Conference: Integrating difference - Human Rights, Social Inclusion and Social Cohesion in the Balkans on its Road to the EU

28-31 May 2009 – Ohrid, Macedonia

The Institute for Social and Humanities Research "Euro-Balkan", Skopje, supported by the Education Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency Lifelong Learning Program-Jean Monnet is announcing a regional conference that will take place from 28 to 31 May, 2009 in Ohrid Republic of Macedonia and entitled Integrating Differences - Human Rights, Social Inclusion and Social Cohesion in the Balkans on its Road to the EU.

The four day conference involves opening and closing lectures given by well-established European and Balkan academics working in the area of social exclusion and European citizenship, four invited EU keynote speakers with very strong research track records in the area of social exclusion, presentations of research and research methodologies of 24 presenters selected through an open call for papers, and the sponsored participation of 40 invited young scholars, working or wishing to work in the area of social exclusion and European integration.

The aim of the regional conference is to:

  • Promote the conceptual and practical (social, economic and political) benefits of the concept of social inclusion, as one of the substantive pillars on which the notion of progressive European citizenship is based on;
  • Stimulate the setting of a an organized Balkan research agenda in the area of social exclusion;
  • Initiate the building of a regional network of academics, applied researchers, public officials and NGOs working in the area of social inclusion (Balkan Network for Social Inclusion and European  Citizenship - BNSIEC);
  •  Encourage academic and intellectual reflection on the dangers of ignoring various types of social exclusion in the Balkans and their impact on the processes of European integration of the region;
  • Stimulate academic excellence in a research agenda that explores the relationship between social exclusion and European citizenship through the support of new research and research methodologies, debates, exchanges of ideas and experiences between researchers working in various parts of Europe.

The conference will encourage academic and intellectual reflection on the importance of developing comprehensive evidence-based national and regional strategies to actively combat social exclusion in the Balkans, and the impact that this will have on the European integration of the whole region.
The conference will serve as an impetus to creating a regional network of academic researchers, applied researchers, public officials, journalists and activists based on the model of the European Network on Social Exclusion and the Development of European Citizenship (SEDEC), and it will stimulate academic excellence in the multidisciplinary field of social inclusion studies as integral part of European integration studies in the Balkans.

The conference will be opened with a lecture delivered by Nyra Yuval Davis, Ph.D., Professor and Graduate Course Director in Gender, Sexuality and Ethnic Studies, University of East London.

The conference presentations will be organized in four broad streams:

1. Culture, development, and social inclusion

  • Lecture: Prof. Ph.D. Philippe van Parijs, Chaire Hoover D'Ethique Economique et Sociale, Universite Catolique de Louvain, Belgium
  • Stream leader: Prof. Ph.D. Nebojsa Vilic
  • This stream will examine the role culture and cultural institutions play or should play in economic development and in building socially inclusive societies.

2. Human Rights, Non-discrimination and Social Inclusion? Integrating Concepts and Perspectives of European Citizenship in the Balkans

  • Lecture: Dorothy Rosenberg, Ph.D., Development Consultant and Senior Policy Adviser, UNDP
  • Stream leader: Prof. Ph.D. Tatjana Petrusevska
  • This stream will aim at the rethinking of human rights, discrimination, social exclusion and European citizenship from the perspectives of women, Romas, disabled people, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, children and older persons.

3.  Social Exclusion, European Citizenship and Social Policy: Application and Scrutiny of European and Balkan Research on Social Exclusion

  • Lecture: Noemi Lendvai, Ph.D., Faculty for Policy Studies, Bristol University
  • Stream leader: Doc. Ph.D. Maja Gerovska-Mitev
  • This stream will deal with the research and social policy applications of the concept of social exclusion within the European and Balkan context. A special emphasis will be given on analyses of concrete actions and policies that step up the fights against exclusion in all forms, including racism, misogyny, xenophobia and homophobia.

4. Setting a Social Exclusion Research Agenda for the Balkans and Building Regional Networks

  • Lecture: Prof. Ph.D. Paul Stubbs, Zagreb University, Croatia
  • Stream leader: Prof. Dr Katerina Kolozova
  • This stream deals exclusively with papers offering concrete proposals for a Balkan research agenda on social exclusion and for building a network of Balkan researchers working in the area.

A closing lecture will be delivered by Peo Hansen, Ph.D., Political Scientist and Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies, Linkoping University, Sweden.

The working language of the conference is English.

Organizing Committee:
Academic Coordinator:
Prof.Dr. Jovan Donev

Project Assistants:
Jana Lozanoska L.LM and Slavco Dimitrov.
Jana.lozanoska@gmail.com and slavco.euba@gmail.com