The International Institute for Peace (IIP), in collaboration with the Austrian Institute for International Affairs, Karl-Renner Institut, European Movement Albania and the National Youth Congress, Albania, cordially invite you to the panel discussion:
Young Generations for the New Balkans 2030: Towards Alternative Horizons
Date: Friday, February 7th, 2020
Time: 10:00 am
Venue: Rogner Hotel, Bulevardi Deshmoret e Kombit, 1000 Tirana
Welcome:
· Hannes Swoboda, President of the International Institute for Peace, former MEP
Moderator:
· Gledis Gjipali, European Movement Albania
Panel:
· Aulone Memeti, ADMOVERE, Prishtina
Kosovo-Albania relations
· Dafina Peci, RYCO, Tirana
Youth and the European integration of the Western Balkans
· Stefani Spirovska, Youth Educational Forum, Skopje
Education reform in the region
· Maja Bjelos, Belgrade Center for Security Studies
Serbia & Kosovo relations, foreign power´s influence, gender and security
· Anja Jokic, National Youth Council of Serbia
Inclusin of young people in decision-making processes
Content:
Caught in a vicious circle between old-fashioned backwards oriented politics and nationalism on one hand and the lack of economic, educational and social perspectives on the other, young generations in the Balkans seem to be losing patience and when possible emigrating to the West in search of a better life. UN agencies and experts speak about a massive demographic revolution going on in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, changing societies more than many other developments in the contemporary history of this region. In parallel, democracies are still vulnerable, the EU integration process is not delivering fast results, and alternative horizons are not easy to find. Our initiative is turning the flashlights on youth, their progressive stances and hopes for the future. It wants to ask tough questions about the region, about educational opportunities and limits, about reconciliation, EU hopes and possible illusions. Based on sound and sober assessments of the situation, we want to look forward, sketch alternative horizons, and look for new options for South-Eastern Europe’s way beyond emigration.
The public discussion in Tirana is the next step of the initiative “Young Generations for the New Balkans 2030: Towards Alternative Horizons” that has already visited Vienna, Pristina, Skopje, Belgrade, Paris, The Hague, Berlin and Brussels. In the last three years, around 20 people from the region below the age of 35 have been working on a fresh alternative Vision for the Western Balkans for 2030.
At the public discussion in Tirana we would like to share this vision and discuss it with a wide range of experts, diplomats, politicians, think tankers, students and other stakeholders in Albania.
The discussions and results of the regional events will be taken further to European capitals and the region, first to Zagreb (during Croatia’s EU presidency in the first half of 2020) and Sarajevo – then to Berlin and Vienna. Visits and events in other European cities – among others, also in the context of EU presidencies – will feature young participants from the region acting as ambassadors of their respective countries and the region as a whole. They will share a fresh and alternative view on the Western Balkans with the European public. By means of continuous engagement throughout 2020 and beyond, we will keep working on promoting alternatives to the status quo. We will also embark upon the real and tough work to make alternative horizons possible.
The discussion will be held in English with simultaneous translation into Albanian!
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