Youth - CEP - Page 5

YOUNG BSF 2019: APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN

20. 5. 2019 | Bled Strategic Forum, PR, Youth

The Young Bled Strategic Forum (Young BSF) is an annual conference bringing together young leaders to engage in lively discussion 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, influencers, thinkers and social activists and thus, offering them a platform to share their visions, exchange ideas and connect with one-another. The Young BSF 2019 will host young leaders under the title “Youth as a (future) (re)source”.

Young BSF 2019 will reflect the topics of the BSF and focus on sources and resources of (in)stability and look up at young people as a (re)source for the future. The young people that will attend this year’s edition of Young BSF will prove youth is a valuable resource in several ways. Young people are not solely valued as potential contributors to society, in their status as adults-to-be, but also in their present status as youth, whereby they contribute to society for the very reason that they are young, full of innovative ideas and able of thinking out of the box.

Special emphasis at the Young Bled Strategic Forum will be given to the cross-regional cooperation. A new generation of leaders will demonstrate that such cooperation is not only necessary, but rather inevitable for positive next steps in democratization, advancement of human rights, sustainable development, women empowerment, counter-terrorism and climate change. To do this, young leaders have to learn from their peers from different regions, share their knowledge, ideas and know-how. Sustainable regional cooperation programs are the key towards a comprehensive, inclusive, and innovative approach that engages youth and prepares agents for change.

Strong, committed and inclusive democratic youth leadership will be of crucial importance for the process of democratization, conscientious European integration and future EU expansion in general. In our efforts to build a structured regional cooperation we must therefore bring young leaders on board in order to build tighter ties among civil societies, offer room for youth-to-youth exchanges, and enable a continuous flow of information and knowledge among the EU member states and non-EU states.

Youth, being the essential cornerstone of dynamic civil societies, should be given an opportunity to:

Contribute to the regional integration,
Be the herald of European values and democratic leadership with dedication and perseverance,
Identify topics of common interest and tackle issues of shared concern for communities in the region.

Young leaders will also be selected to participate as speakers at the main event. This practice has proven its worth in past editions and to the benefit of BSF, as it brought innovative solutions and shed a light on youth perspectives. Youth will through active participation at BSF have an opportunity to meet the leaders from the governmental, business and nongovernmental 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, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Ukraine.

The selected participants are expected to join in the extensive preparations and pre-event online meetings. Please note that the official language of the event is English, and that this is a prerequisite for participation in our activities. Only selected participants will be notified.

Apply by 10th of June 2019 at the latest.

For any additional inquiries, do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]

ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE LAST WORKSHOP IN THE PROMOTION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP BETWEEN YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE WESTERN BALKANS

10. 5. 2019 | PR, Slovenian Development Assistance, WB6 Startup academy, Youth

Click here to read more about the project in Slovenian language.

Center for European Perspective is this year, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and in cooperation with the GIZ Regional Office in Sarajevo, implementing a project ‘WB6 Startup Academy,’ whose main purpose is to empower innovative young entrepreneurs from all six Western Balkan countries to strengthen their knowledge and increase the opportunities for realizing their business idea.

The first three workshops were held in the region (Tirana, Niksic and Pristina), and the last one will take place in Slovenia. On Monday, May 20^th, 25 young people, representing 15 entrepreneurial ideas from all six Western Balkan countries, will meet with the Business Angels of Slovenia in the ABC accelerator, where the 8 best will be able to present their entrepreneurial idea to investors. Investors will help them improve ideas, a business model or marketing strategy with critical comments and tips. The group will move to Maribor, where the international conference Podim will be held on May 21 and 22, which is the regional largest conference for start-ups, investors and other experts. The young entrepreneurs will be able to present their ideas at the event, look for potential partners, investors and learn a lot through listening to various lectures from world-renowned experts. One of the main dimensions of the whole workshop is also the peer-to-peer networking of young people, who often face similar challenges in the region.

SLOGA with young entrepreneurs on sustainable products and services

7. 5. 2019 | Global Education Network Europe, PR, Slovenian Development Assistance, Youth

Click here to read more about the project in Slovenian language.

As part of the project ‘Global Responsibility for the Future’ on Friday, April 26, 2019, the SLOGA Platform conducted a global learning workshop for young entrepreneurs who are involved in the program of the youth entrepreneurship accelerator Ustvarjalnik. The topic of the workshop was fair trade.

Young entrepreneurs have learned the principles of fair trade and decent work, and what needs to be taken into account when planning and implementing an entrepreneurial idea so that they will not exploit people, harm nature or overuse natural resources.

The purpose of the global learning workshop combined with entrepreneurship was to invite young to start thinking wider about the impact of their product /service or components that are required to produce their product.

Through experiential activities the participants discussed the shortcomings of fast fashion and alternative methods of production – fair trade products and services – and were invited to form their ideas in line with principles of fair trade. In the discussion they examined how their products could be even more sustainable. SLOGA platform also offered young entrepreneurs the possibility of individual counselling, which some of the workshop participants have already used.

More and more young people in Slovenia are involved in business workshops and activities that encourage development of entrepreneurship. However, such activities devote little attention to the global dimension and sustainable development. The main purpose of those workshops is to provide, through the support and mentoring of representatives of NGOs, an opportunity for young people to acquire the skills needed to promote a sustainable lifestyle, including respect for human rights, gender equality, promoting the culture of peace and non-violence, citizenship of the world and to respect cultural diversity.

Participants of the workshop were as well acquainted with the possibility that their ideas will be competing for the award that will be granted to the most ethical idea at the end of the project.

The project is financed by the Global Education network Europe – GENE. The project is part of the CEP program activities co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the scope of Slovenia’s development cooperation.

Source: SLOGA Platform

New faces of Western Balkans politics: continuity or change?

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.

Young BSF: Mediterranean Dimension of the OSCE

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.

Young BSF: Conflict Prevention, Peace Building, Peacebuilding and Mediation

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.

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