CEMI news November 20th Round table "The role and importance of Think Tank organizations in the democratization of the Western Balkan countries"

The Monitoring Center, CEMI organized a round table "The role and importance of Think Tank organizations in the democratization of the Western Balkan countries", supported by the Open Society Institute – Think Tank Fund from Budapest, within the project "Capacity building of CEMI’s policy research unit" on the 20th of November.

The aim of the round table was to define recommendations for improving this concept in Montenegro through discussing and presenting concrete examples of good practices of think tank organizations, civil sector representatives from Montenegro and the region (Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina).

Professional teams, or professional institutes (think tanks) are groups of experts, or institutes who are specialized for certain issues of practical policy and which are included in the process of creating a practical policy. The concept of think tank organizations (research centers) is still insufficiently developed in Montenegro and Western Balkan overall, and because of that, it is necessary to work on exchanging experiences and improving the existing situation in this area.

The speakers at the round table were: Sanja Elezovic, Director of the Open Society Institute – Representative office in Montenegro, Mr. Zlatko Vujovic, President of the Managing Board CEMI, Prof Dr Zhidas Daskalovski, President of the Center for research and public policy creation in Skopje, Mr Zdravko Mijovcic, Director of EDA Developing Agency in Banja Luka, Faculty of Law in Novi Sad, Mr Stevo Muk, President of Institute Alternative, Mr Momcilo Radulovic, Secretary General of The European Movement in Montenegro.

Participants at the round table were: Representatives of Parliamentary Political Parties, Representatives of Government Institutions, NGOs from Montenegro, Representatives of International Organizations and Professors from the University of Montenegro.