Balkan Connection - Business & Opportunities

Get a Graduate Education in the United States through the Kosovo American Educat

Don't miss this opportunity to obtain your master's degree in the United States . . . free! The Kosovo American Education Fund (KAEF) is currently accepting applications for eight full scholarships to Master's Degree programs in the United States. We are looking for qualified Kosovars who want an opportunity to increase their knowledge and skills in areas that would support economic growth and investment in Kosovo.

The online application for the KAEF program will be available until September 14, 2007 at:

kaef-online.org

The competition for KAEF scholarships is open and merit based. The selection process is as follows:

September 14, 2007 - Application deadline
Fall and Winter, 2007 - All applications reviewed by U.S. admissions experts, and highly-ranked Fellowship Candidates interviewed, and tested
Spring 2008 - U.S. admissions experts reconvene to make fellowship and placement recommendations
Summer 2008 - Fellowship recipients are notified
Fall 2008 - Academic programs begin

DESCRIPTION

The purpose of the Kosovo American Education Fund (KAEF) Program is to support long-term development in Kosovo by enhancing a cadre of well-educated and trained individuals to address a current lack of human capacity. Funded by the American people through the U.S. Agency for International Development and administered by American Councils for International Education, the KAEF Program is a perpetual education fund that allows eligible/qualified Kosovars the opportunity to increase their knowledge and skills in areas that would support economic growth and investment in Kosovo. For 2005, the KAEF Program awarded eight master's-level fellowships through a competitive, merit-based process. Recruitment is currently under way for 2008.

ORIGINS

Shortly after establishment of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo in 1999, USAID created the Kosovo Business Finance Fund (KBFF) to foster economic development and growth in Kosovo. This fund was used to establish the American Bank of Kosovo, a commercial bank that in the following years built up a loan portfolio and a successful level of deposits. The sale of these assets enabled the creation of the Kosovo American Education Fund (KAEF). In open competition, American Councils for International Education was awarded administration of this endowment in April 2004.

For more information, or to submit an application, visit kaef-online.org TODAY!!!

The Growing Trend - Mediation

Regional Facilitation and Negotiation Centre - ‘The Growing Trend - Mediation’ International Conference, September 14 – 16, 2007, Iasi, Romania

Partners: Ministry of Justice Romania, Danish Centre for Conflict Resolution, Mount Royal College Canada, PATRIR.

There will be a one day conference and two day training on advanced mediation techniques.

The conference includes an exciting collection of international speakers presenting on a wide variety of interesting and innovative mediation topics. The goals of the event are to provide a wide range of information, skill-building, and thought-provoking discussion on the emerging issues in mediation around the world from community mediation, peacemaking to mediation in business, banking and politics.

The training Programme ‘Advanced Mediation Techniques’ is designed for professionals who are already trained in mediation and want to master advanced conflict resolution skills. You will have the opportunity to interact with experts with wide international experience as trainers, mediators, peacemakers. You will have the option of participating in a training programme that builds up advanced skills in conflict resolution or in a training that is focused on international peace work and conflict resolution techniques.

Legal Contemporary Institutions within the context of the European Integration o

Law School of the Romanian American University - ‘Legal Contemporary Institutions within the context of the European Integration of Romania’ International Symposium, October 26 - 27, 2007, Bucharest, Romania - Call for Papers
Application deadline: September 10, 2007

The event is organized in close cooperation with and financially supported by the National Authority for Scientific Research of Romanian Ministry for Education and Research.

�Ukraine - Romania - Moldova: Historical, Political and Cultural Relations

’Ukraine - Romania - Moldova: Historical, Political and Cultural Relations in the Context of Modern European Processes’, International Scientific Conference, September 18 –19, 2007, Chernivtsi, Ukraine - Call for papers
Application deadline: August 28, 2007

Organizers: Department of Political Science and Public Administration of the Faculty of History, Political Science and International Relations of Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University and Bukovynian Center for Political Studies, in close cooperation with and financially supported by Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Ukraine and the Canadian Institute for Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta, and with participation of Chernivtsi Regional State Administration.

�Visual Construction of Culture� Symposium

October 26 – 27, 2007, Zagreb, Croatia - Call for Papers
Application deadline: August 20, 2007 (confirmation)

Organizers: The Croatian Writers' Society, the theory, culture and visual arts journal Tvrða, and the Zagreb Centre for Visual Studies.

Over the past ten-odd years, the interest for the establishment of Visual Culture / Visual Studies as a new interdisciplinary field of scientific study has surpassed the boundaries of contemporary visual arts. As W. J. T. Mitchell, one of the leading theoreticians of visuality and the image in the media age puts it, the new way in which images are created in the digital age requires a paradigm shift. This visual, pictorial and cultural turn marks the liberation of the image from the dominant paradigms in language philosophy and from the prevalent iconology interpretations in art history. Today, the picture is understood as a medium of communication and as a contextual field of autoreferential denotation. It is no longer a ‘holy’ picture or a picture of High Art, but a multiplied and networked world of visuality which demands its own new grammar, syntax, semiotics and hermeneutics.

International Symposium on Poverty

Deniz Feneri Poverty Research Center - International Symposium on Poverty, February 1 - 3, 2008, Istanbul, Turkey - Call for papers
Application deadline: August 20, 2007

Poverty is a widespread and global phenomenon, which has pervasive effects on global and local communities. Different social scientific disciplines, vary from sociology to economics, political science to social work, emphasize on the different aspects of the problem, and thus contribute the existing literature on poverty and its causes, pervasiveness and effects in 21st century. Furthermore, there is a profusion of supranational actors, usually lying beyond the state, to tackle poverty. UNDP, World-Bank and local or global civil society organizations work in the field of poverty alleviation and offer a variety of services and solutions to the problem of poverty alongside the nation-states. In this respect, it is crucial to bring civil, public, academic and supranational actors together to discuss different aspects of the problem of poverty and thus to establish global and local platforms to fight against p! overty.

Roadmap for the Western-Balkans

Center for EU Enlargement Studies, Central European University - 'A Roadmap for the Western-Balkans: Using IPA and other EU Funds to Accelerate Convergence and Integration' Workshop - Call for papers
Application deadline: August 13, 2007

The main aim of this one day workshop is to take stock of pre-accession funds available for Western-Balkan candidate- and potential candidate countries, their ability to manage and absorb financial assistance received from the EU, and to contribute to identifying fields of program implementation. The workshop also aims to discuss the role that new EU member states can play in transferring know-how on identifying development needs and the management of fund absorption. As a result, convergence perspectives of the region can be assessed as well as the role of the wider region in assisting in the development of the Western-Balkans. The workshop brings together junior researchers and academics with senior policy-makers from EU institutions, member states, and Western-Balkan countries.

New Europe College

New Europe College, Bucharest - Fellowships Spring - Summer 2008
Application deadline: September 30, 2007

The two Fellowships shall enable young outstanding researchers - social scientists and humanities scholars - or academics from the Balkan region to pursue their work in Bucharest, with the support of a decent stipend and benefiting from the institute's excellent infrastructure and in its stimulating multidisciplinary atmosphere. Fellows are expected to stay in residence at the New Europe College in Bucharest and to participate in the academic program of this vital Romanian centre of research and debate.

Grants for Romanian Audiovisual Professionals

Grants for Romanian Audiovisual Professionals - Call for proposals
Application deadline: September 17, 2007

This Call for Proposals is based on the decision taken by the European Commission's PHARE Programme for the implementation of the support project ‘Enhancement and development of the professional expertise of the Romanian audiovisual sector’. The project purpose is to strengthen the audiovisual sector in Romania, with the aim to promote European cultural diversity and to develop a viable national audiovisual industry.

PROGRESS (2007 - 2013) Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity

European Commission DG Employment - PROGRESS (2007 - 2013) Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity
Application deadline: September 3, 2007 (for Section 3)

PROGRESS is the new Community Programme for employment and social solidarity which will run from 2007 until 2013. The programme replaces the former Community programmes covering anti-discrimination, gender equality, the fight against social exclusion and employment incentive measures which provide financial support to the EU's Social Policy Agenda. This single programme complements the European Social Fund as well as the financial support provided for social dialogue, free movement of workers and social studies.