Representatives of the Regional Forum for Democracy, Reconciliation and Strategic Analyses – WestBalkanNet (WBN) participated in the annual conference of the Forum 2000 Foundation in Prague. The WBN delegation included Prof. Vesna Pusić, Prof. Iveta Radičová, Prof. Tinatin Khidasheli, Prof. Tomáš Petříček, Prof. Boban Batrićević, Program Coordinator Lejla Salihagić Batrićević, and Prof. Dinko Gruhonjić, all of whom actively contributed to the conference program as panelists, speakers, moderators, and workshop participants.
During the conference, participants discussed the most pressing global challenges, including issues of global security, toxic narratives and interference by illiberal regimes, as well as perspectives on European Union enlargement and human rights policies.
Particularly significant for WBN was their participation in a workshop dedicated to the Position Paper on the Challenges to Democracy in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership (Addressing the Common Challenges to Democracy in the WB and EaP Countries from a Civil Society Perspective). This document, developed within an international project led by the Forum 2000 Foundation with financial support from the International Visegrad Fund, analyzes shared democratic challenges in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership regions, including weakening rule of law, corruption, restrictions on civic space, and geopolitical pressures. It also presents recommendations for strengthening democratic resilience and the role of civil society. WBN is one of the project’s partners.
WBN Executive Director Boban Batrićević Meets Metropolitans Emanuel and Epiphanius During the Forum
During his stay in Prague, WBN Executive Director, Prof. Boban Batrićević, held a series of important meetings with religious and spiritual leaders. At the conference, he met with Ecumenical Metropolitan Emanuel Adamakis, one of the highest spiritual representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, with whom he discussed the challenges of preserving the identity and spiritual rights of Orthodox Montenegrins and the need for support in affirming the church and social identity of Montenegro’s citizens.
In addition, Batrićević, together with Metropolitan Epiphanius I, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine, took part in the panel “Religion and the Russian Threat, Yesterday and Today”, where he spoke about current geopolitical and security challenges in the region. He highlighted the role of hybrid pressures and influence through political, cultural, and religious channels, noting how Russia, through Serbia and instruments such as the Serbian Orthodox Church, seeks to establish parallel structures of influence in Montenegro that potentially threaten European values and democracy.
These meetings and panels further strengthened international cooperation and the exchange of views on the role of religious and civil actors in reinforcing democratic processes and stability in Southeast Europe.
Photo credit: Forum 2000
