European Fund for the Balkans

01/10/2026

📣 Open call for applications: Western Balkans Fellowship Programme at the Austrian Parliament 2026/2027

The European Fund for the Balkans, together with the Austrian Parliament, is looking for 6 civil servants from the WB6 national parliaments who want to strengthen their professional skills, exchange experience with peers from across the region, and contribute to administrative reform and stronger regional and European cooperation.

Selected fellows will spend six weeks at the Austrian Parliament in Vienna in autumn 2027, alongside fellows from all six countries of the region.

🏦 Albania 🏦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 🏦 Kosovo 🏦 Montenegro 🏦 North Macedonia 🏦 Serbia

🇩🇪 This year, prior knowledge of German is no longer required at the time of application. Selected fellows will have 10 months to reach A2 level, organising their own language courses, with the Programme covering costs of up to €1,200.

ℹ️ Find out more and apply: https://www.balkanfund.org/applications/western-balkans-fellowship-programme-at-the-austrian-parliament-2026-2027

⏳ Application deadline: 4 November 2026

26/09/2026

📚 Three days of dialogue on how we teach, remember and represent a violent past: the Joint History Project's annual international conference, "Violence in History: Experiences, Memories, and Representations in Southeast Europe," has come to a close in Athens.

🏛️ From 24 to 26 September at Panteion University, historians, educators and researchers from 13 Southeast European countries, together with colleagues from Germany, the UK, Norway, Canada, the US and Spain, explored:
🔹 how to approach difficult and violent pasts in the classroom
🔹 how societies remember and come to terms with conflict
🔹 the ways violence has been shaped by gender
🔹 what crimes, massacres and genocides have left behind in the region

🗣️ In his closing remarks, Veton Zekolli, Executive Director of the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB), said:
"Locating shared understanding via the past represents a notably complex endeavor. It doesn’t involve crafting a unified narrative demanding universal acceptance—that borders on manipulation—but rather a more difficult task: presenting diverse accounts side-by-side (...) and empowering youth to reason independently. For me, it requires two qualities, and the Joint History Project has demonstrated each for nearly three decades: bravery and compassion."

🙏 A heartfelt thank you to all speakers, participants and partners for the open and thoughtful exchange.

🌍 Special thanks to the German Federal Foreign Office for funding the "History for the Future" project, implemented by EFB, and to the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung for its special support.

🔗 Read more: https://www.balkanfund.org/news/violence-in-history-conference-held-in-athens

25/09/2026

📚 How do we teach, remember and represent a violent past, and how does that help us build a more peaceful future?

🖐 Greetings from Athens, where historians, educators and researchers from 13 Southeast European countries are meeting at Panteion University for the Joint History Project’s annual international conference, “Violence in History: Experiences, Memories, and Representations in Southeast Europe.” Colleagues from Germany, the UK, Norway, Canada, the US and Spain are also taking part.

💬 The discussions cover:
🔹 teaching approaches to difficult pasts
🔹 collective memory after conflict
🔹 the gendered dimensions of violence
🔹 the legacies of crimes, massacres and genocides in the region

🌍 The conference is part of the "History for the Future" project, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, with special support from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

👥 Through this project, we bring together experts from across the region to share knowledge and experience in history education.

🤝 We believe that open, evidence-based dialogue about the past is one of the strongest foundations for reconciliation and democratic societies.

17/09/2026

📚 Conference on Violence in History

📅 We are looking forward to the annual international conference “Violence in History: Experiences, Memories, and Representations in Southeast Europe,” organised as part of our Joint History Project and taking place in Athens from 24 to 26 September.

🌍 The conference will bring together historians, educators and researchers from Southeast Europe and beyond to exchange experiences and discuss approaches to teaching historical violence, collective memory, the gendered dimensions of violence, and the legacies of crimes, massacres and genocides in the region.

🤝 Through the History for the Future project, we support critical approaches to history education and dialogue across the region, contributing to a more informed, peaceful and European future, which is at the heart of what we strive to do at EFB.

💡 We are grateful to the German Federal Foreign Office for funding the project and to the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung for their special support in making this work possible.

15/09/2026

🌍 Today is the International Day of Democracy!

🔎 For us at the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB), this day is a reminder of why our work exists: democracy in the Western Balkans isn't guaranteed — it's built, day by day, by connecting people, ideas, and institutions.

🤝 Strong democracies need active citizens, independent civil society, accountable institutions, and young people who see a future for themselves in the region.

💡 That's what we support through our programs — spaces for dialogue, civic engagement, and democratic leadership across the Western Balkans.

✊ Democracy is a practice, not a given.

07/09/2026

📢 Help us shape the future of BiEPAG
👇 👇 👇

📢 BiEPAG wants to hear from you!

How do you engage with BiEPAG’s analysis, podcasts and advocacy efforts? And how has BiEPAG’s work contributed to your own work?

We invite you to take a few minutes to share your experience, views and suggestions for our future work.

📝 The survey takes approximately 7 minutes to complete. All responses are confidential, and the findings will be presented internally.

The deadline for completing the survey is Friday, 18 September.

👉 Take the survey HERE! 👉 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RT9R6T9

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback!

03/09/2026

🔎 12 Stories Selected for Support Through the Regional Investigative Journalism Grant 2026
Reporting facts, revealing realities.

📣We are pleased to announce 12 investigative journalism stories selected for support through the Regional Investigative Journalism Grant 2026.

📈 Initially planned for seven grants, the selection was expanded to 12 due to the exceptional quality of applications.
📰Independent investigative journalism strengthens democracy by bringing facts to light, informing citizens and holding power accountable. It reflects EFB’s commitment to openness, transparency and democratic participation.

👏 Congratulations to the selected grantees, and thank you to everyone who applied!

👉 See the final list below and read more about the selected grantees: https://www.balkanfund.org/news/12-stories-selected-for-support-through-the-regional-investigative-journalism-grant-2026

02/09/2026

🌍 Imagining Balkans Futures in 2040 – Key Takeaways

At the European Forum Alpbach, an annual interdisciplinary conference held in Austria, EFB representatives Ivan Blazevic and Samir Beharić, together with Ivana Dragicevic, Founder of Europe Future Centre, facilitated a discussion titled “Imagining Balkans Futures in 2040,” bringing together around 50 participants from across the Western Balkans and Europe.

🔎 The 90-minute discussion explored how young people imagine the Balkans in 2040 and what it would take to turn those ideas into reality.

Participants explored seven key areas shaping the region’s future:

🎓 Education
❤️ Health
🤖 AI, Economy and Work
🌱 Environment and Just Transition
💻 Technology
🛡️ Security
🇪🇺 Democracy and the European Project

💬 Several common themes emerged — including trust in institutions, investment in health and wellbeing, turning brain drain into brain gain, protecting natural resources and freshwater, and strengthening cooperation across borders.

🤝 The discussions showed that imagining the future is only the first step. Shaping the Balkans of 2040 will require choices, cooperation and action today.

Creating spaces for dialogue, strengthening regional cooperation and supporting young people in shaping the future of the Western Balkans are central to EFB’s work — and conversations like this are an important part of that effort.

👉 Find out more about the discussion and its key conclusions: https://www.balkanfund.org/news/european-forum-alpbach
Thank you to ERSTE Foundation, European Forum Alpbach, and all participants for being part of the conversation.

28/08/2026

🌍 12 YEARS OF THE BERLIN PROCESS

📅 2014 — 2026

🤝 Regional cooperation. Connectivity. A shared European future.

Since 2014, the Berlin Process has brought the Western Balkan countries together around regional cooperation, connectivity and their shared European perspective.

It has provided a platform for cooperation on issues that matter to the region — from mobility and youth to economic cooperation, connectivity and good neighbourly relations.

European Fund for the Balkans (EFB) contributes to this process through its programmes and initiatives that foster regional cooperation, support dialogue and strengthen connections across the Western Balkans, and remains committed to continuing this work in the years ahead.

25/08/2026

🌍 What kind of Western Balkans do we want to live in by 2040?

At this year’s European Forum Alpbach, our colleagues Ivan Blažević, Senior Programme Manager for Civic Engagement and Regional Cooperation, and Samir Beharić, Programme Manager for Research, Policy, and Advocacy, will join a conversation on imagining the future of the Western Balkans beyond today’s crises.

Together with Ivana Dragičević, Founder of Europe Future Centre, the session will explore the region young people want to see in 2040, the obstacles standing in the way, and the policy choices that can help shape a more promising future.

A conversation about moving from diagnosing today’s challenges to imagining and building tomorrow’s Balkans.

📍 European Forum Alpbach 2026
📅 Tuesday, 1 September
📢 We’ll be sharing more from the discussion — stay tuned.

Learn more about the session: https://www.alpbach.org/sessions/imagining-balkans-futures-in-2040