Elbasan & Durrës – May 2012

In the frame of the project “My Kind Of NATO : Chicago 2012, Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) in cooperation with NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division, organized two roundtables in Elbasan and Durres, in the framework of the six roundtables foressen to take place in 6 major cities of Albania. This initiative aims to inform and raise awareness among academics, civil society and local media on the priorities, transformations and ongoing commitments of NATO, as well as to encourage a broad public debate on key issues by simultaneously promoting their views on the Alliance.

This project was conceived in the form of interactive roundtable discussions. During the meeting in Durres, which took place in the Centre for Civil Society Development (CSDC),  was a broad and active participation of civil society organizations, lecturers and students of “Aleksander Moisiu” University (UAMD).  The main issues addressed and discussed with the participants were the agenda of the Chicago summit, benefits and costs of Albania’s NATO membership, future challenges of NATO and their perception on the commitment and role of NATO in international and regional developments.

The roundtable meetings of “My Kind Of NATO: Chicago 2012″ initiative will be finalized with a conference where a report on the main findings of all meetings will be launched. This report is due to be shared with a much wider audience and will serve not only to present the perspectives and perceptions of the target group, but also to streamline these ideas with the outcomes of the Chicago summit.
Also, as part of IDM’s research activity, we shared with the participants, CSDC and UAMDs’ library various publications focusing on European and security affairs, local governance and issues relating to civil society development. Distribution of these publications will continue in the upcoming meetings on this project.