6th Speak Up! Meeting in Vienna
From 6 to 8 October 2025, the 6th Speak Up! Meeting took place in Vienna, jointly implemented by the IDM, the Austrian Foreign Ministry, the U.S. Embassy in Austria, and the Erste Foundation.
For the sixth time since the start of the initiative, the programme brought together young political leaders from Bosnia and Herzegovina, representing different regions, parties, and ethnic groups. Through discussions with various experts and practitioners, participants explored the challenges facing their country and Europe.
After a get-together at a traditional Heuriger on 6 October, the thematic part of the programme began on 7 October. Participants had the unique opportunity to meet with Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger, who expressed encouragement and optimism regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU perspective. The group also visited the Austrian Parliament, where they discussed economic, energy, and political developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina with Members of the National and Federal Councils from across party lines, including Alma Zadić, Christian Schandor, Markus Steinmaurer, Andrea Eder-Gitschthaler, Muna Duzdar and Elisabeth Kittl. The participants also gained insights into the work of economic experts and founders: Valerie Wolff presented the successful startup Vello Bike, while Lisa Rilasciati from the Austrian Economic Chamber discussed connecting markets in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, and Europe.
On 8 October, the discussions continued with Ladislav Cabada from the Metropolitan University Prague, IDM Director Sebastian Schäffer and IDM Research Associate Malwina Talik, who spoke about Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference in Czechia, Poland, and Moldova. The topic was then linked to the experiences of the participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Following a session on political campaigning with communications strategist Hannah Zach, the group enjoyed a special guided tour of the House of Austrian History, focusing on Austria’s Nazi past and reconciliation efforts. The final session was dedicated to a joint reflection, where participants shared their hopes and ideas for the future of the Speak Up! programme.
We would like to thank our cooperation partners and all participants for their commitment and enthusiasm!
Speak Up! Meeting in Sarajevo
From 3 to 5 April 2025, the Speak Up! Meeting took place in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, implemented by Idemo!, IDM, the Austrian Foreign Ministry, Erste Foundation and the US Embassy. For the fifth time, the workshop brought together young political leaders from various political parties in BiH to discuss key issues and identify priority areas for the country’s future.
During a reception at the Austrian Embassy in Sarajevo on 3 April, hosted by Austrian Ambassador Georg Diwald, the group had the opportunity to meet with Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger, who emphasized Austria’s continued support for the EU accession of the Western Balkan countries.
On 4 April, participants engaged with a range of experts and activists from BiH as well as Austria. Sebastian Schäffer moderated a discussion with Austria’s Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Ambassador Ulrike Hartmann about the Austrian View on the Status quo in BiH. The following session with Katarina Tadić (Programme Manager at the European Fund for the Balkans) on how to build a compelling narrative for funding applications, was moderated by Sophia Beiter. Kambis Kohansal Vajargah (Head of Startup-Services and Deputy Head of Founder-Services at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber) shared insights about economic cooperation on start up level, Stefan Sengl (Skills Group) introduced the participants to the fundamentals of political campaigning and activists from the movement Karton Revolucija presented their work.
We would like to thank everyone for their dedication to this project and especially Teresa Reiter for her continuous support!
Moderation: “Speak Up! Engaging young political leaders and civil society in the Western Balkans”
Copyright photos: BMEIA/Baurecht
On 26 April, Melanie Jaindl and Daniel Martínek moderated the third edition of the seminar “Speak Up! Engaging young political leaders and civil society in the Western Balkans” in Vienna. The workshop, organized by the Austrian MFA and the US Embassy, took place at the IDM. It gathered young leaders from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the BiH diaspora in Austria to discuss the country’s prospects, focusing on its relationship with the European Union and future integration challenges.
The participants had the opportunity to listen to and talk with various guest speakers, who introduced them to projects such as EU4Green: A Green Agenda for the Western Balkan and the European Forum Alpbach. They also had a workshop on political campaigning and an introduction to the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. Most importantly, they had the unique opportunity to discuss the role of politics and activism in shaping environmental policies with Leonore Gewessler, Federal Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology. A dialogue then continued at the Austrian Parliament, where the participants had a working lunch with four young members of the Austrian National Council. The day closed with a presentation of the EUSDR by Daniel Martínek (IDM) and Pejo Bosnić (Danube Youth Council).
Moderation: “Speak Up! Engaging young political leaders and civil society in the Western Balkans”
On 17 November, Melanie Jaindl and Sebastian Schäffer moderated the seminar “Speak Up! Engaging young political leaders and civil society in the Western Balkans” in Vienna. The workshop organized by the Austrian MFA and the US Embassy gathers young leaders from BiH to discuss the country’s way forward in the identified priority areas youth, diaspora and reconciliation.
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