Summer School on Security Policy

The Summer School on Security Policy is a part of joint three-year long project Security Research Forum Belgrade-Prishina-Tirana (SRF) undertaken by three independent think tanks: Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP), Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS) and Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM), with support of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. With SRF, they want to enhance the understanding of mutual security issues, by establishing various links among security policy communities in Serbia, Kosovo and Albania and by increasing transparency in security governance.

The Summer School on Security Policy is designed in such way to advance participants’ knowledge and skills in order to prepare them for analysts’ and policy entrepreneurs’ roles in civil society, government, media and academia.

The Summer School on Security Policy  will take place  from 14-18 September 2015 in Bar, Montenegro.

The main objectives are:

• Increase civilian capacities for engagement with security policy;
• Establish links among communities in Albania, Serbia and Kosovo;
• Engage in joint exploration of security gaps and democracy deficits maintained by frozen conflicts;
• Find possible solutions to the continuous challenges of regional cooperation.

Eligibility

The Summer School on Security Policy is open to young or mid-career public servants, security professionals, journalists, civil society activists and researchers from Albania, Serbia and Kosovo, who work or study in the broad area of security policy.

Candidates will be selected on the basis of an application, taking into account the following admission requirements:

• A university degree or equivalent;
• At least several years of professional or academic experience, ideally in a security policy-related field, journalism or research;
• Proficiency in English, the working language of the course as no translation will be provided;
• Commitment to participation all five days of and application of knowledge in their work and study after the completion of this programme;

Costs

The participation expenses to the Summer School will be covered by the organizers including accommodation, meals, refreshments and organized transportation.

Application

To apply for the 2015 School on Security Policy, please send the following documents in English to ssp2015.srf@gmail.com no later than 21 August 2015:

1. Motivation letter in which you should explain what you expect from the School and how do you intend to use the knowledge and experiences gained during the school in your future career;
2. CV;
3. An essay on the one of the proposed topics:

• What would a “good enough” normalisation of Serbian-Albanian relations look like?
• How can EU best contribute to normalisation of Serbian-Albanian relations: by abstaining from the process, becoming more involved or changing tactics?
• What should be priority of national and regional security policies in the Western Balkans in the time of economic and institutional crisis?

Selection process will take up to ten days and only short-listed candidates will be contacted for the interview.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact your local focal points:

• Albania – Institute for Democracy and Mediation: Gentiola Madhi at gmadhi@idmalbania.org;
• Kosovo – Kosovar Centre for Security Studies: Sofije Kryeziu at sofije.kryeziu@qkss.org;
• Serbia – Belgrade Centre for Security Policy: Maja Bjelos at maja.bjelos@bezbednost.org.

Read more and apply here.