The OSCE General Orientation (GO) Programme, launched in May 2004, is the first step in the period of service for most OSCE officials. It aims at facilitating the integration of new staff and mission members into the Organization.

Origins and nature of the programme

The OSCE is primarily a field-oriented organization. Because of the high turnover of staff in field positions, the OSCE has traditionally paid particular attention to facilitating the deployment of new mission members. For this purpose the Organization established an Induction Programme for new mission members in the late nineties. This programme was in response to a pressing need to process and deploy large numbers of incoming staff members without unnecessary delays while ensuring that they develop a common understanding of what the Organization stood for.

The current GO Programme is the OSCE's response to its evolving needs. With a modular approach, the programme strives to meet the different needs of individuals joining the Organization. While there are a number of mandatory sessions, the programme allows for a degree of customization to address the needs of specific positions.

GO Programme overview

The five-day programme is organized in Vienna by the OSCE Training Section roughly 10 times a year, including one day of function-specific briefings. More information on GO Programme dates is available to the right.

All new staff and mission members will be required to participate in a range of sessions, revolving around the following areas:

• Welcome to GO (Opening) – e.g. Priorities of Chairmanship, Current Challenges
• Ready, Steady, GO (Who we are) – e.g. Overview of OSCE, Overview of Field Operations
• Why we keep GOing (Why we do it) – e.g. Why we are here
• What GOES On (What we do) – e.g. three Dimensions of the OSCE, Trans-national Threats
• How we GO (Ho we do it) – e.g. OSCE IT Systems & Policies, Multicultural Environment, Programme & Project  Management, Introduction to OSCE Management Principles, Staff Rules and Regulations, Professional Working Environment & Code of Conduct, Ethics, OSCE Decision Making
• Have a GO (You and OSCE) – e.g. Performance Appraisal, Security Policies in OSCE, Working with the Media, Function-Specific Briefings
• Off you GO – e.g. Current Challenges/Issues in the OSCE

Future staff and mission members can download a pre-arrival information package available to the right. The package contains details about administrative requirements for quick in-processing, a more detailed agenda of the programme and other practical information.