Regional Network of Centers for Advanced Studies

02/06/2026

Are young people in Southeast Europe truly "future-makers," or are they kept on the margins?

In her project " From Margins to Makers: Youth, Constructive Resistance, and Democratic Futures in Southeast Europe," researcher Ajda Hedžet dives into the world of youth activism and "constructive resistance". The research explores how young people navigate the gap between political rhetoric and the reality of exclusion, using digital spaces and transnational networks to build alternative visions of solidarity and belonging.

More on: https://recas.info/fellows/
Fellowships are supported by OSF Western Balkans, ERSTE Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund & Pocantico Center.

21/05/2026

How do we conceptualize a future that is not yet here?

On Thursday, May 28th, join us for a seminar with Ali Aslan Gümüsay on "Prospective Theorizing." In the face of global emergencies, this discussion argues that academic theories must shift from simple projection to active, values-led imagination.

Ali Aslan Gümüsay will outline the framework of speculative rigour, offering criteria to evaluate how we imagine and build the futures we actually want to see.

🗓️ Thursday, May 28th, 2026 at 12:00 PM CET
🔗 Full Seminar Description & Link: https://recas.info/cas-see-seminars-with-guests-ali-aslan-gumusay/

Fellowships are supported by OSF Western Balkans, ERSTE Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund & Pocantico Center.

28/04/2026

How do young people in the Balkans exercise agency in an era of uncertainty?

RECAS Fellow Anastas Vangeli is developing a framework to understand the specific ideational dimensions that influence Balkan Gen Z. Instead of focusing on migration or political apathy, the study examines how shifts in material conditions are translated into daily practices through media, institutions, and peer-level sense-making.

This research establishes a vital conceptual foundation for future policy engagement and empirical studies on youth in the Western Balkans.

🔗 Learn more about the project: https://recas.info/fellows/

Fellowships are supported by OSF Western Balkans, ERSTE Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund & Pocantico Center.

21/04/2026

Exploring Youth Political Imaginaries in Southeast Europe’s Digital Playgrounds

Young people across Southeast Europe are increasingly turning to digital environments to articulate concerns and experiment with alternative political futures.

Ana Gavrilović's research project investigates how video games—particularly open-world and community-driven platforms—have become essential arenas for collective imagination and democratic resistance. From in-game protests to civic coordination via gaming tools, these activities reveal a vibrant landscape of youth agency that often goes unnoticed by formal institutions.

This project uses digital ethnography to show how digital play is shaping the democratic futures of the region.

Fellowships are supported by OSF Western Balkans, ERSTE Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund & Pocantico Center.

🔗 Discover more about the project and our fellows: https://recas.info/fellows/

25/03/2026

❗️Due to unforeseen circumstances, the seminar has been moved to 14:00.

❗️EDIT: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the seminar has been moved to 14:00.

We invite you to the upcoming Center for Advanced Studies - South East Europe Seminar "Decision-Making as a Democratic Site" with guest speaker Vlatka Matković, in conversation with RECAS Fellow Srđan Kukolj.

This session examines how community identity is institutionalised within governance processes, gaining force through policy instruments and institutional obligations. We will discuss the procedural conditions that make certain identities "politically legible" and the impact on legitimacy in modern governance.

Vlatka Matković is a Brussels-based expert in public health and environmental policy with extensive experience in European policy settings (Lungs Europe, HEAL) and the European Commission Joint Research Centre.

🗓️ Thursday, 26 March 2026 | 12:00 CET
🔗 Full info and link: https://recas.info/cas-see-seminars-with-guests-vlatka-matkovic/

Fellowships are supported by OSF Western Balkans, ERSTE Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund & Pocantico Center.

17/03/2026

How do young people in North Macedonia imagine their migration futures?

We are sharing insights from a project that builds on the ongoing anticipatory governance pilot in North Macedonia. By conducting foresight workshops with young people in Skopje, the study explores how individual mobility intersects with demographic challenges and new political imaginaries.

The research moves beyond traditional interventions, asking youth to provide their own policy recommendations and testing methods that connect their visions to formal state processes.

🔗 Full project details and fellows: https://recas.info/fellows/

Fellowships are supported by OSF Western Balkans, ERSTE Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund & Pocantico Center.

15/03/2026

The RECAS Fellowship Project Surgery took place at the Moise Palace on the island of Cres from 9–14 March 2026. This intensive session allowed our fellows to refine their research projects through collaborative exchange and expert feedback in an inspiring academic setting.

Fellowships are supported by OSF Western Balkans, ERSTE Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund & Pocantico Center.

15/03/2026

13/03/2026

.RECAS Surgery Week 2026 brought fellows and mentors together at Moise Palace on Cres for several days of presentations, feedback, and scientific exchange.

Read more about this year’s discussions and presentations on our website: https://recas.info/recas-surgery-week-2026-concludes-at-moise-palace-in-cres/

Fellowships are supported by Open Society Foundation Western Balkans, ERSTE Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund & Pocantico Center.

12/03/2026

Final day of RECAS Surgery Week 2026

After two days of intensive discussions, feedback, and shared reflection, our fellows closed Surgery Week with projects exploring youth resistance, digital spaces, language, migration, and new forms of solidarity across Southeast Europe.

🔹 Ajda Hedžet presented her project on youth and constructive resistance in Southeast Europe, examining how young people move from being marginalised subjects to makers of alternative democratic futures. Her research highlights how new forms of solidarity and political imagination emerge from below in contexts marked by precarity and constrained civic space.

🔹 Ana Gavrilović explored video games as spaces of youth political resistance. By analysing platforms such as Minecraft and Roblox, her project shows how digital play becomes a site for civic expression, collective imagination, and alternative democratic futures in the region.

🔹 Anxhela Lepuri investigated how young people in Prishtina use metaphors to describe democracy, EU integration, and their imagined futures. Her study reveals how figurative language reflects emotions of hope, frustration, and resistance, and shapes political perception and belonging.

🔹 René Bogović examined how new minority speakers of Italian and Slovene among majority youth in Croatia challenge established ethnolinguistic boundaries. His research considers whether such identity shifts can serve as blueprints for transethnic youth solidarity in Southeast Europe.

🔹 Julija Perhat presented her project on slurs and the politics of language among youth in Croatia and Serbia. By combining conceptual analysis and survey data, she explores how linguistic practices shape political imaginaries, boundaries of belonging, and possibilities for more inclusive futures.

As Surgery Week concludes, the conversations continue, strengthening regional academic cooperation and deepening our shared exploration of youth imaginaries and democratic futures in Southeast Europe.

Supported by: Open Society Foundations Western Balkans, ERSTE Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund & Pocantico Center.