23. 10. 2018 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR
The eighth Belgrade Security Forum titled “Finding Answers Together to the New Normal” concluded on Friday, with the members of the Executive Board Sonja Licht, Suzana Grubješić and Sonja Stojanović Gajić agreeing that EU should change its approach to the Balkans, and vice versa, that the Balkans should change its approach to the Union.
The discussions have been followed by a delegation of the Bled Strategic Forum, which has for over a decade addressed the questions and challenges of development and integration of the Western Balkans. Such discussions need to be hosted both inside the WB6, in the region and at the European stage as a multi-level approach is needed to successfully lead the countries onto the European future.
“It is extremely important that we have managed to bring the global debate home”, said President of the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence Sonja Licht, summing up the impressions from the Forum.
She emphasised that, during the three days of Forum, “great sessions” focused on Middle East, Asian Century and the fourth industrial revolution took place, and assessed that those topics may not be as important on a daily political level, but that they will determine our future. Her recommendation for Serbia is to open itself, to learn and do as much as possible to ensure that its education system and citizens follow the new trends, such as fourth industrial revolution, which brings new reality.
“We have to be ready for it, even as a small and relatively underdeveloped country. We can leap very high if we prepare ourselves on time”, remarked Licht.
Bled Strategic Forum and Belgrade Security Forum are already seeking for common grounds that will be addressed at future forums and other events throughout the year.
23. 10. 2018 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR, Youth
CEP Project Manager Sabina Carli moderated a discussion “New faces of Western Balkans politics: continuity or change?” in the framework of the 2018 edition of Balkan SAYS – Security Architecture Youth Seminar in Ljubljana, Slovenia in the beginning of October. A night-owl session, focusing on the young leaders for reform, development and growth hosted Mr Daniel Fazlić, Pro Plus; Mr Luka Nikolić, Centre for International Public Policy; Ms Ivana Martac, Balkan SAYS Participant; and Mr Emir Hasanović, Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Macedonia.
An inclusive format of discussion delved into the challenges of persistent economic weakness, corruption, high (youth) unemployment, brain drain, combined with growing public frustration with politics and politicians, and renewed nationalist rhetoric. The fact is that the issues will have to be addressed by current and future leaders of the Western Balkan countries. Therefore, the people chosen to be in the position to address these problems will need to possess the necessary qualities to effectively deal with them, via experience or simply via a new perspective.
The question of old or new faces is one that sees prominence through much of the world, and it is no different in the Western Balkan region. Some prefer to put their trust into the faces they know, whilst some would look to entrust this process to new faces who, while less experienced, do not come with the baggage of the past, and who could potentially provide a new outlook or vision for their country.
The panel identified crucial pending reforms but also looked at the bright sides and successes from the past and present. Among the most prominent ideas of the discussion were participation and engagement of young people in decision-making processes, in democratic processes and in grass-root organizations.
Euro-Atlantic Council of Slovenia, the organizer of the Balkan SAYS seminar, has been an important partner of this years Young Bled Strategic Forum and the Centre for European Perspective.
16. 10. 2018 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR
CEP Project Manager Meliha Muherina has moderated a round table at 1st “VOICE UP” Western Balkans Youth Forum organized by Western Balkans Youth Cooperation Platform (WBYCP). WBYCP is a grassroots regional youth platform implemented by Cooperation and Development Institute (CDI), together with the umbrella youth organizations of the Six Western Balkans countries: National Youth Congress of Albania, National Youth Council of Macedonia, National Youth Council of Serbia, High School Students Union of Montenegro, Central Youth Action Council of Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina Association for United Nations, and with the support of Hanns Seidel Foundation.
With the aim to promote youth connectivity in the Balkans, WBYCP offers a unique and tailor-made space to youngsters from the region where they meet, plan, organise, implement and voice up their action. In WBYCP youngsters can find partners for joint activities, design and implement joint initiatives, exchange ideas, consult a youth library, and built and carry outreach and lobbying action. WBYCP is designed to function as a resource center for youth in the Western Balkans.
In the framework of its 2018 activities plan, WBYCP has organized two events on 9-12 October:
Youth Exchange Programme was organized from 9-11 October. It was execution of an outreach phase of the essay competition titled “Three reasons to stay in my country” launched by WBYCP in June 2018. 12 best essay authors have been invited to share and discuss youth emigration, its implications for the youngsters and the region, the necessary policy measures and actions to stem the loss of human capital and reverse it. WBYCP partner organizations and other stakeholders working with youth topics in the region and in EU have joined the debate. In the course of two days, the discussants unfold the ideas and issues expressed in the submitted essays which have been identified as some of the most pressing issues of Western Balkans Youth: (i) Education and Youth Employment; (ii) Youth role in WB6 institutional Governance and Policy Making.
WBYCP Forum was organized on October 12 and offered a discussion space where youngsters built up a common position and voiced up their shared understanding of present and future challenges, together with required action. They had the opportunity to discuss them with policymakers and other youth stakeholders in the region. A WB6 Youth Statement on Youth Migration in WB6 was drafted and submitted to the relevant decision-making actors. Instead of focusing on problem solving, the forum promoted positive examples of young people mobility – geographical and career-wise, experiences of building build social capital, successful actions of committed young citizen, and other beautiful and inspiring life experiences of Balkan youth.
17. 9. 2018 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR, Security
Centre for European Perspective has been active in providing the security in the Western Balkans region, which would not be possible without good partners. On the margins of the Bled Strategic Forum, CEP’s Executive Director Dr Gorazd Justinek signed a memorandum of understanding between CEP, IISG and DCAF Ljubljana. DCAF was represented by its director, Mr Anton Travner, while IISG by its chairman Mr Rajko Kozmelj.
The IISG (Integrative Internal Security Governance) is a new approach to internal security governance capacity-building and reform introduced in the Western Balkan region. It is hosted by DCAF Ljubljana, Geneva Centre for Democratic Control of Armed Forces, since 8 September 2017. The IISG concept enables a coordinated, aligned and sustainable effort in the major fields of internal security governance reform on part of the EU and all relevant international donors of external assistance.
Main objective of signed memorandum is to identify areas of potential cooperation among all three partners with aim to improve mutual coordination and ensure greater complementary, efficiency and effectiveness in the areas of common interest – advancing the Euro-Atlantic integration of the SEE, contributing to regional and wider European stability and prosperity by fostering regional reform, capacity building and cooperation, contributing knowledge and new expertise in areas of security and rule of law.
12. 9. 2018 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR
The thirteenth Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) was the largest and richest Forum in terms of content so far, featuring 30 different discussions, excellent panellists and relevant topics. The Forum was attended by over 1200 guests from more than 80 countries.
At its conclusion, State Secretary Andrej Logar pointed out that it is becoming a key platform in this part of Europe for exchanging views and for in-depth discussion on the most pressing issues currently concerning not only international relations, but also society as a whole. Among the main achievements of this year’s BSF, he mentioned the panel with EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, who offered some serious considerations regarding the future of EU-UK relations and indicated the EU’s possible future action.
By organising BSF, Slovenia aims to bring together at Bled an inclusive group of politicians, members of civil society and businesspeople with a view to promoting the values of solidarity, mutual respect and understanding and to expressing readiness to participate in demanding debates in order to obtain answers to the most pressing regional and global socio-political issues. Slovenia would also like to see BSF established as a trade mark, hosting events throughout the year, which would lead up to the annual meeting in September in Bled; efforts to achieve this began this year.
On the second day of BSF, the various panel debates focused on the future of the EU and the elements that link us together, on joint global action for a sustainable future, on climate change, the digital transformation of societies, mediation in a new multipolar world, cybersecurity, the 20th anniversary of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the fate of humans in a technological era, and the future of the Western Balkans.
The Young BSF, preceding the conference in Bled, gathered over 70 young leaders from 30 different countries and took a closer look at the sustainable security and its inherent components through 6 lectures and 6 workshop on different locations in Ljubljana.
The State Secretary thanked all Forum participants and organisers for their valuable contributions. Special thanks go to the Forum’s partners, companies and sponsors, for their support now and in the future.
The next, 14th BSF, will take place on 2 and 3 September 2019.
10. 9. 2018 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR, Youth
Young BSF ended in Bled with a panel and round-table workshop organised in close cooperation with Italy, which currently chairs the OSCE. Slovenian Foreign Affairs Ministry State Secretary Iztok Mirošič delivered the first address, in which he pointed to the youth as one of the groups most susceptible to radicalisation. This is why it is necessary to provide it with opportunities for jobs, education and active involvement in political processes.Another challenge faced by the OSCE, EU, and the Mediterranean region are migrations. Youth is also the group widely affected by negative developments related to this, especially through the use of technologies like social media. Mirošič highlighted efforts in Slovenia at fostering an atmosphere of tolerance, for instance through a Foreign Ministry-developed teaching tool intended for pupils in Slovenian schools, who learn about the experience of children refugees. The state secretary also emphasized gender equality efforts, pointing out women are a vulnerable group in migration-related trafficking in people while they also have strong capabilities in the processes of deradicalization and reintegration. “Security is inextricably linked to gender equality,” he stressed.
Matjaž Nemec, the chair of the Slovenian National Assembly’s Foreign Policy Committee, said that the Euro-Mediterranean region has seen many new bonds develop but also tension arise. The challenges require a stepped up effort in the context of OSCE-Mediterranean cooperation. He also highlighted the issues raised by Mirošič, arguing the youth and its role is being underestimated.
“They have the predominant feeling that they live on the margins of society with no voice of power,” he said, expressing the fear things will sooner or later erupt in political instability, economic crises, ethnic religious tension, migration. Occasions and opportunities like today’s can be a good source of pressure on governments to further develop strategies and plans at international, regional and local levels, he noted.Italian Ambassador to Slovenia Paolo Trichilo, who provided the idea for the session, focused on migrations, quoting Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi as recently describing migrations as an issue of common responsibility that “must be generally shared to the maximum extent possible without nationalistic reserves since the Mediterranean presents one of the great global challenges”. The phenomenon must also be understood as human trafficking and human slavery exploitation, “therefore we must not close our eyes and turn our head the other way”. He moreover called for action to ameliorate social and economic conditions in the origin countries of migration, taking particular account of the added value of youth.
The round table discussions that followed explored some of the issues raised by the opening speakers, with one of the findings highlighted a lot being the fragmentation of opinions among the young as regards migration as well for instance in their attitude to the establishment. One topic explored was education, with the need raised to transform it so as to enable employability. The need was also expressed for a better understanding of the situation of civil society in individual countries and for maybe moving beyond just working with NGOs to directly empower young individuals. As to the migration situation in general, the need was noted to first find a common understanding of the phenomenon in Europe.
