Inaugural DDD Forum on Regional Cooperation
The foundation's three-day inaugural convening on the working agenda for Southeast Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean.
About this event
Day 1 opens with the launch of the inaugural Regional Index of Democratic Resilience and a plenary on the year's regional outlook. Two parallel working tracks follow in the afternoon: one on energy transition financing, the second on cross-border economic cooperation.
Day 2 is built around three parallel working sessions that produce written outputs: a track on the eastern Aegean migration architecture, a track on cultural diplomacy and shared heritage, and a track on the institutional infrastructure of regional cooperation itself.
Day 3 is the synthesis day. Each track presents its working output. A closing plenary on the year ahead names the working tables the foundation will host between this Forum and the next.
The Forum is by application. Selection criteria are published and balance across sectors (government, business, academia, civil society, media) is enforced; the participant roster is public.
Confirmed speakers
Speakers and panellists confirmed to date. The agenda is updated as further confirmations are received.
Loukas Tsoukalis
President
Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy
Vesna Pusić
Former Foreign Minister
Republic of Croatia
Marta Dassù
Senior Director, European Affairs
The Aspen Institute Italy
Soli Özel
Senior Lecturer in International Relations
Kadir Has University, Istanbul
Cristian Pîrvulescu
Dean, Faculty of Political Science
SNSPA Bucharest
Florence Gaub
Director, Research Division
NATO Defense College, Rome
Partners
- European Climate Foundation
- Stavros Niarchos Foundation
- Robert Bosch Stiftung
- Open Society Foundations
Apply to attend
Participation is by application. The event team reviews applications for relevance to the agenda and balance across stakeholder sectors. Confirmed participants receive logistical information once accepted.
Logistics
Travel
Bucharest is served by Henri Coandă International Airport (OTP), with direct connections from Athens, Istanbul, Thessaloniki, Sofia, Belgrade, Zagreb, Skopje, Tirana, Pristina, Sarajevo, Podgorica, Chișinău, and Nicosia. The venue is twenty minutes by car from the airport. Confirmed participants receive a logistics pack with a recommended hotel block, transfer guidance, and visa-support letters where applicable.
Accommodation
A block reservation has been negotiated at the Athénée Palace Hilton and at JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel for confirmed participants. Self-arranged accommodation is also welcome; the foundation can provide a list of mid-range options on request.
Accessibility
The foundation's events are accessible by default. Please indicate any accessibility requirements in your application; the event team will follow up directly. If you have questions before applying, contact us.
Post-event reading — read-outs, analyses, and the post-event report — will appear here after the event concludes.