Online Consultation Process of the Civil Society Forum of the Western Balkans Summit Series - Economic stability

The per capita income of the Western Balkan countries is just 27 percent of the EU15 average and about half of the level of the countries that joined the Union between 2004 and 2007. A quarter of the adult population and over 50 percent of young people are unemployed. Women participation in active labor market is dismal and starts as low as 30 percent. Investment is sparse, state debt is spiraling, poverty is proliferating, and the migration drains the region of its most educated and skilled members. At the same time, the promise and weight of the “fourth industrial revolution” – the digital economy - looms large over the region, and its future depends on navigating and transitioning towards new models of production and innovation. The prospect of the social and economic transition towards the digital looms large over the region.

If these statements highlight your concerns, or even if you do not agree with them, consider joining us here at the Online Consultative Process for the Civil Society Forum to bring together CSOs from the Western Balkans and the European Union to elaborate policy proposals and to push forward actions that answer the main challenges facing our region today in the following areas:
- youth education for digital economy and digitalization,
- start-ups, and
- youth entrepreneurship.

Mozaik Foundation and the European Fund for the Balkans would like to invite you to join us in a ten-days conversation to jointly address these issues and inform the participants of the WB6 Process.

This online forum will address, collect, and compile the relevant CSO stakeholders’ opinions and views on the impact these topics have on the WB countries, their European path, and the regional cooperation. We will collect, compile, and share information in a broader framework of topics addressed for the upcoming EU – WB Summit in Sofia.

Your views are greatly appreciated and we welcome this opportunity to jointly reflect on the exciting challenges in these areas, and to explore paths that might lead us desired outcomes.

Please, consider inviting your CSO counterparts to join this consultative process.

The group is moderated by Mozaik Foundation.