Return to Europe - Talking Balkans symposium in Vienna

At the international symposium "Return to Europe - Talking Balkans", organised by ERSTE Foundation and ORF RadioKulturhaus, the first season of the TV documentary "Balkan Express" was announced. This film series will be broadcast on 3sat (starting 27 April 2008) and ORF (autumn 2008).

It is based on ESI research and features many places, topics and people that have been subject of ESI reports. The stories were developed in cooperation with ESI analysts.

International representatives of politics, culture, business and science discussed the "Balkan concept" on 3 - 4 April 2008. In addition to exclusive clips from the documentary series, the programme also featured examples of video art from the region.

Speakers included, among others, Alfred Gusenbauer (Federal Chancellor of Austria), Erhard Busek (Special Coordinator, Stability Pact, Austria), Slavenka Drakulic (author, Croatia), Migjen Kelmendi (Journalist, Kosovo), Ivan Krastev (Political scientist, Centre for Liberal Strategies, Bulgaria), Tim Judah (journalist, BBC, The Economist, UK), Ivan Vejvoda (Executive Director, Balkan Trust for Democracy, Serbia), Alida Vracic (Director, Populari, Bosnia & Herzegovina), and Erion Veliaj (ESI Analyst, Albania).

More information on the participants can be found at the ERSTE Foundation's website. Austrian quality daily Der Standard published an eight-page supplement on the documentary series.

Ivan Vejvoda, Slavenka Drakulic, Tim Judah, Gordana Igric, and Migjen Kelmendi

Erhard Busek

Gerald Knaus and Andreas Treichl

Alida Vracic

Erion Veliaj