11. 5. 2018 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR, Youth
Due to a newly gained partnership, we are able to offer additional travel grants to young leaders coming from countries of EU Eastern Partnership (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine). Participants from these countries will also be offered a specially tailored program continuing after the Young BSF, therefore they are expected to be available from 7th to 14th of September. Successful applicants will have their accommodation and meals covered for the duration of the program. Application have therefore been extended until 27th of May 2018.
Read more about the application process here.
9. 5. 2018 | Macedonia - corruption, Macedonia - Finance, PR
After we successfully involved the State Prosecutor General of the Republic of Macedonia in Slovenia’s Development Cooperation with the Republic of Macedonia, an intersectoral workshop will take place in Bitola on 15 – 17 May 2018. The aim of the workshop is to improve interinstitutional cooperation in the implementation of financial investigations, directed at investigation, confiscation and seizure of the proceeds from crime and property of illegal origin.
The area of financial investigations is of utmost importance in the fight against organized crime and corruption since the seizures of the proceeds from crime and property of illegal origin prevent the criminal organizations from access to finances for their existence and operations. The workshop is part of a two-year project “Support to Macedonia in accession to the EU in the Chapter 24 – financial investigations” (2017 – 2018).
Project is part of CEP’s program activities financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia in the framework of Slovenia’s Development Cooperation.
4. 5. 2018 | BIH - Entrepreneurs, Kosovo - Entrepreneurs, PR, Start:up Balkan, Youth
Young entrepreneurs are an important part of the today’s societies as they bring an important energy and enthusiasm to the daily life. CEP has been with support of the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the official development cooperation engaging BiH and Kosovo young entrepreneurs for last four years. They have been given an opportunity to meet among themselves, discuss hot topics with various investors and experienced business men and women. Many of them have received valuable feedbacks, useful suggestions and important contacts. They have spread their business network importantly and have been able to assists younger start ups in their home country.
Workshops in Sarajevo and Pristina in beginning of the year were well attended which proved that young are interested and willing to actively shape their future. They were encouraged to present their idea and apply for participation at the regional conference Podim, organized in Slovenia in May 2018. They have widely taken the opportunity as 34 ideas from BiH and even 75 ideas from Kosovo submitted their pitches. Best 10 from each country have been carefully selected by an expert committee and invited to join the programme in Slovenia.
All participants will gather on Monday, 14 May at Jable Castle for a breakfast with the Ambassadors of their countries in Ljubljana for short discussion with members of Slovene start up environment – ABC accelerator, Technology Park Ljubljana, together with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responsible for the Western Balkan policies.
Selected participants will attend PODIM Conference in Maribor, Slovenia on 15 and 16 May 2018, participate in the biggest networking event for start-ups in the Alps-Adriatic Region, take part in the PODIM Challenge pitching competition and be presented in the PODIM Start-up Catalogue for the one-on-one meetings with PODIM investors and blue-chip partners.
By joining forces, CEP and PODIM conference offer young entrepreneurs an additional learning dimension in the creative process and empowers them to step ahead and present themselves in front of the investors that can help them transform their ideas into a promising start-up company. Additionally, connecting like-minded from the country might bring longer and wider impacts on national entrepreneurial environment and possibly, policies.
The start-ups chosen from Bosnia and Herzegovina are:
The start-ups from Kosovo are:
4. 5. 2018 | Danube, PR, Start:up Balkan, Youth
Entrepreneurial mindset and innovative thinking are the foundation of a healthy growth of the economy, which in turn ensures prosperity and an adequate level of development for all inhabitants. Young entrepreneurs are therefore indispensable and very resourceful part of each society. Active and creative minds are important for economic development, prosperity as well as for positive outlook.
This is why CEP for the second year in a row identified start-ups from the Danube region to participate in a fully funded entrepreneurial programme “Facilitating Enhanced Cooperation among Young Danube Experts” at the largest start-up conference in the region, PODIM Conference. PODIM conference is a leading start-up conference in Alps-Adriatic region that has been first time organized 38 years ago. In this time, it developed from a smaller entrepreneurial conference to leading gathering in the region. It shows how actors from various fields and levels can work together and reach much more than they ever could alone.
Having started by supporting the young entrepreneurs from Bosnia and Herzegovina and later on from Kosovo, the programme expanded to additional 9 countries participating this year: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine.
CEP supports entrepreneurs and young people with entrepreneurial ideas who would like to develop and upgrade/advance their ideas, assists them to meet and connect, as together, with different approaches and broader pressures, they can influence the entrepreneurial climate in their own country.
Best entrepreneurial ideas were selected through a “PODIM Challenge” competition that we organized together with the PODIM Conference. Young entrepreneurs had to present their idea, team and business plan. The expert commission has reviewed a large number of very competitive applications and made the final selection.
CEP as the PA10 Coordinator will host them in Maribor, Slovenia during the PODIM Conference between 14 and 16 May 2018.
Selected start-ups from the Danube region are:
4. 5. 2018 | PR
CEP is in Greece in order to kick off a new Horizon 2020 supported project Next generation of information systems to support EU external policies – CIVILnEXt. CIVILnEXt project aims at contributing in the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) through the procurement and the development of innovative solutions that will support the mission operations of EU to third countries.
The CIVILnEXt project supports the development of a solution addressing existing “fragmentation” and closing “gaps” in communication, information-sharing, joint reporting, analysis and response planning between member state embassies, EU delegations, Commission services, EU Special Representatives and Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions.
The project will provide civilian CSDP missions with the next generation of secure and cost-effective information systems: a situational awareness, information exchange and operation control platform (OCP). Fully informed of contributing initiatives in civilian CSDP and EU external action, the project will aim to develop solutions leveraging on the results extracted from projects funded by the EU.
The common challenge in CIVILnEXt is to develop, test and validate a cost-effective and interoperable operation control platform (OCP) that will support the conduct of civilian CSDP missions. The OCP will improve coordination in EU external action through better information exchange, situational awareness and operation control in diverse theaters of operation. It will support the EU’s comprehensive approach in complex missions, including the civil-military cooperation within CSDP, facilitate the engagement CSDP actors, creating links EU Delegations, FRONTEX, ECHO and other EU activities, member states, as appropriate, and other partners such as the UN and regional organisations.
CIVILnEXt engages the participation of four national competent authorities, active in EU external policies and the UN organisations IOM. They share the need to become beneficiaries of procurement results that enhance the effectiveness of civilian CSDP. They are co-financing the action under one single joint procurement, supported by technical and policy advisors, with extensive CSDP experience.
CIVILnEXt project is funded by the European Union and the Horizon 2020 programme.
The Consortium consists of 14 partners: National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, KEMEA Center for Security Studies, Guardia Civil, Hellenic Ministry of Defence, Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Centre for European Perspective, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, UN International Organization for Migration, EU Satellite Centre, Atos Spain, eBOS Technologies, European Centre for Development Policy Management, Istituto Affari Internazionali, Centre of Excellence in Terrorism, Resilience, Intelligence and Organised Crime Research, and Kompetenzzentrum Internationale Sicherheit.
