CDRSEE :: Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe

Members of the Board
From 2006 to 2010

Elsa Ballauri
John Brademas
Erhard Busek
Costa Carras
Nikos Efthymiadis
Smaranda Enache
Selcuk Erez
Zdravko Grebo
Vlasta Jalusic
Maritta von Bieberstein Koch-Weser
Matthew Nimetz
Saso Ordanoski
Antoinette Primatarova
Zarko Puhovski
Gazmend Pula
Dusan Reljic
Pieter Stek
Neslihan Tombul
Rigas Tzelepoglou
Spiros Voyadzis
Aleksandra Joksimovic

Former Members

Pekin Baran
George David
Osman Kavala
Albert Koenders
Ivan Krastev
Fatos Lubonja
Richard Schifter
Veton Surroi

News

16-18 December, 2011 – History Education Meeting in Belgrade, Serbia. The Joint History Project's History Education Committee finalised its push to expand this highly successful history book series to cover more recent times. During a two-day meeting in Belgrade, the editors and contributors discussed the publication within a larger circle of participants and received input from a renowned international expert in the field of Southeast European History. The fruitful meeting was the last in a series of three meetings made possible by the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Institute for Sustainable Communities.

2 – 4 December, Dynamic Teaching Tools Concept Meeting in Thessaloniki – Some of the most accomplished educators and researchers from the region and from the United States gathered in Thessaloniki to create the framework for a new dynamic teaching methodology tool. This talented, multi-faceted group will ultimately publish a manual that will provide teachers with the latest research on teaching methods and ideas on how these methods can be used in their classrooms. While this project builds upon CDRSEE's highly successful Joint History Project, the information and ideas within will not be limited to history classes, but rather will be focused on the art of teaching in a rapidly changing society. The manual will be translated into six different languages. This was the first meeting, with the next scheduled for spring 2012 in Tirana. The project is funded by the European Union, under the IPA Programme.

1 December, 2011 – CDRSEE and the European Fund for the Balkans (EFB) will kick off a new project in December, organising a series of lively debates about controversial regional issues and broadcasting these debates via major local TV stations throughout the region. The idea of “Similarities Between Differences” is to foster an exchange of ideas and a real debate about the issues that are plaguing these countries, impeding EU accession and reconciliation. This is not your everyday talk show. This series will bring together untainted, well-respected and unbiased individuals from a wide field of social sciences, including anthropology, ethnology, cultural studies, applied ethics and many others. The topics will not be easy or comfortable, but the wider debates that spring from this series can lead to real solutions and a mutual understanding. More information on the EFB is available at www.balkanfund.org.

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The Board of Directors

The annual meeting of the Board of Directors of the CDRSEE took place on December 6th, 2007. Among the Board’s usual business, plans for the 10th Anniversary of the Center and the selection of new officers of the Board were discussed.

With one year of service as the Chair, (having been unanimously voted into the position at the previous meeting in 2006) Dr Erhard Busek, Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe, oversaw the proceedings. These included two changes to the Officers of the Board: namely the voting in of Rigas Tzelepoglou (former Deputy Treasurer and Acting Treasurer) to the post of Treasurer and Costa Carras (current Rapporteur) to the post of Deputy Secretary, retaining his role as Rapporteur.

The Board of Directors December, 2007
L-R: Dr Selcuk Erez, Dr Dusan Reljic, Pieter Stek, Nikos Efthymiadis, Nenad Sebek (foreground) Gazmend Pula (background) Dr Erhard Busek (centre), Costas Carras (back row) Smaranda Enache (front) Antoinette Primatarova (middle row), Rigas Tzelepoglou (back row) Corinna Noack-Aetopulos, Professor Zarko Puhovski.
(absent Board Members: Matthew Nimetz, John Brademas, Saso Ordanoski.

As of December 2007, the Center's Board of Directors is composed of 14 men and women from Southeast Europe, North America and Western Europe who support the goals of the Center. The Board is assisted by an 8 member Advisory Council of former Board Members.

Chair: Dr Erhard Busek, Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact for Southeast Europe

Hon. Matthew Nimetz, a New York lawyer and partner of an investment firm who is also Special Representative of the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, chaired the Center's Board from the founding of the organisation until 31 December 2001 and continues to be a Board Member.

Vice Chairs of the Board are Smaranda Enache (Targu Mures, Romania),Co-Chair of Linga Pro Europa a Romanian NGO; and Nikos Efthymiadis, a Thessaloniki businessman who also serves as Chair of the Board of the Association for Democracy in the Balkans and theCo-Chair of the Business Advisory Council of the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI). The Treasurer and previous Deputy Treasurer is Rigas Tzelepoglou, Professor of Business and President of the International Center for Business Studies (ICBS) in Thessaloniki. The Secretary is Dr. Selcuk Erez, a Medical Doctor, Professor and journalist in Istanbul and the Deputy Secretary is Costa Carras.

The two Rapporteurs of the Board of the Center for Democracy are John Brademas, a long-time Member of the U.S. Congress, President Emeritus of New York University and former Chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy; and Costa Carras, the Greek Coordinator of the Greek-Turkish Forum.

Ambassador Richard Shifter, former Chair of the Board retired from his position after a long and distinguished service from 2002 to 2006. He remains an active member of the Advisory Council.

Spiros Voyadzis, Former Director of the World Bank Group Office in Brussels and current President of Partnerships for Finance and Development, served as the Treasurer until may 2007, and is currently a member of the Advisory Council.

The other Members of the Board are:

Saso Ordanoski, Editor, "Forum" magazine (Skopje)
Antoinette Primatarova, Programme Director of the Centre for Liberal Strategies (Sofia)
Zarko Puhovski, Former Executive Director, Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights and Professor of Philosophy (Zagreb)
Gazmend Pula, Founder and Director of the Kosovo Helsinki Committee for Human Rights (Pristina)
Dusan Reljic, Senior Researcher, the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Berlin)
Pieter Stek, former Executive Director of the World Bank Group (Amsterdam)
Aleksandra Joksimovic, Executive Director of PFZ and teacher at the Diplomatic Academy of the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Members of the Advisory Council are:

Elsa Ballauri, Executive Director of the Albanian Human Rights Group (Tirana)
Pekin Baran, Businessman (Istanbul)
Tony Baynes, Businessman (Athens)
Zdravko Grebo, University Professor (Sarajevo)
Vlasta Jalusic, Director and Senior Research Fellow of the Peace Institute (Ljubljana)
Maritta von Bieberstein Koch-Weser, Head of Centennial Group’s Social and Environmental Practice (Berlin)
Richard Schifter, former Chair of the Board and retired Ambassador (Washington DC)
Neslihan Tombul, Managing Director and Senior Representative of the Bank of New York (Istanbul)
Spiros Voyadzis (Paris) Former Director of the World Bank Group Office in Brussels and current President of Partnerships for Finance and Development (Paris)