A Successful Start of the Transnational Demographic Expert Network of the SEECP Participating Countries

Today, 17th November 2017 at the Center finished the meeting of the Transnational Demographic Expert Network (TDEN) of the SEECP participating countries. Within five days, a number of documents related to the Ministerial Declaration of 2016 were discussed and prepared. These activities demonstrate the successful launch of the network, in line with what is stated in the Declaration.

Representatives from the UN Population Fund, the Regional Cooperation Council and the ILO International Training Center, as well as experts from institutions involved in demographic issues from Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, Slovenia, Turkey, Montenegro, looked at the results of the first of its kind a comparative study of the demographic changes in the region carried out by a team of Bulgarian researchers from the Institute for Population and Human Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, as well as a report on the opportunities for project funding for the SEECP participating countries in the implementation of joint projects aimed at addressing demographic challenges in Southeast Europe.

An important element of the event's work was the presentation and detailed discussion of the framework for a modular training program on "Managing Demographic Change and Labor Force Development", which will be launched in Bulgaria next year. Comments on its content were connected to the implamentation of  more successful working practices from other countries that have proven effective in addressing demographic challenges by enabling prominent experts from these countries to be leading lecturers in the program trainings.

A joint discussion object was also  the creation of a web-based platform for exchange of information and statistical demographics for TEMP experts.

The meeting was closed by Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Policy PhD. Sultanka Petrova. In the address to the attendees, she stressed that the meeting was only "conditionally" closed, because the joint work will continue in the coming months, pushing a long process that is starting its responsible work at expert level.
The meeting was appreciated as successful by the representatives of all present countries and promising in terms of the goals set for the next year.