Co-Design Workshops on the Conceptualization of the Green Transition in the Western Balkan

What will be the fate of the policies related to the green transition in the Western Balkans? Is the Western Balkans region prepared to face the challenges and respond to the need to move towards a more sustainable future?

These are just some of the issues raised during the Co-Design Workshops on the Conceptualization of the Green Transition in the Western Balkans held on November 8 and 22 in online format.

Over 50 stakeholders from the public administration institutions, civil society organizations, academia, and the business sector participated in these co-design workshops as part of the Horizon Project “GreenFORCE – Foster Research Excellence for Green Transition in the Western Balkans”.

The study of the effects and costs of green transition in the Western Balkans is one of the key goals of the GreenFORCE project. The two co-design workshops assist the research effort seeking to inform on the readiness/potential of societal actors (business, academics, policy makers, civic society), and to provide a framework for ongoing monitoring of impacts and costs.

The first co-design workshop provided information and expertise about the context, the difficulties, and how regional stakeholders address issues related to the luck of policies related to green transition in the Western Balkans.

Considering the similarities in challenges and vision for the future it was agreed to have a regional partnership to better face the transition. The need for cooperation among the quadruple helix of interested parties was also underlined during first day meeting.

The second co-design workshop’s goal was to stimulate dialogue on green transition research using three case studies from Serbia, North Macedonia, and Albania as a starting point.

Developing a sound, realistic assessment of the societal and economic costs and benefits in the process of transitioning to climate-neutral ecosystems, reduced pollution, and improved energy performance in the Western Balkans was considered to be highly dependent on the input of the stakeholders taking part in the workshop.

After one and a half years, where the stakeholders will meet again to discuss the research’s findings and how they may better inform and influence policy.

To read the full report on the Co-Design workshops, click here.