Cooperation between the Bled Strategic Forum 2018 – a leading international conference in Central and South-Eastern Europe – and the 51th MOS – one of the largest and most important trade fair events in Slovenia and this part of Europe – was announced on 13th of June at the press conference in Celje.
Newly established synergy between two of the most important conferences in Slovenia was presented by Dr Gorazd Justinek, executive director of Centre for European Perspective, co-organizer of Bled Strategic Forum 2018.
Bled Strategic Forum, which will take place between 10th and 11th of September 2018, brings together a diverse set of participants, including heads of state and government, ministers, diplomats, businesspeople, scholars and experts, youth, and media from around the world. With over 1000 participants (included 1 head of state, 2 heads of government, 16 foreign and 27 other ministers, 14 representatives of international organizations and 28 other high-level guests) from 66 countries, the 2017 Bled Strategic Forum was the biggest and most successful event in its history.
International Trade Fair MOS will take place right after Bled Strategic Forum, between 11 and 16 of September 2016. It is a business crossroads for innovations, development and the latest advances, providing superb opportunities to drive business forward and an opportunity to directly target customers. It is also a venue for showcasing new products and services, offering an insight into the main challenges that entrepreneurs and craftsmen have to face in everyday business environment.
Bled Strategic Forum and MOS recognize the synergies between the operations and missions of both international conferences and therefore plan to cooperate on the content preparations and discussions.
Together, we will enrich not only each other’s events, but Slovenian conference activities and recognisability in the world as well.
Due to our partnership with the Central European Initiative, we are able to offer travel grants to young leaders coming from following countries: Albania, Belarus, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine.
Successful applicants will have their accommodation and meals covered for the duration of the program.
We are thankful to EU Strategy for Danube Region, who is covering travel grants for young leaders coming from the Danube region countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Ukraine.
Successful applicants will have their accommodation and meals covered for the duration of the program.
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.
Bled Strategic Forum, jointly organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Centre for European Perspective, is a strategic partner of the Eurasian Economic Summit, organized by Marmara Group Foundation that takes place annually in Turkey. The 21st Eurasian Economic Summit on 11-12 April 2018 brought together 41 countries which were represented by Presidents, Prime Ministers, Speakers of the Parliaments, Ministers, Members of the Parliaments, business people, academicians and religious leaders.
Bled Strategic Forum was represented by CEP’s Project Manager Sabina Carli, who participated in an interactive session “Academicians, politicians and religious leaders discuss the future with the young generation” with Prof. Dr. Ali BARDAKOĞLU, President of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Turkey (2003-2010), Archbishop BARTHOLOMEW, Ecumenical Patriarch of Istanbul, Mirko ŠAROVIĆ, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, Yusuf ÇETİN, Patriarchal Vicar of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Istanbul, Isak HALEVA, Chief Rabbi of Turkey, Orhan ÇANLI, Syriac Catholic Deputy Patriarch of Turkey, Merdan BAYRAMDURDIYEV, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan, Prof. Dr. Şener OKTİK, Head of Research and Technological Development of Şişecam Group, Sergiu CELAC, Ambassador – Honorary President of New Strategy Center Prince RADU, Prince of Romania, Ismail ALIJI, Foreign Policy Adviser of the President of Macedonia, Director of Political Research, Institute of Strategy and Development, Ardian HOXHA, Superintendent of the American School of Kosovo, Dr. Nikola GJORGON, Foreign Policy Adviser of the President of Macedonia and Karlis BUKOVSKIS, Deputy Director at the Latvian Institute of International Affairs. They discussed the role of science and technology in today’s and future life and agreed that all spheres of life are influenced by technology, yet all of them also need to get involved for sustainable future in which technology can play a very positive role if we use it smartly.
302 international and 761 domestic participants attended the 21st Eurasian Economic Summit. Former President of Turkey H.E. Abdullah Gül, Deputy Prime Minister H.E. Mehmet Şimşek, Minister of Economy H.E. Nihat Zeybekçi, former Deputy Prime Minister and MP H.E. Tuğrul Türkeş, Governor of Istanbul Hon. Vasip Şahin and Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Mevlut Uysal attended the summit that started with the opening speech of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey H.E. Binali Yıldırım, while international participants included presidents, foreign ministers and other ministers from across Europe and Asia.
Are you a young leader between 18 and 35 years old, with a proven record of making an impact on your community, country or the world at large? Then we cordially invite you to apply for the Young Bled Strategic Forum 2018 (Young BSF).
Young BSF is an annual conference bringing together young leaders to engage in lively discussions and develop out-of-the-box solutions to some of the most pressing world issues. The Young BSF model has been growing and changing, and has become a unique meeting place for a diverse array of young leaders, entrepreneurs, bloggers, thinkers and socially active individuals, offering them a platform to share their visions, exchange ideas and connect with one another. Numerous thought-provoking ideas have been suggested over the years, while the main objective remains clear: to bring together audacious and action-oriented individuals from different fields and offer them a collaborative, creative, and inspiring environment for discussions and networking.
The 2018 event will take place under the title: ‘Sustainable Security: The Role of Youth in Bridging the Divide’. A sustainable security approach proposes the resolution of the interconnected underlying drivers of insecurity and conflict, with an emphasis on preventive rather than reactive strategies. The central premise of the sustainable security approach is that we cannot control all the consequences of insecurity successfully, but have to work to deal with the root causes of instability. The Forum will place special emphasis on cross-regional cooperation. A new generation of leaders will demonstrate that such cooperation is not only necessary, but inevitable the next positive to be taken in democratization, fighting corruption, terrorism and climate change, and fostering social, economic, and cross-cultural sustainable development.
Topics to be discussed:
Intergenerational relations,
Agenda 2030,
Reconciliation,
Future of the EU,
Cyber Security and Artificial Intelligence,
Climate change,
Western Balkans,
Digitalization,
Security in the Mediterranean,
Security in the Middle East.
Young BSF is an integral part of the Bled Strategic Forum international conference. To link the two and blur the lines between different generations, three topics from the main event will be selected and discussed from the youth perspective, while three outstanding young leaders will be selected to participate as speakers at the main event. This will add value to BSF, bringing innovative solutions and shedding light on youth perspectives. Youth will have an opportunity to meet leaders from the governmental, business and non-governmental sectors, and join them in discussions addressing salient issues.
Young Bled Strategic Forum is committed to ensuring equal opportunities to attend the YBSF are available to young leaders, regardless of their ability to pay. We work closely with our partners to provide all of our participants with accommodation, while a number of travel grants for candidates of various backgrounds and nationalities will be ensured. Travel grants may be awarded to selected participants on an individual basis and only up to the amount decided by the organizers, while we will ensure regional and expertise representation.
Countries eligible for the travel grant: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Ukraine.
The selected participants are expected to join in the extensive preparations and pre-event online meetings between June and September. Please note that the official language of the event is English, and that this is a prerequisite for participation in our activities.
Apply at by 20th of May 2018 at the latest.
For any additional inquiries, do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]
