Throughout 24-26 November 2016, the Civil Society Forum (CSF) of the Western Balkan Summit Series took place in Skopje under the title “Reclaiming Democracy, Europe, and Social Justice”. The event gathered approximately 100 representatives of national and regional civil society organizations, analysts, activists, advocates and state institutions from the countries in the Western Balkans and beyond, including Sanja Bogatinovska – BCSDN’s Junior Policy and Advocacy Officer on Civil Society Development.
As a joint initiative of the European Fund for the Balkans, ERSTE Stiftung, European Alternatives, and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, the CSF Skopje edition was organized in cooperation with Macedonian Center for European Training, Youth Educational Forum and Young European Federalists – Macedonia. The Skopje edition participants discussed the relevant issues: What kind of re-claiming of hijacked terms (Democracy, Europe, and Social Justice) do we need and how can we achieve it? Do the alternatives exist only in theory or they can become vital sources of change in the societies in the region? The CSF Skopje aimed at uniting fellow citizens in thinking, providing food-for-thought and motivation for action by collaborating and creating new networks, in raising awareness for major concerns and in creating and effectively communicating a new Vision of Democracy in Southeast Europe.
The Civil Society Forum series is focused on establishing a sustainable and relevant second-track platform in the Berlin Process which creates impulses for both decision-makers and wider European debates. Finally, the Civil Society Forums have to be recognized as a relevant segment for the governments and politicians in the region and to continuously create the urge to maintain closer cooperation with the civil society in the future.
More information is available here.