13. 12. 2023 | Bled Strategic Forum, POTC, PR
On Tuesday, December 12th, the Centre for European Perspective (CEP) hosted a roundtable discussion titled ‘The Republic of Slovenia as a Non-Permanent Member of the UN Security Council 2024–2025: Streamlining our Approach Toward Common Objectives.’ The event took place at Jable Castle.
The discussion highlighted Slovenia’s commitment to four key priority areas during its presidency: 1) proactive measures for conflict prevention; 2) ensuring the protection of civilians in times of armed conflicts; 3) advancing the cause of women, peace, and security; and 4) addressing the intricate relationship between climate, peace, and security. These areas of emphasis were carefully chosen based on existing needs and unanswered questions, illuminating persisting challenges that demand ongoing attention.
Roundtable’s Key Contributors
Nina Čepon, Executive Director of CEP, commenced the event with introductory remarks. She expressed gratitude to all attendees for their presence and subsequently provided insights into CEP’s initiatives. Her remarks touched upon diverse projects, ranging from collaborations with Ukraine and the Western Balkans to addressing misinformation, building capacities for peacekeeping and engaging in projects involving artificial intelligence.
Following Ms. Čepon’s introductory remarks, Mr Peter Grk, Secretary General of the Bled Strategic Forum and National Coordinator for the Western Balkans at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, skillfully guided the conversation with a panel of five speakers. Setting the stage, Mr. Flavio Milan from the Federal Department for Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, heading UN coordination and serving as deputy head of the UN division in Bern, shared opening insights. His unique perspective, rooted in Switzerland’s precedence over Slovenia in the United Nations Security Council, offered valuable insights and experiences. In light of unfolding global events, Mr. Milan acknowledged the challenges anticipated in the upcoming year.
The subsequent contributors included Mr Matej Marn, Head of the UN Security Council Task Force at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia; Ms Sabina Stadler Repnik, Head of the Strategic Studies and Analyses Service at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia; Dr Ljubica Jelušič, Professor at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences; and Mr Samo Selimović, Coordinator of the Peace Operations Training Centre (POTC).
Roundtable’s Conclusions
The roundtable also served as an opportunity to map out other Slovenian actors – NGOs, Institutes and research organisations – to present their activities, aligned with the Slovenian priorities and provide ideas on future collaboration with the Slovenian government within these topics.
The dialogue, alongside the panellists, reached a consensus on the challenging times anticipated ahead. Despite Slovenia’s relatively small size, the prevailing sentiment was that size should not be a limiting factor. The collective commitment urged the pursuit of peace while remaining steadfast in upholding core values.
We want to thank the panellists, representatives of various Slovenian NGOs and institutes, and the numerous audience members who contributed to the successful and engaging roundtable. Even though our traditional pre-holiday roundtables were halted during the COVID-19 pandemic, we will strive to continue with this tradition and offer you insight into another relevant topic next year.
27. 11. 2023 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR
CEP is looking for a dynamic and resourceful individual willing to join Bled Strategic Forum team and contribute to the success of the leading conference in Central and South-Eastern Europe and other BSF events.
Are you ready to take on a pivotal role in the execution of the leading conference in the region? We are currently seeking a dedicated Project Assistant to join Bled Strategic Forum team at CEP.
Responsibilities will include:
Assistance in coordinating and planning project activities of the Bled Strategic Forum
Coordination and collaboration with international partners.
Coordination of the Bled Strategic Forum.
Communication with Slovenian and foreign participants.
Collaboration with Slovenian and Foreign Experts.
Assistance in the preparation of reports.
Other works and tasks as per instructions.
More information as well as possibility for the application can be found here.
4. 9. 2023 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR, Young BSF
Ljubljana and Bled, Slovenia, once more hosted young leaders within the activities of the Young Bled Strategic Forum and Bled Strategic Forum. More than 40 young perspective leaders from 25 countries (Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, United States of America) joined forces, experience and creative energy in a three-day training and capacity building organised between Friday 25th of August and Monday 28th of August 2023. The Young BSF strives to empower young leaders from different sectors (academia, civil society, private sector, public administration, and other fields of expertise) to build joint solutions for joint challenges of our societies through transnational cooperation. Young BSF 2023 was organised under the title ´Mitigating our Butterfly Effect´, underlining the power and responsibility of all stakeholders within our societies to make positive changes and contributions in the short and long term. The activities of the Young BSF continued with active participation within the Bled Strategic Forum, organised on Monday, 28th and Tuesday, 29th of August 2023 at Bled, focusing on contributions to ´Solidarity for global Security˙.
Day 1, or the opening day of the Young Bled Strategic Forum 2023, stressed the importance of cooperation and networking to share ideas to solve today’s and tomorrow’s challenges. New knowledge and development of skills will enable us to build a world we want to live in.
The Young participants were addressed by Mr Peter Grk, Secretary General of the Bled Strategic Forum and Ms Nina Čepon, Executive Director of the Centre for European Perspective, who commended the wide participation of young experts from different fields of expertise and countries. The opening discussion set the stage for the work and capacity-building of young leaders.
Day 2 began with a practical session focused on traditional and media literacy. Following was the Pillar I session, which focused on understanding our shared history, noting the role of narratives in our lives and the importance of critical thinking, followed by the Pillar II discussions focused on empowering youth through cooperation with the government, CSOs and various initiatives aimed at supporting and promoting active citizenship. Each pillar consisted of an expert panel followed by a world cafe, where Young BSF participants embarked on a deeper exploration of topics.
The second day concluded on a high note with a conversation with H. E. Ms Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, on the importance of solidarity, current global issues, Slovenia in UN SC, feminist foreign policy and more. “Be curious and brave. Curious, I say, as we live in this polarised world where everything is changing so fast, where we have to think outside the box to adapt,” was Minister Tanja Fajon´s opening call to the Young Bled Strategic Forum participants.
Day 3 of the Young Bled Strategic Forum continued with thematical Pillar III, focusing on the leading question: “How do we address our present actions to secure the future us and for the younger generations?”. The Young Bled Strategic Forum participants transferred from Ljubljana to Bled in the afternoon using a train. The last closing elements of the Young BSF included two capacity-building and inspirational sessions. The Young BSF was closed on Monday, August 28 2023, with presentations of participants’ group work that once more exposed the importance of ideas and work of young leaders that contribute to positive changes within our societies. Their ideas, recommendations and proposals will be joined within the Young Bled Strategic Forum Declaration, which will be published following the event. The Young perspective leaders joined the activities of the Bled Strategic Forum in the following days as panellists and active participants.
Young Bled Strategic Forum and Bled Strategic Forum are honoured for the opportunity to have hosted the first meeting of the CEI Youth Reference Points organised by the CEI Secretariat at Bled, Slovenia, on Tuesday, 29th of August, to exchange best practices, experiences and ideas for youth empowerment within the CEI region. The discussions pave the way for closer cooperation in the field of youth policies and transnational and cross-sector cooperation.
The Young Bled Strategic Forum is supported by the Central European Initiative, the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana grant, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung think tank, implemented within the activities of the Slovenian Presidency to the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region and supported as part of the Priority Area 10 Institutional Capacity and Cooperation, an Interreg Danube Region Programme project co-funded by the European Union.
31. 8. 2023 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR, Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in 6 Western Balkans Countries
On 28 August 2023, Western Balkans media and civil society representatives gathered at the margins of the Bled Strategic Forum for a roundtable discussion, ‘The Line Is(n’t) Thin: Fact v. Opinion, Regulation v. Censorship’. Joining the discussion was a Deutsche Welle journalist and a Global Diplomacy Lab member, Burak Ünveren. Together, participants exchanged experiences regarding the role and position of fact-checking in their respective countries, touched upon the challenges of journalism and effective communication of facts to society in the digital, ‘post-truth’ age, emphasized the risks inherent to the current business model of media outlets and noted the difficulties in maintaining an effective government-media-civil society relationship. Participants also weighed government intervention’s pros and cons in introducing counter-disinformation regulation. While there is no clear-cut answer to any of these questions, ensuring the sustainability of professional and quality journalism and supporting journalistic standards was heralded as a priority for all societies.
The discussion was organised under the framework of the ‘Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in the Western Balkans’ project. The project also allowed participants to attend the panels of the 18th Bled Strategic Forum, held in Bled on 28-29 August.
The Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Disinformation in the Western Balkans is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia through development cooperation funds.
25. 8. 2023 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR, Young BSF
Cooperation, dialogue and youth empowerment will hold the central stage within the Young Bled Strategic Forum, organised at Ljubljana and Bled from 25th August until 28th August 2023. The activities will gather more than 40 young leaders from 5 continents, and experts from public administration, academia, private sector, media, civil society and youth organisations. The three-day training and discussions will continue with the participation in the Bled Strategic Forum conference, organised from 28th August until 29th August 2023, further outlining the importance of young professionals working towards solutions to the most pressing challenges of our time.
The 12th edition of the Young Bled Strategic Forum implemented under the title Mitigating our Butterfly Effect celebrates the power of every individual and stakeholder to contribute their knowledge, expertise and inspiration to positive change within communities on the local, regional and international levels. Active citizenship and solidarity are not virtues that can be measured in quality or quantity, as every action can hold the momentum to cause or prevent a storm in other parts of the world. Our interconnected communities, faced with challenges and opportunities in sustainability, security, swift technological advancement, geopolitical balancing of power, and other imperative fields, require coordination and joint approaches to build a positive sum (non-zero sum) future.
The event is set to draw a distinguished lineup of guests, all converging to participate in meaningful discussions and exchanges with youth. Saturday’s discussions will culminate in a special one-on-one talk with H. E. Ms Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, touching upon the pivotal role of young individuals in shaping the society of today and tomorrow, Slovenia’s tenure on the UN Security Council, feminist foreign policy, and the demonstration of solidarity in response to this year’s devastating local floods.
The Young Bled Strategic Forum is supported by the Central European Initiative, the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana grant, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung think tank, implemented within the activities of the Slovenian Presidency to the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region and supported as part of the Priority Area 10 Institutional Capacity and Cooperation, an Interreg Danube Region Programme project co-funded by the European Union.
The Bled Strategic Forum international conference is the leading conference in Central and South-Eastern Europe. The conference is a gathering of participants from various fields with diverse knowledge, encouraging them to exchange views and generate ideas to address present and future challenges. In addition, the conference also offers a unique opportunity for tailored meetings and networking with regional and global stakeholders. The 2023 edition of the Bled Strategic Forum is devoted to the support and empowerment of Solidarity for Global Security.
For more information on the Bled Strategic Forum and Young Bled Strategic Forum visit the conference webpages.
22. 8. 2023 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR, Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation in 6 Western Balkans Countries
Kliknite tukaj za branje prispevka v slovenskem jeziku.
Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation has invited twelve representatives of Western Balkans media and civil society organisations to join a roundtable discussion at the margins of the Bled Strategic Forum.
The roundtable discussion will take place on 28 August, titled ‘The Line Is(n’t) Thin: Fact v. Opinion, Regulation v. Censorship’.
Western Balkan participants will be joined by Mr Jakub Kalensky of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats and Mr Burak Ünveren, a journalist at Deutsche Welle.
Through an open and dynamic exchange, participants and guests will have an opportunity to touch upon questions that do not always have straightforward answers in the fight against disinformation, such as: how to ensure that democratic standards and freedom of speech are upheld while still curbing the spread of disinformation? Are the current projects and initiatives focused on countering disinformation largely on the right track – or do we need to adjust our course? How has the experience with Covid-19 and the Russian aggression against Ukraine changed journalism – have we learned anything?
Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation project continues to support efforts of Western Balkan governments, media and civil society to establish national mechanisms for countering disinformation. The roundtable event will further be an opportunity to discuss the way forward in these efforts, and in particular, the role of media and civil society.
After the roundtable discussion, Western Balkan participants are invited to join and enjoy the rich program of the Bled Strategic Forum on 28 and 29 August.
The project is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia through development cooperation funds.
