“New grounds for international political cooperation for Francophony in Europe”

Conference organised by the Balkan Political Club
in cooperation with the International Francophony Organisation
with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Bulgarian Republic

Sofia, 2-3 September 2006

A meeting on “New grounds for international political cooperation for Francophony in Europe,” organised by the Balkan Political Club, in cooperation with the International Francophony Organisation and with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Bulgarian Republic, is held in Sofia, Bulgaria on 2-3 September 2006. The aim of the meeting is to culminate in a Final Act, containing concrete proposals, to be delivered as an address at the XIth Francophony Summit, which will convene in Bucharest, on September 28 and 29, 2006.

More than fifty political personalities and other leaders from countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Africa and other French speaking regions, have come together to discuss their experience and vision concerning the political role of francophony in an international and regional context. They are joined by scholars, researchers and members of civil society organisations in an attempt to better understand the specifics of francophony in international relations, the political aspects of francophony in Central and Eastern Europe, the inter- and intra-regional role of francophony, the institutional and democratisation developments seventeen years after the fall of the Berlin wall, and the contribution of civil society and education to the process of democratisation.

Distinguished speakers include, among others:

Dr. Zhelyu Zhelev, President of the Balkan Political Club and Former President of the Republic of Bulgaria
Simeon Saxe Cobourg-Gotha, Former Prime Minister of Bulgaria
Ivailo Kalfine, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria
Christine Desouches, Secretary General of the International Francophony Organisation
Kiro Gligorov, First President of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Besnik Mustafaj, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania
Emil Constantinescu, Former President of Romania
Ion Iliescu, Former President of Romania
Louise Beaudoin, Former State Minister of Foreign Affairs and Former Minister of Francophony
Dr. François Frison-Roche, Director of Research, CNRS, France
Jaroslav Sedivy, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
Bronislaw Geremek, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland
Professor Karel Vasak, Former Director of Human Rights, UNESCO
Mahamed Auajjar, Former Minister of Human Rights, Morocco
Mame Bassine Niang, Minister and High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Promotion of Peace, Senegal
Oleg Serebrian, President of the Socio-Liberal Party, Moldova
Ambassador Magdalena Tovornik, Diplomatic Counsellor for Political Affairs with the Presidency of the Slovenian Republic
Dr. Agni Vlavianos-Arvanitis, President and Founder, Biopolitics International Organisation