How can academic networks drive youth participation in the Western Balkans? Watch the final showcase for "Youth Agency & New Political Imaginaries" to explore the results of our 1-year fellowship, hackathons, and workshops. 📺 Full video here: youtu.be/Y1pyQSrXTY0?...

How do transnational networks among young migrants impact their home countries? RECAS Fellow Dragana Mrvoš presented her research on young Serbian & Croatian migrants at the CEEISA 2026 Conference in Sarajevo, engaging in vital discussions on migration, memory politics, and regional identity. ⬇️

Project coordinator Irena Molnar was recently a guest on TV Nova S to discuss our 1-year fellowship program—now running for the third time—alongside our ongoing work and deliberative workshops with young people in the Western Balkans.

The NGFP 2027 Fellowship is open! Offering funding, expert mentorship, & global networking for emerging futures practitioners. ⚠️ Special track open for Balkans applicants! ⏳ Deadline: 26 June 2026 🔗 Apply: bit.ly/NGFP2027 #FuturesThinking #Balkans #Foresight #NGFP2027 #SEEBlueSky #AcafemicSky

How can youth research drive regional trade policy? Excellent opportunity for Master's & PhD candidates from CEFTA Parties to shape real economic decisions. The CEFTA Research Award 2026 is now open for submissions in agri-food, industry, and services. ⬇️

How does Gen Z envision the future of the Western Balkans? On 11 June, @ifdtbeograd.bsky.social hosted the final showcase for "Youth Agency and New Political Imaginaries in the Western Balkans," presenting key findings from the RECAS Fellowship, capital-city workshops, and our Policy Hackathon. ⬇️

How can we transform youth research into real-world policy? The RECAS Policy Hackathon in Belgrade (9–10 June) brought together regional youth, fellows, and alumni to co-create policy positions on democratic and eco-digital futures under the mentorship of Srđan Đurović. ⬇️

REMINDER: This Thursday in Belgrade & Online! Join @ifdtbeograd.bsky.social & RECAS for the final results showcase of "Youth Agency and New Political Imaginaries in the Western Balkans". Explore fellowship data, Gen Z insights, and policy proposals. 🗓️ Thursday, 11 June | 16:00–18:00 CET ⬇️

Participation must be meaningful to matter. The RECAS Research Repository brings together regional and country-level findings from deliberative workshops with young people across the Western Balkans: recas.info/repository/

How is Gen Z reshaping political imaginaries in the Western Balkans? Join @ifdtbeograd.bsky.social & RECAS for our Project Results Showcase! Discover fellowship outputs, insights on youth democracy, and recommendations from our Policy Hackathon. 🗓️ 11 June | 16:00–18:00 CET 📍 Belgrade & Online

Can a river become a space for political resistance and civic identity? Azra Hromadžić joins Ajda Hedžet to discuss "Riverine Citizenship" and political protest along the Una River in BiH. 🗓️ June 11 | 15:00 PM CET 🌐 For more information and Zoom link visit RECAS website.

Today at the European Parliament, we discussed Youth Imagining Europe from the Western Balkans, hosted by Vladimir Prebilič The discussion brought together perspectives on youth, democracy, participation, and the future of EU–Western Balkans relations at a moment

Ajda Hedžet investigates how youth in SE Europe navigate the gap between being "future-makers" and their actual political marginalisation. More on: recas.info/fellows/ OSF Western Balkans, @erstestiftung.org, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund support fellowships. #RECAS_SEE #AcademicSky

Why is returning home increasingly difficult to realize for Balkan migrants today? Robert Pichler joins Anxhela Lepuri to discuss the "Hopes and Realities of Return" in the Western Balkans, exploring migration, family strategies, and regional consequences. June 4 | 12:00 PM

Credibility depends on fairness, consistency, and action. See how young people across the Western Balkans assessed the EU’s credibility in the Regional Report and country snapshots in the RECAS Research Repository: recas.info/repository/

How do metaphors shape democracy? RECAS Fellow Anxhela Lepuri explores the language of youth in Prishtina to uncover how figurative speech reflects hope, resistance, and visions for an EU future. 🔗 Meet our fellows: recas.info/fellows/

Can we make "speculative rigour" a new academic standard? Ali Aslan Gümüsay joins Vehap Kola to discuss "Prospective Theorizing"—how we can scientifically imagine desirable futures in an age of planetary emergency. 🗓️ May 28 | 12:00 PM CET 🔗 recas.info/cas-see-semi...

Frustration grows when the EU accession process remains slow and uncertain. Explore what young people across the Western Balkans said in the deliberative workshop series about delays, uncertainty, and the future of EU accession: recas.info/books/youth-...

RECAS Fellow Vehap Kola explores how young people use digital spaces to imagine and organize ecological & political futures under pressure. From weekly voice notes to policy hackathons, this project bridges the gap between digital life and civic action. 🔗 recas.info/fellows/

Belonging and exclusion often go hand in hand. For a regional overview and country-level findings from deliberative workshops with young people across the Western Balkans, visit the RECAS Research Repository: recas.info/repository/

Can diverse acquaintances save civil discourse? Ivan Cerovac joins Julija Perhat to discuss how "weak social ties" act as a shield against political polarization and echo chambers. 🗓️ May 21 | 12:00 PM CET 🔗 recas.info/cas-see-semi... Supported by OpenSocietyWB, @erstestiftung.org, & RockBrosFund.

New research from RECAS Fellow Julija Perhat explores how slurs are used by youth in the Western Balkans to negotiate identity and challenge (or reinforce) nationalist narratives. 🔗 recas.info/fellows/ Supported by OSFWB, @erstestiftung.org & RBF

Positive views of Europe are shaped by expectations of fairness and consistency. Read more in the Regional Report and country snapshots, which bring together findings from the RECAS deliberative workshop series with young people across the Western Balkans: recas.info/repository/

Is Europe's youth diverging from established political narratives? Find out at the @cas-see-uniri.bsky.social seminar with Richard Q. Turcsányi & Anastas Vangeli. 🗓️ May 7 | 12:00 PM CET 🔗 recas.info/cas-see-semi... Supported by OSF_WB, @erstestiftung.org, & RBF.

Anastas Vangeli explores how Balkan Gen Z navigates "semi-peripheral uncertainty." Forget the stereotypes of apathy—this study builds a framework to understand youth agency across mobility, work, ecology, and geopolitics. 🔗 Full details: recas.info/fellows/ #RECAS_SEE

Prof. Eric Champion joins RECAS Fellow Ana Gavrilović to discuss how virtual worlds & video games reshape civic imagination & public engagement. 🗓️ April 30 | 11 AM CET 🔗 recas.info/cas-see-semina… Support by OpenSocietyFund Western Balkans, @erstestiftung.org, & Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

RECAS recently hosted an Academic Policy Lab webinar on mastering postdoctoral funding applications. Facilitated by Dr Katarina Kušić, the session focused on helping WB researchers access international grants. Full recap: 🔗 recas.info/recas-hosts-...

Ana Gavrilović explores how youth in SE Europe use #Minecraft, #Roblox, & indie games as "free" digital spaces for political resistance and civic imagination. Gaming isn't just play—it's an arena for negotiating power & democracy. ⬇️

Do migrants "export" democracy? This research examines political remittances among young migrants from Serbia and Croatia in the EU & US, exploring how their movement shapes views on gender, policy, and economic power. 🔗 recas.info/fellows/ Supported by OSF WB, @erstestiftung.org & RBF.

Join Peter N. Funke & Dragana Mrvoš to discuss "Narrative Power in an Era of Crisis"—exploring how social movements move beyond echo chambers to build mass power. 📅 08/04/26 | 2:00 PM CET 🔗 recas.info/cas-see-semi... Supported by OSF WB, @erstestiftung.org & RBF.

Exploring the Democratic Potential of Digital GenZs across SE Europe. This project examines how digital integration and economic autonomy reshape political imaginaries and civic action among youth in hybrid regimes. 🔗 recas.info/fellows/ Supported by OSF_WB, @erstestiftung.org & RBF.

Join Lura Pollozhani & Borjan Gjuzelov to discuss "Democracy Pulse." With 79.7% of WB Gen Z backing democracy but rejecting formal politics, is their hope "critical" or "cruel"? 📅 02/04/26 | 12:00 CET 🔗 recas.info/cas-see-semi... Supported by OSF WB, @erstestiftung.org & RBF.

Ready to explore global politics through games? 🌍 Applications for the 2026 Summer School Serious Games and World Politics, organised as part of the Erasmus Mundus MA programme IMSISS, in cooperation with @recassee.bsky.social and the Serious Games Lab at the University of Belgrade are open!

❗️Due to unforeseen circumstances, the seminar has been moved to 14:00.

How does ecological postponement in SE Europe impact youth rights? Meet our RECAS Fellow Srđan Kukolj, find out more about his research here: recas.info/fellows/ Supported by OSF WB, @erstestiftung.org & RBF. #RECAS_SEE #EnvironmentalJustice #YouthAgency @cas-see-uniri.bsky.social

Join Vlatka Matković & Srđan Kukolj to discuss "Decision-Making as a Democratic Site" — examining how lived experience is converted into institutional evidence. 📅 26/03/26 | 12:00 CET 🔗 recas.info/cas-see-semi... Supported by OSF WB, @erstestiftung.org & RBF. @cas-see-uniri.bsky.social

How can youth voices reshape migration governance in the Western Balkans? This project uses participatory foresight to connect youth migration scenarios in Skopje to formal policy processes. 🔗 recas.info/fellows/ Funded: OSF WB, @erstestiftung.org & RBF. #RECAS_SEE #AcademicSky

The RECAS Fellowship Project Surgery took place at the Moise Palace on the island of Cres from 9–14 March 2026. Fellowships are supported by OSF Western Balkans, @erstestiftung.org, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund. #RECAS_SEE #RECASFellowship @cas-see-uniri.bsky.social @ifdtbeograd.bsky.social

RECAS Surgery Week 2026 brought fellows and mentors together at Moise Palace on Cres for several days of presentations, feedback, and scientific exchange. Read more about this year’s discussions and presentations on our website: recas.info/recas-surger...

Final day of RECAS Surgery Week 2026 After two days of intensive discussions, feedback, and shared reflection, our fellows closed Surgery Week with projects exploring youth resistance, digital spaces, language, migration, and new forms of solidarity across Southeast Europe. ⬇️

Second day of RECAS Surgery Week 2026 at Palača Moise - Moise Palace in Cres! Conversations continued with projects exploring eco-digital politics, cultural futures, migration, and youth agency across Southeast Europe: ⬇️🧵

Day 1 of RECAS Surgery Week 2026 is underway! Our fellows opened the week at the Moise Palace in Cres with projects exploring youth, democracy, digital agency, and climate activism across Southeast Europe.

How do we build resilient pathways in an era of change? Join us for a Seminar with Guests on "Foresight and Futures Literacy," featuring Prof. Marina Andeva and RECAS Fellow Vanja Askapova. 📅 20/03/26 | 12:00 CET 🔗 Learn more: recas.info/cas-see-semi...

How does the network of democratic attitudes vary across generations? This project uses European Social Survey (ESS) data to map the structure of democratic beliefs and their impact on political participation and resilience to backsliding. ⬇️ @cas-see-uniri.bsky.social, @ifdtbeograd.bsky.social

Why is democracy being abandoned for the nation? Join us for a @cas-see-uniri.bsky.social Seminar with Filip Milačić & Nemanja Batričević as they discuss democratic backsliding through the lens of nationalism in Serbia, Hungary, Poland, Israel, & Turkey.

How does political ecology shape youth climate activism? 🔗 recas.info/fellows/ Supported by Open Society Foundation Western Balkans, @erstestiftung.org & Rockefeller Brothers Foundation

How do France and Japan frame China’s climate diplomacy? Join us Feb 26 at 12 PM (CET) for a @cas-see-uniri.bsky.social Seminar with Zhou Xuan and Mo Langgee. Using computational analysis, they decode the complex narratives of energy transition in European and East Asian media.

Can new minority speakers disrupt hegemonic borders? René Bogović’s new project in Rijeka examines how youth adopting Italian/Slovene are creolizing ethnolinguistic boundaries and creating blueprints for transethnic solidarity in SE Europe. 🔗 recas.info/fellows/

Can language be both a tool for unity and a mechanism for exclusion? Join us Feb 19 at 12 PM (CET) for a CAS SEE Seminar with Vinícius Venâncio: “Lessons from the Global South: Language, Belonging, and Exclusion in Cape Verde.” Moderated by Rene Bogović. 🔗 recas.info/cas-see-semi...

How are youth in SE Europe moving from "Margins to Makers"? RECAS Fellow Aleksandra Bajde's project examines youth-led ecological imaginaries in Belgrade & Ljubljana. Her work shows how art & music reclaim democratic agency under precarity. recas.info/fellows/ #RECAS_SEE #YouthAgency #AcademicSky