The conference's main objectives are to offer civil-society organisations (CSOs) from the EU and the enlargement countries a platform for networking, exchanging best practices and building partnerships, and to disseminate information among civil-society actors about financial support to civil-society development under the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA) and other EU programmes.
This event will bring together some 450 participants, including Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, as well as many high-level representatives of non-governmental organisations and the European institutions. The conference will be accompanied by a series of cultural activities, the highlight of which will be a concert, on the evening of 17 April, by the Sarajevo-based "Youth Symphony Orchestra of Southeast Europe".
The working language of the conference will be English; however, during plenary meetings, interpretation to and from English, French, German, Slovene as well as the languages of the enlargement countries will be provided.
The conference programme is structured so as to maximise participants' possibilities to network, exchange ideas and best practices, and gather information. Besides the plenary meetings and panel discussions with high-level personalities on the role of civil society in the enlargement process, there will be opportunities to take part in thematic workshops and dedicated information sessions. An information market-place will run for the duration of the event, allowing conference participants to gather factual information on EU programmes and the activities of other organisations in their field.
INFO:
Commission's Directorate-General for Enlargement
e-mail: Elarg-civil-society-conferenc@ec.europa.eu