East and Southeast Europe
The Regional Office FNF ESEE covers 23 countries in East and Southeast Europe. The Regional Office in Sofia coordinates the following Project Offices in the region: Bulgaria and North Macedonia, Greece, Romania and Moldova, Western Balkans, Russia and Central Asia, Ukraine and Belarus, South Caucasus and Turkey.
News
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Deep gratitude and bitter disappointment
„We will never forget how she helped us. I remind you that a woman is coming to us representing a country that is our biggest trading partner and most important investor.” In the run-up to her trip the German Chancellor was showered with effusive praise by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. The divided reactions to the outgoing Chancellor’s farewell trip to the Western Balkans illustrate both the strengths and weaknesses of her engagement in the region.
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The most powerful weapon to change the world
Leading with integrity and persistence, former teacher Liliia Hrynevych managed to transform the education system in Ukraine. Discover the story of the #femaleforwardinternational ambassador and educator that brought each child’s individual success to the heart of the school system.
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Activism with never-ending enthusiasm
Vukosava Crnjanski on promoting fact-checking in Serbia and being resistant to the country’s complicated politics.
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The changing face of North Macedonian politics
Monika Zajkova from the Liberal Democratic Party wants to serve as an example for other young female politicians in her country. Despite her age, she has nearly a decade of political experience – she joined the LDP’s youth wing in 2011 and became its president in 2017. Zajkova, who holds a degree in law, worked in four electoral campaigns before she made her own bid for MP in 2020.
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Prisoner of Conscience: Elchin Ismayilli
Find out the story of the released prisoner of conscience. In March 2021, thanks to a presidential pardon, more than 30 secular and religious opposition figures, have been released from prison in Azerbaijan. Among them is as well the journalist Elchin Ismayilli unjustly incarcerated. In mid-February 2017, police arrested Azerbaijani journalist Elchin Ismayilli and later charged him with bribery, extortion, and abuse of power.
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Liberal Communicators Network (LCN): Non-Profit Edition
If you are passionate about non-profit communications, you are cordially invited to apply for the ‘Liberal Communicators Network (LCN): Non-Profit Edition’ of the European Liberal Forum (ELF). The Academy ‘Make a Good Message Better’ offers online a series of big-picture inputs by high-level speakers in the summer (7 sessions over 2 weeks: 24 June- 11 July) and 2 specialized workshops and 2 sessions in the autumn on SEO and Social Media in September and October.
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Freedom Team Interview with Martin Kothé : Thoughts on Freedom and FNF
Curious to get to know Martin Kothé, our new Regional Director for FNF East and Southeast Europe and Project Director for Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Greece? Watch an animation to discover his thoughts on Freedom and FNF.
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Meet Ramona Strugariu from Romania
Ramona Strugariu is a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from the Renew Europe Group and a law graduate with more than a decade of experience in the NGO sector. She ran for office on the ticket of the liberal PLUS (Freedom, Unity, and Solidarity Party) fraction, a movement born on the squares of Bucharest in 2018.
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The importance of starting from the bottom
Diana Muresan on the joys and hardships of joining a brand-new party and the conscious choice of not skipping steps when climbing the political ladder
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A diplomat of principle
Maia Panjikidze, the first female Georgian foreign attaché, always loved her profession, but was never afraid to leave it when its demands clashed with her beliefs. Meet the #FemaleForwardInternational ambassador from Georgia.
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Meet Maia Panjikidze from Georgia
In 2010, Maia Panjikidze resigned her position as head of the Georgian mission to the Netherlands over a disagreement with her government’s domestic policy. She went back to her first profession – teaching literature and German language to high school and university students – and did not think she would ever join the ranks of the diplomatic corps again.
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Living in the Shadow of Russia's Foreign Agents Law: A Conversation with Galina Arapova
Sergey Parkhomekno talks Galina Arapova about Russia's infamous foreign agents law and the environment it creates for journalists.
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Changing the world one fight at a time
Achieving legal and social victories, Nino Bolkvadze does not wait for a better world: she creates it. She was the first openly lesbian running for office in the history of Georgia. Meet the #FemaleForwardInternational ambassador from Georgia.
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Meet Diana Mureșan from Romania
Diana Mureșan on the joys and hardships of joining a brand-new party and the conscious choice of not skipping steps when climbing the political ladder. Four years down the road, she is heading the local branch of the USR party, in Sibiu and has become a representative in the city’s municipal council.
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How to normalize being gay in Russia?
Screenwriter Liza Simbirskaya talks about her approach of gently challenging homophobic narratives through art
Social Media
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🇺🇦 In Ukraine, adrift? ✍️ Mark your calendars for 24 September 2021, 12:30 – 12:50 (CEST) to watch a livestream about Ukraine on European Liberal Forum page. 🇺🇦 The panel discussion celebrating the release of the book “In Ukraine, Adrift” in English will discuss some of the challenges that the journalist and author Paul Frigyes encountered during his journey in Ukraine, such as gender inequality, environmental degradation and corruption. Since the book first was published, Ukraine has been thrown into a deadly pandemic, like the rest of the world, not least in Eastern Europe. We are yet to see an end of the war against Russia in Donbass. In all this, is Ukraine adrift towards the EU?Speakers include: ✔️ Paul Frigyes, Author (Sweden) ✔️ Olga Nemanezhyna, Head of Council of Women’s Initiatives (Ukraine) ✔️Maria Nilsson, Member of Parliament, Liberalerna (Sweden) 📚 Over the course of 2019, Paul Frigyes went adrift across Ukraine, Europe’s largest, but often least-known, countries. The result is “In Ukraine, Adrift” a report from a nation in search of an identity and a place in Europe. First published in Swedish and in Ukrainian in 2020, the book is now presented to an English-speaking audience. 👏 The event is organised in cooperation with Swedish International Liberal Centre (SILC). It will be live-streamed on the ELF Facebook page from Gothenburg Book Fair in Sweden. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3gyYcwa
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♀️ 💪 What are the realities for women in politics in the region? 🌍 In the #FemaleForwardInternational global campaign, FNF shares best practices of female empowerment and leadership from East and Southeast Europe. #fnfesee
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❓ Deep gratitude and bitter disappointment? 🇩🇪 🇷🇸 The divided reactions to the outgoing Chancellor Merkel’s farewell trip to the Western Balkans illustrate both the strengths and weaknesses of her engagement in the region. Find out more from the article of our colleagues from FNF Western Balkans 👉 https://bit.ly/3Cy6ixC
