15. 3. 2019 | Albania - Election, PR
Click here to read the news in Slovenian language 
Strengthening democratic institutions is of utmost importance for Albania as a candidate country for EU membership. This process also includes elections and the electoral system, which are one of the cornerstones of democratic development and the rule of law. Transparency is crucial for the credibility of the elections. Due to the deficit in this area, further efforts are needed in Albania to support election management authorities and all other stakeholders such as citizens, NGOs, etc. A transparent electoral procedure is one in which the entire electoral process, including the announcement of results, is open to the control of stakeholders, political parties, election observers and voters who can independently verify whether the procedure is carried out in accordance with the procedures and there were no irregularities. Ensuring the transparency of elections helps to build trust and public confidence in the process, as voters have the means to verify the results, which are a precise reflection of people’s will. The efforts of the Albanian side for the reform of electoral law and the professionalization of the electoral administration are important elements of the entire process of advancement on the path to European integration.
The project relies on work already done in the years 2015-16 and is carried out in cooperation with the Albanian Central Electoral Commission and non-governmental organizations.
Project is focusing on the niche of the transparency of the elections and will provide Slovenian and other experiences in this field. Through the education of key actors, the project will contribute to the professionalization of the electoral administration before the Albanian local elections, which will take place on June 30th. A three (3) day workshop will be held between March 26-28, and in cooperation with Albanian NGOs the provision of transparency in local elections will be monitored. On this base the recommendations will be made to ensure further transparency of elections.
The project is part of the program activities that are carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and is financed from the funds of International Development Cooperation.
14. 3. 2019 | European Digital Diplomacy Exchange, PR
Thursday marked the first day of the European Digital Diplomacy Exchange Road show program, with a training organised in Sarajevo. The activities took place in the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina from morning to midday. Participants joining the event came from different ministries and state institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but surely had at least one thing in common: interest for the fast developing subject of digital diplomacy and enthusiasm to learn new skills through the sharing of best practices.
The event was opened with an introduction to the past work of the overall project. As mentioned by Ms Ingrid Omahna from the Centre for European Perspective, who has been closely involved with the project from the beginning, the aim of the European Digital Diplomacy Exchange is bringing different stakeholders, public affairs officers of state institutions, PR representatives of ministries and other decision makers to the same table, to work on the challenges and opportunities the digital world enables. The project has already included representatives from multiple countries and different institutions in past trainings, meanwhile the road show training will be composed of two day trainings for individual countries.
The sessions on Thursday were initially based on a historical overlook of the media space, it´s developments, opportunities/challenges and also a sneak peek to the future possibilities. Certainly technological developments, among which the rising popularity of social media platforms is only one piece of the puzzle, have brought a considerable change in the lives of people. The environment that enabled the public audiences to only be a listener in traditional media monologues in the past have grown into a dialogue, that enables active citizens. This positive change also brings a challenge for state institutions who need to actively deliver on their promise for active representation of their audiences, also through participation in social media platforms and other public sphere channels in order to contribute to a future that listens to audiences, and embraces a future closest to the interest of all the citizens.
The participants were also included in a workshop on rhetoric and polished their communication skills. Both the lectures were presented by Mr Matt Jacobs coming from the U.S. State Department, who has also worked on the project from the very beginning. Today´s programme was also spiced with the experience of Dr Jasmin Mujanović, from Elon University, who has gained the attention of the general public through his activism and participation on social media, and New media editor Mr Alexandar Brezar. Both speakers, who joined the discussion in a digital fashion, with an online conference call, presented their personal overview on the challenges, threats but also opportunities new digital trends have in store for the digital diplomacy of tomorrow.
The training on Friday marked the second and last day of the event in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The program of the day was composed of two discussions. The first was organized by Matt Jacobs on how to develop effective messaging campaigns. Effective communicating of anyone working in the digital realm is highly dependent on their skills and experience to understand how this fast evolving realm is developing. Some of the messages of the day were how to approach communication with a structured and conceptual way. The personnel working as PR officers or those, who are a digital ombudsman of their institution in another way should also strive to work on the long run and not only focus on the audiences engagement on particular messages that can be highly rewarding or disappointing. As Mr Jacobs stated, this is a constant balance between output (actual posts, number of engaging articles) and outcomes (the wished engagement of audiences and their feedback on a certain issue), that should be kept in balance. One thing is certain, many output does not necessarily correlate to massive outcome, but without output thinking of any outcome would be fruitless. Reaching the right balance therefore rests in the hands of each institution, to find a recipe that fits their needs and especially the needs of their audiences.
The second discussion tackled Digital disinformation, an elephant in the room of today’s reality and societies. As Mr Darjan Vujica said, on the base of his wide experience on this topic from his analytical work in the U.S. Department of State, disinformation is not new. It has been present in past timelines, only using different platforms. Today´s technically led world only enables much more opportunities for individuals who work with this type of false informing, making disinformation as easy as ever. The topic revolved on the experience of the speaker, sharing of good practices and the participation of the training participants that exposed the challenges they are experiencing. The participants reached out to the trainers during the overall training, touching upon topics from how to develop a more supportive environment for those working as digital diplomats within their institutions, to being very practical on how to build engagement and bring as much of their audiences to the table, to build transparency to the real extent of the name. The program that ended on this day left everyone, both trainers as participants, more informed about digital diplomacy and their work within this fascinating field, learning from one another to tackle the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow in a more constructive manner.
13. 3. 2019 | European Digital Diplomacy Exchange, PR
The European Digital Diplomacy Exchange project is proud to present the Western Balkan Road Show activities unfolding this March. The series of interlinked events occurring in different countries and cities are a continuation of a prosperous cooperation built in the Enhancing Digital Diplomacy Activities project, that was implemented in the years 2017 and 2018. The lather sought to bring together PR representatives, members of the private sector, members of academia and many other experts working in the field of digital diplomacy with the aim of composing a functioning community, that could share experience, learn from their best practices or mistakes and most importantly build a better and more inclusive future for all of the communities combined.
The project is organised as a joint cooperation between the U.S. Department of state, the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana and the Centre for European Perspective. The activities are only the beginning of a series of events that will take place in the year 2019, building on past experience and motivation to contribute to the rapidly changing field of digital diplomacy.
11. 3. 2019 | PR, WB6 Startup academy
A colorful group of representatives of incubators, accelerators, universities and other support institutions, which are working to improve the environment in which innovative business ideas emerge and are developed, gathered in Tirana on 7th and 8th of March. They represented all major players from the six Western Balkan countries. The Center for European Perspective (CEP) in cooperation with the German development agency GIZ from Sarajevo organized the first of the four workshops that will be held in the region this spring. A two-day interactive workshop took place in Tirana, where many positive and encouraging ideas were heard on the possibilities of cooperation, networking and thus the expansion of support for young entrepreneurs in each of the six Western Balkan countries. We are pleased that the participants were also welcomed by the Deputy Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia in Podgorica, Milena Radenković, who emphasized the commitment of Slovenia to the region, youth and economic prosperity, and this project perfectly combines all three dimensions.
The main purpose of the workshop was to present to the actors of the supportive environment new and effective ways of encouraging, supporting and developing the entrepreneurial ideas that are developed in their environment. Three experienced experts were perfectly complemented by their diverse experience in sales, investment and the creation of a supportive environment. Slovenian experience was presented by Jakob Gajšek from the Ljubljana University Incubator, which provides the widest support to startups and young entrepreneurs who want to test their ideas in the economy.
Second workshop will be held in Nikšić, Montenegro, on March 28-29 and focused on pitching and fundraising skills of the startups.
Project is part of the activities that are through the Slovenia’s Development Cooperation financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia.
Click here to read more about the project in Slovenian language.
6. 3. 2019 | Perspektive/Perspectives, PR
Discover our Perspectives, which is a compilation of policy papers and analytical pieces from various policy experts, academics and practitioners. We are grateful for their invaluable contributions.
Centre for European Perspective (CEP) has had a standing commitment to fostering diverse perspectives and exchange of views in the field of security, foreign policy and economy ever since its foundation. As we are entering an era of increased global instability and insecurity, the policy decisions we make today will impact the lives of our future generations. Prosperity, security, natural resources and freedom should not be taken for granted. Slovenia, as an international actor, needs to have a clear vision of the future it wants and it needs to be shrewd about pursuing policies which will bring that vision to life, the success of which much depends on external forces and trends.
It is therefore crucial that we recognize the challenges ahead as well as seize opportunities. Perspectives (Perspektive) offer just that – perspectives of developing global geopolitical, security and economic trends as well as specific policy recommendations on how to address them. They are meant to provoke critical thought and enhance discussions on these important issues which will shape our common future.
You are kindly invited to read our March 2019 edition and encouraged to contribute to Perspectives (Perspektive) in the future.
6. 3. 2019 | Macedonia - Finance, PR
The Centre of European Perspective was honored to welcome Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani at Jable Castle on his official visit to Slovenia.
He was welcomed by Program Director Andreja Dolničar Jeraj and CEP Executive Director Katja Geršak. The discussion revolved around cooperation between the Republic of Northern Macedonia and CEP. CEP is currently involved with the implementation of Slovenian Development Assistance to Northern Macedonia and is jointly working with multiple projects. Both sides also expressed certainty that the joint work on the accession of North Macedonia to the EU will be intensified in the future. We look forward to continue our fruitful cooperation.
