Leadership Academy — Spring Cohort, Thessaloniki
Two-week residential programme for twenty-four early-career policy professionals from the foundation's fourteen-country scope.
About this event
The Spring Cohort is the inaugural intake of the DDD Leadership Academy. Twenty-four participants — early-career civil servants, policy researchers, journalists, and civil-society professionals from the foundation's fourteen-country scope — convene in Thessaloniki for two weeks of intensive seminars, working-group projects, and field study.
Curriculum modules cover: comparative regional governance; institutional checks and the rule of law; energy and climate policy; migration and asylum architecture; cultural diplomacy; and the practice of cross-border coalition-building.
Each cohort produces a collective policy brief. The Thessaloniki cohort's brief will be presented at the 2027 DDD Forum in Bucharest.
Tuition, accommodation, and travel are covered for accepted participants. Selection is competitive and balanced across countries and sectors.
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
Dimitar Bechev
Lecturer in Russian and East European Studies
University of Oxford
Senada Šelo Šabić
Senior Research Associate
Institute for Development and International Relations, Zagreb
Engjellushe Morina
Senior Policy Fellow
European Council on Foreign Relations
Partners
- Stavros Niarchos Foundation
- Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
- Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung — Athens
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
Thessaloniki Macedonia International Airport (SKG) has direct connections from most foundation-scope capitals. Local transport between accommodation and the venue is provided.
Accommodation
Accommodation is covered for accepted participants for the full duration of the programme.
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.