in office materials management.
Schools in need
The Mission also decided to donate all the surplus office materials and equipment to schools in Croatia that needed them.
"Starting in 2007, it was our policy to donate materials to schools in areas that were covered by our field offices after their closure," said Mike Sams, the Office in Zagreb's Head of Administration.
"Last year, the Mission donated more than 400 pieces of furniture and other equipment, such as lamps, fans, boards, coat racks, fire extinguishers and kitchen appliances, to 11 schools in the areas covered by the former Field Offices in Karlovac, Split, Pakrac, and Gospic," he said.
By the end of 2007, the OSCE - with the help of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration - began to donate electronic equipment that was beyond the statutory three-year period for protocol purposes. This meant that according to Croatian law, it was exempt from import tax and could be freely donated to schools and educational institutions.
"With the official closure of the Mission at the end of 2007, we continued with donations in 2008 of items that were not needed for the operation of the new OSCE Office in Zagreb," added Mike Sams.
Computers for kids
In the first quarter of this year, the Office in Zagreb donated an additional 700 pieces of furniture and other equipment to schools in the areas of Sisak, Knin, Zagreb, Vukovar, Zadar and Osijek. The Office's IT team also prepared some 126 workstations and monitors with basic software, 16 printers and 69 other IT-related items such as switchboards, telephones and satellite receivers, and distributed them to the needy schools.
As an example, Nikola Andric Primary School in Vukovar received a donation of six desktop computers, a television, four filing cabinets, a safe, kitchen appliances, 11 office tables with drawers, 13 chairs, eight bookshelves, two whiteboards and some smaller office materials, most of which came from the former Mission's Field Office in Vukovar.
"The years 2007 and 2008 saw major changes in our presence in Croatia. The successful closure of the Mission in 2007 following eleven years of OSCE work in Croatia, and the Office in Zagreb's new obligations in 2008, have brought a completely different dimension to our workload," said the Head of Office, Ambassador Jorge Fuentes.
"A major effort was undertaken in making sure all office materials were properly stored or disposed off, files sorted, and office space closed and handed over to its owners. We are very happy to be able to donate most of our surplus equipment to needy schools, especially those in areas in which our presence was strong in the past years thanks to our Field Offices," Ambassador Fuentes concluded.