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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FNF supported short film “Istina” nominated for student Oscars
The short film “Istina”, which was supported by Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, has been nominated for the 50th Student Academy Awards/Student Oscars®. The film tells the story of a photojournalist from Belgrade who is threatened by right-wing extremist thugs and flees to Germany with her daughter. For the young film team around director Tamara Denić and producer Christian Siée, this is a dream come true.
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Ukrainian Youth's Vision for EU-Ukraine Relations
From August 23rd to 26th, FNF Ukraine held the Ideation Workshop "Reshape Europe: You(th) Vision of the EU-Ukraine Relations". For four days, 17 young Ukrainians from diverse backgrounds came together in a scenic location of Zakarpattia Oblast to discuss Ukraine's journey towards the European Union. They explored topics like EU integration, political reforms and economic changes, all while building their skills and having fun.
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Strategic Decoupling: Phasing out russian economic influence in Germany
The study by the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) examines the continuing entanglement between the German and Russian despite Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. The Russian corporate presence in Germany is highly concentrated in around 40 larger firms, which specialize in oil refining, natural gas supply and distribution, metal and plastic products manufacturing, glass production, and transport. Russia’s war upended European peace and security and intensified global power competition. The study shows that the Kremlin's long arm extends far beyond Germany's misguided Ostpolitik.
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Young Ukrainians shape the future of Europe
FNF Ukraine and NGO European Youth of Ukraine organised interactive events for youth as part of the #ReshapeEurope campaign. The "Eurotrain in Ukraine" project involved train travel across Ukraine, discussing Ukraine's EU membership benefits and European youth policy experiences. Felix Shepel, Policy officer and Board member at NGO European Youth of Ukraine, shares insights on the initiative and Ukrainian youth's vision for Ukraine-EU future.
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Bringing Europe Closer to Citizens via EU Institutions
The third edition of the Future of Europe Youth Summit took place this year in northern Romania. It is the largest youth event in Eastern and Southeastern Europe and had a special format this year: it hosted the FNF ESEE regional hackathon. Participants discussed the future of Europe in the context of the war in Ukraine and the increasing impact of phenomena such as fake news and disinformation on young people.
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Reshape Europe Conference: ‘Building Resilience, Ensuring Stability, Harnessing Welfare’
The International Security Forum ‘Building Resilience, Ensuring Stability, Harnessing Welfare’ focused on Ukraine's resistance to Russian aggression, military and security challenges in Eastern Europe, potential assistance to Moldova in the joint effort to resist Russian aggression in Ukraine, building economic and institutional resilience and building energy security in Eastern Europe. The Reshape Europe Conference was organised by FNF and IDIS Viitorul.
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Rory Sutherland on Behavior Science and Creativity
Don't miss a dose of inspiration from the last “The Liberal Communications Network”. Get an insight into the Marketing Strategies of non-profits with Rory Sutherland´s top 5 theories on behavior science and creativity.
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FNF Connects - One Month in Istanbul
Greta Kiss from the Brussels office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom worked in Istanbul for five weeks as part of the "One Foundation Worldwide" programme and gained insights into the work of the team on the ground and the challenges facing Turkey, an indispensable but very challenging partner of the EU. The country was mourning thousands of losses in the earthquake of the century, and all eyes turned to the region in Southeastern Turkey. This, of course, has had a significant impact on Turkish society and also on the staff and local partners of FNF’s Istanbul office.
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Kivi Leroux Miller´s Insights on Marketing Strategies and Goal Setting
Don't miss a dose of inspiration from the last “The Liberal Communications Network”. Kivi Leroux Miller shares her insights on developing an effective mission-driven marketing strategy and goal-setting.
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Liberal Communicators Network (LCN): Non-Profit Academy 2023
The LCN-Non-Profit Academy will empower liberal communicators to adapt cutting-edge communication strategies, innovation, and marketing trends for he specific context of the mission-driven sector. By innovating non-profit communications, liberals will be better equipped to win the hearts and minds, influence shifts in values and behaviour. Join the Academy to become a member of this European network of marketing professionals in international development.
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Prisoner of Conscience: Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russia
Heute findet die Berufung von Vladimir Kara-Murza, einem überzeugten Liberalen, Oppositionspolitiker und scharfen Regimekritiker, Journalisten, Menschenrechtler statt. Kara-Murza wurde u.a. wegen „Hochverrats“ zu 25 Jahren verschärfter Lagerhaft verurteilt. Die Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit verurteilt das Urteil auf das Schärfste. Mit der Journalistin Alice Bota unterstützen wir den Aufruf zu einer Solidaritätskundgebung für Vladimir Kara-Murza heute am Montag, den 31. Juli 2023 um 18 Uhr am Brandenburger Tor.
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Prisoner of Conscience: Alexandra Skochilenko
“The Russian army has bombed the art school in Mariupol. 400 people were sheltering there during the bombing.”, was one of Alexandra Skochilenko anti-war slogans, put onto price tags in a supermarket to counter the misinformation spread by the Kremlin. Discover the story of Alexandra Skochilenko, a prisoner of conscience from Russia.
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Think Freedom: Freedom is an Action
After the successful premiere in Sofia, the documentary portrait of Denitsa Lyubenova is storming the international film festivals. Starting on a national basis at the Sofia Pride Film Fest in Bulgaria, the documentary makes its way over the neighboring country North Macedonia all the way to Berlin, Germany and London, the UK. "Think Freedom: Freedom is an Action' tells the story of the human rights lawyer and activist Denitsa Lyubenova of the LGBTI organization Deystvie.
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Long road to new government – Liberals in it for the first time
On 2 October 2022, Bosnia and Herzegovina held its ninth regular parliamentary and presidential elections amidst brewing crises, both domestic and international. The liberal party “Naša stranka” is poised to be the part of the new governing coalition. Despite some successes of progressive parties, the ethnic nationalist and conservative parties continue to dominate. All of this will make for a challenging environment in which liberals will have to manoeuvre, seeking to affirm the principles and values around which the party was built.
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Secret Charm - China´s Hidden Influence in Southeast Europe
This policy paper highlights a case study, which provides useful lessons learned as to Beijing's broader geopolitical and geo-economic objectives as well as the ambition to increase its economic leverage and political clout. The paper features case studies on China’s influence in eight countries in Southeast Europe, conducted by local experts. The authors assess China’s investments, its image and the appeal of its governance model in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia.
