An international think-tanks' and policymakers' conference organised by the Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM), Skopje,

and PASOS - Policy Association for an Open Society1 Date: Friday 9 November 2012 Venue: Hotel Continental, bul. Aleksandar Makedonski b.b., 1000 Skopje, Macedonia

The conference will be organised in association with the annual international think-tanks' conference of PASOS Policy Association for an Open Society. Leading think-tanks will co-operate to explain and influence national and international policies, including EU policies, on a range of issues facing the Western Balkans and other transition regions, while building on EU new member-states' experience of democratic transition and EU integration to debate transition know-how with think-tanks from EU's neighbouring regions. Principal conference themes Forging a New Impetus towards Open Government assessment of the goals and potential impact of the Open Government Partnership, and scope for monitoring implementation of OGP plans at the national level Mobility and Integration of Migrants through Participatory Policymaking - national and regional (including EU) strategies to foster social inclusion and mobility, and policies towards minorities, migration, asylum-seekers. Reform of Regional Co-operation Structures with an Enhanced Role for Non-State Actors - Western Balkans and Turkey - Central Asia and South Caucasus - Eastern Europe (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova) Prospects for European Integration and Regional Integration - building on new member states' transition knowhow to address shortfalls in progress reports on Western Balkans countries, and assessing regional co-operation structures and the role of the EU, international institutions, and non-state actors in the Western Balkans, the Black sea region, and Central Asia

Participants: independent think-tanks from Western Balkans and Turkey, EU member-states, Central Asia and South Caucasus, Eastern Europe (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova) policymakers and government officials from Western Balkans, EU, international institutions media from Western Balkans
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The Center for Research and Policy Making has a mission to promote good governance and development in Macedonia on the basis of relevant, evidence based policy research, capacity building and trainings, evaluations, analyses and surveys. For further information, see www.crpm.org.mk. PASOS Policy Association for an Open Society is a network of independent think-tanks from Central and Eastern Europe, Western Balkans and Central Asia. PASOS organises international networking, training and advocacy events - to strengthen the capacity and outreach of independent civil society actors working to promote public participation in policymaking. For further information, see www.pasos.org

CONFERENCE AGENDA Friday 9 November 2012: Hotel Continental, Skopje, Macedonia OPEN GOVERNMENT, DEEPER DEMOCRACY

08.40-09.00: Coffee and registration 09.00-09.10: Welcome and Introduction: Marija Risteska, Executive Director, Center for Research and Policy Making, Macedonia Dr. Heinz Bongartz, Resident Representative, Skopje office, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung

09.10-09.40: Strategies towards Open Government and European Integration Moderator: Agnieszka ada, Chair of the Board, PASOS (Policy Association for an Open Society)/ Head of the European Programme, Institute of Public Affairs, Poland Keynote speaker: Nikola Poposki, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia

09.40-10.00: PASOS Think-Tank Awards 2012 ceremony Presentation of awards in recognition of think-tank achievements in 2011-2012 introduced by Jeff Lovitt, Executive Director, PASOS

10.00-11.30: Plenary 1: Forging a New Impetus towards Open Government Moderator: Neil Campbell, Head, EU Policy Development, Open Society Institute Brussels Panellists: Linda Austere, Policy Researcher, Centre for Pubic Policy PROVIDUS, Latvia Marija Novkovi, Project Manager, United Nations Development Programme Christopher Yvon, Ambassador of United Kingdom to Macedonia Irena Bojadzievska, Ministry of Information Society and Administration, Macedonia How credible are governments Action Plans under the Open Government Partnership initiative to bring about more accountable government? Should civil society organisations be partners or independent observers in monitoring governments commitments? What are the regional challenges for civil society involvement? The significance of the Open Government Partnership for the monitoring and evaluation mechanism of the EU in Romania, Bulgaria and now Croatia; the start of the scanning process in Montenegro and the high-level dialogue with Macedonia

11.30-11.50: Coffee break

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11.50-13.15: Plenary 2: Mobility and Integration of Migrants through Participatory Policymaking Moderator: Piotr Kamierkiewicz, policy analyst, Institute of Public Affairs, Poland Panellists: Thomas Huddleston, Policy Analyst, Migration Policy Group Vladimir Petronijevi, Executive Director, Group 484, Serbia Dr. Mridula Ghosh, Chair, East European Development Institute Examining good practice and prospects for policy reform to tackle: Minority rights and migrants Regional policies and instruments to promote mobility and integration Entry points for non-state actors in monitoring policy implementation

13.15-14.15: Lunch break 14.15-15.30: Three parallel sessions: Evaluation of current regional co-operation structures with a view to forging recommendations for improved international co-operation and greater participation of non-state actors a) Western Balkans and Turkey Moderator: Nathan Koeshall, Senior Program Officer, Balkan Trust for Democracy Speaker: Ognyan Minchev, Executive Director, Institute for Regional and International Studies, Bulgaria b) Central Asia and South Caucasus Moderator: Vugar Bayramov, Chair, Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD), Azerbaijan Speaker: Nino Khelaia, Researcher, Swiss Academic Caucasus Net c) Eastern Europe (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova) Moderator: Tatiana Kouzina, Executive Director, Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies Speaker: Andrey Ryabov, Expert, Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russia 15.30-16.00: Coffee break 16.00-18.00: Plenary 3: Prospects for European integration and regional cooperation Moderator: Zhidas Daskalovski, President, Center for Research and Policy Making, Macedonia Panellists: Jovan Tegovski, Ambassador, Chief of Staff, Regional Cooperation Council Juliana Nikolova, Adviser to Prime Minister of Bulgaria Ambassador Aleksandar Pejovi, State Secretary for European Integration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Montenegro Dr. Robert Kirnag, Ambassador of Slovak Republic to Macedonia EU enlargement policy towards the Western Balkans The role of the EU, international institutions, and non-state actors in regionalisation of Western Balkans, the Black sea region, and Central Asia Evaluation of current regional co-operation structures with a view to forging recommendations for improved international co-operation and greater participation of nonstate actors

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The conference, Open Government, Deeper Democracy, has been made possible with the support of the following:

Embassy of Slovak Republic

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