The Summer Academy for Strengthening Democracy in
the Euro-Med Region is an initiative of the Bulgarian School of
Politics “Dimitry Panitza” and is organized in cooperation with the
Tunisian School of Politics and the Citizenship School of Political
Studies in Morocco. The Academy is supported by the South Programme II
“Towards a Strengthened Democratic Governance in the Southern
Mediterranean” (2015-2017), funded by the European Union and
implemented by the Council of Europe. This year’s Summer Academy
follows the successful inaugural event that took place in the summer
of 2014.
The main goal of the Summer Academy is to reinforce the democratic reforms and the establishment of democratic governance in the Southern Mediterranean through experience sharing and cooperation among active participants in the political life of the countries in the region and the EU. The Summer Academy brings around the same table prominent young leaders, aged 25-40 from Morocco, Tunisia and Bulgaria and aims to promote cross-border constructive dialogue and establish transnational networks among democracy practitioners, activists, thinkers, political parties and civil society from North Africa and Europe. All participants are alumni of the National Programmes of one of the three schools and are members of the global alumni network of the schools of political studies under the auspices of the Council of Europe.
The central theme of this year’s Summer Academy is “Security and Culture”. This main topic is conditioned by the recent events in Paris, Copenhagen and Tunis that showed how exposed we all are to the destructive forces of global terrorism, for which borders have ceased to exist. We shall provoke and encourage the participants to look critically at the security challenges while counting in the geographical proximity between Europe and North Africa, which is an important factor when drawing strategies for the stability of the region.
The event will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 2nd to 7th June 2015.
The main goal of the Summer Academy is to reinforce the democratic reforms and the establishment of democratic governance in the Southern Mediterranean through experience sharing and cooperation among active participants in the political life of the countries in the region and the EU. The Summer Academy brings around the same table prominent young leaders, aged 25-40 from Morocco, Tunisia and Bulgaria and aims to promote cross-border constructive dialogue and establish transnational networks among democracy practitioners, activists, thinkers, political parties and civil society from North Africa and Europe. All participants are alumni of the National Programmes of one of the three schools and are members of the global alumni network of the schools of political studies under the auspices of the Council of Europe.
The central theme of this year’s Summer Academy is “Security and Culture”. This main topic is conditioned by the recent events in Paris, Copenhagen and Tunis that showed how exposed we all are to the destructive forces of global terrorism, for which borders have ceased to exist. We shall provoke and encourage the participants to look critically at the security challenges while counting in the geographical proximity between Europe and North Africa, which is an important factor when drawing strategies for the stability of the region.
The event will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 2nd to 7th June 2015.