The first day of the Tirana Think Tank Forum (TTF) 2024, held on November 13, offered a valuable opportunity for think tank leaders, experts, and policymakers from across the Western Balkans and Europe to engage in closed-door discussions on the challenges and opportunities for think tanks operating within hybrid regimes. The forum created a safe and collaborative environment for exploring strategies to strengthen think tanks’ roles as independent and impactful actors in society.
The day began with a welcoming session led by Gjergji Vurmo, Senior Advisor at IDM Albania, and Dajana Cvjetkovic, Project Manager of SMART Balkans, who shared with participants the vision and objectives behind the forum’s organization. They emphasized the importance of creating a space where think tanks could openly discuss organizational and operational challenges. More importantly, they highlighted the need to establish communities of practice, where different think tanks can regularly connect, support, and mentor each other through shared challenges.
The first interactive session, “Speed Date & Think Tanks’ Problem Box,” enabled participants to connect and candidly share internal challenges undermining think tank integrity and credibility. Each participant identified one internal and one external challenge impacting their organization’s work, noted these challenges on paper, and placed them in the “Problem Box.” These challenges were then categorized and served as the basis for discussion in upcoming panels.
The next panel, moderated by Agron Demi, included distinguished experts: Goran Buldioski from the Hertie School of Governance, Sonja Stojanović from the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, Enrique Mendizabal from On Think-Tanks, and Marija Risteska, Executive Director of CRPM in North Macedonia. The panel addressed common issues facing think tanks in the Western Balkans, from securing funding and retaining staff to adapting to AI and maintaining resilience. The experts also advised on forming thematic clusters to facilitate peer-to-peer exchange networks among participants.
The first day of the forum was a productive start, fostering open dialogue and setting the stage for continued discussions in the upcoming public sessions. Stay tuned for highlights from day two, where the conversation will expand to a broader audience, focusing on the role of think tanks in promoting democratic governance and policy influence across the region.
