Overview experience can indicate possible deficits and serve as an important trigger for monitoring visits. The AOB holds so-called networking meetings twice a year, most recently on 16 October 2013. The purpose of these events is to swap experiences in a structured context with associations and institutions and facilities with whom the AOB has concluded co-operation agreements. These can include associations under professional custodian, patient advocate and resident’s representative laws as well as the ombudsmen for children and adolescents. These regular meetings are to prevent duplication of work and increase the effectiveness of the institutions and facilities involved by agreeing on uniform courses of action. Swapping experiences in a structured context During the law talks at the European Forum Alpbach, Ombudswoman Gertrude Brinek and Ombudsman Peter Fichtenbauer discussed the topic “Experiences with the law – The public as a value” with well-known legal experts. The focus was on the question of whether the law reaches citizens and how much transparency is actually possible when setting and applying standards. Sensitising the general public to human and citizens rights On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, the AOB and the Austrian Institute for Human Rights in Salzburg held a panel discussion with Ombudsman Günther Kräuter, the Chairperson of the Human Rights Advisory Council Renate Kicker and the head of one of the NPM commissions, Reinhard Klaushofer. The discussion explored what level of protection is required for human rights in Austria. 2.3.6 Development of staff and organisational structure The new human rights mandate significantly changed the content and working environment at the AOB. In its second year as National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), the AOB aimed at further strengthening this new focus in 2013. The effectiveness of the NPM depends heavily on maintaining positive co-operation with the expert commissions and monitoring according to international standards. As a result, further education and organisational development measures focus primarily on these aspects. Targets specifically included optimizing the co-operation between the commissions and the AOB, solidifying a joint understanding of the monitoring standards and ensuring expert dialogue both nationally and internationally. Focus on co-operating with the commissions Continuing the previous year’s educational programme, workshops with the commissions took place in March and November 2013, the purpose of which was to exchange experiences in human rights monitoring. The AOB and the commissions reflected on their experiences in working as the NPM so far. The monitoring standards for visits were another area of focus. The aim of the workshops was to establish uniform courses of action for visits and to set normative standards taking account of the specific requirements of different types of institution. Once again, Ms Silvia Casale was available as international expert. Exchanging experience with the commissions 21