Three EFB Community Members participated in the FutureLab Europe Annual Forum

Florim Canolli (Kosovo), Vanja Dumeljic (Serbia) and Hatidza Jahic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) are the three members of the The European Fund for the Balkans Community that took part in the 2015 FutureLab Europe Annual Forum. During the week-long programme, FutureLab participants got a thorough introduction to FutureLab Europe’s focal topics - Active Democracy, Equal Opportunities and European Identity – by meeting top-level EU decision makers, NGO representatives, journalists and business leaders. The group of 24 bright students and young professionals coming from a mix of 16 EU and non-EU European countries, met and discussed with different stakeholders in the EU decision-making process, getting a holistic picture of the EU institutions and the issues currently on the EU agenda. During the week-long intensive conference, they debated the state of democratic values in Europe, the challenges for young people in having equal opportunities and finding quality jobs in the labour market, as well as the rise in nationalism and xenophobia in European societies. They presented their own ideas and challenged their preconceptions by talking to each other as well as with top-level EU decision makers, including politicians, policy-makers, journalists and representatives from both NGOs and business associations. Key highlights of the programme included a debate with the President Emeritus of the European Council and current President of the European Policy Centre, Herman van Rompuy, and a meeting with Laszlo Andor, former EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion. The new FutureLab Europe participants also debated how to combat the rise of nationalism and xenophobia in European societies with Monica Frassoni, Co-Chair of the European Green Party and member of the Spinelli Group, and Philippe Van Parijs, Philosopher and Professor at the University of Louvain. FutureLab participants are regularly voicing their opinions in blogs and articles and join public discussions across Europe, and the input of EFB Community Members and previous FutureLabEurope participants can be seen in the compilation of blogs written on the subject of the refugee crisis. For more info go to this page.