The first IBM (1/4) lead by the Estonian Presidency was helIBMd in Helsinki, Finland, with fifty international reserve officers around the CIOR from the 27th to 29th of October 2022. The meeting was planned and executed as hyper meeting, so delegations were able to take part in the meetings also remotely.
Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France and Germany Vice-Presidents
The first full working day of the IBM took off with opening remarks from the President followed by council working session and a presentation from the NRFC secretary general at the Paasitorni Congress Center. After the morning session the reserve officers took a trip to military island Santahamina, where the Guard Jaeger Regiment operates. Santahamina also provides a home for the Finnish National Defence University.
The IBM attendees were given a presentation of the Finnish Defence System, they got an overview of the Finnish officer’s education and how the Finnish reserve is trained. Pistol shooting event was organized in Santahamina for the IBM participants.
FNDF Head Of Department (Military Technology) Col Mauri Etelämäki and CIOR President LtCol Toomas Luman
“It was great to introduce our system to foreign reserve officers, we had excellent conversations and also planned the CIOR Summer Congress scheduled to take place in Helsingi next summer” 1st Lieutenant (r) Aaro Mäkelä from the Finnish Reserve Officers’ Federation says. “We are well prepared for the upcoming Summer Congress and warmly welcome our fellow reserve officers to Helsinki”.
Saturday held within a council working sessions. The council had presentations from the CIOMR and CISOR and there were discussions over the strategic program and finance. The next meeting will be the Mid-Winter Meeting, which will take place in Brussels at the end of January 2023.
The Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers (CIOR) will hold an In Between Meeting One (IBM 1/4) of the Estonian Presidency through 27th to 29th of October 2022 in Helsinki, Finland. This will be a hybrid event – physical meetings shall take place at Helsinki Congress Paasitorni with virtual participation in some CIOR and/or CIOMR organized working sessions.
The CIOR President’s intent is to develop a sustainable and balanced financing strategy for the organization and define the responsibilities and rights of the committees. The meetings will seek to realize outcomes in accordance with Presidential Aims, Strategic Objectives and CIOR Business and Planning.
“This is a planning meeting for CIOR” says Lieutenant Colonel (r) Toomas Luman, the President of CIOR.
Committees are expected to present they reports about current situation and plans for next year in this meeting. Council is to discuss the matters in agenda and prepare topics that need council decision for the next meeting, that is a meeting with the power make legally binding decisions.
“We wish participants to have progressive work sessions to develop the organization and prepare it for the next year, but also introduce the Baltic Sea region security issues and allies hopefully very soon to be CIOR full members, such as Finland” Luman adds.
Registration period will be open from Monday, 5 September until Thursday, 13 October. All participants must register through Fienta online registration using the link provided to those who are expected to participate. All meetings will be hosted in the Helsinki Congress Paasitorni, Finland, whereas virtual participation will be in Teams. Link for virtual participants to join virtual sessions will be sent out 27 October, link is valid from icebreaker until the end of the IBM.
“This event is short and mainly just working sessions, but the highlight would also be the one day visit to Santahamina, where the IBM attendees will be briefed about the Finnish defence system and military education” 1st Lieutenant (r) Aaro Mäkelä, the President of Finnish Reserve Officers’ Association tells.
“here is also possibility to take part of CIOR presidents favorited military skill – pistol shooting.
The CIOR/CIOMR/CISOR Summer Congress 2022 will take place in Athens, Greece, 30 July – 5 Aug. The largest annual meeting of CIOR and CIOMR is held in the summer, each year in a different country and organised by a separate member national reservist association. In 2017, the Congress was held in Prague, the Czech Republic; in 2018 in Quebec, Canada; in 2019 and 2020 in Tallinn, Estonia. In 2022, Greece will be hosting the congress in its capital city of Athens and the surrounding areas.
CIOR (Confédération Interalliée des Officiers de Réserve) is the Inter-allied Confederation of Reserve Officers. It consists of reserve officer organisations of NATO member states and other participating nations – 34 in total – representing the interests of around 1.3 million reservists. CIOR is the world’s largest military reserve officers’ organisation.
CIOMR (Confédération Interalliée des Officers Médicaux de Réserve) is the association which brings together medical reservists. It works with the COMEDS committee formed by the Heads of Medical Services of NATO member countries.
CISOR (Confédération Interalliée des Sous-Officiers de Réserve) is the Inter-allied Confederation of Reserve Non-Commissioned Officers. It consists of 14 NATO and affiliate member states. CISOR cooperates formally on various projects with CIOR and CIOMR.
Wreath Laying
The Wreath Laying Ceremony is going to take place at the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a war memorial located in Syntagma Square in Athens, in front of the Old Royal Palace. It is a cenotaph dedicated to the Greek soldiers killed during war. It was sculpted between 1930 and 1932 by sculptor Fokion Rok. The tomb is guarded by the Evzones of the Presidential Guard.
Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony will take place at Zappeion Megaron. The Zappeion Megaron is a part of the national heritage of the Greek civilisation, designed by T. Hansen (1874-1888). Evangelis Zappas, a Greek patriot and benefactor from North Epirus, envisaged the rebirth of the spirit of ancient Greece and devoted his life to the revival of the Olympic Games and the promotion of the Arts. The Zappeion Megaron has been an active part of Greece’s history and that of Hellenism, for the last 130 years. Cultural events of great importance take place within the precinct. The Olympia(d) and Bequests Committee, not only highlights the historical milestones related to the Olympic activities, but also to those related to the cultural identity of Greece in general.
Gala Dinner
The closing Gala Dinner is going the be hosted at the Congress hotel, Athenaeum Intercontinental.
The 2022 CIOR Seminar: ‘North Africa and US-NATO/EU-relations’
North Africa and the Sahel region are trying to come to grips with ongoing political instability, population growth, consequences of climate change, and increasing involvement of China.
What are the safety and security implications to the European continent of these above-mentioned developments? Will it have an impact on US/NATO-EU relations? And if so, in what way will that effect these relations?
The 2022 CIOR Seminar on February 8th will make an attempt to address these issues in order to get a bit of a better understanding of what is going on – with speakers from the US Africa Command and NATO.
The seminar takes place online between 15:30 and 20:00 Central European Time on the announced date: February 8th, 2022.
We are very much looking forward to your registration and participation in the 2022 CIOR Seminar!
The CIOR Seminar organizing Committee.
(Registration/joining details to follow.)
You can read more about the CIOR Seminar institution here.
Due to the implications of the global COVID-19 pandemic and after extensive discussions, the summer congress for 2021 will be a solely virtual event. The summer congress will be running for two days from the 7th of August to the 8th of August 2021. Further details about the summer congress are to be discussed and announcements will be released once more details have been decided. If you have any questions please contact us at mail@cior.net or use our Contact page.
CIOR is this first week of July in the middle of its initial virtual conference involving all member associations. The IBM (”In-Between-Meeting”) scheduled for the spring but temporarily halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, takes place without the delegates physically meeting.
By: Roy Thorvaldsen, Lt.Col. (R) Norwegian Army/CIOR Public Affairs
CIOR President, UK Army Colonel (Retd.) Chris Argent.
When the Corona-virus attacked in March, it became clear that CIOR needed to regroup and come up with a battle plan – one that did not involve physical presence for its meetings to move the extensive program of work forward.
– It was paramount for me as the leader of a military organisation that CIOR also related to the threat that had occurred in a military fashion, by finding an alternative way forward. To admit defeat, surrender and sit around waiting for things to get better was not an alternative, says CIOR President, UK Army Colonel (Retd.) Chris Argent.
A huge effort has therefore gone into establishing a safe means in which to meet. Building on the success of CIOR Connect, CIOR’s new digital workspace, it was quickly decided that professional video conferencing would provide the key functionality to run a large international meeting like this.
Many of those taking part have already become proficient in using this technology in their civilian careers, but comprehensive guidelines and rehearsals were prepared as well as facilities for Vice Presidents and Committees to be able to ‘chat’ as they would do in sidebar discussions at a normal meeting.
In addition, there was a requirement for precise scheduling to enable members from both Europe and North America to participate, fully allowing for different time zones.
– The Presidency is very happy with the way the first day of the meeting proceeded, Argent said.
The Norwegian delegation listening to CIOR President Chris Argent during his report to the CIOR Council. Photo: Ole Kristian Haagenrud, Communication Manager NROF.
– A success
– Both in technical terms and with regard to attendance, which totalled 44 on the first day, and effectivity of discussions and decisions, this clearly is a success, he stressed.
Argent believes the experience has shown that virtual meetings could replace some of the annual physical meetings, most typically the IBMs, due to huge savings in time and travel costs for the 34 member national associations. However, one of the key principles of CIOR is learning about other nations’ ways of working, and much work is done outside the formal sessions, so physical meetings are vital for success.
– This is up to the CIOR Council to decide, but we believe it has merit to meet in this way some of the times. It’s not a matter of either or, but with the help of modern technology to find an ”ideal” combination of virtual meetings and face-to-face human interaction, Argent points out.
Late Summer Congress
The first day of the IBM, among other important business, discussed the plans for holding a ”Late Summer Congress”, in lieu of the cancelled congress in Liege, Belgium.
Estonia has offered to host the Late Summer Congress in Tallinn, as they also did for the 2019 Summer Congress.
Details are to be agreed upon by the CIOR Council, but the proposal is to hold a congress as normal as possible. However, in respecting the health advice for social distance and large gatherings, and adjusting for what is practically possible on short notice during this situation, the Congress will be held without the traditional military competition (MILCOMP) – and also without the CIOR Language Academy – which will be busy fulfilling an operational task for the NATO International Military Staff (IMS). The mid-week Symposium of the Congress would be a scaled down version, according to the suggestion.
Call for nominations
Another matter of high importance discussed during the first day was the successful completion of job specifications for the newly re-established Reserve Advisor at NATO’s operational strategic headquarters, SHAPE – and the Presidency’s call for member nations to nominate candidates for the post.
The second day of the IBM continues with discussions on strategy and future presidencies, and the new ROW course for young reserve officers. The meeting will conclude Saturday noon.
This list is an overview in abbreviated form of the key CIOR events for 2020. Please refer to national delegations for questions about attendance and contents. Some of the events will be promoted here on the public website, in addition to the information posted on the ‘CIOR Connect’ intranet portal.
MWM 20 NATO HQ, Brussels 18-21 Feb 2020
CIOR Seminar, Bonn 22-25 Feb 2020
YROS – Brno CZ, 25-28 March 2020
IBM 4 Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, London – 20-23 April (NOTE new date from initial date one week later)
NATO School, Oberammergau (NSO) – NATO Reserve Forces Integration Course (NRFIC) 27 April to 1 May 2020
CLA 2020 – Liege 19-31 July 2020
CIMEX 2020 – Liege 2-7 August 2020
CIOR/CIOMR/CISOR Summer Congress Liege 3-7 August 2020 (Includes YROW – NOTE dates 2-7 August)
The Czech Republic is hosting this year’s Young Reserve Officer Outreach Seminar (YROS) 25 – 28 March. The seminar, which will take place in Brno, is titled «NATO and the cultural challenges on missions».
The seminar is open to all reserve and active duty officers up to the rank of Major. Organizers ask member nations to encourage junior reserve and active duty officers to participate.
The seminar will focus on introducing junior reserve officers from NATO and Partnership for Peace (PfP) countries to the basics of NATO, cultural aspects of missions and international leadership.
The seminar’s primary objective: To assist in integration of YROs from NATO/PfP nations into a coalition environment. The seminar contributes to development of knowledge of NATO/CIOR structure and mission as well as leadership skills. It provides initial international/coalition experience for participants and increases awareness of alliance security issues.
For official invitation with all relevant information, click here.
The CIOR Mid-Winter-Meeting (MWM) 2020 will be held at NATO Headquarters in Brussels from Wednesday 19 February to Friday 21 February. For invitation to eligible attendees, click here.
For more information, national member and associated delegations should refer to the ‘CIOR Connect’ portal.
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