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Forum Belgrade 2011 – “A Soul for Europe” will bring together representatives of civil society initiatives, policy-making and businesses at the local and European level, including members of the European institutions such as the European Parliament and European Commission, to discuss the role of civic initiatives participation in the shaping of our societies. Forum Belgrade 2011 aims at improving the position of civil society in Belgrade and Serbia within the framework of the European integration process and transformation of the Serbian society. It will foster dialogue between all relevant parties including local, regional and national policy-makers; as well as the business sector in line with the “A Soul for Europe” aims. This dialogue will also foster the interest of young people in participatory public life, and their mobilisation.

Forum Belgrade should therefore exercise a strong pressure on the political, civic and corporate environments to demonstrate the importance of civil society active engagement. This directly and indirectly influences the economic, social and political development. At the same time, experiences from other “A Soul for Europe” Forums held across Europe (More information at: http://www.asoulforeurope.eu/what/forum-x), have shown the great potential of such an initiative for the development of new social structures, cross sector partnerships and concrete actions.

Forum Belgrade is not just a conference. Forum Belgrade is the process of defining the role of the civil society, both in Serbia and the South East Europe region. Culture is intrinsically connected with various aspects of society such as economy, education, international diplomacy, and many public policies. Therefore, we strongly believe that civil society initiatives, with their creativity and flexibility must be an important component in the process shaping and developing society. Forum Belgrade 2011 will be the beginning of the series of public debates and the trans-sector events dealing with key and challenging issues of contemporary society.