Summer Seminar for Young Western Balkan Leaders

Deadline: 30 April 2013
Open to: talented young university MA students of the Western Balkans (Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the V4 (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia)
Venue: 14-21 July 2013 in Budapest, Hungary

Description

The International Centre for Democratic Transition (ICDT) with the support of the International Visegrad Fund offers you the opportunity to participate in the Summer Seminar for Young Leaders of the Western Balkans.

• Would you like to know more about the European Union and its relationship with the Western Balkans’ countries?
• Are you interested in the future of the relations between your country and the European Community?
• Would you like to get to know better the importance of the Visegrad cooperation and its Central European traditions?
• Would you like to broaden your knowledge with exciting extracurricular activities in an amusing atmosphere among 15 other young people?

If your answer to these questions is yes, this summer university will be a perfect opportunity to deepen your knowledge. This one-week seminar will be between July 14, 2013 and July 21, 2013 with high-qualified lecturers and speakers in Budapest, the beautiful capital of Hungary. A variety of extracurricular activities are included to make your stay in Hungary more active and interesting. They offer an inspiring atmosphere and a great chance to get involved in a network that is going to help you to improve your professional career.

Selected participants can get a full scholarship to reimburse travel, accommodation and catering costs.

The summer course intends to empower the young leaders of the Western Balkans by employing the case and experience of the Visegrad Group within the European Union. Consequently, they will learn the significance of the European integration and regional cooperation initiatives, and their possible contribution to the development of the Western Balkans. At the same time, the participants from the V4 countries will also have the chance to become acquainted with the situation and the future prospects of the Western Balkans. Furthermore, they will also meet other important stakeholders, such as European politicians representing the V4, civil leaders, and people from the business sector.

The topics of the program include but are not limited to:

• The EU integration – with particular emphasis on the accession of the V4 and Croatia
• The EU institutions and their role in the European integration
• The EU’s relationship with the Western Balkans
• The European Parliament’s role in the integration process
• The EU enlargement and the prospects of the Western Balkans
• Regional cooperation in Europe, including good practices in the Visegrad Group
• “EU-Model” – Modeling EU negotiations

You can read more about the school on the project brief HERE.

Eligibility

Applicants should be prominently motivated university students with ongoing or recently finished MA studies in International Relations or Political and Social Sciences, possessing the following virtues:

• Interest in European studies, basic knowledge on the European Union;
• Interest or experience in working with NGOs is an advantage (but not obligatory);
• Willingness and courage to share personal opinion in different matters related to the topic of the seminar.

Applicants should be talented young leaders of the Western Balkans (Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the V4 (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia).

Application

If you find this offer attractive, please send your CV with a photo and a motivation letter via e-mail to Mirwais Janan at m.janan@icdt.hu and Ágnes Novák at a.novak@icdt.hu. Applications are due by 30 April 2013.

For more information, see the call for participants HERE and the official website HERE.