International Symposium - 25 Years of the Central European Initiative and 25 Years from the Fall of the Iron Curtain

Conference venue: Denys Holland Lecture Theatre (UCL Faculty of Laws), Bentham House, Endsleigh Gardens, WC1H 0EG London
Period: April 10, 2014 - 14:00 - 19:00

The Embassy of Austria representing the Austrian Presidency of CEI in 2014 and the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University College London invite you to an International Symposium "25 Years of the Central European Initiative and 25 Years from the Fall of the Iron Curtain"

On the occasion of the Austrian chairmanship of the Central European Initiative (CEI) this symposium will bring together academics and former political decision makers to analyse and discuss the fundamental changes in Central Europe since the fall of the Iron curtain 25 years ago with a particular focus on the role of the CEI in renewing regional cooperation in an area which covers today 18 countries and reaches from Trieste to Kijew.

The organisers are thankful for the sponsorship provided by Erste Group Bank and for the support of the London embassies of Italy, Romania and Poland as well as of the Austrian Cultural Forum.

14:00 Welcome
Professor Slavo Radošević, Acting Director, SSEES
Dr Emil Brix, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria

Featured speakers
14:10 - Professor Paul Lendvai  (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation ORF; Co-Publisher “Europäische Rundschau”): The past 25 years viewed through the prism of European and regional history
15:10 - Professor Zoran Milutinović (Professor of South Slav Literature and Modern Literary Theory, SSEES-UCL): The Balkans in the European Mirror
16:10 - Professor Florian Bieber (Professor of Southeastern Europe and Director of the Centre for South East European Studies at the University of Graz): The Crisis of Democracy in Central and Southeastern Europe

17:10 – 17:30: Coffee

17:30 – 19:00: Round Table: ‘Perspectives for Regional Cooperation’

Participants
Gianni De Michelis (former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Italy)
Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu (former Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Romania)
Dimitrij Rupel (former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Slovenia)
Olaf Osica (Director of OSW, Centre for Eastern Studies, University of Warsaw)
Chair: Eric Gordy (SSEES-UCL)

Register here.