Youth Agency and New Political Imaginaries in the Western Balkans: Project Results Showcase

Vehap Kola

Eco-Digital Imaginaries and Youth Agency in the Western Balkans is a longitudinal qualitative study of how young people imagine, and try to build political and ecological alternatives under democratic strain, economic precarity, and accelerating digital platform influence. The project focuses on “eco-digital imaginaries”: future-oriented narratives where climate concerns, everyday livelihood pressures, and digitally mediated public life collide.

It asks three core questions: (1) how youth articulate desirable futures (political, ecological, and European) and how these change over time; (2) how platform dynamics (visibility, algorithms, harassment, misinformation, moderation) shape what feels thinkable and doable; and (3) when imaginaries translate into concrete practices, such as organizing, coalition-building, civic participation, or policy-relevant proposals, and when they stall.

Methodologically, the study combines (a) longitudinal mobile audio diaries (weekly short voice notes), (b) small deliberative futures workshops (to test and refine ideas with participants), and (c) light digital trace ethnography to contextualize narratives without expanding data collection beyond what is ethically necessary. Outputs include a theory contribution on how eco-digital imaginaries form and travel into action, an anonymized longitudinal qualitative dataset, and public-facing deliverables such as a workshop toolkit, a policy brief, and a lightweight prototype aligned with a policy hackathon.

Vehap Kola

Dr. Vehap Kola is an Assistant Professor of Management at the University of New York Tirana and an organization studies scholar focused on future-making: how people and organizations build futures through stories, imagination, and selection mechanisms that turn ideas into “rules” in strategy and policy.

He holds a PhD in Management & Organization from Marmara University (2022), where he examined future imaginaries in public strategy-making through the Tirana Master Plan (TR030). He later conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Cagliari (2024–2025) on how entrepreneurs and venture capitalists prospect desirable solutions to grand challenges, drawing on Doughnut Economics and multi-modal qualitative materials.

At RECAS, he develops a comparative, ethics-led program on youth agency and eco-digital imaginaries in the Western Balkans. Methodologically, he combines longitudinal mobile audio diaries, deliberative futures workshops (including backcasting and layered analysis), and light, transparent digital trace ethnography to track how imaginaries evolve over time and when they translate into action, coalitions, and policy-relevant outputs.

vehapkola@unyt.edu.al

Vanja Ashkapova

How do young people in North Macedonia imagine their migration futures? And how can their voices reshape migration governance in the Western Balkans? This research builds on the ongoing North Macedonia anticipatory governance pilot, the project focuses on one of the region’s highest youth emigration contexts to examine how individual mobility scenarios intersect with demographic challenges and new political imaginaries. Through in‑depth interviews and participatory scenario workshops with 20–25 young people in Skopje, the study documents youth migration scenarios, elicits their own policy recommendations, and tests small‑scale foresight methods that connect youth futures thinking to formal policy processes. The project treats youth as policy experts and political agents rather than passive targets of intervention, asking what governance approaches, structural changes, and participatory mechanisms they see as necessary to remain in or return to North Macedonia. Expected outputs include a policy brief for national and international stakeholders (e.g. the Migration Policy 2026–2030), and a framework for embedding youth voices in migration foresight contributing to more inclusive, future‑oriented and regionally relevant migration policies.

Vanja Ashkapova

Vanja Ashkapova is a researcher specializing in governance, anticipatory policymaking, and migration, with a focus on the Western Balkans and North Macedonia. She is currently a PhD candidate in Political Sciences at the South East European University in North Macedonia, where her doctoral research examines anticipatory governance approaches to migration policy. She holds a master’s degree in communication from Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje.

With more than a decade of experience in European projects, civil society, international organizations, and the UN in North Macedonia, she has worked on initiatives related to human mobility, human rights, and refugee protection. Her work is strongly oriented toward engaging diverse stakeholders, building coalitions and alliances across institutions and communities, and fostering inclusive dialogue with state actors, civil society, academia, and affected populations.

Her professional experience includes several years within the United Nations system and other international organizations, where she supported programmes focused on asylum and refugee rights, community-based protection, and strengthening national institutional capacities. Through this work, she has developed in-depth knowledge of the interplay between international norms, national policymaking, and local implementation practices, particularly in complex and politically sensitive environments.

She brings a practice-informed and context-sensitive perspective to research and public policymaking, grounded in long-term engagement with diverse actors, institutions, and policy processes.

askapova@gmail.com

Srđan Kukolj

This research examines how delayed responses to environmental risks in Southeast Europe reshape youth rights and political practices through eco digital discourses. It is grounded in the premise that ecological postponement constitutes a violation of intergenerational equity, producing long term consequences for public health, democratic participation, and social belonging. The study focuses on how young people experience environmental exposure as a form of vulnerability and how these experiences are translated into political meaning and claims for accountability in digital spaces. Drawing on interviews, an online survey, and digital ethnography conducted across eight Southeast European states, the research analyses how youth articulate imaginaries of belonging, ownership, and aspiration in response to ecological risk. Particular attention is given to the metaphors and narratives through which environmental harm is framed as a rights based concern rather than a technical policy issue. The project demonstrates how eco digital practices enable young people to reposition themselves as producers of political knowledge and contributors to democratic renewal, offering insights relevant to environmental health policy and youth participation in the region.

Srđan Kukolj

Srđan Kukolj is a public health expert and policy analyst based in Belgrade, with more than twenty years of professional experience in Europe. His career has been firmly rooted in public health practice, where he has worked extensively on issues of population health, health systems, and access to services, before progressively concentrating on environmental health policy as a central field of expertise. This trajectory has enabled him to develop a deeper understanding of how environmental risks translate into public health outcomes and how institutional responses shape long term health and rights implications. His analytical work is informed by a rights based perspective, ethics, with particular attention to vulnerable populations, intergenerational equity, social interactions and the democratic implications of environmental health risks. His work combines applied public health research with policy analysis and public health management, with a strong emphasis on translating evidence into governance processes. He has coordinated and managed complex national and regional initiatives addressing the health consequences of environmental exposure, particularly in relation to air pollution and delayed ecological action. Across these projects, he has engaged closely with public institutions, academia, civil society organisations, and international partners, contributing to policy development and institutional accountability.

k.srdjan@gmail.com

René Bogović

The current project is a feasibility pilot addressing my proposition that the recent rise of new minority speakers of Italian and Slovene among majority youth on both sides of the former Yugoslav border disrupts and creolizes established hegemonic ethnolinguistic boundaries. Focusing on Croatia, I will conduct 3-5 in-depth interviews with recent graduates of the Italian High School in Rijeka with no Italophone family members to delineate how these youth construct, maintain, and disrupt ethnolinguistic boundaries. I will then examine the viability of these identitarian disruptions as blueprints for transethnic youth solidarity across Southeastern Europe, including their potential to address crises in governance and environmental degradation.

René Bogović

René Bogović is a recent PhD graduate in sociology from the University of Toronto. Building upon his background in documentary filmmaking, psychology, and languages, René crosses disciplinary boundaries by integrating historical analysis and participatory methods into his immersive ethnographies. A child of the Balkans educated across India, Italy, and Canada, he strives to establish theoretically and politically actionable transregional conversations. Connecting unlikely contexts such as the multiracial Afrikaans speech community in South Africa and the multilingual Northern Adriatic borderlands between Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy, his work centers language, multilingualism, and creolization as forces for inclusive group boundary-making.

rene.bogovic@mail.utoronto.ca

Nemanja Batrićević

The success of democracy heavily depends on citizens’ engagement in the democratic process and their attitudes towards democracy. Rather than existing in isolation, democratic beliefs form a network of interconnected attitudes known as the democratic belief system (DBS). Understanding the structure of DBS across different age cohorts is crucial for assessing youth movements’ abilities to mobilize wider public against the erosion of democratic institutions and norms. This research project proposes conceptualizing DBS as a network of attitudes and analyzes its structure (density, consistency, centrality) in order to tackle a number of previously unanswered questions: How similar is the structure of DBS between countries of the WB? How coherent is DBS across age cohorts within WB countries? How youth’s vision of democracy affects the pattern of political participation and society’s resilience to democratic backsliding?

Project proposes comparative analysis of DBS, composed of eight dimensions (features of democracy), using European Social Survey (ESS) Rounds 6 and 10, which is a rare example of international survey containing comparable survey items on evaluation of democracy in the Western Balkan countries.

Nemanja Batrićević

Nemanja Batrićević is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Montenegro. He holds PhD in Comparative Politics from the Central European University. His primary interests include voting behaviour, psychology of group relations, nationalism and democratization. In terms of scope, although not exclusively, the focus of his research is mostly on the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe. During his studies, he also specialized in the field of quantitative research method in social sciences. At the Faculty of Political Science, he teaches courses Political System of Montenegro, Comparative Public Policy, Methodology in Political Science and Advanced Methods of Political Science Research. His previous academic work on has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Democratization, East European Politics, Politics, Europe-Asia Studies and Social Justice Research.

nemanja.batricevic@gmail.com

Julija Perhat

Speaking Futures: Youth, Slurs, and the Politics of Language examines how young people in Croatia and the wider Western Balkans use, interpret, and contest slurs as part of their everyday and online linguistic practices. Positioned at the intersection of philosophy of language and political epistemology the project investigates slurs not only as offensive expressions but as tools through which youth negotiate identity, belonging, and political possibility. Recent national data showing the widespread presence of hate speech among Croatian youth, combined with escalating uses of slurs in public and digital spaces, underscore the urgency of this inquiry. Digital platforms further complicate these dynamics: the rapid circulation of slurs through memes, videos, and viral posts intersects with shifting moderation policies, enabling new—and at times more permissive—forms of political expression.

Focusing on youth agency, the project explores how slurs shape boundaries of inclusion and exclusion, reinforce or challenge nationalist narratives, and participate in political polarization. A central component is a bilingual survey conducted in Croatia and Serbia, designed to document the frequency and contexts of slur encounters, identify which slurs are perceived as most and least offensive, and capture youth reflections on how such language relates to nationalism, Europe, and community belonging. Comparative and interpretive analyses will illuminate both cross-linguistic patterns and culturally specific meanings.

By integrating empirical data with conceptual analysis, the project offers a new lens for understanding how linguistic practices influence youth political imaginaries in a region marked by historical tensions, democratic fragility, and evolving digital governance. The findings will contribute to academic scholarship as well as policy-oriented discussions through public presentations and collaborative workshops. Ultimately, the project aims to generate actionable insights into how slurs shape youth culture and political engagement, and how more inclusive and participatory futures in the Western Balkans might be imagined.

Julija Perhat

Julija Perhat earned her PhD in Philosophy from the University of Rijeka in 2025. Her interdisciplinary research sits at the intersection of philosophy of language, epistemology, and political philosophy, with a central focus on the ethical, semantic, and political implications of pejoratives, slurs, and the broader linguistic structures that influence social power dynamics.

She has authored several publications, co-edited an academic volume, co-authored a high-school textbook on Philosophy and has forthcoming research that continues to expand the theoretical landscape on slurs and polarization. She frequently presents at international conferences.

Perhat collaborates on the project Epistemic Challenges of Populism (University of Rijeka) and on the international project Learning Amidst Disinformation and Social Conflict, funded by research councils in the UK, Croatia, and Canada. She has also led several science-popularization projects aimed at strengthening public understanding of philosophical issues. She further deepened her research as a visiting researcher at the Institute of Philosophy (Slovak Academy of Sciences) in Bratislava, where she spent four months working within an international academic network.

She contributes to academic community building as course director of the Philosophy of Language and Linguistics conference in Dubrovnik and through her roles in research centers such as Center for Women’s Studies (Rijeka), HDAF (Rijeka) and Center for Language Research (Rijeka).

Julija.perhat@gmail.com

Jing Wu

This research project investigates the divergent manifestations of global youth climate activism in the post-socialist Balkans, focusing on the comparative cases of Slovenia and Serbia. Despite sharing a Yugoslav socialist heritage, these nations now navigate distinct political trajectories: Slovenia as a consolidated EU member and Serbia as a candidate country facing protracted accession negotiations. This divergence provides a unique lens to analyze how differing political ecologies and relationships with the European Union shape the narratives of the “green transition” on Europe’s periphery.

The research focuses on two movements, Mladi za podnebno pravičnost in Slovenia and Ekološki ustanak in Serbia. It analyses their official websites, Facebook pages and hashtag ecosystems (for example #FridaysForFuture, #NeDamoJadar, #EkološkiUstanak), treating these digital traces as sites where climate narratives are produced, circulated and contested. Combining digital ethnography with narrative analysis and critical discourse analysis, the project investigates how activists define problems and responsibilities, imagine “green futures,” and position themselves in relation to the state, corporations and the European Union.

Jing Wu

Jing Wu is a Ph.D. candidate in the field of Public Relations at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana. Her academic background is rooted in strategic communication and the analysis of digital public opinion. Before focusing on environmental issues, she established a strong track record in researching social media phenomena, employing semantic network and sentiment analysis to understand public discourse during health crises and uncertain times.

Building on her expertise in digital narratives and data-driven communication, her current research pivots to the climate crisis. Specifically, she is conducting a comparative digital ethnography on youth climate narratives in Slovenia and Serbia, investigating how digital platforms serve as arenas for constructing “green futures” in transitional political contexts.

Jing holds a Master of Marketing Communications from the University of Melbourne. Prior to her doctoral studies, she served as a Public Relations Director in the art and cultural enterprise in China, a role that grounded her academic inquiries in substantial industry practice.

jw0822@student.uni-lj.si

Dragana Mrvoš

In an ongoing ‘age of migration’, various studies measure the benefits and losses of migration in terms of monetary gains, while social capital (social remittances) remains a rather neglected aspect. Ideas about political remittances (as a particular subcategory of social remittances) as inherently ‘democratising’ also remain trapped in the notion that migrants ‘send back good norms’ from largely Global North to largely Global South contexts, rather than acknowledging ongoing circulation. To fill the gap in understanding the remittance patterns among migrants from their origin and destination contexts, this study will test the assumption of the democratising nature of political remittances from migrants living in consolidated, liberal democracies. In operationalizing the key term of democratic structures, this study will explore a pro-democratic push in the economy in addition to democracy in politics. Put differently, if the goal is to influence policy to democratise unequal power relations, a pro-democratic push shall be concerned with the struggle for democracy in politics and the economy. How does the migratory movement of youth, which is often provisional, impact the relations with authorities, identities, and politicised topics such as abortion laws, gender relations, political strategies of campaigning, and so on? What’s behind migrants’ assessments of the economy in the origin and destination context? What are their top economic concerns? What are the expectations and future imaginaries among youth migrants about the economy? By encompassing political and economic aspects as deeply intertwined, findings based on surveys and interviews with young migrants, individuals between the ages of 18 and 35 who voluntarily or involuntarily leave their country of origin (i.e., Serbia and Croatia) to study and work in Germany, Austria, and the United States, will shed more light to whether and how migration contributes to democratic change or prevents it from occurring.

Dragana Mrvoš

While growing up in Serbia and witnessing sweeping historical changes at the end of the 20^th century, including the fall of Communism and, in the case of former Yugoslavia, the formation of new nation-states through a series of brutal wars, I initially became interested in political theory and questions with respect to oppression. I came to understand that national oppression was one of the reasons for the country’s collapse, but not the only one. The economic disparity between more and less industrialized regions, and expansionist tendencies from different countries, came to full display by the 1990s. Then, in the field of political science during my graduate studies, I explored the transformations of socialism and its convergences with capitalism within broader global processes. Significant reforms were launched in both capitalist (neoliberalism) and socialist (perestroika) economies, and modern technology and communications made all of us uneasy neighbors, showing their lethal potential as well as liberating capabilities.

My dissertation followed in that vein of re-examining the power of technology. When the economic crisis of 2008 set the stage for the expansion of gig jobs, a widely contested debate sparked over the benefits and shortcomings that the new type of work brings and over the social implications that it has. My dissertation analyzed structural characteristics of the digital platform economy and the global political landscape increasingly riddled by crises. I aimed to help set the intellectual agenda for thinking about collective labor and grassroots organizing as economic and political emergencies unfold. Completed research also forged a new interpretation of flexibility and freedom on digital platforms and examined the relationship between material dispossession, social alienation, and labor organizing.

Recently, I extended my research into urban systems and a series of massive and parallel changes conditioned by the geographic dispersal of economic activities, integration of labor markets, and migration. As a part of the Fulbright Global Scholar Program 2024/2025, I undertook a 4-month-long empirical research project in collaboration with CAS SEE at the University of Rijeka (Croatia). This project aimed to understand how the City of Rijeka is restructured and reimagined from an industrial to a knowledge city, and the range of experiences of the labor migrants in the city’s transformation. Although the same imperative to work shapes migration from one state to another and from countryside to an urban center within a state, post-industrial transformation intensifies material disparity among different migrant groups, resulting in new types of social fabric, exclusion, and policy proposals.

As part of the 2025/2026 RECAS cohort, my primary interests will be in international migration, comparative evaluations and reflections on how things work ‘here’ and ‘there’ among migrants and whether migration contributes to democratic change in politics and economy or prevents it from occurring.

dragana.mrvos@gmail.com

Đorđe Krivokapić

Resistance Protocol: Modeling Youth Agency under Digital Authoritarianism

This project investigates how youth in hybrid regimes build collective capacity for democratic change using alternative communication technologies and decentralised mobilisation practices. Drawing on the case of recent student protests in Serbia, where young activists faced media capture, digital surveillance, and selective repression, the research examines both the fragility and transformative potential of youth agency in contemporary digital authoritarian contexts.

The project develops a tabletop simulation, Resistance Protocol, that models interactions between youth actors and regime forces, incorporating trust-building, secure communication, and decentralised coordination on one side, and repression, disinformation, coercion, and institutional capture on the other. The game will function simultaneously as an analytical model of dynamic power contestation and as a pedagogical tool supporting democratic resilience.

Combining theoretical insights from youth studies, digital authoritarianism, and serious games research with empirical case analysis and participatory workshops across the Western Balkans, the project will explore how youth imaginaries shape democratic futures and how hybrid regimes adapt to disrupt them. The simulation’s design will inform academic debates, policy discussions, and activist capacity-building, contributing to regionally grounded, globally relevant frameworks for strengthening democratic agency in the digital age.

Đorđe Krivokapić

Prof. Dr. Đorđe Krivokapić LL.M. is an Associate Professor of Information and Communication Technology Law at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade. He is the responsible professor for courses in the areas of information and communication technology law, data protection, business law, data & business ethics, business systems organisation, and human resource management within the curricula of the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, the Faculty of Medicine, and multidisciplinary studies at the University of Belgrade, as well as the Faculty of Drama Arts in Belgrade.

He holds a law degree from the University of Belgrade and a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh, USA. In 2016, he defended his PhD on internet defamation at the University of Belgrade. Prof. Krivokapić spent time furthering his education and preparing his doctoral dissertation at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School, USA, in 2010 and 2012.

Prof. Krivokapić co-founded the SHARE Foundation, where he led an interdisciplinary team advocating for public interests in online privacy, free speech, security, and open access to knowledge. He participated in more than a hundred projects and contributed to Share Lab research. a Over the last 8 years, he has hosted over 40 educational and research events in the area of digital rights at the Monastery of St. Anton in Perast, Montenegro, with more than 1,000 participants across all the continents. Prof. Krivokapić is also active in cultural heritage and creative industries, co-founding the Cultural Heritage Innovation Lab and serving as an active contributor to the Kototart Festival. He represented global civil society and academia at various forums such are OECD, OSCE and CoE, and also served as a Board Chair of the Open Society Foundation Serbia for six years.

In the last decade, Đorđe has served as an independent expert consultant to various start-ups, SMEs, corporations, public sector institutions, universities, think tanks, associations and international organizations. He is often engaged as a business and strategy mentor, community developer, policy advocate and consultant in areas of compliance, communication and organizational development. His primary fields of interest are the intersection of law and technology and the impact of emerging information technologies on society.

krivokapic@gmail.com

Borjan Gjuzelov

Exploring the Democratic Potential of Digital GenZs across Southeast Europe
This project examines how digitally embedded members of Generation Z make sense of democracy, autonomy, and civic action. While often portrayed as politically disengaged, many young people in Southeast Europe are increasingly integrated into global digital markets, gaining economic independence that does not automatically translate into political engagement. Using a qualitative, interpretative, and participatory research design, the study explores how Gen Z’s lived experiences shape political imaginaries, civic orientations, and democratic expectations. Through interviews, participatory workshops, and comparative analysis, the project generates empirically grounded insights relevant to youth studies, democratic theory, and policy debates on democratic renewal in hybrid regimes.

Borjan Gjuzelov

Borjan Gjuzelov is a political scientist specialising in informality, authoritarianism and good governance. He holds a PhD from Queen Mary University of London, where he also taught political analysis as a teaching assistant. He has authored and contributed to numerous academic and policy publications and has collaborated with a wide range of universities, organisations, and institutions, including University College London, King’s College London, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, the National Democratic Institute, the Open Government Partnership, the Economist Intelligence Unit, the OSCE, UNDP, and HELVETAS. He currently works as a freelance consultant and serves as a senior researcher at the Skopje-based think tank Institute for Democracy “Societas Civilis” Skopje.

borjan.gjuzelov@gmail.com

Anxhela Lepuri

This research explores how young people in the Municipality of Prishtina use conceptual metaphors to articulate their understanding of democracy, the EU integration process, and their imagined social and political future. By examining metaphorical expressions in youth discourse, the study seeks to reveal how figurative language reflects emotions such as hope, disappointment, and resistance, as well as how it shapes young people’s perceptions of institutions and society. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the project combines semi-structured interviews with an online questionnaire to gather both in-depth and broader data from participants aged 18–25. The analysis follows Conceptual Metaphor Theory to identify and classify metaphorical patterns and interpret their political and cultural meanings. The study is expected to uncover dominant conceptual metaphors that illuminate how youth imagine democracy and their collective future, highlighting variations across social and educational backgrounds. Beyond its linguistic contribution, the project offers a valuable perspective for understanding youth political imagination in Kosovo, providing insights that can inform more inclusive institutional practices and youth-centered policymaking.

Anxhela Lepuri

Anxhela Lepuri is a lecturer at the Department of Albanian Language, University of Tirana, and a doctoral researcher in Albanology at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Her work explores the intersections of language, culture, and identity in Albanian-speaking communities, with a focus on sociolinguistic dynamics, heritage language maintenance, youth linguistic practices, and translation as intercultural mediation. She has participated in several international research and mobility programs, including at the Universities of Poitiers, Thessaloniki, Siena, Torino, and Ca’ Foscari Venice, and has presented her work in numerous conferences in Europe. Anxhela has authored and co-authored studies on multilingualism, language ideology, and literary reception, and has translated major Italian authors into Albanian.

anxhela.lepuri@fhf.edu.al

Anesa Čolaković

Southeast Europe is at a critical juncture, facing intertwined ecological and digital challenges that significantly influence youth identities, civic participation, and future imaginaries. The ecological crisis—marked by climate change, pollution, and resource depletion—poses urgent threats, while rapid digital transformation reshapes communication, activism, and social organization. Understanding how young people in this region navigate these intertwined issues is essential for fostering resilient, innovative, and inclusive civic futures. This research aims to explore how youth discourse, practices, and imaginaries merge ecological concerns with digital tools, creating hybrid “eco-digital” imaginaries that inform their visions of sustainable futures.

Anesa Čolaković

The Regional Network of Centers for Advanced Studies in Southeast Europe (RECAS) is proud to announce Anesa Colakovic as a 2025-2026 Regional Fellow. The RECAS Fellowship facilitates groundbreaking research and strengthens scholarly exchange across the region’s leading university centers.
Anesa brings a formidable profile to this inquiry. A Fulbright, World Learning Fellow, Schusterman Scholar, Rotarian, and Bosch Alumni with a background in government, NGOs, and technology, she has spearheaded environmental activism—from river clean-ups to reforestation—while championing the rights of marginalized communities, including war-affected women and ethnic minorities. Currently pursuing a PhD in technology and climate finance, her lived experience as an internally displaced person from a minority community in Kosovo fuels her commitment to just and equitable development. Through this fellowship, Anesa will present her work across RECAS centers, deepening vital regional dialogue on the critical intersections of sustainability, digital innovation, and youth agency.

anesacolakovic@gmail.com

Anastas Vangeli

This study develops a framework for understanding how Balkan Gen Z imagine the future and exercise agency under conditions of semi-peripheral uncertainty. Rather than approaching youth through apathy or exit, the study contemplates a set of ideational dimensions that structure everyday dilemmas around mobility, work, time, knowledge, ecology, and geopolitics. Working with interpretive process tracing, the study reconstructs how shifts in material conditions are translated into orientations and practices through media environments, institutional encounters, and peer-level sense-making. The intended contribution is establishing a conceptual framework for future empirical research and policy engagement on youth, ideas, and futures in the Balkans.

Anastas Vangeli

Anastas Vangeli is Assistant Professor at the University of Ljubljana, School of Economics and Business. He is Associate Editor of Asia Europe Journal and co-editor of Yugoslavia and China: Histories, Legacies, Afterlives (Routledge, 2025), and currently leads an international project on how actors in the semi-periphery think about and position themselves in the transition to electric vehicles. His research examines the diffusion of ideas and imagined futures, focusing on how China’s global rise, Western and non-Western responses, and new technologies shape development imaginaries and forms of political, economic, and civic agency.

anastas.vangeli@ef.uni-lj.si

Ana Gavrilović

Video Games as Places of Youth Political Resistance: Exploring Youth Political Imaginaries in Southeast Europe’s Digital Playgrounds
This project explores how young people across Southeast Europe use video games as emerging spaces for political expression, collective imagination, and democratic resistance. In a context marked by widespread disillusionment with formal political institutions, stalled EU integration, and growing social inequalities, youth increasingly turn to digital environments to articulate concerns and experiment with alternative political futures. Video games—particularly open-world, moddable, and community-driven platforms—have become vital arenas where these imaginaries take shape.
Foucsed on video games such as Minecraft, Roblox, and locally developed indie titles are repurposed for activism, symbolic protest, community organizing, and identity formation. By examining practices such as in-game protests, modding, livestream commentary, and the use of gaming communication tools for civic coordination, the project positions video games as “free” digital spaces where youth negotiate power, resistance, and belonging. These activities challenge the stereotype of young players as disengaged or apolitical, revealing instead a dynamic landscape of creative civic participation.
Using digital ethnography, semi-structured interviews, and game analysis, the project aims to uncover how young people generate new political meanings within these interactive worlds—and how these meanings translate into broader social and democratic imaginaries. In doing so, it contributes to rethinking youth agency, highlighting the role of digital play in shaping democratic futures in Southeast Europe.

Ana Gavrilović

Ana Gavrilović is a second-year PhD student at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of History of Art. Her academic background spans archaeology, cultural heritage studies, and digital media, with a particular focus on the role of video games in shaping contemporary social and cultural narratives. Over the past decade, through her work and studies in the Department of Archaeology, she has gained extensive experience in research related to digital heritage, game-based interpretation, and youth engagement with the past.
Her interest in the political dimensions of gaming grew out of recent global and regional examples of youth activism unfolding within digital worlds. Events such as in-game protests on Roblox, Minecraft, and other open-world platforms revealed to her how young people increasingly use games as accessible, imaginative, and often safer spaces for expressing civic concerns and experimenting with resistance. These developments motivated her to investigate how video games function not only as cultural artifacts but also as emerging arenas of political agency in Southeast Europe.
Ana’s current research explores video games as “free” digital spaces where young people negotiate identity, critique social systems, and form new democratic imaginaries. She aims to connect game studies with broader discussions on youth politics, digital citizenship, and participatory culture, emphasizing the creative and symbolic ways in which new generations shape their political worlds. Through her interdisciplinary work, she seeks to highlight the growing importance of digital play in understanding contemporary democratic futures.

anamen96@gmail.com

Aleksandra Bajde

Cultural Futures in Motion: Youth Agency and Ecological Imaginaries in Southeast Europe
This project examines how young cultural practitioners in Slovenia and Serbia imagine and enact ecological futures through cultural and artistic practices. Focusing on youth-led initiatives in Ljubljana and Belgrade, it explores how ecological concerns are articulated through music, art, and cultural production, and how these practices intersect with forms of civic engagement and emerging democratic imaginaries.
Situated in differing institutional and EU integration contexts, the project investigates how young actors navigate environmental responsibility, cultural policy frameworks, and socio-political constraints. By analyzing narratives, symbols, and practices within local cultural ecosystems, the study traces how ecological awareness becomes embedded in everyday cultural work and how it shapes alternative visions of collective life and participation.
Methodologically, the project combines qualitative interviews, discourse and document analysis, and practice-informed approaches. It contributes to debates on youth agency, cultural production, and political imaginaries in Southeast Europe, offering insights relevant to cultural policy, ecological transition, and democratic engagement in the region.

Aleksandra Bajde

Aleksandra Bajde is a Slovenian cultural manager and researcher based in Vienna, working at the intersection of international cultural relations, EU foreign cultural policy, and sustainability in the arts. With an academic background spanning political science, European studies, liberal arts and sciences, and music, she combines an interdisciplinary research foundation with more than a decade of experience in managing international cultural projects. Her work focuses on fostering collaboration between the arts, research, and policy sectors to promote civic engagement, cultural exchange, and cross-sectoral impact.
She is currently completing her PhD in Political Science at the University of Vienna, where her dissertation examines the Europeanization of cultural diplomacy in small EU member states, with a comparative focus on Austria and Slovenia. Her broader research interests center on how EU-level priorities are shaped, translated, and implemented through foreign cultural policy and cultural diplomacy.
Aleksandra holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Liberal Arts and Sciences with a focus on International Relations and Sociology from Amsterdam University College; a Master’s degree in Advanced European and International Studies from the European Institute in France; and degrees in music, including a Bachelor of Music from the Conservatory of Amsterdam and a Master of Arts from the Anton Bruckner Private University Linz.
She has contributed to policy briefs, taught at the university level, co-founded the Culture and Sustainability Lab, and participated in international initiatives such as the Global Cultural Relations Programme (EU), the European Music Council Fellowship Programme, and the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in International Cultural Relations, Cultural and Public Diplomacy (CREDO) at the University of Siena. She regularly presents workshops and talks at international conferences and symposia on STEAM, EU cultural policy, cultural diplomacy, and the intersections of culture and sustainability.

aleksandra.bajde@gmail.com

Ajda Hedžet

From Margins to Makers: Youth, Constructive Resistance, and Democratic Futures in Southeast Europe

This project aims to investigate how youth in Southeast Europe navigate the contradictions of being simultaneously marginalized and idealized as agents of democratic renewal. While governments, donors, and the EU often frame young people as “future-makers,” or “agents of change” they remain excluded from meaningful participation in political life. The research explores how youth in Southeast Europe engage in constructive resistance, practices that not only challenge dominant forms of governance but also create alternative visions of democracy, solidarity, and belonging. Drawing on multi-sited qualitative research, combining system mapping, collective interviews, and netnography of youth-led organizations and digital practices, the project examines how young activists mobilize in online and transnational spaces to articulate new democratic imaginaries and reclaim agency under conditions of precarity and constrained civic space. By theorizing youth politics through the lens of constructive resistance, the project engages with interdisciplinary debates in political sociology, anthropology, and international relations. It seeks to illuminate how democratic futures may emerge from below in contexts marked by fragile institutions, donor dependency, and political capture.

Ajda Hedžet

Ajda Hedžet is a researcher, teacher, and editor working at the intersections of human rights, youth politics, and international relations. She conducts research at the Centre of International Relations, University of Ljubljana, and teaches courses on international human rights, global politics, and international institutions at the Chair of International Relations, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana.

Her research explores how youth and other marginalized or affected groups become recognized as political subjects and how they exercise agency in spaces of governance, activism, and digital resistance. Ajda combines discourse analysis and participatory methods to study the evolving boundaries of human rights and democratic practices. She serves as Editor of the Journal of International Relations and Development, is a member of the European Democracy Hub’s Young Researchers’ Network, and co-coordinates the CEEISA Doctoral Network.

ajda.hedzet@fdv.uni-lj.si

Valentina Otmačić

Memory of Good Things: Mobilizing Legacies of Inter-Ethnic Solidarity and Collaboration to Support Culture of Shared Future

The official narratives of the past in the countries ensuing from former Yugoslavia are almost exclusively focusing on violence. Providing simplified accounts of “our heroes/victims” and “their villains”, these narratives strongly contribute to the persistence of ethnonationalist agendas and deepening of inter-ethnic cleavages in the region. At the same time, lived experiences of collaboration, friendship, and joint achievements of members of different ethnic groups from former Yugoslavia, although plentiful, seem to be ignored and exposed to “deliberate forgetting”.

Both negative and positive memories can be activated to promote specific political and social agendas. However, while mechanisms for deploying negative memories of inter-group hostilities to mobilize people for (more) violence have been studied extensively, there is a gap in the knowledge on the activation of positive collective memories to support nonviolent political agendas.

The main aim of the study Memory of Good Things is to explore in what ways positive inter-ethnic experiences and related good memories of joint past be strategically mobilized to support a culture of shared future. To address this research question, I will firstly facilitate learning about the strategic use of positive past in the practices of three ethnically diverse communities in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina which resisted ethnic segregation and violence during 1991-1995 wars. Secondly, I will examine the current state of the integration of such positive narratives in the public memory at local and national level. Finally, I aim to identify and outline the opportunities for strategic deployment of positive inter-ethnic past to build a shared future in Southeastern Europe envisioned as a region where, as expressed by the wartime mayor of the city of Tuzla Selim Bešlagić, “national, political and religious differences among citizens are not considered a curse, but a source of beauty and wealth”.

Valentina Otmačić

Valentina Otmačić is a researcher and practitioner in the fields of peace, conflict transformation and human rights.

She received her PhD in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford (UK), with a thesis titled “Resisting division along ethnic lines: a case study of two communities who challenged discourses of war during the Yugoslav conflict 1991-1995”. Her main research interests are in the areas of resistance to violence and constructive conflict transformation. She has published several book chapters and articles on these topics. She is currently undertaking research on resistance to identity-based violence and segregation in Northern Ireland.

As a practitioner, she worked with several UN Agencies and international NGOs supporting war-affected civilians in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Tanzania, Burundi, DR Congo, Lebanon and Colombia. She is also an expert in strategic advocacy and a trainer in conflict transformation. Her resource book “Conflict as a challenge: enhancing children’s capacities of constructive conflict transformation” was published in Lebanon by Arab Resource Center for Popular Arts.

valentina.otmacic@uniri.hr

Péter Krekó

Péter Krekó’s research project focuses on the social psychological processes of informational autocracies: regimes that can be successful through the manipulation of information. More specifically, he deals with the phenomena of informational autocratization in Central and Southeastern Europe, with a special focus on Hungary and Serbia. The study aims to analyze the mechanisms of state-sponsored information manipulation and explores viable strategies to counteract such practices. Drawing upon a comprehensive methodological approach that includes desktop research, interviews with key stakeholders, and comparative attitude surveys, the project seeks to shed light on the extent and impact of media centralization, the role of social-political polarization in the acceptance of disinformation, and the effectiveness of various resistance strategies employed by NGOs, journalists, and politicians. This research is important for understanding the evolving landscape of information manipulation within regimes with a hybrid nature both institutionally – combining features of democracies and autocracies – both geopolitically – with a Western and Eastern orientation at the same time. At the same time, the two neighbouring countries, while having many similar features in their politics, and professional, leader-centric spin of information, are very asymmetric in their integration into the Western institutional sytems (EU and NATO). By comparing the informational control strategies in Hungary and Serbia and extending the analysis to other Central and Southeastern European countries, the project not only provides an academic contribution to the field but also offers practical insights for policymakers, civil society, and the media to combat the challenges of informational autocracy.

Péter Krekó

Péter Krekó is a think-tanker and an academic, with a backround in social psychology and political science. He has a strong interest in disinformation, political polarization, conspiracy theories, and malign foreign influence. He has published extensively on these topics in academic journals and the leading international press.
Péter is an associate professor (with habilitation) at the Eötvös Loránd University of Sciences in Budapest, in the Department of Social Psychology and the Disinformation and Artificial Intelligence research lab. Earlier, he was a guest researcher with the Europe’s Futures—Ideas for Action program of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, a nonresident associate fellow at the Johns Hopkins University SAIS Bologna Institute of Policy Research, and a PopBack Fellow at the University of Cambridge, and a visiting fellow with the Engaging Central Europe program of The German Marshall Fund of the United States-. In 2016-2017, he was a Fulbright Visiting Professor in the United States at the Central Eurasian Studies Department of Indiana University.
Péter is the director of the Political Capital Institute, a think tank in Budapest. It is currently the consortium leader for the Hungarian Digital Media Observatory, an anti-disinformation hub supported by the European Commission under the umbrella of the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO).

kreko.peter@ppk.elte.hu

Milica Božić Marojević

Back to the Future or
How to Make Peace with The Past in Order to Create a Better Tomorrow Together

Public spaces and their visual culture are active participants in creating of public knowledge. That knowledge is primarily represented and recognized through monuments and/or different memorialization practices. However, how that space looks like and what politics and policies represents is never accidental. It is something that is always decided by the ruling elite. Even though that does not necessarily mean that the ruling elites are going to have a negative attitude towards the previous regime or representatives of minorities in general, in the Western Balkans region it is a rule. Changes in the domain of political climate here are very common and they can easily be traced in the public space appearance too. In those circumstances, (cultural) heritage seems to be another victim. It suffers not just for the sake of new ideology, but also in order people to forget their past. When it comes to the so-called difficult places and spaces, the situation in the domain of collective memory is even worse. It looks like we are in a vicious circle of the permanent present built on the remnants of nationalist and exclusive accounts of the past. Because of that, a progressive vision on future is missing. Silenced and marginalized memories, as well as contested histories, seem to be the dominant narratives in everyday life. The roles of certain public figures are being re-examined, the culture of cancellation is stronger; we are afraid of refugees, we blame them for diseases, the increase in unemployment, religious fanaticism. Although experts insist that culture and arts unite us, how does it happen that they actually separate us?
The basic research direction is motivated by a long-term search for an answer to the question: how can Serbs and Albanians live together again after everything that happened in Kosovo? This led to further doubts – what are our points of similarities; what kind of culture of memory do we want to cherish, whether and how heritage, that is, the past can help us in building a better future; what is the role of education in this? The focus of the research is directed at young people in Belgrade, i.e. at those who do not remember the controversial events at first hand, but formed their views about them through family stories, education, and memory policies promoted by the ruling elites. Although the problems of young people are similar in Belgrade, Kosovska Mitrovica and Priština, they do not think about how to get to know each other better and how to cooperate, or how together they can create democratic, multi-ethnic, multi-confessional, open, plural, and inclusive societies.
Considering heritage as a source for knowledge seems obvious, but the aim of this project is to invite us to question it critically. My idea is to highlight specific problematic issues, but also potentials for representation involved in such difficult heritage, and to identify and analyse ways in which they can contribute to social reflection. I would also like to inspire analytical reflection on heritage and the values and power dynamics attached to it, and to facilitate dialogue about the uses of the past in the present. Cultivating a culture based on facts is indispensable. Yet, equally important is to formulate and foster a “culture of a shared future” in the region – bringing forward narratives, evidence, and politics to replace a culture of hostility with a common vision of a joint future. In that sense, this research is part of a long-standing effort to show that heritage is here to bring us together.

Milica Božić Marojević

Milica Božić Marojević (1980) was born in Belgrade. She completed her bachelor, master and PhD studies in Art History at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, where at present she teaches as Associate Professor. She has also been teaching at the Faculty of Applied Arts and Faculty of Education in Belgrade, as well as at the Faculty of Philosophy in Kosovska Mitrovica. Since 2017, Milica Božić Marojević has been actively participating in the organization and implementation of the continuous learning program at the Center for Teacher Education of the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. In 2019, she was elected as director of the Centre for Museology and Heritology. Before that, Milica Božić Marojević was a journalist at Danas Daily, Researcher at Humanitarian Law Center and an International Memorialization Specialist for UNDP Bosnia and Herzegovina.
For more than 20 years, she has been interested in the problems of heritage dissonance and reconciliation through art, culture and heritage memorialization. As a regional and international consultant for the management of unwanted heritage, she had organized and participated in various researches and trainings; programmes of permanent education and specialization; curated several exhibitions and wrote more than 30 scientific papers with the focus on the social, cultural and political implications of forgetting events from the past.
In addition to the social role of heritage, its policies, governance, presentation and interpretation, her areas of expertise are also promotion of activism and civic education. Her Ph.D. thesis “Sites of Conscience as Guardians of the Collective Memory” was the first study in the field of heritage dissonance and its role in post war reconciliation processes conducted in the region.
Her first book (Ne)željeno nasleđe u prostorima pamćenja. Slobodne zone bolnih uspomena/(Un)Wanted Heritage in Remembrence Spaces. Free Zones of Painful Memories was published in 2015, as the result of pioneering research in war heritage memorialisation in Yugoslav spaces, and is the first publication of its kind in the Serbian language. Her second book Metod kao predmet ili predmet kao metod. Poučavanje (o) umetnosti u osam koraka/Method as Subject or Subject as Method. Teaching (about) Art in Eight Steps was published in 2022 and is a summary of her years of experience in the field of education through art and culture.

mbozic@f.bg.ac.rs

Kriton Kuci

Redefining Tourism Narratives: Navigating Beyond Banal Nationalism in Southeast Europe
This research aims to investigate the intricate relationship between banal nationalism, tourism (focusing on the phenomenon of the so called “patriotic tourism”, a term so used and liked in Albania where is common sense to name “our” nationalism as “patriotism”), and their impact on national identities, stereotypes, and societal relations in Southeast Europe. This study aims to delve into the ways in which banal nationalism manifests in the tourism industry, drawing attention to the symbolic representations, narratives, and practices that perpetuate nationalistic sentiments. It will examine how patriotic tourism, often fueled by political agendas and historical narratives, reinforces existing national identities and deepens societal divisions. In the case of Southeast Europe, a region historically marked by ethnic and political tensions, this study will analyze the implications of these dynamics on inter-societal relations.
Moreover, the study advocates for alternative models of tourism that promote a culture of shared futures over nationalist divisions. It explores innovative approaches that prioritize cross-cultural understanding, dialogue, and collaboration. Drawing inspiration from emerging trends in responsible tourism, cultural exchange programs, and community-based tourism, the study proposes actionable strategies for fostering a more inclusive and interconnected future.

Kriton Kuci

Kriton Kuci has completed his PhD studies in Balkan Studies at the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies, School of Economic and Regional Studies, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece. His PhD dissertation is entitled “Flagging Albanianism. Banal nationalism in news on line portals in Albania”. He is a MA graduate of International and European Studies at the School of Economics, Business and International Studies, University of Piraeus, Greece. He has a BA Degree in Political Science and Public Administration from the School of Law, Economics and Political Science of the University of Athens, Greece.
He is Lecturer of Political Science at the Mediterranean University of Albania. He has participated in various scientific conferences in Greece, Albania, Serbia, Italy, Austria, Romania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc., and has published several scientific articles in international scientific journals. His research interests include nationalism studies, discourse analysis, political systems, political theory, international relations theories, etc. He is fluent in Albanian, Greek, Italian and English.

kritonkuci@umsh.edu.al

Karlo Kralj

Over the past decade, we can observe a re-emergence of new left electoral actors in post-Yugoslav space. These actors present themselves as ‘movement parties’, a hybrid organisational form that tries to innovate party-political organising and challenge the previously existing centre and centre-left parties. While The Left (Slovenia), We Can (Croatia), and Green-Left Front (Serbia) have by now achieved significant success in their electoral engagement, this project looks more closely at their current strategic predicaments. On the one hand, it aims to offer an analytical overview of the strategic framing through which they position themselves within the broader political conflict. On the other hand, it aims to map key organizational predicaments that these actors will confront in the near future. Empirically, the project will be based on framing analysis of movement parties’ leaders’ statements, including extensive desk research and literature review.

Karlo Kralj

Karlo Kralj is a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Zagreb. Karlo holds a PhD in political science and sociology from Scuola Normale Superiore, where he also worked as a postdoctoral fellow. His main research interests relate to social movement strategies and tactics, interactions between social movements and political parties, and political organizing. Primary regional focus of his research is on Southeastern Europe.

karlo.kralj@fpzg.hr

Josef Djordjevski

REMINDED seeks to explore novel ways in which a culture of shared future can be established by collaborative and alternative commemoration practices around specific environments and landscapes. While the Wars of Yugoslav Succession (1991-1999) left a legacy of environmental destruction, environmental impacts from the wars have received little attention by scholars and local communities. This project therefore seeks to demonstrate the importance of commemorating environmental effects of armed conflict in the region by bridging scholars, students, and the public. The project will utilize novel methods to uncover ways that landscapes themselves can serve as monuments, and how collaboration in their commemoration can lead to a shared future.

The project will use novel methods, especially digital and virtual approaches, to ensure that the project’s goals are long-term, open to wider audiences, and sustainable. These will include blogs, social media posts, YouTube videos, and ultimately a website, where scholars, students, and the public throughout the region and beyond will be able to contribute towards the commemoration of specific sites. Specific sites will be selected from across the region, including at least one site from each country that has directly experienced environmental legacies of armed combat, leading to sustained collaboration and shared expressions.

Josef Djordjevski

Josef Djordjevski is a postdoctoral fellow with the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research (NCEEER) in Washington D.C., where he is working on an environmental history of the Yugoslav Wars titled “Landscapes of Transition and Conflict” (LATRACON). Primarily an environmental historian, he received his PhD at the University of California – San Diego in 2022, where he defended his dissertation “A Seaside for the Future: Yugoslav Socialism, Tourism, Environmental Protection, and the Eastern Adriatic Coastline, 1945-2000s,” which was a history of the transformation of the Adriatic seaside during the Cold War. His latest publication is a contribution titled “Sailing Through Heritage: Nautical Tourism, Environmental Protection, Conflict, and the Making of the Kornati National Park in Socialist Yugoslavia,” in the edited volume Entire of Itself?: Towards and Environmental History of Islands, to be published with The White Horse Press in 2024.

josef.djordjevski@gmail.com

Ivana Angelova

This research project focuses on the evolution and impact of public spaces along two vital watercourses, the Vardar River and its tributaries in Skopje and the Ljubljanica River and its tributaries in Ljubljana. The study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of linear blue and green public spaces in the Balkans, assessing cases with varying levels of success. Ljubljana serves as an exemplar of sustainable urban solutions, while Skopje grapples with urban challenges amid untapped potential. The research seeks to contribute insights into post-socialist urban development, patterns of corridor usage, issues of inequality and social justice, and potential strategies for fostering a shared urban future. The proposed methodology, including the Good
Public Space Index and the researcher’s Multi-Scale Framework, will be applied to assess the effectiveness and “lived” quality of public spaces in the selected cases. The findings aim to enhance understanding of urban livelihood and solidarity, fostering discussions on equitable urban development in the Balkan region.

Ivana Angelova

Ivana is a recent doctoral graduate from Meiji University in Tokyo where she is currently affiliated as a Research Assistant. Her academic and professional journey has been centered at the intersection of applied urban research and architecture. She has international practical experiences at Kengo Kuma and Nikken Sekkei Architects in Japan, Al Borde Arquitectos in Ecuador and at a university in Germany. Moreover, Ivana has been a senior associate in the Urban Planning Department at two municipalities and has been a faculty instructor in her hometown, Skopje.

8ivanangelova@gmail.com

Elona Gjata

This study will examine the role of bilingualism in multicultural societies and its impact on forming ethnic and regional identities. Referring to the analysis of the use of bilingualism in the Albanian community in North Macedonia, we will reflect a clear picture of how this linguistic phenomenon can be used as an instrument for improving identity and how it has influenced the breaking of the line of nationalism in relationships with other social factors. Also, during the study, we will discover the influence of bilingualism in the transformation of the traditional concept of nationalism or the cases where bilingualism is used as a tool for adaptation and affirmation of the identity of the Albanian community, with a particular emphasis on the new generation. In order to give a more explicit result on the role of bilingualism in this environment, this study will refer at the same time to various historical and social developments—moreover, language policies related to the Albanian community in North Macedonia.

Bilingualism: An Instrument for Destroying the Line of Nationalism in Albanian Community of North Macedonia as a Case of Study

Keywords: bilingualism, nationalism, community, ethnic and regional identity, multicultural environment, language policies etc.

Elona Gjata

Elona Gjata is a linguist with a Doctor of Sciences in Linguistics from the University of Tirana. Her research combines linguistics 0and cultural anthropology, focusing on society and its problems in different regions.
Dr. Gjata worked as a project coordinator in Berlin at the OASA organization from 2021 to 2022. The project was called “We Remember! The Third Generation Tells” and focused on the rescue of Jews from Albanian families during the Holocaust. In 2023, she coordinated the “Kosovo in 100 Photos” project and authored a book with the same title.
In 2019, Dr. Gjata was the recipient of an Erasmus scholarship student and PhD researcher at Humboldt University in Berlin. During her doctoral studies, she was a lecturer in the Albanian Language Department at the University of Elbasan and Tirana.
In 2021, she studied the Goran community in Albania and Kosovo, published in Innovative Paths of Albanology, Peter Lang, Berlin 2023. She is now preparing for postdoctoral studies in Germany.
She is currently interested in researching the Croatian community in the village of Janjevo, Kosovo.
Elona Gjata heads the NGO “Albanian Institute of Cultural Studies” in Pristina. Through her projects, she aims to bring a unique perspective to the cultural diversity of various communities in Kosovo.

elonagjata2@gmail.com

Danijel Matijević

I want to propose a research project that revolves around the history of Kampor concentration camp on the island of Rab. During its existence in 1942-1943, Kampor held more than 15,000 prisoners whom Fascist Italian authorities considered “undesirable” in political, ideological, racial, or ethnonational terms. I intend to write an English-language academic article on the massive rescue operation of some 2,500 of the camp’s Jewish prisoners, which the Yugoslav communist resistance movement put into motion after Fascist Italy’s capitulation in fall 1943, anticipating the German conquest of their former ally’s holdings in East Adriatic. Beside the rescue operation itself, which had been organized by Partisan leadership, the housing of the Jews of Kampor was a complex operation in itself, dependent on intergroup cooperation and a focus on coexistence, involving the efforts of ordinary people from the entire spectrum of Croatia’s and the wider region’s diverse ethno-confessional groups. This is the aspect of the story of the rescue of Jews of Kampor that I aim to explore in greater detail, situating the event into the broader European context of rescue operations during the Holocaust.

Danijel Matijević

Danijel Matijević earned a PhD in history and Jewish Studies in 2023 at the University of Toronto, where he researched the global history of genocide and mass violence in the 19th and 20th centuries with a focus on Southeast Europe. His dissertation dissects Ustašism, the ideology of the Ustaša movement, and local dynamics of ideological diffusion and intergroup relations in the context of mass violence and genocide. Among a series of research grants and fellowships, Matijević was the recipient of Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, the most prestigious doctoral-level academic award in Canada. His research received further support from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany, the Holocaust Educational Foundation at Northwestern University, and Fondation de recherche du Québec – Société et Culture. Matijevic presented his work at a number of academic conferences, including Lessons and Legacies and the International Association of Genocide Studies. He has extensive teaching experience in modern history and history of the Holocaust, most notably at McGill University.

danijel.matijevic@mail.utoronto.ca

Boriša Mraović

Present research will explore a very particular institution for development and investment financing that was part of the institutional set-up of socialist Yugoslavia during its entire and rather short life. The institution was officially called “self-contributions” and consisted of regular monthly payments levied over personal income for all employed inhabitants of a city or a certain municipality during the previously agreed period of time (from 6 months to 5 years). What is remarkable is that decisions to adopt such measures were decided at general referendum procedures. By careful analysis of this institution, its history and the related political practice, the research seeks to contribute to two goals. First, it seeks to expand our knowledge on the history of socialist Yugoslavia by providing a detailed study of self-contributions as a unique democratic source of investment funds for crucial development project and improvements in social and material infrastructure. Second, it looks at how insights into the way they functioned, the role they played in the more general systems of social planning, and financing as well as democratic processes they depended on, can be used as inspiration for policies aiming at deepening democratic rule and at giving more agency to citizens in planning, financing and implementation of development programs and projects.

Boriša Mraović

Born in Sarajevo in 1981. He has a diploma in psychology and a master diploma in social sciences from Sarajevo and Bologna Universities. He has more than 15 years of experience in primary and applied research in social sciences and has done work and published papers and articles exploring a range of topics including political institutions, migration, urban sociology, political economy and contemporary history. For the past decade he worked closely with Association for Culture and Art Crvena from Sarajevo. His current research focuses on questions in political economy, history of economic theory and practice, and on the theory of social forms.

borisa.mraovic@gmail.com

Ana Đorđević

In contrast to political apathy and abstinence among the youth in the region, this research tends to provide fresh theoretical and empirical insights into young people’s political affect and political engagement. To do this, it will provide a summary of the study on youth political participation and a review of the literature on the connection between politics and emotions. Subsequently, the gap in knowledge on the various forms and platforms of youth political participation and engagement in the Western Balkans will be highlighted. Then, questions will be asked about the meanings, emotions, and future-oriented goals that young people aspire to attain in their sociopolitical environment, based on the alternative epistemological perspective in psychology known as the transformative activist stance (Anna Stetsenko). The research will include a qualitative empirical study on this topic among youth (18–30 years old) from Montenegro, Croatia, and Serbia to supplement the results of the predominately quantitative research.

Ana Đorđević

Ana Đorđević (1991) is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory. She obtained her BA, MA, and PhD in psychology at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy. Her research interests are positioned in sociocultural and critical psychology, qualitative methodologies, and engagement studies, with a special focus on identity and subjectivity issues. She published several empirical and theoretical articles in national and international journals, as well as the monograph The Scent of Ajvar and the Scent of Lavender. Limitations and the Freedom of/from Ethnic Identification for Serbia’s Youth. She is an assistant editor of Critique: The Journal for Philosophy and the Theory of Society.

ana.djordjevic@ifdt.bg.ac.rs

Aleksandar Bošković

My project investigates the relationship between negation practices across different arts and media in the former Yugoslavia—literature, film, visual arts, radio—and the notion of value(s). The aim of my project is twofold. First, it is to stress that the legacy of Yugoslav Zenithism should be recognized as the “conceptual unconscious” of the experimental art practices in Socialist Yugoslavia. The second, and more noteworthy goal is to offer a completely new perspective on negation practices of Yugoslav experimental art, bringing them in close relation to the concept of (symbolic, economic, social, and political) value(s). Value is a key issue if we perceive social worlds as a project of mutual creation, and a shared culture, as something collectively made and remade. My research contributes to the current debates on Yugoslav culture and experimental art by demonstrating that the question of value (along with the concept of “nothing” as its condition) is the kernel of vanguard cultural narratives of a shared future. It pinpoints that such a “culture of a shared future” is not one of identity, but of responsibility. Radical Yugoslav art practices remind us that the same principle applies to post-Balkans and Europeans: responsibility instead of identity.

Aleksandar Bošković

Aleksandar Bošković is Lecturer in Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian at the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at Columbia University. He is a scholar of Russian and East European modernism, Yugoslav, post-Yugoslav and Balkan Studies, with a strong background in comparative literature, critical theory, and visual studies. He specializes in avant-garde literature and experimental art practices explored through the lenses of comparative media. He is the recipient of several grants and fellowships, including Collegium de Lyon Fellowship (2019-2020) and Michael I. Sovern/Columbia Affiliated Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome (2023-24). Bošković is the author of the monograph The Poetic Humor in Vasko Popa’s œuvre (2008), and co-editor of The Fine Feats of the ‘Five Cockerels’ Gang: A Yugoslav Marxist-Surrealist Epic Poem for Children (2022) and Zenithism: A Yugoslav Avant-Garde Anthology (2023).

ab3865@columbia.edu

Slađana Kavarić Mandić

Transforming Regional Ecological Thought: Artistic Practices at the Museums of Contemporary Art in Rijeka, Podgorica, and Belgrade

This research aims to evaluate and re-examine recent artistic actions within the field of ecological art, highlighting their undeniable potential for fostering broader societal emancipation and addressing the issues of unequal development in the Western Balkans. The project seeks to investigate museum exhibitions related to ecological activism, positioning itself as an academic response to the challenges of the green transition, which has been hindered in the Balkans by top-down political and economic strategies. This study will consider vibrant forms of ecological activism within the non-governmental sector as exemplary cases of cross-border cooperation. Furthermore, it will present methodological approaches for encoding ecological awareness within the artistic sphere and museum interventions, thereby universalizing the discourse and providing ideological and aesthetic valuations that amplify the impact of individual ecological victories for further artistic exploration.

Slađana Kavarić Mandić

Slađana Kavarić Mandić (Podgorica, 1991) is a researcher, activist and poetess.

She earned her PhD from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Montenegro, becoming the first female philosopher to complete doctoral studies at Montenegro’s state university. Her primary research interests include Marxism, Praxis philosophy, the philosophy of art, and Critical Theory. She has authored several academic articles and the book Philosophy of Danko Grlić (Belgrade/Zagreb, 2022).

As an activist, Slađana co-founded the portal Normalizuj.me, where she contributes columns and organizes socially engaged forums.

She is also the author of two poetry collections, People from Nowhere and Pontevedra, with her work translated into English, Slovenian, and Greek.

kavaric.sladjana@gmail.com

Safet Kubat

Safet’s research focuses on developing a tailored Doughnut Economy model to address key ecological and social challenges in the Balkans. Based on the original Doughnut Economy framework by Kate Raworth and adaptations of the IPE model, the project aims to create a “transformative Doughnut Model” customized for three cities: Zenica, Belgrade, and Rijeka. The model incorporates 33 indicators, such as air pollution, renewable energy use, income inequality, and social satisfaction, to measure and balance ecological sustainability and human well-being.

The primary goal is to propose a replicable Balkan Doughnut Model as a tool for public policy, enhance cross-border cooperation, and generate a unifying narrative for the region. By addressing shared challenges, including ecological degradation, political divisions, and socio-economic inequalities, the model seeks to foster trust, unity, and action among citizens, cities, civil society, and the academic community. This interdisciplinary effort will serve as a blueprint for guiding the Balkans toward a sustainable and equitable future, bridging the gap between current unsustainable practices and the safe, just space within the “doughnut.”

Safet Kubat

Born in Zenica in 1986.Safet Kubat holds a PhD in interdisciplinary social sciences from University of Sarajevo (2024) specializing in political ecology with foundations in urban ecology, political economy, and sustainable development. He also has a diploma in public health, a strong background in applied public health research and governance as well as experience in leading interdisciplinary projects on green economy and sustainable urban development in the Balkan area. Safet is a researcher, lecturer, speaker, public worker and a committed political organizer behind one of the biggest and most successful broad-based environmental movements in Bosnia and Herzegovina – “Budi promjena”- with more than 61 thousand members. He combines academic knowledge with activism ensuring that his work leads to real-world impacts. Over 15 years of various social activism, 15 years of professional engagement, with more than 30 published different publications, over 50 implemented projects, hundreds of lectures, and more than 1000 media appearances.

In his work he focuses on green policy development and promotion aiming to foster socio-ecological transformation in the Balkan region. He is a regular contributor to international, regional and local environmental forums and academia with insights in sustainable policies and environmental preservation and is collaborating with many international institutions and numerous regional organizations on different research projects and public initiatives. His current research revolves around city modeling with a focus on examining and measuring the socio-ecological footprint of cities in both local and global contexts, and looking at how lower scale local conditions and processes impact and are impacted by planetary boundaries. He is a former UNESCO Champion of Peace and the recipient of the Philanthropic Heart Award in 2024.

kubat_safet@hotmail.com

Peter Langford

The objective of the research project is to develop a theory of environmental justice which expresses and reinforces the presence of a notion of environmental justice in the approaches of environmental civil society organisations, environmental grassroots movements and Green or environmental political parties in the Balkans. The research project adopts this particular focus because it understands that it is the existence and activism of these organisations, movements and parties which indicate an important and distinctive understanding of environmental justice. Therefore, that these groups and parties should be accorded a central importance in the wider conceptualisation of the process of Green change.

These groups and parties operate in a difficult current context in which they occupy the position of a minority and are increasingly subject to resistance and obstruction. Beyond the clearly illegal and quasi-clandestine forms of fatal and non-fatal violence, threats and intimidation, the other complementary purpose of the project is to emphasise that their orientation to environmental justice requires the guarantee of their civil and political rights. These rights, as fundamental, human rights are those of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. In other words, that these civil and political rights, even insofar as they given formal expression in relevant constitutional provisions, are fundamental human rights. This, in turn, entails that these fundamental rights should prohibit the recourse to substantive domestic criminal law and civil law in order to undermine the capacity for their effective exercise. The project understands the capacity to undermine their effective exercise as a broad one which extends from the explicit prohibition and overt suppression of demonstrations to the use of domestic criminal and civil law by politicians, business owners and corporations against public statements by individual environmentalists and environmental groups. The project, therefore, seeks, in this complementary focus upon human rights, to open a wider discussion of these environmental groups and parties as public environmental human rights defenders.

Peter Langford

Peter Langford is an Associate Lecturer in Law at Oxford Brookes University, UK. His areas of expertise are in legal and political philosophy, legal sociology, social theory and human rights. Within the areas of legal philosophy and legal sociology, his research has centred upon the work of Hans Kelsen and Max Weber. Within the area of political philosophy, it has focused upon the work of Roberto Esposito (Roberto Esposito: Law, Community and the Political 2015) and Carl Schmitt (Order Crisis and Redemption: Political Theology after Carl Schmitt, co-authored with Saul Newman, 2024). In relation to human rights, his research has concentrated upon normative questions of global justice and human rights, fundamental rights in Gunther Teubner’s sociology of law, non-nationals and the European Convention of Human Rights, and the protection of environmental human rights defenders under the Inter-American Convention of Human Rights.

trot21@mail.com

Olimpija Hristova Zaevska

Olimpija Hristova Zaevska is the Founder and CEO of Elson Solutions and an expert in green finance, energy transition, and international business. She holds a PhD in International Business and Economics from Copenhagen Business School in Denmark.

Olimpija brings academic rigor to consulting and policymaking and is working with development banks and development partners including EBRD, EIB, as well as USAID, GiZ, CIPE and the Ministry of Energy, Mining and Mineral Resources of North Macedonia on various projects. She consults on international cooperation and finance mobilization, investments in energy transition and innovation ecosystems. Olimpija often coordinates the work of various technical, energy, grid, financial and investment consultants to provide guidance on economic development or energy investments. Olimpija is also engaged as a green finance and climate risk consultant on greening financial systems in North Macedonia and Ethiopia and serves as green economy reviewer to the UNECE.

Previously, as an international economy adviser to the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Republic of North Macedonia, Olimpija worked actively with development banks on negotiating and structuring loans, designing state aid, implementing tax reforms, and public finance management.

olimpija@elsonsolutions.com

Olimpija Hristova Zaevska

This research investigates the presence and impact of Industry 4.0 ecosystems (I4ESes) (hubs, accelerators) across the Western Balkan countries and their influence on regional innovation. Utilizing a prior theoretical framework based on ecosystem theorizing, the study will map I4ESes comprising diverse actors, such as firms, universities, and NGOs, focusing on their structure and value creation. It will assess the impact of I4ESes on regional innovation from 2014 to 2023, measuring innovation dynamics and patenting activity using the EU Regional Innovation Scoreboard. The study aims to provide recommendations for enhancing regional innovation and green transitions in WB countries, utilizing I4ESes.

Ognjen Kojanić

The project “Green Change from Below: How Grassroots Relations to Urban Infrastructure Can Shape a Just Green Transition in the Balkans” focuses on decision-making and social contestations related to the infrastructural assemblage in a former wetland area on the north bank of the Danube River in Belgrade. The guiding questions are: How can the grassroots understandings of the relationship between built and natural environment in cities influence green change? Specifically, how can already existing practices in relation to urban infrastructure show the way to positively shape coordinated actions in the Balkans that can drive the green and just transition? Data is collected using a mix of qualitative social science methods including ethnographic participant observation and interviews, archival work, and content analysis to study various aspects of infrastructural management that are relevant to understanding and coming up with responses to key challenges of the green transition in the Balkans. Broadly, the aim is to contribute to scientific knowledge and potential solutions that can inform urban environmental policy in the face of climate change. The research results will be of relevance to policymakers and practitioners who work on urban water and waste management, green infrastructure, and forestry and park services.

Ognjen Kojanić

Ognjen Kojanić is an environmental and economic anthropologist with a geographical focus in the former Yugoslavia. He holds a BA in ethnology and anthropology from the University of Belgrade, an MA in sociology and social anthropology from Central European University, and a PhD in cultural anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Cologne, a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Freiburg, and a Fellow at the Research Platform “Transformations and Eastern Europe” at the University of Vienna. He has published articles and book chapters dealing with labor, property relations, and class politics; infrastructure and human-environment relations; and the anthropology of European peripheries. His current research lies at the intersection of urban political ecology and infrastructure studies.

ognjenkojanic@gmail.com

Miloš Kovačević

This research explores the potential for implementing Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) in Southeast Europe (SEE), with a focus on Slovenia and Serbia. As SEE face economic challenges such as SME succession issues and youth emigration, ESOPs present a promising solution for democratizing business ownership and enhancing economic stability. Drawing on Rawls’ notion of property-owning democracy and David Ellerman’s labor theory, this research will examine how Slovenia’s ESOP model can be adapted to Serbia. The study will employ a comparative desk analysis, coupled with expert interviews in Belgrade, to provide insights into the feasibility of ESOP adoption in the region. The outcomes will offer both a philosophical and policy-based roadmap to promote workplace democracy and address regional economic disparities. Key deliverables include a scientific paper and a policy analysis report targeting SEE policymakers.

Miloš Kovačević

Miloš Kovačević is a research associate at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, Serbia. He holds a PhD in philosophy from the same university and writes on a range of topics in political philosophy, ethics, and the philosophy of education. Palgrave Macmillan published his latest work, ‘Emancipatory Education Through an Inclusion of Minority Political Views: Exploring the Concept of Indoctrination,’ in the book Rethinking Education and Emancipation: Diverse Perspectives on Contemporary Challenges.

milos.kovacevic@f.bg.ac.rs

Milo Ivančević

Digital transformation and its adoption in the Western Balkans face a number of different challenges, including limited technological infrastructure, economic constraints, and low digital literacy. Central banks, which play a crucial role in maintaining financial stability, are not immune to these challenges. Increasing digitization of financial services, particularly through Artificial Intelligence (AI), put significant pressure on the central banks in the region. Central banks must adapt to safeguard against systemic risks such as cybersecurity threats, economic fraud, and financial instability, by inclusion of AI solutions in their operations.

However, the current state of AI adoption in the region’s financial sector, especially by central banks, remains underexplored. In the context of the Western Balkans’ growing IT ecosystem and skilled workforce, there is a critical need to understand how AI could be harnessed to improve financial oversight and security. This research aims to fill this gap, by examining the Artificial Intelligence adoption patterns and readiness of Western Balkan central banks compared to more advanced economies, while providing concrete steps to enhance their digital transformation.

Milo Ivančević

Milo Ivancevic is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, specializing in market risk analysis through the application of Artificial Intelligence models. His doctoral journey includes research visits to Royal Holloway, University of London and University of Graz where he collaborated on advanced financial modeling techniques. With over 15 years of experience in quantitative research and financial risk management, he currently serves as a Senior Risk Manager at the Central Bank of Montenegro. His work includes monitoring risks of international reserves, designing frameworks for strategic asset allocation, and developing advanced risk models.

Milo holds an MSc in Economics from Staffordshire University, achieved through the prestigious Chevening/OSI scholarship and BA in Economics from the University of Montenegro. His expertise extends to data analysis, financial forecasting, and machine learning, with proficiency in tools like Python, Stata, and Bloomberg.

Milo is also an active member of Mensa and the UK Alumni Association of Montenegro, Milo is committed to advancing economic knowledge and fostering global collaborations. His career reflects a dedication to bridging the gap between academic research and practical applications in finance, ensuring stability and innovation in the field.

miloivancevic@gmail.com

Ljubiša Bojić

Aligning AI for Democratic Resilience: Addressing Digital Challenges in the Balkans through Ethical AI Implementation

This research project investigates the impact of artificial intelligence technologies—particularly recommender systems and large language models—on democratic processes and social cohesion in the Balkans. As Southeast Europe undergoes rapid digital transformation, the integration of AI presents both opportunities and challenges. While technological advancements foster innovation and economic growth, they also risk exacerbating misinformation, social polarization, and the erosion of democratic values.

The primary objective of this project is to develop strategic interventions and policy recommendations that align AI technologies with democratic principles, fostering digital inclusion and strengthening democratic resilience in the region. By critically examining the interplay between AI and democracy, the research aims to contribute to the successful integration of the Balkans into the European digital space, addressing regional security and ethical challenges.

Building upon Dr. Ljubisa Bojic’s extensive research in AI alignment, communication science, and the societal impacts of emerging technologies, this project extends prior insights to the specific context of the Balkans. It analyzes how AI-driven platforms shape public discourse and influence political opinions, and how, without robust ethical guidelines and regulatory oversight, these technologies can inadvertently undermine democratic institutions.

Through interdisciplinary collaboration and engagement with regional stakeholders, the project seeks to propose actionable solutions that ensure AI advancements support democratic resilience rather than hinder it. The anticipated outcomes include a set of policy recommendations, ethical guidelines for AI implementation, and a framework for continuous assessment of AI’s impact on society in the Balkans.

Ljubiša Bojić

Dr. Ljubisa Bojic is a communication scientist, futurologist, and a leading authority on artificial intelligence (AI) alignment and its societal impacts. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Lyon II, France, in 2014. Currently, he serves as a Senior Research Fellow at the Digital Society Lab, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory at the University of Belgrade.

Dr. Bojic has authored over 50 scientific papers, many of which are published in prestigious journals such as the European Journal of Futures Research, Scientific Reports, and Futures. His notable works include CERN for AI: A Theoretical Framework for Autonomous Simulation-Based Artificial Intelligence Testing and Alignment, AI Alignment: Assessing the Global Impact of Recommender Systems, and “Metaverse Through the Prism of Power and Addiction: What Will Happen When the Virtual World Becomes More Attractive Than Reality?

Dr. Bojic was appointed to the United Nations Environment Programme Foresight Expert Panel by UNEP’s Chief Scientist Andrea Hinwood. He participated in the Serbian government work group dedicated to developing ethical standards for artificial intelligence. As an associate editor of Springer’s journal Humanities & Social Sciences Communications and an executive board member on Horizon’s Project 2022 TWin of Online Social Networks, he actively shapes the discourse on AI and its ethical implications.

He is the founder of EMERGE: Forum on the Future of AI-Driven Humanity and the initiator of the Belgrade Digital Freedom Pledge, aiming to stimulate widespread conversations about recognizing recommender systems as a public good and digital identity as a human right. Featured in The Edinburgh Companion to the New European Humanities as a pioneer of a multidisciplinary approach using digital tools in the humanities, Dr. Bojic’s current research focuses on developing global AI policies and aligning AI with human values and well-being.

A sought-after speaker and commentator, Dr. Bojic frequently shares his insights on AI developments from the perspectives of social sciences and digital humanism at universities and international events. His work continues to influence the understanding and implementation of ethical AI practices worldwide.

ljubisa.bojic@ifdt.bg.ac.rs

Jasna Jovićević

This research investigates the migration of female jazz musicians from the Balkans to Western Europe, focusing on gender inequality, systemic barriers, and socio-cultural dynamics that compel their departure. Combining ethnographic methods, policy analysis, and artistic practice-based research, the project explores how patriarchal norms and male-coded jazz traditions exacerbate exclusion in the Balkans. Through collaborative duo compositions, sonic mapping, and autoethnographic storytelling, the study examines how migration and social reconfiguration shape these musicians’ identities, careers, and creative practices. Additionally, it identifies gaps in cultural policies and proposes strategies for fostering reintegration, challenging the brain drain phenomenon, and revitalizing the Balkan jazz scene. By bridging artistic and academic inquiry, this project contributes to gender equity, circular migration policy, and cultural sustainability in Southeast Europe.

Jasna Jovićević

Dr. Jasna Jovićević (Serbia), research associate, is a transdisciplinary artist, composer, and artistic researcher whose work bridges music, science, and social engagement. As a saxophonist and composer, she has performed at major festivals across Europe, the USA, and Canada, with a discography of seven solo albums and numerous collaborations. Jasna’s practice integrates experimental music production with scholarly inquiry, focusing on jazz innovation, gender studies, and participatory social practices. Her work highlights the transformative potential of research-based artistic practices in addressing societal issues.

Holding degrees in Jazz Saxophone Performance (Franz Liszt Music Academy, Budapest), Music Composition (York University, Toronto), and a PhD in Transdisciplinary Studies of Contemporary Arts and Media (Singidunum University, Be;grade), Jasna combines rigorous academic research with creative output. Internationally recognized for her contributions to artistic research, she has participated in prestigious projects like Ars Electronica, artist residencies in New York and San Francisco, and global collaborations. In 2023, she published the award-winning monograph Good Morning Jazzwomen (Orion Art Books), contributing to feminist musicology and cultural studies.

Her recent work as an Adjunct Research Associate at Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa, reflects her commitment to socially engaged arts, where she developed a curriculum in participatory and community-based artistic practices. Jasna’s interdisciplinary approach connects artistic creation, academic research, and cultural activism.

jasnajovicevic@yahoo.com

Haisheng Hu

The Western Balkans, a region characterized by political divisions, economic instability and environmental challenges, is at a critical juncture in its quest for integration into the broader European Union (EU) framework. At the same time, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) presents opportunities and challenges for sustainable development in the region. Using a combination of documentary and quantitative analyses, this study will assess the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative in terms of infrastructure investment, economic cooperation and policy coordination for the Western Balkans in terms of economic stability, digital transformation and environmental sustainability.

Haisheng Hu

Haisheng Hu, received his Master of Public Administration from Nanyang Technological University and his Master of Science in International Business from the University of Birmingham. He specializes in international relations, political economy and geopolitical economy and sustainable development.

He has published three books, more than 60 review articles in China People’s Daily, China Discipline Inspection and Supervision Newspaper, Study Times, etc., and more than 10 academic articles in international journals, including Asian Political Economy, China Political Review and China Economy.

huhaisheng652gmail.com

Gentjan Skara

Online platforms are indispensable to our daily activities as users. In addition, businesses are increasingly using online platforms in the business model. While the increase of online platforms boosts innovation and develops the economy, few online platforms act as gatekeepers by controlling a large digital market, likely leading to unfair practices and conditions for business users and end users. These gatekeepers have challenged the traditional enforcement of competition law in the digital markets. To address the behaviour of large online platforms in the internal market, on 24 March 2022, the EU adopted a regulation commonly known as the Digital Market Act.

As the DMA became effective in 2023, pursuant to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement harmonisation clause, the WBc must transpose this regulation into their domestic legal system. Likewise, in the EU, the growth of digital platforms and e-commerce platforms has created new challenges for WBc National Competition Authorities in handling cases concerning online platforms. This research analyses the enforcement of competition rules in the digital market in Western Balkan countries and discusses the main challenges that the WBc national competition authorities face with online platforms.

The primary methodology is that of doctrinal legal research and comparative legal research. The doctrinal legal research analyses the current WBc competition legislative act and the National Competition Authority case law. The comparative legal research compares whether and to what extent WBc competition law addresses the behaviour of online platforms.

This research argues that the WBc national competition authorities lack the necessary human, financial, and technical resources to handle these kinds of cases.

Gentjan Skara

Gentjan Skara holds an LLB from the University of Tirana (Albania); an MA in “European Studies” from Epoka University (Albania); an LLM for “South-East European Law and European Integration” from the University of Graz; PhD in “EU Law and National Legal System program” from the University of Ferrara. Genti has been a visiting fellow at the Institute of Corporate and International Commercial Law, University of Graz (Austria), the Department of International Law, University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) and the Institute for European Global Studies, University of Basel (Switzerland).

As of 1 August 2023, Genti is a full-time member of the Department of Law at Epoka University and teaches EU Law, EU Competition Law and Law and Technology courses. In May 2022, Genti published a book in a well-known publisher, Springer Nature, titled “Europeanization of Albanian Competition Law: The Case of Albania”. In addition, Genti’s scholarship has been published in peer-reviewed international journals. His research interests relate to EU Law, competition law, the harmonisation of laws, and the interplay between online platforms and law.

Besides academic engagement, Genti is a National Legal expert for the “Internal Market and Competition” of EU acquis near the Ministry of European and Foreign Affairs, Republic of Albania and has provided its expertise to different organisations on issues related to harmonization of law, competition law and regulation of digital platforms.

gskara@epoka.edu.al

Emina Bužinkić

My research, Migrant Work(ers) COUNTER Economies in Croatia, maps the collective organizing of migrant workers and its socio-political impacts amid growing insecurity and precarity in the peripheries of the European Union. I focus on the conditions that enable and obstruct migrant workers’ collective responses to their racialized treatment as “surplus populations” (Mezzadra, 2022). This research positions migrant organizing as a crucial site for producing critical knowledge and driving socio-political transformation, resisting the extractive market logic of racial capitalism while emphasizing the labor agency of migrant workers.

I explore two key questions: 1) What critical junctures mobilize migrant workers into collective action? 2) How can we understand the epistemic and political positionality of migrant workers to foster strategic interventions for democratization and justice-based economies in the EU’s peripheries? To answer these questions, I will engage with migrant workers’ collectives and organizations, while mapping the policies and systems that regulate and exploit migrant labor—from immigration and work permits to working conditions, livelihoods, and unionization. In line with the fellowship call, I situate this research within a moment of converging crises: the rising number of migrant workers from former Yugoslav countries and the Global South into EU nations, and the deteriorating economic conditions threatening workers’ dignity and safety.

Emina Bužinkić

Emina Bužinkić (PhD) is a researcher, activist, and writer working at the intersections of migration, transnational solidarities, education, and feminist praxis. Her work challenges the rigidity of migration and border regimes, xeno-racism, ethno-nationalism, occupations, and colonial structures. Emina employs critical qualitative methodologies, including narrative inquiry, storytelling, feminist ethnographies, and critical discourse analysis, collaborating with and advocating for racialized and marginalized communities.

She explores pathways to epistemic justice through community-accountable research and agitation. Actively reimagining and practicing migration justice, Emina contributes to organizing social movements and people’s tribunals. She is a member of the editorial collective for AGITATE! – Unsettling Knowledges and serves on the program committee of the Grounded Festival. Her publications span international journals, covering critical migration and border studies, critical race studies, public anthropology, education justice, and transnational feminism.

Emina earned her doctorate in critical educational, cultural, feminist, and human rights studies from the University of Minnesota, USA. She is currently concluding her postdoctoral research at the Institute for Development and International Relations, with the project ENDURE – Inequalities, Community Resilience and New Governance Modalities in a Post-pandemic World, funded by the Croatian Science Foundation.

emina.buzinkic@gmail.com

Eleni Oikonomaki

Her research project evaluates the dynamics of innovation districts using big data and geospatial analytics to detect innovation patterns and develop a framework for innovation assessment. Case studies in the US and EU contexts analyze indicators of past development trajectories to understand territorial impacts on “innovation-building processes.” By addressing four key research questions, the study aims to devise practical urban development frameworks for planners and policymakers to foster innovation in low-income and low-growth regions, creating more sustainable, resilient, and equitable urban environments aligned with the twin transition—green and digital. This research aligns with the fellowship’s focus, offering evidence-based insights and a roadmap for managing innovation districts, particularly in Southeast Europe amidst technological advancements and environmental challenges.

Eleni Oikonomaki

Eleni is an architect, urban designer, and researcher specializing in smart city planning and innovation ecosystems. She leverages programming languages to collect, measure, and interpret data for diverse design initiatives, including environmental assessments and urban planning. Her expertise spans urban design, spatial analysis, geocoding, and basic cartography, supporting research efforts in areas such as the twin transition (green and digital), technological innovation, and demographic trends. Additionally, she has executed research projects involving econometrics and feasibility studies, contributing valuable insights to the field.

elenoikonomaki@plandevel.auth.gr

Arseniy Kumankov

Citizenship in the 21st Century: The Meaning and Responsibilities

The 21st century has transformed traditional notions of citizenship, reshaping how individuals relate to their states, societies, and the global community. Moreover, while the scholarship on citizens’ political responsibilities in developed democratic states is extensive, much less attention has been paid to the role of citizens in countries facing democratic backsliding or non-democratic regimes, especially concerning their political obligations and accountability for their governments’ wrongdoings. My project proposes to explore the evolving meaning of citizenship and the corresponding responsibilities of citizens in a world increasingly defined by a wide range of challenges, three of which are listed as key thematic foci (economic, environmental, and digital issues).

The primary aim of this project is to address two central sets of problems: First, what are the essential characteristics of citizenship in the modern world? And second, what are the political responsibilities of citizens in non-democratic states, particularly in the context of their state’s wrongdoings?

Arseniy Kumankov

Arseniy Kumankov specializes in war studies, ethics of war and peace, political and social theory. He has been a research scholar in politics at Princeton University since 2022. In 2024, he taught courses on Russian politics and political theory at UMass Amherst. Arseniy received his Ph.D. in philosophy from HSE University (Moscow) in 2014. Between 2013 and 2022, he taught at the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences (Shaninka) and at HSE University, where he was deputy dean for research at the Faculty of Humanities and associate professor. Arseniy has authored numerous articles in Russian and English, as well as three books in Russian, and is the editor of the book series of the New Literary Observer (NLO) publishing house. Arseniy is a member of EuroISME, Concerned Philosophers for Peace, and the Independent Institute of Philosophy.

adkumankov@gmail.com

Aida Kapetanović

The growing political pressure for decarbonization in the Balkans has driven a surge in hydropower projects, posing significant threats to local communities and riverine ecosystems. In response, grassroots initiatives for river protection have emerged across the region. This research focuses on the regional network “Let’s Defend the Balkan Rivers” to examine the role of local environmental struggles in shaping an ecological transition from a bottom-up perspective. It explores the evolution of regional coordination, the diffusion of frames, and the role of regional networking in supporting claim-making across different scales. The study employs frame analysis of the network’s documents and semi-structured interviews with key activists, building on prior research on river protection movements in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

Aida Kapetanović

Aida Kapetanović is a recent doctoral graduate at the faculty of political science and sociology of the Scuola Normale Superiore. Her research interests combine environmental sociology, social movement studies, cultural and symbolic dimensions of collective action, nationalism, identity, and qualitative research methodologies. Her main area of interest is Southeast Europe. She is an activist in Florence, where she has been involved in various grassroots organisations.

aida.kapetanovic@sns.it

Stefania Petris

Stefania Petris is a Financial Assistant at the Regional Network of Centres for Advanced Studies in Southeast Europe (RECAS) and a team member at the Center for Advanced Studies (CAS-UNIRI). She graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Rijeka, specializing in Entrepreneurship. Her career began in the private sector, where she gained substantial experience in financial management and analysis. Through her work, she developed expertise in budgeting and strategic planning, supported by a strong analytical approach and a proven ability to foster financial stability and growth.

stefania.petris.recas@gmail.com

Irena Molnar

Irena Molnar, serving as the Program Development Manager at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory in Belgrade, brings forth a wealth of expertise and dedication to her role. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Social Anthropology from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy. With a robust background in project and financial management, Irena has gained valuable experience through diverse roles within government and civil society organizations, both at the national and international levels.

Her notable achievements include the successful coordination of fellowship programs for multiple cohorts at the IFDT. Going beyond program development manager, Irena actively contributes to coordinating various projects and programs, highlighting her adept project management skills. Her commitment to fostering intellectual and social advancements is evident not only through her fellowship coordination but also in her strategic involvement in development initiatives.

Irena’s proficiency extends to networking, where she plays a pivotal role in coordinating with several European networks. Her primary focus lies on the Western Balkans and Southeast Europe, showcasing her commitment to regional collaboration and development. With a comprehensive skill set and dedication to advancing organizational and social discourse, Irena Molnar significantly contributes to the growth of the organizations she is engaged with.

irena.molnar@ifdt.bg.ac.rs

Katja Cerar

Katja Cerar completed her bachelor’s and master’s studies at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Sport. She began her career in the private sector, as a project, health promotion, and sports coordinator. Later, she continued her career in the public sector. She has been employed at the University of Ljubljana for 19 years. Since 2015 she has been responsible for promotional and support activities for international students and candidates, cooperation with international partners, and within international associations and networks at the central level. She actively participates in and coordinates the activities of the University of Ljubljana Global Alumni and Associate Network and the Rectors’ Forum of Southeast Europe and Western Balkans.

Ivan Svetlik

Prof. Dr. Ivan Svetlik is the pioneer of the human resources study in Slovenia. Since 1974 he has been a professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Ljubljana. From 1993 to 1997 he was also the Dean of the same faculty. From 2005 to 2008, he was the Vice-Rector of the University of Ljubljana. He is the author of the first University of Ljubljana mission and the co-author of the first University of Ljubljana Strategy 2006-2009. He established the university system of tutoring, the university career center, and the University of Ljubljana Global Alumni and Associate Network and coordinated the second external EUA evaluation of the University of Ljubljana. He is the co-author of the University of Ljubljana Strategy 2012-2020 and of the evaluation study Bologna in Ljubljana. From 2008 to 2011, he was the minister for labor, family, and social affairs. He signed over 400 articles and books in Slovenian and other languages, mainly in the fields of education, employment, social policy, and human resources. From 2013 to 2017 he was the Rector of the University of Ljubljana. Currently, he is actively involved in the activities of the Rectors’ Forum of Southeast Europe and Western Balkans.

Boštjan Markoli

Prof. Dr. Boštjan Markoli is a full professor in the field of physical metallurgy at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering at the University of Ljubljana (UL NTF), where he received his PhD in 2000. He is engaged in the characterisation and development of new metallic materials. In the 1990s he perfected his skills by collaborating with the Technical University of Munich in the development of alloys for the Airbus 320 and the Audi A6. In 2010 he was a visiting researcher at NTNU in Trondheim, Norway, as a Norwegian Government Fellow, and as a Fulbright Fellow he worked at the University of California, Berkeley, USA, in 2011 and 2012. More recently, Prof. Dr. Markoli has collaborated with the Université de Lorraine in Nancy as a member of the associated laboratory PACS2, under the auspices of the French CNRS. At his home faculty, he has held several leadership positions and was also Dean of the UL NTF in 2017-21. He has gained experience in managing and evaluating the quality of services and processes in business as a member of supervisory boards in companies. He publishes the results of his research in prestigious scientific and professional publications, regularly participates in international scientific meetings and is a member of international professional associations. He was elected the Vice-Rector of the University of Ljubljana for internationalisation and quality, for a period from 1st October 2021 to 30th September 2025.

Anila Paparisto

Born in Tirana on 24.09.1969; Graduated from the University of Tirana, Faculty of Natural Sciences, 5-year study Integrated Master of Sciences “Biology” 1988-1993. Master of Science in Molecular Biology-Biotechnology, Vrije – Universiteiet, Brussels, Belgium 1997. Doctor of Science in Entomology, UT, 2001. Associate Professor in 2007; Professor in 2012. Deputy Rector of the University of Tirana 2021-present; Lector of Invertebrate Zoology (bachelor program in Biology) 1998-present; Lector Didactics of Biology Teaching and Practical Training and Projects in Biology (Master of Science, Biology Teacher for High School) 1994-today. Winner of the UNESCO-L’Oreal Fellowship for Young Women in Science award, 2002. Vice Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Tirana University 2008-2012. Head of the Teaching and Research Group of Zoology and Animal Ecology 2008-today. Member of the Academic Senate of Tirana University 2012-present; Member of the Albanian Academy of Arts and Science 2013-present. Member of the organization Women in Science 2012-today. Member of the Accreditation Board of Higher Education, Albania 2017-2021. Member of the HERE, Higher Education Reform Expert Group 2015-2021. Scientific interests: Biodiversity of the class Insecta (taxonomy, distribution, ecology, and conservation of insects, orders Lepidoptera, Odonata and Coleoptera); Insects as bio–indicators of river water quality; Invasive species; management of Protected Areas and Monitoring of Animal Biodiversity. Study principles and methods of teaching and learning Biology. Author of over 100 articles and presentations in scientific journals and conferences. Member and activist of Civil Society and Environmental Associations from 1991 to today.

Gentrit Berisha

Gentrit Berisha is a Professor of Management at the University of Prishtina. His research interests revolve around intrapreneurship, entrepreneurship organizational behavior, decision making, and ethics. His has published numerous reseaech articles in journals indexed in most of the major publishers. His research has been presented at the Academy of Management Annual Meeting and the European Academy of Management Conference.

Gentrit is a Transformational Leadership Program Fellow, having conducted an exchange study visit at the Tuck School of Business.

He teaches Managerial Decision Making, Operations Management, Career Development, and Business ethics. He has had teaching experiences in business schools in Germany, Portugal, Lithuania, and Croatia.

Faton Berisha

Full Professor of Mathematics at the University of Prishtina. He received his doctorate in mathematical sciences (approximation theory) in 1998 and has been a full professor since 2004. He has conducted research on numerical analysis at the “Alfred Renyi” Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Department of Mathematics and Applications at the Central European University (CEU). There have been a number of international academic mobilities for study and specialization purposes at institutions such as Moscow State University, La Rochelle University in France, University of Jena in Germany, Carlow Institute of Technology in Ireland, and Arizona State University. In the service of University of Prishtina, he previously held the functions of vice-rector and vice-dean of the Faculty of Mathematical-Natural Sciences. He is currently the vice-rector for personal staff, integrity and publications at University of Prishtina.

Maja Arslanagić Kalajdžić

Dr. Maja Arslanagić-Kalajdžić is Professor at University of Sarajevo – School of Economics and Business (SEBS), Marketing Department (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Head of the Center for Research and Development at the University of Sarajevo. She holds a PhD from the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana. In 2016 and 2017, she worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Chair of International Marketing, Faculty of Business, Economics and Statistics, University of Vienna. With 16 years of professional experience in academia, but also as consultant, Maja’s vast experience ranges from support to start-ups and entrepreneurs to work on SMEs and large enterprises. In particular, she is experienced in working on development of science and innovation ecosystem, R&D&I policy-making, as well as technology and knowledge transfer, linking academia and industry, research infrastructure and business side of intellectual property management. Topics of her interest range from B2B/industrial marketing, international marketing to ESG and sustainable development topics. Maja has participated various projects funded by national and international institutions (e.g., Horizon Europe, Horizon 2020, EIT HEI, SMP, COSME, Danube Transnational Programme, Adrion Programme, UNDP, UN Women). She has co-authored more than 50 journal articles, several books, monographs and book chapters and she presented her research at more than 100 international scientific conferences.

Ana Trombeva-Gavriloska

Prof. Dr. Ana Trombeva-Gavriloska, is a civil engineer and holds PhD in Civil engineering. She is a professor and Vice Dean at Faculty of Architecture, “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” University in Skopje

Her main filed of interest is in research of Circular Economy, Environmental Impact of Urbanisation and Risk assessment and management in urban environment. She is also interested in research of new materials and their implementation in new structures, strengthening and rehabilitation of existing constructions, energy efficiency of structures and effect of climate changes on energy consumption of buildings and air pollution.

As an author and coauthor she has published numerous papers related to design and strengthening of constructions, composite materials, energy efficiency of structures and sustainable construction. She is the author and co-author of research study and Strategy for sustainable urban development of City of Bitola. She has participated in a several international projects: MEnS-Meeting of Energy professional Skills, “Professional training courses in nearly zero energy buildings NZEB”, KFORCE-Knowledge for Resilient Society, ROCK-Regeneration and Optimisation of Cultural heritage in creative and Knowledge cities, 1FUTURE-Joined for Sustainability – Building Climate Resilient Communities in WB and EU.

She is a member of the Council of the Standardisation Institute of the North Macedonia and President of the Supervisory board of the Chamber of Certified Architects and Certified Engineers.

Ognen Marina

Ognen Marina, PhD is an architect and holds PhD in Architecture and Urbanism. Since 2017 he is the Dean of Faculty of Architecture and since 2023 Director of Centre for advanced and Post-Doctoral Studies at University “SS. Cyril and Methodius” in Skopje, North Macedonia. He was the Director of “The Skopje Project” Conference (https://theskopjeproject.com/) held in Skopje in 2023 for the occasion of 60 years anniversary of Skopje earthquake.

His main field of interest is development and implementation of novel strategies in architecture and sustainable urban development. He is particularly interested in use of digital tools for development of models of urban form, modelling processes of urban transformation and urban innovation through hybridization in the context of transitional societies, urban resilience, cultural heritage and climate change mitigation.

He is author of books related to analysis, assessment and modeling of urban development and its impact on the cities and society including “The Skopje Project” (forthcoming in 2024), “Inclusive/Exclusive Cities” (Eds. O. Marina, A. Armando, 2016), Projects for an Inclusive City (Eds. O. Marina, A. Armando, 2015) and “3D City Models and Urban Information: Current Issues and Perspectives” (Rolland Billen, O. Marina, et all. EDP Science, Les Ulis Cedex A, France, 2014). He was a project leader for Horizon 2020 ROCK project, UNDP studies for Social housing and achieving SDG 11 and a leading expert for development of Skopje Smart City Strategy and Strategies for urban development of Skopje and Bitola.

ognen.marina@arh.ukim.edu.mk

capris@arh.ukim.edu.mk

Teodora Stanković

Teodora Stanković is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Montenegro, holding a BSc in International Relations, an MSc in Political Science, and a PhD from the same university, where she defended a dissertation on the role of energy issues as sources of conflict in various tense regions.

Stanković’s international experience includes studies and skill advancement at prestigious universities such as Heidelberg University, the University of Salzburg, the University of Ljubljana, and the University of Buenos Aires. She worked as a Research Assistant at the Institute for Advanced Studies of the University of Montenegro from February to December 2022, before being appointed as an Assistant Research Professor in December 2022. Since April 2023, she has been a member of the Center of Young Scientists of the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts. In December 2023, she was unanimously elected as the Secretary of the same center for a two-year term.

Bojan Baća

Bojan Baća is a research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Montenegro. After receiving his PhD from York University in 2018, he has held postdoctoral positions at the University of Graz, Charles University, Heidelberg University, and most recently at the University of Gothenburg as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow. He has also served as a research fellow at the University of Rijeka, New Europe College, Akademie Schloss Solitude, University of Vienna, and Corvinus University of Budapest.

His research has been published in a variety of peer-reviewed outlets, including Sociology, Antipode, International Political Sociology, Political Geography, Europe-Asia Studies, and Theory, Culture & Society (forthcoming), among several others. Over the past few years, he has received several research awards recognizing his contributions to the study of civil society and social movements in Central and Eastern Europe, such as the 2022 Routledge Area Studies Interdisciplinarity Award, 2022 Zagorka Golubović Engaged Research Award, and 2020 Danubius Young Scientist Award.

His professional background includes more than a decade of experience in the non-governmental sector, where he worked as a policy analyst and consultant. Presently, he is a member of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG).

Jelena Vasiljević

Jelena Vasiljević is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade. Her background is in political anthropology and citizenship studies. Her expertise and research interests include theories of citizenship, citizenship transformations in the post-Yugoslav states, memory politics, civic engagement, and social movements in South-East Europe. Presently, she is primarily interested in theories and practices of solidarity. She was a Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, working on an ERC project on citizenship transformations in the former Yugoslav states (CITSEE), and a Research Fellow at the Centre for South East European Studies, University of Graz. She is currently involved, as a national coordinator, in a Horizon 2020 (European Commission) project EnTrust. Enlightened trust: An examination of trust and distrust in governance – conditions, effects and remedies. She is the author of the awarded book The Anthropology of Citizenship (in Serbian, 2016). Her articles appeared in Nations and Nationalism, Citizenship Studies, and East European Politics and Societies, among other journals. She was an expert member of The Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG).

Gazela Pudar Draško

Gazela Pudar Draško, a political sociologist, currently serves as the Director at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, widely recognized for its commitment to engaged scholarship. Gazela also coordinates a working group on HE&science policy advancement in the Rectors’ Forum of Southeast Europe, furthering collaboration in the academic community. Additionally, she contributes her expertise to the Summit for Democracy Deliberative Democracy and Citizens Assemblies Cohort. Her research interests span deliberative democracy, participatory democratic innovations, social movements, and gender studies. Gazela’s work is motivated by a dedication to evidence-based social sciences and advancing participatory governance practices.

gazela.pudar@ifdt.bg.ac.rs

Sanja Bojanić

Sanja Bojanić is a researcher immersed in the philosophy of culture, media, and queer studies, with an overarching commitment to comprehend contemporary forms of gender, racial, and class practices, which underpin social and affective inequalities specifically increased in modern societal and political contexts. She is the executive director of the Center for Advanced Studies Southeast Europe at the University of Rijeka and an associate professor at Rijeka’s Academy of Applied Arts.

Snježana Prijić Samaržija

Snježana Prijić Samaržija, Ph.D., is a Full Professor of Philosophy at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Rijeka. An expert in social philosophy, political epistemology, and applied ethics, she is the key founder and first director of the University of Rijeka Foundation. She has also founded and directs the Centre for Advanced Studies South-East Europe. Before her rector’s mandate, she was the vice-rector for students and studies for eight years. Throughout fifteen years of active participation in university management, she has assumed the role of an expert in numerous national and international committees, advisory boards, and HE bodies in strategic management and leadership domains in HE. Prijić Samaržija has also worked on HE’s social responsibility, community-oriented learning and research, strategies for human resources in research, and ranking policies. Rector Prijić-Samaržija was appointed to the Steering Committee to draft the European University Association (EUA) Strategy plan (2020). She was president of the Alpe Adriatic Rectors Conference and Young European Research University Network (YERUN), a member of the Strategy Board of the European University Alliance – Young Universities for Future of Europe (YUFE), and a member of the Steering Committee for Education Policy and Practices at the Council of Europe. She is the president of Rectors Forum of South East Europe and Wester Balkans.

Petar Bojanić

Petar Bojanić is a founding Director of the Center for Advanced Studies Southeast Europe. He is a Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory of the University of Belgrade, and serves as the Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Engagement Southeast Europe. Bojanić has held visiting professor positions at esteemed institutions worldwide, including Cornell University, the University of Aberdeen, Birkbeck University, and the University of Turin. He specializes in social ontology, ethics of war, theory of architecture, and various projects surrounding Jewish political thought. Among his numerous publications are “Violence and Messianism: Jewish Philosophy and the Great Conflicts of the 20^th Century” (Routledge, 2017) and “In-Statuere: Figures of Institutional Building” (Vittorio Klostermann, 2022).

petar.bojanic@ifdt.bg.ac.rs