Youth organization from Denmark visits BCSP

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Security and historical aspects of the Serbia – Kosovo relations were the main subjects in a discussion between a group of students coming from SILBA – Initiative for Dialogue and Democracy from Denmark and the researchers from BCSP, during a lecture held on March 30, 2017.

Researcher Bojan Elek talked about the context and the background of the contemporary ethnic relations in the Western Balkans. The lecture was dedicated to the historical facts of conflicts in Kosovo, ending with the recent Brussels Agreement and the current negotiating process between Belgrade and Pristina. 

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Researcher Maja Bjelos presented the citizens’ attitudes toward the current Serbia – Kosovo relations. In this public opinion poll, BCSP has obtained the information about the national security of Serbia and the expected responses to security threats.

“The official policy of the Government of the Republic of Serbia concerning Kosovo does not go beyond the refusal to accept it's sovereignty. Still, citizens are recognizing the importance of continuing the dialogue, because three quarters of them are for it, while just 9 percent are against it”, Bjelos concluded.

Coordinator for internship program at BCSP Vladimir Erceg presented the opportunity for cooperation through the fellowship program for foreign students, implemented by BCSP since 2007, and called them to take part at the following Belgrade Security Forum, the largest regional conference dedicated towards security.

The students were the most interested in historical aspect of inter-ethnic conflicts in the Western Balkans. The group was led by Milica Mirkovic, SILBA executive board member. Silba is an NGO based in Denmark dedicated to electoral observation and education in Central and Eastern Europe. They are visiting Belgrade within the monitoring program of the forthcoming presidential elections in Serbia.