Alumni of the Open Society Foundations Scholarship Programs from Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, and Serbia gathered during the regional alumni conference that took place on 8th and 9th of June in Belgrade. The conference represents the final event within the project “Improving Policy Impact of the OSF Alumni Network in the Western Balkans” implemented by the Belgrade Open School (BOS) from November 2016 to September 2017 with the support of the Open Society Foundations.
During the two days of the conference, around 44 participants have discussed the role of the academic community and civil society in the process of creating evidence-based policies, as well as on possibilities for advocacy within Berlin Process, which is seen as the most relevant framework for the Western Balkan countries’ accession to the European Union (EU). Six research teams consisting of OSF alumni, have created policy briefs with recommendations for improving public policies in areas which are considered within the Berlin Process as highly important for fostering regional cooperation. Those areas include: 1) youth cooperation, 2) migration and border issues, and 3) energy, climate, and environment protection. Findings of research papers and recommendations intended for decision makers were presented during the Conference.
Besides OSF alumni, representatives of international organizations (UNHCR, Helvetas, the European fund for Balkans), public institutions (Commissariat for Refugees, Secretariat for Public Policies), the European Union (EU Delegation to Serbia), civil society organizations and science institutes have also participated in the Conference.
This is the second regional OSF alumni conference organized in Belgrade by BOS. BOS will proceed to create more space for the active contribution of OSF Alumni Network in creating public policies and regional cooperation in the Western Balkans.
Gallery with photographs from event is available here.