Felix Meritis - Europees centrum voor kunst, cultuur en wetenschap

Forum Belgrade

Forum Belgrade is building on the success and the supra-regional influence of the first and second Forum Belgrade held in March 2007 and October 2008. It aims at strenghtening the dialogue between civil society and political decision makers. The Forum Belgrade serves as a role model for the whole Balkan region and exemplifies the message that such an activity organized by local civil society initiatives in cooperation with European partners can bring about stabilizing effects and practical change. It shows that collaboration between civil society and (local) authorities works and triggers a snowball effect in the region and beyond. Meanwhile, Forum Belgrade is developing into a permanent initiative and constituting an International Advisory Board including political decision-makers and personalities from culture, business and the media from Serbia and Europe.

Forum Belgrade - A Soul for Europe is an initiative of the Cultural Front Belgrade in co-operation with the A Soul for Europe initiative, Auropolis and The Felix Meritis Foundation.

Forum Belgrade 2008
 II edition. 3rd and 4th October 2008.

Forum Belgrade 2008 was the second Forum in the Serbian capital and is a continuation of the process that started with the first Forum Belgrade - "A Soul for Europe" held in March 2007 and attended by over 250 participants from 18 different countries. Following the model of the Forum Belgrade conference, other Forums were held in Tbilisi (October 2007),  Pécs, the European Capital of Culture for 2010 (November 2007), and Skopje (April 2008). In other European cities, too - Porto, Prague, Kiev, Lyon, Istanbul - civil-society initiatives are seeking to establish a Forum along the same lines.

Forum Belgrade - A Soul for Europe 2008 session in Palata Srbija.

Forum Belgrade 2008 brought together once more representatives of civil society, culture, business and policy-making at the local, regional and European level, including members of the European Parliament and the European Commission to discuss the role of civil society in building democratic structures and in fostering the economic and social upswing in Europe. The aim is to develop a "culture of democracy" and to strengthen the dialogue between civil society and the political level. The Forum Belgrade initiators strongly believe that gathering all available elements of the SEE civil society, confronting them with the wider political, economic and cultural actors is the first step in building a healthy and responsible society as an integral part of a stable Europe.

Dejan Ubovic, one of Forum Belgrade - A Soul for Europe initiators

Invited panellists included: Sepp Kusstatscher and Jelko Kacin, Members of the European Parliament; Jan Truszczynski, Deputy Director General Enlargement, European Commission; Miklos Marschall, Transparency International; Erhard Busek, Special Coordinator of the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI); Branka Prpa, Director of the Historical Archive of Belgrade; Helena Drnovšek-Zorko, Head of the Division for International Cultural Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Slovenia; Goran Svilanović, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia.

More information: mail@forumbelgrade.net

Forum Belgrade 2007.
30-31 March 2007, Sava Centre, Belgrade

The Forum Belgrade initiators strongly believe that gathering all available elements of the South Eastern Europe cultural scene, confronting them with the regional and European political and social actors is the first step in building a healthy and responsible society as an integral part of a stable Europe.

Various European policy-makers, cultural operators, business representatives, local and national politicians participated in the first edition of the Forum Belgrade.
The Forum Belgrade initiators are working to guarantee that the initiative will be a long term one in order to foster the structural and sustainable development of the South-Eastern region and whole of Europe.

Below in "project attachments" you can find the press release, conclusions from the rapporteur, The Forum Belgrade Declaration (signed by prominent European politicians) and the speeches delivered by Commissioner Meglena Kuneva.

Forum Belgrade A Soul for Europe 2007 session in the Sava Centre

External Links: http://www.forumbelgrade.net/ - http://www.berlinerkonferenz.eu/

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