The Netherlands Voluntary
Contribution to the Preparatory
Commission

The Kingdom of the Netherlands has made a voluntary financial contribution in the amount of 180,000 Euro to the Preparatory Commission (CTBTO). The arrangement project was signed in a ceremony on 8 December 2005 by H.E. Mr. Justus De Visser, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO, and Mr. Tibor Tóth, Executive Secretary of the Commission.   The funds will be used for the implementation of the pilot phase of a project aimed at enhancing capacity building through e-training.  With more than two thirds of the monitoring stations of the International Monitoring System (IMS) built and with a continuously increasing data transfer between the International Data Centre (IDC) and the national data centres (NDC) of States Signatories, there is an increased need for capacity building to empower States Signatories to make full use of the benefits offered by the CTBTO.  The e-training project will include training for national officials involved in the development and operation of verification system elements on the CTBT, IMS technologies and station installation processes; for station managers and station operators on the function and operation of station equipment and the interaction with the IDC; for potential applicants for positions at the IDC on the function of the IDC and the analysis of IMS data; and for on-site inspection (OSI) experts and potential future OSI inspectors.   The project envisages the use of state of the art technology such as video-streaming, web conferences and computer based training to provide different training options such as interactive training and self study.  During the pilot phase that will last until mid-2006, the applicability of various approaches, technology tools and procedures will be tested.   This is the fourth voluntary financial contribution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO.  The funds from previous voluntary contributions were used to organize information visit programmes and national information seminars for senior experts from States in the Africa Region, the Latin America and Caribbean region and the South East Asia, the Pacific and Far East Region.

For further information on the CTBTO, please see www.ctbto.org or contact:
Annika Thunborg, Chief, Public Information  
T    +43 1 26030-6375  
E    annika.thunborg@ctbto.org
M    +43 699 1459 6375       
I    www.ctbto.org