International Conference “Building Resilience Through Sharing Democratic Experiences: a CEI Appraisal”
On 23 June, the University of Warsaw hosted the international academic conference “Building Resilience Through Sharing Democratic Experiences: a CEI Appraisal”, co-organised by the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Warsaw, the Institute of Central Europe, and the Central European Initiative.
The event marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Secretariat of the Central European Initiative and was held under the honorary patronage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and the Rector of the University of Warsaw.
Before the conference began, the guests met at Kazimierzowski Palace at the invitation of Professor Maciej Raś, Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Quality of Teaching and Learning at the University of Warsaw. The meeting was attended by, among others, Franco Dal Mas, Secretary General of the Central European Initiative; Yuri Mushka, Deputy Secretary General of the CEI; Cosmin Onisii, Ambassador of Romania to Poland; and Alfredo Maria Durante Mangoni from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The Faculty of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Warsaw was represented, among others, by Professor Agnieszka Bieńczyk-Missala, Vice-Dean for International Cooperation, and Dr Spasimir Domaradzki. The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the strengthening of regional cooperation and the role of the Central European Initiative in building democratic resilience.
The conference was officially opened by Professor Maciej Raś, Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Quality of Teaching and Learning at the University of Warsaw; Franco Dal Mas, Secretary General of the CEI; Ignacy Niemczycki, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland; and Cosmin Onisii, Ambassador of Romania to Poland.
The first panel, entitled “Democratic Experience in Central and Eastern Europe”, focused on the experience of democratic transformation in Central and Eastern Europe. The discussion was moderated by Professor Agnieszka Bieńczyk-Missala, Vice-Dean for International Cooperation at the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies. The panel featured Professor Jacek Czaputowicz, Luisa Chiodi from Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa, Bálint Magyar from Central European University, and Tin Gazivoda from D-Hub.
The second panel, “Integration, Democracy and the EU Enlargement”, addressed the links between European integration, democracy, and the process of EU enlargement. It was moderated by Professor Dorota Heidrich. The discussion featured Professor Remigijus Šimašius from Vilnius University, Gazela Pudar Draško from the University of Belgrade, Hanna Hopko from ANTS – National Interests Advocacy Network, and Adrian Ermurachi from IPRE.
The final part of the conference was a roundtable organised in cooperation with the Institute of Central Europe. The discussion focused on the role of regional organisations in times of dynamic change and was moderated by Dr Grzegorz Gil from the Institute of Central Europe. The roundtable participants included Matteo Bonomi from the Istituto Affari Internazionali, Alfredo Maria Durante Mangoni from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Magda Modrzyńska from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, and Konstantine Vardzelashvili from ODIHR OSCE.
The conference provided an opportunity to exchange experiences on democratic transformation, the resilience of public institutions, and the importance of regional cooperation in the face of contemporary political challenges.
We would like to thank all participants for their presence, inspiring contributions, and substantive discussion on the future of democracy, institutional resilience, and regional cooperation.