The Croatian Employment Service had the honour to host the Eighth World Congress of the World Association of Public Employment Services held in Dubrovnik, 28 – 29 May 2009. The topic of this year's Congress, which was adjusted to the current situation in the labour market, was “The Crisis Response of Public Employment Services - Operational Initiatives towards Sustainable Recovery". The presence of the majority of representatives of WAPES member countries was also used as an opportunity to hold meetings connected to strategic planning of activities of the Association; and these were two meetings of the Managing Board, regional meetings and the General Assembly session. The main topics of the Congress were as follows: PES Responses to the Crisis, PES Services to Employers in Crisis Times, PES Services to Jobseekers in Crisis Times and PES Internal Processes and Handling of Labour Market Data.

Result: The mutual goal of WAPES member countries is to contribute to better functioning of labour market through interchange of information, the delivery of data related to labour market, job placement and implementation of measures which are in line with labour market demands as well as the implementation of social security measures related to (un)employment. Therefore, these member countries recognized once again the importance of dialogue and an active interchange of experiences and good practices in the context of the crisis, by which most of member countries are affected.