With a remarkably rich and diverse career path, Edi Rama’s involvement in the public and political life of Albania starts with his active participation in the movement for democracy that led to the dismantling of the communist regime in Albania. As Prime Minister, Rama continuously plays an important part in the political life of Albania, notably through the implementation of numerous reforms, including the restructuring of the country’s judiciary and law enforcement. Prior to his appointment as Prime Minister, he was Mayor of Tirana for 11 years, where he contributed to the modernisation of the city.

Aleksandar Bogdanovic is the Mayor of Old Royal Capital Cetinje, the historic capital of Montenegro. He also served as President of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro. As such, he plays a key role in the development of local democracy and local government. Bogdanovic has extensive experience in the Montenegrin government, having served as spokesperson of the Ministry of Economy and Economic Advisor to the President.

Prior to assuming his current positions as the State Secretary for EU Affairs and EU Sherpa to the Prime Minister in Sweden, Christian Danielsson served as the head of the European Commission Representation in Sweden. He has held several positions within the Commission, most notably as director-general for neighbourhood and enlargement negotiations, as well as enlargement, and as deputy secretary-general at the Secretariat-General. Danielsson is the former permanent representative of Sweden to the EU and has also previously served as the deputy head of cabinet to then-vice-president Günter Verheugen. Before joining the Commission, Danielsson worked for the Swedish diplomatic service.

A politician and journalist, Tanja Fajon is currently serving as Member of the European Parliament. A passionate advocate for freedom of movement and its economic benefits, Fajon previously served as the European Parliament rapporteur on the visa liberalisation process for the Western Balkans. In this position, she was instrumental in helping Albania as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina win the right to visa-free travel to Europe. In 2016, Slovenian opinion polls ranked her as one of the most popular political figures in the country.

With over 30 years of experience in Italian diplomacy, Michele Giacomelli was nominated in 2016 to serve as Italy’s Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Process, ahead of the Balkan Summit which took place in Trieste in July 2017. As such, Giacomelli represents Italy across Europe and the Western Balkan region, to help push forward the priorities set by previous summits of the Berlin Process, strengthening ties between the region and the EU.

Leijla Ibarnovic leads Transparency International’s office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the global civil society organisation on the forefront of the fight against corruption. As such she has profound knowledge of the anti-corruption legal framework, its institutional and regulatory setup, as well as professional experience in developing analyses and policies in the areas of good governance, anti-corruption and corporate governance.

Nadežda Kokotovic has 15 years of experience in advocacy within the oil and gas industry as well as the NGO sector in Europe. She now serves as the EU Representative of NIS, the only Western Balkan company to have an office in Brussels, where she works to help build the reputation of a reliable and transparent European energy company. Prior to her current position, she worked as Chief of Staff to NIS’s CEO in Belgrade. 

During  the course of his career, Thomas Mayr Harting held various positions within the Austrian diplomatic service, working across New York, Moscow and Brussels. He now serves as Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia in the European External Action Service, which aims to secure stable, prosperous and well-functioning democratic societies on a steady path towards EU integration for the Western Balkan region.

Miguel Morgado is Director for the Adriatic Sea Region at the European Investment Bank (EIB) since January 2016. As such, he is in charge of the EIB’s operations in the Western Balkans. The EIB is the leading international lender in the region, having financed projects totalling €6.4bn in the last decade and having played a key role in the reconstruction of the region. Morgado previously served as Head of the Portuguese lending division and as Director of the Operations Support Department.

Andrew Plitt is a leading expert in development, relief, reconstruction and stabilisation. As Senior Development Advisor, he is responsible for providing advice and counsel to the Combatant Commander leading the United States European Command – a crucial actor in the redevelopment of the Balkans. Plitt has more than 25 years’ experience at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), having previously served as Director of the Office of North African and Arabian Affairs.

Ares Shporta is a cultural worker and civil society activist based in Prizren, Kosovo. Shporta has formerly led networks of cultural organisations at local and central level, has been part of numerous civic initiatives and advocacy campaigns and has authored the ‘Cultural Strategy of Prizren Municipality 2017-2020’. His work area and interests include participatory polic-making at the local level and exploring new institutional and multi-stakeholder models of governance.

Erna Šoševic is the Founder and CEO of Bizbook.ba, an online B2B platform offering companies a new way of doing business, communication, and reducing their operating costs in the Western Balkans. She left the world of the traditional business environment where she worked over 10 years to become one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s rare women to found their own business. Šoševic is a strong advocate for female entrepreneurship and encouraging youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina to create their own jobs.

In her more than 30-year career with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ayse Cihan Sultanoglu has experience in capacity building and public policy, having held positions in the USA, in Asia, in Africa and in the Arab States. She was appointed UNDP Assistant Secretary-General and Director for Europe by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2012, and since then, has been working towards successful cooperation between the Regional Bureau and the UN system agencies and international financial organisations.

A Serbian diplomat and politician, Goran Svilanović plays a leading role in the promotion and enhancement of regional cooperation in the Western Balkans. He previously served as Coordinator of the Economic and Environmental Activities at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (2000-2004). Furthermore, Svilanović has worked in numerous organisations and committees, such as the International Commission on the Balkans and the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights. 

As Mayor of the Municipality of Gostivar, Arben Taravari’s programme focuses on a “Policy of citizens”, aiming to include citizens in the decision making process of his municipality. Prior to his election, Taravari has spent his entire professional career in the Macedonian health sector and has published a number of books and theses. He notably served as the Minister of Health until October 2017, where he has received high recognition from the Macedonian citizens for his transparent and fair governance.

Vesna Travljanin is the Director of the AMC- FBiH, a not-for-profit organisation regrouping cities across the country and fighting for the development and the improvement of local government. The Association is a key actor in promoting democratic and efficient local government. Travljanin is also a member of the Governing Board of the Network of Associations of South East Europe (NALAS) and has previously worked at the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina  and at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).