About
The Civil Society Forum of the Western Balkans (CSF WB) is a platform that brings together think-tanks and policy-oriented civil society organizations from the region. Its purpose is to contribute to regionally-relevant political processes by communicating the latest expertise and field findings to decision-makers, and by engaging in public advocacy campaigns.
The platform came to life as part of the Western Balkans Summit Series (also known as the Berlin Process), in Vienna in 2015. It has been contributing to the Berlin Process through policy recommendations and CSF WB policy briefs, prepared at annual, interim and working groups meetings, in online consultations and at joint sessions with officials of the governments involved in this process.
The policy products prepared by the CSF WB are reflected in the initiatives developed throughout the Process.
Moreover, in the course of the CSF WB’s activity, the regional think-tanks and policy-oriented organizations have been bringing up regionally relevant topics not initially included in the Berlin Process goals, such as the rule of law, security, migrations, the environment and others.
Aiming to more comprehensively tackle the shared challenges across the region, the CSF WB re-shaped its approach in 2018. It will continue its activity in 6 working groups, corresponding to the 6 flagship initiatives of the EU Strategy for the Western Balkans (Rule of Law, Security and Migrations, Socio-economic Development, Connectivity, Digital Agenda and Reconciliation and Good Neighbourly Relations ), also taking into account the cross-cutting topics. Participation in the working groups is open to all interested think-tanks and policy-oriented organizations from the Western Balkans, or with an interest in the region.