Training for specialists from Russian Federation completed

A training course for twelve employees from the Russian company "Engineering technical centre for special works and expertise" from Sankt Petersburg was completed today in Topusko. They were trained in three groups, for three special tasks within mine action: site managers, team leaders and internal quality control officers. The main organizer of the training was HCR-CTRO and a coorganizer was ITF. The training started on 7th May in Serbia and continued on 14th May in Croatia, in Topusko.

Training for Iraq completed

On Thursday, 17th May, a training course was completed in Topusko for a management staff of the Iraqi Ministry of Ecology and Ministry of Internal Affairs. The training course was organized by HCR-CTRO, and the topic was the use of machines in humanitarian demining.
This was the second group of trainees from Iraqi ministries; the first received information on the mine action system as a whole, and the third group will be trained on manual demining.
This training course was implemented as part of cooperation between the Republic of Croatia and the Iraqi government, the delegation of which visited Zagreb last year.

HCR-CTRO reaccredited

On Friday, 11th May, Croatian Accreditation Agency conducted on-site audit of HCR-CTRO d.o.o. for the purpose of reaccreditation of the company for certification of products in the field of mine action. Their experts conducted conformity evaluation and inspected documentation according to HRN EN 45011:1998 norm. Witness audit was conducted earlier, on 4th April at Cerovac test site, during the testing of PT-300 demining machine. The evaluators were satisfied with revised documents and excellent collaboration to date.

Training for employees of Iraqi Ministry of Ecology and Ministry of Interior

On Monday, 7th May, in Topusko, HCR-CTRO began a training course on the subject of the use of machines in humanitarian demining for 19 trainees from Iraq.

Training for Russian Federation Specialists

On Monday, 7th May, in Novi Banovci, Serbia, a training course started for specialists from the company ITC from Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation.

Šibenik Symposium Started

This morning the 9th International Symposium Humanitarian Demining 2012 was opened in Solaris Tourist Resort in Šibenik. Introduction speeches were held by CROMAC Director, Mr Zdravko Modrušan; County Prefect of Šibenik-Knin County, Mr Goran Pauk; Director of the Croatian Government Office for Demining, Ms Dijana Pleština PhD; and the Ambassador of Federal Republic of Germany in the Republic of Croatia, H.E. dr. Bernd Fischer. The Symposium was opened by Mr Franko Vidović, envoy of the Croatian President.
The symposium gathers 227 participants from 47 countries.

Testing of ARMTRAC 75T – 230 machine in local conditions

Further to the special request of ARMTRAC Ltd., on 12th April 2012, HCR-CTRO representatives tested demining machine ARMTRAC 75T – 230 on local top-soil in the area of Burwell, United Kingdom.
ARMTRAC 75T – 230 will be one of the demining machines that will participate at 9th Symposium Humanitarian Demining 2012, Šibenik, 24-26 April 2012.

PT-300 D-MINE testing

On 2nd April at Cerovac Test Site, testing of a PT-300 D-MINE machine produced by an Italian manufacturer, FAE GROUP S-p.A. began. The testing will be completed on 10th April, and during the testing, on 5th April, Croatian Accreditation Agency will conduct a witness audit as part of a regular reaccreditation of HCR-CTRO.

EOD Training Course, Level 3

From 2nd to 6th April in Topusko a training course on EOD detection and removal, Level 3 will be performed. The training course is financed by the USA State Department through ITF, and among the trainees are representatives of the following organizations: Croatian Ministry of Interior, CROMAC, NPA Serbia, Protection and Rescue Directorate from Macedonia and Civilian Protection from Serbia.
The training course is conducted in line with IMAS and CWA on Competency Standards.

Training Course for Iraqi representatives completed

On 31st March a training course for representatives of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Ecology was completed. The guests from Iraq visited Croatian manufacturers of demining machines - Istraživač, Đuro Đaković Special Vehicles and DOK-ING companies, as well as the PIPER company with a mine detection dog school. They also visited a demining site where solely manual detection method is used.

Preparations for "Humanitarian Demining Symposium 2012"

Preparations are ongoing for the 9th International Symposiums „Humanitarian Demining 2012“, which is to be held under the high patronage of the Croatian President Ivo Josipović.
150 participants have registered to date, as well as 15 exhibitors of demining and detection equipment, which proves that all the main actors in mine action around the world have registered, either as participants, or exhibitors. As well as previous years, the participants are especially interested in the field demonstration which will be held at a field near Skradin.

This year, the exhibitors will be given an opportunity to hold a video or Power Point presentation of their company in the exhibition area.

Final deadline for registration of participants is 15th April and for exhibitors 1st April.

High Iraqi Delegation in Croatia

From 21st to 31st March an Iraqi delegation consisting of high ranking officials from the Iraqi Ministry of Ecology and Ministry of Defense is visiting Croatia. They are participating in the training course organized by HCR-CTRO. On the first day of the training course, on 22nd March, CROMAC Deputy Director, Mr. Mirko Ivanusic, presented a national mine action system in the Republic of Croatia, and Assistant Director, Mr. Neven Karas, spoke about Mine Action Legislature.

TIRAMISU Project presented

On 16th February at Europe House in Zagreb, HCR-CTRO held a presentation of a European project TIRAMISU.
HCR-CTRO participates in a research project funded by the European Union within the 7th Framework Programme (FP7).

Presentation of TIRAMISU Project

On 16th February at Europe House in Zagreb, HCR-CTRO will hold a presentation of a European project TIRAMISU. HCR-CTRO participates in a research project funded by the European Union within the 7th Framework Programme (FP7). The project acronym is TIRAMISU, which stands for Toolbox Implementation for Removal of Antipersonnel Mines, Submunitions and UXO.

Symposium „Humanitarian Demining 2012“ under the patronage of the Croatian President

On 9th February, Croatian President, prof.dr.sc. Ivo Josipović, met with HCR-CTRO Director, Mr. Nikola Pavković and CROMAC Director Zdravko Modrušan.

EOD training course, Level 3

HCR-CTRO is organizing EOD training course, Level 3 for candidates from South-east Europe. The training course is foreseen from 2nd to 6th April 2012 in the town of Topusko. The training is funded by the USA government through ITF. Practical training will be held at Cerovac test site.

Presentation of the TIRAMISU project to the public

In order to mark the beginning of the TIRAMISU Project, HCR-CTRO will organize presentation of the project, on 16th February 2012 at European House in Zagreb. The project started on 1st January and will last four years; it is financed by European Union within the 7th Framework Programme (FP7). We expect high officials and representatives of foreign governments, to whom we would like to present project goals, HCR-CTRO role in the project, and importance of the project for the Republic of Croatia.

TIRAMISU project started

From 11th to 13th January 2012 HCR-CTRO Director Mr. Nikola Pavković and Mr. Milan Bajić attended a Kick-off Meeting of the Project Management Board of the TIRAMISU (Toolbox Implementation for Removal of Anti-personnel Mines, Sub-munitions and UXO) project. The meeting was held in Brussels on the premises of the Royal Military Academy. HCR-CTRO is among 24 scientific and research institutions from 11 countries involved in the project 14.9 million EUR worth.

ARMTRAC 75t-230 tested at Cerovac test site

The ARMTRAC 75t-230 demining machine was tested in November at Cerovac test site.

IARP HUDEM 2012.

Together with the 9th International symposium "Humanitarian Demining and Equipment Exhibition 2012", the 10th International Advanced Robotics Programme (IARP) will be held in Šibenik from 24-26 April.

Humanitarian Demining 2012, Šibenik, 24-26 April 2012

9th Symposium Humanitarian Demining 2012 will be held in Šibenik from 24 to 26 April 2012.

EOD Level 2 Completed

On 18th November a training course entitled Training for Unexploded Ordnances (UXO) Detection and Removal level 2, was completed in the town of Topusko. The training course was implemented by HCR-CTRO and was financed by the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs through ITF

Testiranje stroja ARMTRAC 75t-230

On 7th November, a testing of a British demining machine ARMTRAC 75t-230 started at the Cerovac test site. The testing is scheduled to be concluded on 11th November. The machine belongs to a group of medium size machines and it has a tiller as a working tool.

EOD Level 2 - Training course

On Monday 7th November, a training course entitled “Training for Unexploded Ordnances (UXO) Detection and Removal”, 2nd level, will begin for candidates from Southeast Europe. The training course is conducted by HCR-CTRO and financed by the US State Department through ITF.

Delegation of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina visited HCR-CTRO

On Tuesday, July 5th, 2011, a delegation of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina visited HCR-CTRO.

MoU with Turkish company

On 2nd July in Istanbul, HCR-CTRO Director, Mr. Nikola Pavković, and president of the HCR-CTRO Supervisory Board, Mr. Ante Brkljačić, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with representatives of the Turkish company POLTEK, regarding demining of the Turkish-Syrian border.

Fourth audit according to the norm HRN EN 45011:1998

On 28th and 29th July, Croatian Accreditation Agency conducted the fourth audit over the work of HCR-CTRO, according to the norm HRN EN 45011:1998.

EOD Level1 Training course finished

On Friday 27th May, an EOD training course Level 1 finished for candidates from Southeast Europe. The training was conducted by HCR-CTRO and financed by the US State Department through ITF..

Visit of HCR-CTRO representatives to Colombia

Based on the HCR-CTRO project, on a decree of the vice president of the Croatian Government and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integrations, and on a Donation Contract, a team of Croatian experts in the field of mine action (CROMAC and HCR-CTRO) visited Colombia last week, with the aim of training and preparing the Colombian side for a procedure of proclaiming legislature governing mine action, with a special emphasis on the following fields:

EOD Level 1 Training Course

On Monday 9th May, a new EOD training course Level 1 started for candidates from Southeast Europe. The training will finish on the 27th May, and it is conducted by HCR-CTRO and financed by the US State Department through ITF.

"Humanitarian Demining 2011" Symposium closed

The 8th International Symposium „Humanitarian Demining 2011“ was closed on 28th April with a plenary session and presentation of the conclusions from the workshops. The Symposium gathered 165 participants from 33 countries. This symposium was held under the patronage of the Croatian President prof. dr.sc. Ivo Josipović.

A week to the symposium

A week before the Symposium, 170 participants have registered from 37 countries.

Preparations for "Humanitarian Demining 2011"

Preparations for the 8th International Symposium „Humanitarian Demining 2011“ are advancing. The symposium will be held from 26th to 28th April in Sibenik. The main topics will be knowledge, skills and safety needed in humanitarian demining.

Visit to Libya

From 13th to 14th January, HCR-CTRO representatives, led by director, Mr. Nikola Pavković, visited the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, and had a meeting with the colleagues from the National Programme for Demining and Land Reclamation.

IARP HUDEM 2011

Together with the 8th International symposium "Humanitarian Demining 2011", the 9th International Advanced Robotics Programme (IARP) will be held in Šibenik from 26-28 April.

Preparations for 8th Humanitarian Demining Symposium

Preparations for the 8th International Humanitarian Demining Symposium 2011 are underway. The Symposium will be held in Sibenik, Croatia, from 26th to 28th April next year.

HCR-CTRO Conformity Certificate in a Columbian journal

At the back cover of a Columbian journal devoted to demining, entitled Batallon de desminado, a Conformity Certificate issued by HCR-CTRO was printed. The Certificate was issued to a MV-4 machine following the testing of the machine conducted by the end of 2009 in Colombia.

Visit of HCR-CTRO and Scientific Council representatives to Columbia

Representatives of HCR-CTRO and of HCR-CTRO Scientific Council, led by the director Nikola Pavković, M.A. visited from 12th to 19th of December the Republic of Colombia.

Workshop in Mostar

In co-operation with ITF and BHMAC, HCR-CTRO has organized a Workshop “Advanced Intelligence Support System - AI DSS in Bosnia and Herzegovina”.

General Airborne Survey in BH

After successful results in Croatia, the project entitled Advanced Intelligence Decision Support System for Mine Suspected Area Assessment is ongoing in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mineseeker Project

The project of Technical testing and evaluation for Mineseeker Operations started on 20th October at HCR-CTRO test site Benkovac. The second phase of the project will be conducted at Cerovac test site. The goal of the project is to test the system of airborne minefield detection.

SC HCR-CTRO Round Table

HCR-CTRO Scientific Council held the Round Table on Wednesday, 13th of October, at the Europe House Zagreb, on the topic of Contribution of Croatian science to implementation of Article 5 of the Ottawa Convention and to regional cooperation.

Symposium "Humanitarian Demining 2011"

The eight international symposium „Humanitarian Demining 2011“ will be held in Šibenik, Croatia, from 26 to 28 April 2011.

Contract with Mineseeker

On 10th of September, representatives of HCR-CTRO, led by the director Mr. Nikola Pavković, M.A. visited London. On that occasion Director Pavković and Director of Mineseeker Operations UK Limited (MOUK) Mr. Edward Cross signed a Contract on Technical test and evaluation of Ground Penetrating Synthetic Aperture Radar (GP-SAR) and Electro Optical (EO) sensing technology.

Participation in the GICHD/UNMAS technology workshop

HCR-CTRO director Mr. Nikola Pavković, participated in the 3rd workshop on technologies in demining, which was held in Geneva from 6th to 8th of September. The workshop was organized by GICHD and UNMAS. The topic of this year’s workshop was Merging Mine Action Technologies and Methodology.

Visit to Afghanistan

As part of the delegation of Croatian businessmen, led by the President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, HCR-CTRO director Mr. Nikola Pavković, M.A., visited from 11th to 14th July the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

Specialist training course for EOD level 4 completed

The specialist training course on EOD level 4, organized by HCR-CTRO and funded by the American State Department through ITF, was completed on 17th June in Topusko.

UXO Detection and Neutralization - Level 4

HCR-CTRO will conduct a training course entitled „UXO Detection and Neutralization - 4th level“ from 7th to 17th June, in collaboration with ITF, funded by the USA State Department.

Visit of High ranking officials from Egypt

From 24th to 28th May high ranking officials from the Ministry of Defense of the Arab Republic of Egypt are visiting Croatia as guests of the Cluster for Humanitarian Demining.

Training Course on UXO Detection and Neutralisation, Level 4

From 7th to 18th June, HCR-CTRO will conduct the 4th Level of the Training Course entitled “UXO Detection and Neutralisation, with the topic of UXO containing NBC components.

Visit by Tajikistan representatives

On Tuesday, 4th May, representatives of the Tajikistan government and Tajikistan Mine Action Center visited the HCR-CTRO test site in Cerovac, where they were present during a testing of MV-4 and MV-10 machines.

Humanitarian Demining, Sibenik, Croatia

The 7th International Symposium Humanitarian Demining 2010 is held in Sibenik, Croatia, from 27th to 29th April.

Humanitarian Demining 2010

The 7th international symposium Humanitarian Demining 2010 will be held in a month time, from 27th to 29th April in Sibenik. More than 120 participants have registered to date, from 30 countries.

Symposium "Humanitarian Demining 2010"

Testing of MV-4 machine in Colombia

From 7th to 11th December, at the request of Colombian company RG Comercial from Bogotá, HCR-CTRO representatives conducted the testing of MV-4 demining machine in local soil and vegetation conditions.

New web site for HCR-CTRO

HCR-CTRO representatives visited South African Republic from 1st to 5th November

HCR-CTRO representatives visited South African Republic from 1st to 5th November. They participated in the 3rd phase of the joint testing of the VLIP method together with the South African research institute CSIR

A training course entitled “Training for Unexploded Ordnances (UXO) Detection and Removal”, 2nd level, for trainees from Southeast Europe, was complet

A training course entitled “Training for Unexploded Ordnances (UXO) Detection and Removal”, 2nd level, for trainees from Southeast Europe, was completed on 10th July.

Visit to Ukraine

As part of the delegation of the Cluster for Humanitarian Demining, from 4 to 8 October HCR-CTRO director visited Kiev. Cluster representatives visited the Ministry for Crisis Management and Protection of Civilians from Chernobyl Catastrophe.