The Secretariat plays a central role in the structure of the Observatory. Headed by an Executive Director, Ms Aurora Ailincai, under the responsibility of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, it ensures the daily running of the Observatory and organisational support to the work of the statutory bodies.

In particular, the Secretariat is responsible for:

• preparing and implementing the Observatory’s medium-term and annual programmes of activities;
• preparing the meetings of the Governing Board and the Scientific Advisory Council and facilitating co-operation and links between the two statutory bodies;
• developing the Observatory’s profile by communicating on the activities of the Observatory, ensuring its visibility in all relevant spheres, as well as providing useful information to countries interested in acceding to the Partial Agreement;
• ensuring co-ordination of the Observatory’s activities with other programmes of the Education Department, in particular with the intergovernmental programme on history education;
• developing external contacts and sustaining partnerships with relevant organisations and networks, both at the local and European level.

The Secretariat of the Observatory is part of the History Education Division within the Education Department and is located at the Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg.

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