Successful opening of the first EFB Community meeting

The first EFB Community Conference was successfully launched yesterday (Thursday, 11 of October) in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb. The 3-day programme that is realized under the motto “People, ideas and Networks” in the period between 11-14 of October, was officially open with the welcome speech of Hedvig Morvai, the Executive director of the European Fund for the Balkans and Knut Neumayer, programme director, Erste Stiftung. The president of Republic of Croatia, Mr. Ivo Josipovic honored the community members from the different Balkan countries and EU, with his interesting remarks and insights on the subject “The European Future of the Western Balkans”. His guest for the evening was Mr. Sulejman Tihic, the chairman of the House of peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina who agreed that all the countries from the region should follow the positive example of Croatia, which is expected to become a EU member state in 2013. The keynote speaker and founder of Personal Democracy Media Mr. Andrew Rasiej intrigued the guests with his inspirational presentation on “The power of networks- How the internet enhances acivism”. Speaking about the unquestionable power of the new media, applications and internet, he showed various aspects of how the new technologies can influence the public on emotional, intellectual and spiritual level, as in different areas as the politics, everyday life and work. The cocktail time was reserved for pleasant discussion, reflections and networking, following the whole spirit and dynamics of all the EFB meetings. Different generations of EFB Community members, partner companies, collaborators, political and civil society activists, researchers, consultants, professors, policy advocates, trainers, students and many more guests, all gathered on one place. The new fresh topics , brainstorming and exchange of ideas will unfold in the next two days, as a continuation of the EFB activities. Therefore, the EFB Community meeting will offer stimulating discussions and an opportunity to share thoughts with popular speakers about the current issues in Europe. Modern electronic communication developments and the power of networking will also be discussed since the purpose of this event is to help the Community members make new contacts that will build stronger and more effective future partnerships in the region.