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SECOT has been until recently
a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of
ESSN (European Senior Services Network.
This body, headquartered in Brussels and created by the European Union,
has funded cooperation for development and aid programs for consultant and training
services in different geographical areas, mainly within TACIS.
SECOT
is also a member of CESES (Confederation of European Senior Expert Services),
recently established. CESES gathers 24,000 EU Expert senior volunteers, grouped
in 25 organizations similar to SECOT.
SECOT's expert senior volunteers have performed consultant and training missions in countries covered by the PHARE (Central Europe), TACIS (Eastern Europe and Mongolia) and LIEP (Lioning-China) programs, such as Armenia, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Kyrgiztan, Mongolia, Rusia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Kaluga.
On SECOT's initiative, the European Parliament has approved a budgetary provision to cover a Cooperation for Development Aid Program for Latin America to be carried out by European seniors, similar to those until recently in place for other geographic regions.
In the interim, with funding from various sources provided under the terms of several different agreements (Gabriel Vilaseca Soler Foundation, AECI, BID, EU, BERD) SECOT has rendered -or will render in the near future- consulting and training services in different Latin American countries.
SECOT
is leading an initiative to transfer its own experience and activities to Latin
America, laying the ground for the creation of local sister organizations. The
first achievement was made in Colombia with ASECAT, legally established
in December of 2000. From the outset, the initiative has enjoyed the wholehearted
support of Latin American entities such as CEAL (Consejo Empresarial de América
Latina) and UNIAPAC (Unión Internacional de Dirigentes de Empresas),
as well as the local Chambers of Commerce in Bogotá, Cali and Medellín.
For the wider program, which will most probably start with the establishment
of an association in Argentina, SECOT expects
to collaborate with the IDB (Interamerican Development Bank), the Spanish International
Aid Agency (AECI) and the Ministry of Economy (through its Secretaría
General de Comercio Exterior- Foreign Trade Secretariat).
SECOT has worked on a regular basis with organizations and companies in the People's Republic of China, by virtue of a cooperation Agreement signed in 1994 with the SBFE (State Bureau for Foreign Experts) since replaced by the SAFEA (State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs).
Through its delegation in Cádiz, SECOT is making a substantial effort to enlarge its presence in Northern Morocco, in particular in the region of Tetuán and Tangiers, with the invaluable support of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation of Cádiz. On October 2000, a cooperation agreement was signed between this chamber, the Chamber of Tetuán, and SECOT.
SECOT participates on a regular basis in SES Senior Volunteer World Conferences, such as those held in London (1997), Turin (1999), an Canberra (2001).
SECOT is a collaborating member of the Coordinating Body of Spanish Development NGO's (CONGDE), and is a part of its Task Groups for European Union, Latin America and Volunteer development.