Cetinje will host the Cetinje Forum – Force 2025 on November 14 and 15, with the theme: “Shaping Disorder – Democracy, Security, and Leadership in the Era of Global Transformation”.
The event will bring together numerous domestic and international experts, diplomats, professors, and journalists, who will, over the course of two days, discuss key challenges facing modern democratic societies.
The forum will take place at the Vladin dom, and is organized by the Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature, the Old Royal Capital Cetinje, and WestBalkanNet, with the support of the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Sarajevo, the Regional Academy for Democratic Development, Novi Sad, the Montenegrin PEN Center, and the Cultural Center of the Royal Capital Cetinje.
Media sponsors include RTV Cetinje, Antena M, and Television E.
Year after year, the Cetinje Forum is becoming one of the most important platforms for dialogue on democratic processes in the Western Balkans, connecting participants from academic, political, and civil sectors.
PROGRAMME
DAY ONE – 14 November 2025
9:30 a.m. – Official Opening
9:45 – 10:45 a.m. – Panel 1 – The EU Enlargement Process and Geopolitics: Presentation of the document “Montenegro: Non-paper”
Speakers:
Vesna Pusić, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia 2011-2016
Iveta Radičová, Prime Minister of Slovakia 2010-2012; Minister of Defense of Slovakia 2011-2012; Dean of the Pan-European University, Bratislava
Peter Galbraith, U.S. Ambassador to Croatia (1993–1998); Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations (2009); Vermont State Senator, Windham County (2011–2015)
Moderator: Marko Banović, Analyst at the Digital Forensic Center (DFC)
11:00 – 11:45 a.m. – Panel 2 – Diplomacy in Times of Crisis
Speakers:
H. E. Matei-Viorel Ardeleanu, Ambassador of Romania to Montenegro
H. E. Veselko Grubišić, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to Montenegro
H. E. Janina Hřebíčková, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Montenegro
H. E. Oleh Herasymenko, Ambassador of Ukraine to Montenegro
Moderator: Marko Savić, Political Scientist
12:00 – 12:30 p.m. – EU Enlargement: Illusion or Reality?
H. E. Edita Hrdá, Czech Government Special Envoy for the Western Balkans
Moderator: Prof. Olivera Komar, University of Montenegro
12:45 – 1:45 p.m. – Panel 3 – Challenges of Democracy, Human Rights Policy, and Security in Central and Southeast European Countries
Speakers:
Jakub Klepal, Executive Director of the Forum 2000 Foundation, Prague
Roman Jakič, President of the Liberal South East European Network (LIBSEEN); Minister of Defense of Slovenia 2012-2014; Member of European Parliament 2000-2004
Daliborka Uljarević, Executive Director at Centre for Civic Education (CCE)
Elira Luli, Lecturer and Researcher in International Relations, Luarasi University, Tirana
Sead Turčalo, Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Sarajevo
Moderator: František Šístek, Institute of History of the Czech Academy of Sciences
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. – Panel 4 – The Importance of Media Freedom in the Modern World
Speakers:
Darko Šuković, Editor-in-Chief, Antena M
Rosanda Mučalica, Editor-in-Chief, Portal Analitika
Draško Đuranović, Editor-in-Chief, E Television
Jasmina Muminović, Editor-in-Chief, Portal Standard
Danica Nikolić, Editor-in-Chief, M Portal
Darko Ivanović, Executive Director of NGO “35mm””
5:15 – 6:15 p.m. – Panel 5 – Current Situation in Serbia and Reflections on the Western Balkans
Speakers:
Balša Božović, Executive Director of the Regional Academy for the Democratic Development (ADD)
Milivoj Bešlin, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade
Aleksej Kišjuhas, Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad
Dinko Gruhonjić, Professor at the Department of Media Studies, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad
Moderator: Emir Pilav, Political Scientist
6:30 – 7:30 p.m. – Book Presentation: Adnan Prekić, “Past Time Illness”/„Bolesni od prošlosti“ (Publisher: Analitika)
DAY TWO – 15 November 2025
9:30 – 10:30 a.m. – Panel 1 – Preserving Democratic Values in the Era of Rising Authoritarianism
Speakers:
Tinatin Khidasheli, Minister of Defense of Georgia 2015-2016; Chairperson at think-tank Civic IDEA
František Lipka, Former Ambassador of Czechoslovakia to the former Yugoslavia; Former Ambassador of Slovakia to France, UNESCO, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Montenegro; Chairman of the Electoral Commission for the 2006 Independence Referendum of Montenegro
Sašo Ordanoski, Program Manager, Forum – Center for Strategic Research and Documentation, Skopje
Branislav Radulović, President of the Association of Lawyers of Montenegro
Marko Banović, Analyst at the Digital Forensic Center (DFC)
Moderator: Lejla Salihagić Batrićević, Program Coordinator at WBN
10:45 – 11:45 a.m. – Panel 2 – Disinformation, Toxic Narratives, and Historical Revisionism
Speakers:
Adnan Prekić, Professor, University of Montenegro
Marija Mitevska, Journalist, Telma TV / Investigative Magazine KOD
Biljana Jovićević, Journalist, Antena M
Momčilo Radulović, President of European Movement in Montenegro
Moderator: Milan Marković, Vice Dean for International Cooperation, Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature (FCJK)
12:00 – 12:30 p.m. – 30 Years after Dayton – Is the War Over or Merely Frozen?
Sead Jusić, Commander of the 505th Bužim Knights Brigade of the 5th Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Former Deputy Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Moderator: Aleksandar Radoman, Dean at the Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature (FCJK)
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. – Panel 3 – The Independent Civil Sector and the Rule of Law as Safeguards Against Anti-Democratic Policies
Speakers:
Danijel Kalezić, the Executive Co-Director of ERA – LGBTI Equal Rights Association for the Western Balkans and Turkey
Nevenka Vuksanović, Director at Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM)
Draško Jabučanin, Analyst at the Digital Forensic Center (DFC)
Emir Pilav, Political Scientist; Director at NGO “Husein Paša”
Dražen Cerović, Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Montenegro
Moderator: Almedina Dodić, WBN Youth Coordinator
2:15 – 3:15 p.m. – Panel 4 – The Next Generation: Active Engagement of Youth in Shaping New Democratic, Security, Media, and Cultural Policies
Speakers:
Almedina Dodić, Project Assistant at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime; WBN Youth Coordinator
Andi Batusha, Head of Programs at the Institute for Security and Resilience – PREVENT, Pristina
Ferdinand Fuchs, Political Activist, Stiftung Grundwerte und Völkerverständigung (Foundation for Basic Values and International Understanding)
Sara Čabarkapa, Active Citizenship Program Coordinator at Centre for Civic Education (CCE)
Moderator: Boban Batrićević, Professor at the Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature (FCJK); Executive Director at WBN
3:30 – 4:00 p.m. – Conclusions and Closing of the Cetinje Forum
