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
The first of the two Young BSF panels that were incorporated into the main forum in Bled this year tried to find ways to prevent conflicts, build peace and use mediation, by focusing on contemporary cases in the Balkans and the Middle East – from the political, cultural and social aspects.
Faris Kočan, research assistant at the Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences, presented an ongoing project, entitled Strengthening European Integration through the Analysis of Conflicting Discourses: Revisiting the Past, Anticipating the Future. The interdisciplinary project, which involves several universities, will include a cross-cultural analysis of the conflict discourses in Cyprus, Ireland, Greece, Bosnia, Kosovo, Spain, Germany, and Poland, looking at histories, media, arts and culture, and political narratives as the key elements allowing a better understanding of the specific situations.
Asked by an audience member about the view that forgetting the past is sometimes similarly important as remembering it, Kočan said that in the case in Bosnia, for instance, it cannot be expected that the past will be forgotten, with three different narratives currently present. “It is important to get a common narrative, so once you have it, you life together. You will never forget about a conflict in my opinion,” he said.
Miro Haček, social sciences professor at the Ljubljana Faculty of Social Sciences, presented a study that highlights democratic consolidation as a key aspect of peacekeeping in the Western Balkans. The study analysed the consolidation trends in former Yugoslav republic, for instance via the Human Development Index and through Freedom House’s Democracy index. Both show Slovenia and Croatia standing out, in particular the former as the only one deemed a consolidated democracy in 2016. Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia are currently not considered democratic. Haček is particularly concerned by the negative trend seen in recent years, not only in the former Yugoslavia but across Central and Eastern Europe.
He does “believe that the EU is motivation for the Western Balkans to consolidate its democracy, to at least begin with processes, begin adapting their legislation to the acquis”. “Without this external motivation these democratic processes would be more difficult and we would talk not about four countries that are at least stable, semi-consolidated or consolidated democracies.”
Maja Dolinar, a double PhD candidate in international relations and social and cultural anthropology at the University of Ljubljana, looked at developments in EU-Mediterranean relations. She argued that the EU had approached the region under three basic assumptions that proved misguided. The first was the idea it would be able to engage in region building, ignoring that the region has never been homogeneous. It moreover primarily saw it as its southern neighbourhood, neglecting the influence of other international players that are also present and have become more present after 2011, actually treating the region as a battlefield that has seen rough competition for power and influence. The third assumption was the EU has a high level unity in policy formation and implementation. The EU’s foreign policy however remains highly intergovernmental and consensus and coherent action as regards the Southern Mediterranean has been elusive.
“In the case of the Arab uprising it even become obvious that in several cases the EU members were pursuing national interests which were often at odds with the official position of the EU,” she said, highlighting the military intervention in Libya and the handling of migration flow as examples. The incoherence of the EU’s policies and their implementation has undermined the bloc’s credibility in the region. In its recent declarations the EU has acknowledged the problem and its trying to act with more flexibility and sensitivity towards its partners, which is proving more effective.
Mostafa Khalili, an Irani student at Doshisha University who is researching interethnic relations in Iran with a focus on Iranian Azeris and Kurds, spoke about how Iran is much more fragmented than it seems from the outside – only about 50% of Iranians are Persian. Khalili, who fears “balkanisation”, meaning confrontations, in the area, also noted the many divisions among the Kurds. He sees a more sociological, anthropological approach as very useful for getting to understand how ethnicity is being constructed and deconstructed in the region, including by political players.
“We really need to understand the situation first and only then try to put forward some proposals. This for instance did not happen in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq – they just started with big policy moves without establishing the social problems,” he illustrated.
Akihiro Ienaka, a graduate student at Doshisha University who has researched politics in modern Turkey and memory studies, provided an analysis of Turkey’s evolution from Kemalism to Erdogan. One thing he highlighted as an issue was the sidetracking of talks on EU membership, which he believes is also a result of the Erdogan government’s alledged focus on staying in power as its main objective.
5. 9. 2018 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR
The 2018 edition of the Bled Strategic Forum will take place in Bled on 10 and 11 September under the title “Bridging the Divide” and will again attract over 1000 visible foreign and Slovenian guests from the spheres of politics, economy, research and development, science and civil society. Through the focus on deepening the divisions in regional and international security, political, economic and social environment, the Forum confirms its role as one of the most important strategic meetings in Central and Southeastern Europe.
Society in search of answers to deepening divisions
Recent technological advances have helped to deepen our understanding of the world and, in certain areas, bring us closer together than ever, but the world remains rife with tensions. The predictions and hopes of many political thinkers at the end of the 20th century that the access to information would result in greater homogeneity have not materialised. While many believe that facts are objective, we are now learning that in human interactions, distinguishing between facts and perceptions is harder than it seems, realising that the reality is very personal, subject to our cultural experience, traditions and values. How do we distinguish a fact from a perception or a myth? How do we decide that what we see is true and not merely the result of subjective views? And when our realities differ, how do we bridge the divide?
We have developed the instruments needed to engage in an effective, inclusive and transparent dialogue. The array of tools at our disposal is greater than ever before, but these new technologies are merely tools, and they are also being used to perpetuate our differences.
We remain enveloped in our traditional perceptions and are better at judging each other than looking inwards and making improvements at home. When will we start searching for the things we have in common with the same eagerness, ensuring a prosperous and sustainable future for everyone?
Fostering public discourse across three key bridges
For the 13th year, the Bled Strategic Forum fosters open space for a debate on governance of our society in the local, national and international context, education for future generations, inclusion and participation in decision-making for all members of the society, and technological as well as business challenges of the future. The Forum consists of three key elements: political-security forum, business forum and youth forum. The latter will follow the core topic and support it with a series of discussions under the titles “Business BSF: Future of Work” and “Young BSF: Sustainable Security – the Role of Youth in Bridging the Divide”.
Focus 1: Bridge between political processes and economy
Decision-making in politics and progressive, sustainable as well as green economy seem to be inseparable, since the two spheres correspond to each other in their key elements. For this reason, this year’s Forum hosts high-level guests from both spheres, including: Aleksander Čeferin, UEFA; Michel Barnier, the Commission’s Chief Negotiator for the negotiations with the United Kingdom; Carmelo Abela, Foreign Minister of Malta; Enver Hoxhaj, Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo; Srđan Darmanović, Foreign Minister of Montenegro; Christian Ketels, The BCG Henderson Institute; Alf Rehn, University of Southern Denmark; Reva Goujon, Stratfor; Manuel Butler, Executive Director of World Tourism Organization; Oliver Spasovski, Minister of Internal Affairs of Macedonia; Samuel Žbogar, Head of the EU Delegation in Macedonia; Amre Moussa, former Secretary-General of the Arab League; Bassma Kodmani, member of the Syrian Negotiation Commission; Amal Jadou, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of Palestine; George Ciamba, State Secretary of Romania; and Andrej Zhernovski, Deputy Foreign Minister of Macedonia.
Business BSF will focus on the evolution of work and its impact on jobs, businesses and the society at large. Globalisation, technological progress and demographic change have a profound impact on work. While the future offers unparalleled opportunities, it also presents significant challenges. How will these changes affect workers, employers and the society?
Focus 2: Bridge between regional and global challenges
It is clear that the Forum exceeds regional boundaries both through wide geographic participation and the selection of topics. It is impossible to disregard global challenges, such as the future of Europe, economic and political outlook and the current geopolitical balance between the powers, which will be in the centre on the first day of the Forum. On the second day, the focus will be on the mediation in the multipolar world, global agenda for sustainable development, climate security, technological advances and the new reality in the labour market, cyber security, artificial intelligence, gender equality, cultural cooperation through tourism, as well as resilient and inclusive institutions. Among the key experts and leaders from these fields are: Ohood Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister for Happiness and Wellbeing of the United Arab Emirates; Violeta Bulc, European Commissioner for Transport; Fatou Bensouda, Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court; Fawaz Farooqui, Lead of the National Transformation Program 2020 of Saudi Arabia; Janez Potočnik, International Panel on Resources; Corneliu Bjola, University of Oxford; David Gorman, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue; Antonio Missiroli, NATO; Colette Mazzucelli, New York University; Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education of United Arab Emirates; Marko Grobelnik, AI Eesearcher at the Jožef Stefan Institute; Marcos Bonturi, OECD; Florian Bieber, University of Graz; Charlotte Ruhe, EBRD; Adil Najam, Boston University; Nikolaos Dimitriadis, Trizma Neuro; William Entriken, 0xcert; Patrick Cowden, Beyond Leadership; and Thomas Killion, Chief Scientist at NATO.
Focus 3: Strong representation of youth this year
For the past 8 years, the Forum has been accompanied by its younger brother, Young BSF, a meeting of young leaders who seek innovative solutions through vivid discussions and address burning global challenges. Over 70 participants from 30 countries will reconsider the concept of sustainable security and address the challenges of intergenerational cooperation, sustainable tourism, artificial intelligence, gender equality, security in the Western Balkans and the Mediterranean through 12 round tables and workshops. Special attention will be devoted to an inherent and urgently needed interregional cooperation that can lead to progress in democratisation, fight against corruption and terrorism, as well as adaptation and prevention of climate change. Strong interrelation between the topics of the BSF and Young BSF, which will take place from 7 to 9 September in Ljubljana, will for the first time in the history of the Forum result in discussions in Bled – namely, four young extraordinary leaders will participate as speakers in the main panels.
Numerous partnerships and diverse cooperation
The realisation of the Forum would not be possible without the support of the partners and sponsors. Among them are numerous institutional partners with whom we co-create expert side events and talks. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Centre for European Perspective established partnerships with the AmCham Slovenia, Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, Slovenian Tourism Board, Global Diplomacy Lab, Government Office for Slovenians Abroad, Government Office for Protection of Classified Information, ITF – Enhancing Human Security, IISG – Integrative Security Governance, European Network of Political Foundations, European Fund for the Balkans, US Department of State, DUTB, Doshisha University from Japan, Faculty of Social Sciences, Embassy of Italy in Ljubljana, 51st MOS Celje and Centre of Energy Efficiency Solutions. At the same time, the Forum is created and developed with the support of sponsors, including the strategic partners Generali, Riko, Telekom Slovenije and The Boston Consulting Group.
As a result of development, new partnerships and growth, the participation will meet last year’s records, including one third of participants from the civil society, one third from business and one third from the public sector.
