15-16 June 2023, Struga, North Macedonia

Created to enable countries, organisations, and citizens to build long-term relationships by inspiring good-neighbourly relations at the highest level, Prespa Forum Dialogue 2023, titled "Widened European family by 2030: mission (im) possible?" engaged high-level officials and numerous institutions from the region to exchange ideas and perspectives and build partnerships that will help secure the region's future within the European and Euro-Atlantic context.

Focused on the EU enlargement process, pressing regional and European political-security challenges, democracy and stability, and the perspectives of genuine regional cooperation, Forum tackled numerous topics, including "Developing Skills & Providing Opportunities: Strategies for Tackling Brain Drain" discussed at the panel enriched with ReSPA Director's stamp on ReSPA's vision for a reformed public administration as a "future" and "youth-proofed" one. "Leveraging on a regional approach, we enable collaborative learning and capacity-building, focusing on the human capital in the public sector. Public administration must undergo substantive organisational, technological, and cultural transformation to become an attractive employer and a thriving context for capacitated youth talents", highlighted Director Handjiska-Trendafilova.

Leveraging on a regional approach in the region with common issues but also a joint integration vision, ReSPA supports the region with a variety of instruments, ranging from policy dialogue and capacity-building activities developed with renewed EU institutes and academies. “We deploy technical assistance, policy research but also mobility schemes within the region and the EU Members, which have both learning and job-shadowing components which for us is very important. Everything we do I focused on the regional practitioners’ network of civil servants, many of whom are young. In the same vein, we want to establish strong networks with practitioners and peers in the EU. For public administrations to be fit for the future, a whole set of reforms is needed, from fundamentals and adherence to competence and merit-based principles; to citizens-centred orientation; actively supporting mobility in the public sector; career development options; actionable retention policies; conceptualizing more meaningful work; more collaborative networks and tasks; flexibility and improving work-life balance; overall learning culture; recognizing and rewarding talent; proactively engaging youth in co-creation and co-management and in policy and decision-making, etc. And we must proactively spread out islands of excellence in public administration to become archipelagos, part of the continent, of the “main”. We must build excellence at the core of public administration because the cost of inaction is very high. Youth, individuals, and businesses can only thrive if governance works for them. This is an angle in which ReSPA tries to contribute by building the capacities through learning - activities and peer exchange among the civil servants in the region.” concluded Director Handjiska-Trendafilova.