Debate with board members of the National Democratic Institute at IPA

On Wednesday, June 14, we had the pleasure and privilege to host in our office board members and other representatives of National Democratic Institute (NDI), including Board Chairman Senator Tom Daschle, NDIs President Derek Mitchell or Vice Chair Harriet C. Babbitt.

The meeting was an opportunity for board members to meet local partners, CSOs representatives and activists from Central and Eastern Europe to discuss the issues regarding transatlantic relations, CEE engagement and international cooperation. 
 
The main part of the meeting was a panel discussion which was moderated by Jacek Kucharczyk, IPA President and focused on the main challenges for Central and East Europe after the Russian aggression in Ukraine. The panelists talked about European unity and divisions in the face of the war, European foreign policy agenda and transatlantic relations from the Central and East Europe perspective. Part of the discussion concerned the challenges for democracy in Central Europe and the impact of the war on domestic politics in the region. 
 
The panel included discussants from Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Belarus including Sergei Komlach from EuroRadio, Wojciech Przybylski from Res Publica Foundation, Sławomir Sierakowski from Krytyka Polityczna, Zsuzsanna Szelenyi from Central European University and Olga Richterova from the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic
 
NDI has been our partner for many years and we have worked together on strengthening civil society and democratic participation. We are currently engaged in Central Europe Civic Engagement Project (CECEP). CEEP is a five-year initiative promoting citizen involvement in the political processes through community action in Central Europe. Our Institute is one of the coordinators of the project and supports selected civic coalitions from Poland in the development of their potential and opportunities.