Populari’s Executive Director, Alida Vračić participated in the conference “BERLIN IN RIGA-The Centenary of the Birth of Sir Isaiah Berlin” held from June 1-6, 2009 in Riga, Latvia. As part of the centenary event, the conference gathered a group of 20-25 outstanding young academics, activists, journalists and policy makers from Central and Eastern European countries to give them a forum to discuss questions relating to the furtherance of democracy, liberalism, civil society and the rule of law in the wider region. The group was involved in a programme of seminars and panel discussions, chaired by very senior policy makers and renowned intellectuals, in order to provide them with the opportunity to…

Populari’s Executive Director Alida Vračić participated as one of the speakers in the international conference “Engage! Grantmakers East Forum (GEF)” that was held from October 8 to 10, 2008 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The Forum is an annual two-day conference, which convenes on average 150 participants each year, representing grantmaking foundations, bilateral donors, international organisations and corporate funders. The Forum grew out of the EFC’s Grantmakers East Group (GEG), which was created in 1992 by a group of EFC members active in Central and Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union states. The group first met as a side event organised at the EFC Annual General Assembly (AGA) and Conference. However, as…

Populari’s Executive Director, Alida Vračić participated in the international conference “The EU and SEE in 2008: Is All Still Well?” held from September 22-23, 2008 in Barcelona, Spain, organized by the Europe Programme of the CIDOB Foundation, European Stability Initiative (ESI) and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES). South-East Europe, which has recently had to face a series of crucial events, from Kosovo’s declaration of independence to the political crisis in Turkey, is looking impatiently towards the European Union, which is once again engrossed in its institutional reform. The crisis in Georgia this summer may also change the agenda for future EU enlargements. This conference tackled the implications for the region’s future from the perspective…