Name of the project: Youth Agency and New Political Imaginaries in the Western Balkans
Project duration: : September 1st 2025 – August 31st 2026
Donor: OSF Western Balkans, ERSTE Foundation and Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Researcher: Irena Molnar, Petar Bojanić, Gazela Pudar Draško, Srđan Đurović, Maja Pupovac, Čedomir Markov, Jelena Vasiljević
The Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory leads this Regional Network of Centers of Advanced Studies in Southeast Europe (RECAS) project focused on placing youth perspectives at the center of democratic renewal and policy design in the Western Balkans. Over 12 months, the project will host selected PhD and postdoctoral fellows for three- to six-month residencies at RECAS centers, where they will research how young people imagine Europe’s political future and eco-digital transformations, and translate those insights into practical policy proposals. Core activities include six Deliberative Workshops with students across WB capitals, a joint Surgery Week at Moise Palace, a Policy Hackathon dedicated to eco-digital futures, and continuous curation of results in the open Academic Policy Lab 2.0 repository.
The main objectives of the project are:
• To generate rigorous, youth-informed research on new political imaginaries and eco-digital futures in the Western Balkans;
• To strengthen early-career researchers through six-month residencies and mentored, cross-border collaboration;
• To translate findings into actionable policy tools and recommendations for local, national, and EU stakeholders;
• To build sustainable regional cooperation and visibility for youth-driven democratic innovation.
Partners: