International Conference: Sofia Platform 2013

Jasminko Halilović, Populari’s Deputy Director participated at the international conference Sofia Platform 2013 held between 31 October and 1 November, 2013 and organized by The Sofia Platform, the Center for Liberal Strategies with the support of the Balkan Trust for Democracy, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the European Commission’s Representation in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The transition processes have been discussed from various angles by the high level participants of this year’s Sofia Platform.  Although most of the programme was dedicated to Syria crisis, one of the sessions dealt specifically with comparisons of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Syria.

The first session dealt with the relationship between democratization and security in the Middle East, namely “is it too early to talk about democracy building if the weapons have not still been put down?.”  In the second session titled “From Bosnia to Syria – are Pluralistic States Viable”, professor Ešref Kenan Rašidagić from the University of Sarajevo was the speaker.  What the Dayton Agreement brought to BiH, and what is the model that should be applied in Syria, were the most important issues of this discussion. The third session debated the role of the neighboring countries in the Syrian crisis.

The next and closing day of the conference, three sessions discussed societies in transition and democracy building, the role of the Arab media today, and in the end, what Europe can do better for the wider Middle East. These conversations always remain incomplete, and thus the conclusions of this year’s Sofia Platform primarily emphasized the need for dialogue.

Organizers of the conference deserved all compliments – it is unnecessary to highlight how important the conversation about these topics is.  Populari endorses this type of dialogue, and is proud to have been given a chance to contribute to the conference.

More details on the conference can be found in the agenda on the right side.

Agenda: International Conference: Sofia Platform 2013 (.pdf) >>>