Balkan Youth Forum 2012, Kragujevac, Serbia 05-09. April 2012

• Balkan Youth Forum (BYF) is a five-day international conference that will be held from 5th to 9th of April 2012 in Kragujevac (SERBIA). BYF conference is free, and it is organized for students (bachelor and master) that are particularly interested in topics like regional integration and cooperation between Balkan countries.
  Participants will have opportunity to hear most prominent speakers, to discuss and work in small groups and to be involved in many social activities.
  The application deadline is February 29 (Wednesday) 2012, before 23:59 o’clock. We strongly encourage all application materials be submitted as soon as possible, because they are being reveiwed on a rolling basis.
  
  The aim of this forum is to spread awareness of significance and necessity of regional cooperation among students by battling numerous prejudices through getting to know each other and mutual interaction. The last two decades have dealt a significant blow to the countries of the region, as a consequence of numerous factors, including wars, transition of states towards capitalist society and the process of joining the European Union. Even though these countries find themselves in different phases of the above mentioned processes, they will and already share the same problems. Limited political influence and economic power of individual states imply the necessity of further bonding, so that the entire region could enter the global development scheme. Although the younger generations will also be both subjects and objects of this integration in the near future, they have been overlooked by the regional initiatives that have been raised so far.
  Topics will be divided into two modules:
  1. Economic aspects of regional integration,
  2. Political aspects of regional integration.
  Each module will be envisioned and led by the eminent university professors, politicians and managers from the Balkan region.
  Program will consist of five main parts:
  

  1) Activities aimed at getting to know each other and building a team spirit: Opening exercises – getting to know each other – games or remembering the names of all the members of a committee, exercises in removing barriers in communication, exercises in building and strengthening trust within a group, problem solving exercises and games whose sole purpose is fun and recreation. It is by these activities that the participants of the conference will, through various simulations, be directed to cooperation as the most efficient way to solve problems.

  2) Brief glance at the history from the 19th century onward: Students will be offered at least two views of the region’s history, through lectures of two professors. Different approaches to history have so far been one of the major obstacles to building a solid foundation of long term cooperation and integration. The goal of these lectures is to accept different views of specific events and the possibility of facing historical facts that are not equally available in different countries.

  3) Lectures within modules for students of various faculties. Participants of the conference will attend lectures of their respective professional fields. For example, economists will hear about perspectives of economic cooperation within a region through CEFTA agreement and the significance of that cooperation for competitiveness at the international market. Lectures arranged in such modules will provide for dealing with topics that require knowledge, and which will enable the deligates to tackle issues they so far haven’t had the chance to hear about at the faculty.

  4) Workshops and round tables will provide the attendants with opportunities to discuss the topics of the conference themselves, but also to hear discussions of relevant guests from the world of politics, economy and the law about the past, present and the future of cooperation in the region. Confronting attitudes will enable the students to form their own standpoints and form a critical view of a multitude of issues. In addition to this, they will also be given the opportunity to improve their skills in public debate and self-expression.

  5) Adoption of resolutions (through simulation of work of European parliament): On the last day of conference students will be divided into six committees, which will threat different problems in the region. Inside every committee delegates will discuss about problems in the region and then form resolutions in order to solve them, although even highest country officials could not. After that, these resolutions will be presented to general assembly that will discuss it and adopt it or not in the end. Adopted resolutions will be sent to national parliaments on Balkan. Besides learning how European Parliament works, delegates will have a chance to present a joint youth opinion about these topics.

  Conference is free for all participants. Transportation form Belgrade to Kragujevac and back will be provide. Hotel Šumarice has all necesarry infrastructure including capacity and room structure, conference rooms and adequate grounds for outdoor activities which makes it a perfect location.

  
  Registration: http://balkanyouthforum.org/conference-registration/
  
  more information: http://balkanyouthforum.org