International Relations

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS POLICY DOCUMENT

1. Introduction
   
   
   1. Assessment of Trebic City Council's international relations and their positive effects
      
      Under the term "Trebic City Council's international relations" we understand international relations managed by elected representatives (councilors) and implemented by the Trebic City Council staff. The Policy Document also deals with international relations of Trebic-based businesses and institutions just like residents of Trebic.
      
      Forging and maintaining foreign relations on a long-term basis can have the following positive effects on the lives of the citizens of Trebic and Trebic City Council itself:
      
      • a valuable source of information, experience and inspiration, exchange of know-how
      • starting new formal and informal contacts
      • changing the ways of thinking - removing barriers and xenophobia
      • source of information for target marketing
      • boosting the image of Trebic, just like investment and job opportunities
      • communicating a positive image of the city
      • boosting tourism
      • developing human resources, incentive for people to learn foreign languages
      • boosting local patriotism and self-assuredness
      • preparing people to better communicate, respond to changes and be more flexible
      • increasing the ability of seeing things from a broader perspective
      • improving liaison between Trebic City Council, private businesses and other institutions
       
   2. Current situation in Trebic
      
      Trebic City Council is involved in the following activities aimed at maintaining and developing international relations:
      
      
      • Official contacts of Trebic City Council representatives with partners abroad, most notably representatives of the sister towns Lilienfeld, Austria; Oschatz, Germany; and Humenné, Slovakia.
      • Recently Trebic City Council has had a very successful partnership with Lilienfeld, Lower Austria which extends beyond official visits. The cities hold joint events in which individual residents just like not-for-profit organizations and business companies get engaged. These activities have been receiving support from CBC Phare cross-border relations program.
      • Trebic City Council is also involved in international relations developed by the Healty City Program.
      • Occasional contacts of Trebic City Council with foreign embassies, most notably the Embassy of the State of Israel which is interested in Trebic City Council's activities in the Trebic Jewish Town. Another partners include the EU Office in Prague, British Know-how Fund and many others.
      • Occasional contacts of Trebic City Council's departments (Living Environment Dept., Land Planning Dept.) with partners abroad.
      • Contacts with EU institutions (European Council, Region Commission, REC, Taiex)
      • Contacts with foreign visitors at the Tourist Information Office and its branch offices in the Back Synagogue and the Trebic City Tower. The Trebic Tourist Information Office provides guiding services in four languages.
      • Publication of promotional materials in German and English, including its distribution abroad, Trebic City Council's web site in English, contacts with travel agents and foreign media.
      • Out of Town Hall contacts between people and institutions during cultural events, such as some festivals of international renown (e.g. Concentus Moraviae, Trebic Theater Festival, Zamosti Music Festival, all of them hosting artists from abroad); Trebic amateur artists performing abroad; contacts between sports clubs such as international matches; contacts between schools, not-for-profit organizations and other institutions. Only some of these activities are supported financially or materially by Trebic City Council and most of these activities were started independently of Trebic City Council.
      • Contacts of local businesses with partners abroad. If not asked for a support, Trebic City Council mostly does not get involved in these partnerships.
      
       
2. Trebic City Council International Relations Policy Document
   
   Objectives: supporting, developing, organizing and coordinating international relations from which the City of Trebic can benefit economically, socially or culturally.
   
   Priorities:
   Scale of Priorities:
   
   • * Passive - "wait and see" approach. The Council responds to offers from abroad. Some of these offers can be turned down.
   • ** Supportive - support of international contacts of other institutions. The City Council supports these contacts by offering material, financial or personnel resources.
   • *** Active - City Council's elected representatives and staff maintain contacts and share in international networks and structures.
   • **** Proactive - the City Council looks for and forges new relationships and international networks which it could join.
   
   Trebic City Council has the following priorities classified according to the above scale of priorities:
   
   • join international networks, forge new partnerships and generate new opportunities (with a special emphasis on the EU structures)****
   • maintain our partnership with Lower Austria, using the support of the CBC Phare Program***
   • maintain the existing relations with cities abroad***
   • find a partner in one of the EU countries, preferably in the Netherlands, which would be a stepping stone to the GST Program****
   • systematic promotion of Trebic's positive image abroad, active support of inbound tourism****
   • support international contacts of local businesses and not-for-profit organizations**
   • maintain contacts with cities and institutions which are not EU members.*
   • improve professional skills of Trebic City Council staff in charge of international relations, with a special emphasis on their good command of foreign languages.****
   
   Staff Responsible for International Relations
   
   
   1. Public Relations Manager
      Responsibilities
      
      • facilitates effective communication of Trebic City Council with partners abroad, most notably EU institutions and twin towns
      • takes an active approach to finding opportunities to start new beneficial foreign contacts.
      • is in charge of foreign correspondence of the mayor's office (possibly of other offices and departments), provides interpreting services to representatives of Trebic City Council
      • is in charge of hosting official foreign visits to Trebic
      • promotes a positive image of Trebic abroad
      • provides data used for designing and publishing Trebic City Council's promotional materials by private companies (advertisements, articles in travel catalogues, multimedia materials, etc.)
      • shares in the in-house designing of Trebic City Council's promotional materials
      • creates and updates Trebic City Council's web site including its English version
      • shares in the preparation of budget chapters determined for financing the above activities
      
       
   2. Head of Tourism Section
      Accountable to: the mayor of Trebic (or a delegated deputy mayor), chief executive, head of the Dept of Internal Affairs
      Responsibilities:
      
      • chooses suitable staff for Trebic City Council's tourist information offices (Trebic Tourist Information Office, Back Synagogue Visitor's Center, City Tower Visitor's Center) and hired interpreters with a special emphasis on the quality of offered services and very good command of foreign languages
      • is in charge of publishing Trebic City Council's promotional materials and organizing other promotional activities, ensuring sufficient offer of Trebic City Council's promotional materials and their well-targeted distribution
      • monitors offers to promote Trebic in catalogues and other brochures published by other organizations, including multimedia publications and evaluates its possible benefits and cost-effectiveness
      • is in charge of promoting Trebic by means of marketing strategies - targets the appropriate tourist segments, taking into account the kind of attractions Trebic and the surrounding region can offer
      • creates a network of contacts necessary for getting under way an efficient marketing of Trebic aimed at tourism
      • prepares presentations of Trebic at travel fairs
      • shares in the preparation of budget chapters related to the funding of the above activities
      
       
   3. Trebic City Council's standing commissions in charge of international relations
      Accountable to: Trebic City Council
      Responsibilities:
      
      • address major issues concerning the international relations of Trebic
      • propose to Trebic City Council financial support of international activities of other businesses and organizations on the basis of evaluating bids for a declared grant program - the proposed amount of grant money for the year 2000 is CZK 50.000 - 100.000.
      Necessary Conditions to Fulfill these Objectives:
      
      • The above stated employees and commissions should be engaged in continual cooperation and exchange of important information. They should cooperate with Trebic-based not-for-profit organizations, private businesses, media and the public in general.