Best practices

The project “Political and Intercultural dialogue – From Conflict to Common Interest” supports the development of multicultural democracy in Macedonia and Kosovo. The project promotes political and intercultural dialogue and finding common interests and cooperation between different ethnic groups in the efforts to overcome the challenges to democracy. 

Over years now the Political Academy of the Austrian People’s Party organises in cooperation with the Robert Schuman Institute a series of seminars for young politicians from South-Eastern and Eastern Europe. The last two courses in 2008 focused on the topic „Media and Politics”. The topic in 2009 the topic is “City campaign management”.

The course for promising politicians is an initiative of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Alfred Mozer Stichting and supported by several other political foundations. The aim is to invest in a new generation of leaders in the western balkan region. The project will enter its eigth year in 2009.

In 2003 the Institute for Social Integration (ISI) started its pilot project "For professionalism in politics and encouragement of the civil participation".

The main objective of the project is to stimulate the building of a new political culture of the young generation. Since 2003 until now 330 graduates from all municipalities of Bulgaria have attended the Academy.

Training in sign language have been provided for 40 students from 4 different universities in Sofia. The main aim of the course was young people, who studies and future professional occupations will be related to people with disabilities, to be involved in the active participation in the process of creation of hospitable and sustainable environment for people with hearing impairment in order to facilitate their integration in the civic society.

The LIBSEEN network of the liberal parties, organisations and institutes of south-eastern Europe was established in 2006 and re-lau­nched at a reunion in Skopje in April 2008 by the leaders of the liberal parties in the region. The conference held in Zagreb aimed at assisting political parties in their efforts to determine the current and future role and work of the liberal in south-eastern Europe, examining a number of policy topics which are reflective of the liberal ideology and initiating the topic of political party foundations or training centres.

The priority of the seminar held in Zagreb, Croatia is to educate the elected officials about the problems and ways and techniques of solving them in county, city and governments councils and governments.

International study visit enabling youth of democratic political powers from Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and former Yugoslav countries to examine electoral process in a country which successfully overcame the undemocratic legacy of communism to achieve membership of EU and NATO and also to network with political organizations from other EU countries.

The new instrument introduced by the Lisbon Treaty that aspires to further embed democracy in the EU and to increase the citizens’ “sense of belonging”, was presented on the occasion of the one-day conference about the European Citizens’ Initiative and women’s participation. The conference took place in Athens, on 13 May 2011.

ISTAME-Andreas Papandreou has successfully completed in 2008 an Action Project under the aegis of the Ministry of the Greek Ministry of Employment and Social Protection concerning awareness raising of citizens in regions with social exclusion and environmental problems.