„The important thing in the Economy is people“ -Christopher Leitl

Communication is a paradoxical word. On the one hand, everyone communicates all the time, more so now than in centuries past; and yet, in our day and age, we have finally come to recognise that the fact that we talk, does not mean we are in any way adept at communication. There are two parts to a successful exchange: the speaker, and the listener. Overlooking the importance of either to the proper transfer of a message is unlikely to result in successful communication.

That is one of the messages that a pannel of experts sought to establish at the headquarters of IPK-Europe on 5 March 2010. On this day, a press conference was held and streamed live online, concerning an innovative certification which covers four important issues: Communication, Self-Marketing, Teamwork and Conflict resolution. The programme itself is known as the „European Communication Certificate“ (Eco-C), and has already developped a following in Austria. But what is the Eco-C? In the words of the pannelists present that day, it is a way to gain some kind of certification in an area where competency is otherwise difficult to attest. It is a label of quality for employers to seek out when recruiting, especially in the young and newly-qualified whose soft skills could otherwise be brought into question. It implies a desire to help people understand the dual nature of the process,  and benefit from this understanding.

Together, the pannelists represented the academic world (Prof. Thomas Bauer) as much as the professional world (Mr. Christopher Leitl). In addition, the attendance of representatives from Austria’s national employment agency (AMS, represented by Mrs.Inge Friehs and Marion Carmann) conveyed a strong endorsement by the Austrian state, but the presence of the EU-coordinator (Mrs. Karina Kaiblinger) and the person responsible of the Hungarian program (Mr. Laszlo Kovacs) further suggested that this program is already transcending the boundaries of the country.


“Taking the Eco-C course taught me a few things. For instance, I know now that being shy -like myself- does not necessarily mean that a person is a poor communicator, nor does being chatty make someone a good communicator”.

Brian Kroll, Programmer