schoolofpolitics.org/en/node/562
The program’s specific objectives are to encourage the active civic positions of young political and civic leaders through their participation in public debates on salient political issues
The training under this project aims at giving the participants knowledge of and skills in the political processes that may lead to increasing public trust in political parties and state institutions by reconnecting the political elites with the publics in Southeast Europe and to the development of common visions on problems of key importance for the region. The program’s specific objectives are to encourage the active civic positions of young political and civic leaders through their participation in public debates on salient political issues; promote constructive dialogue between political parties, civil society and the media in Southeast Europe; stimulate an active exchange of experience and ideas for the democratic development of the region; develop leadership skills of a group of young political and civic leaders from Southeast Europe and their ability to think and act more as statesmen than politicians.
May – November 2007
Three training courses are conducted under the program. Within the framework of each course, a public discussion on a salient topic is held. Prior to the beginning of each course, the participants are asked to prepare short papers (2 to 5 pages long) on the topics of the public discussions and send them to the Bulgarian School of Politics. These essays serve as a basis for the discussions. Besides the trainees, participants in the public discussions are also politicians, experts and journalists from the host countries.
Training courses and public discussion topics:
• Political Democracy and the Political Process – Skopje, Macedonia, 20 – 24 June 2007; public discussion topic: “New Populism and Nationalism in the Balkans”
• Conflict Management and Negotiations – Zagreb, Croatia, 26 – 30 September 2007; public discussion topic: “Conflict Resolution within Political Parties”
• Regional Policy – Sofia, Bulgaria, 7 – 11 November 2007; public discussion topic: “Regional Cooperation: Development Perspectives for the Balkans”.
The School intends to continue with the previous year’s practice under the program of organizing working visits to various municipal and state institutions in the host countries: city halls, parliaments, presidencies, and councils of ministers. These working visits were considered as indispensable from an educational point of view by the participants in the last year’s program. The participants, who comply with all the requirements and criteria of the program, who duly send their essays on the public discussion topics prior to the beginning of each seminar, and who successfully complete the entire training receive certificates for specialization in political management from the New Bulgarian University and the Council of Europe.
The Program targets representatives of parliamentary represented political parties, the media, public institutions, and NGOs from the region of Southeast Europe: Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, and Kosovo/UNMIK. The number of participants is 35. For the purpose of attaining the project goals, the various courses are held in different countries of the region. This helps the cross-cultural learning in the native environment of each participant.
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