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Institute for Democracy “Societas Civilis” – Skopje

Organization Summary

The Institute for Democracy “Societas Civilis” - Skopje (IDSCS) is a think-tank organisation based in North Macedonia that is non-governmental, non-partisan and non-profit. It was established in 1999 by a group of intellectuals gathered around the idea of democracy, solidarity and civil society. The long term objectives of the Institute include the work on a balanced socio-economic development, active citizenship and participative political culture. In this direction, we focus our activities on rule of law, good governance and multi-ethnic and multicultural coexistence. IDSCS’s work is primarily based on a sociometric research and project-based activities. We believe that human capital is a key precondition for positive social change, hence we eagerly undertake capacity building projects based on skills and knowledge transfer. Finally, our society’s improvement is directly linked to the availability of resources for self-reflection. In this sense, we advocate policy recommendations and strive to enrich the public discourse through the promotion of evidence-based policy, publishing and public events.
Official Website

Members

Zoran Nechev

Zoran Nechev heads the Center for EU Integration of the Institute for Democracy, a think tank based in North Macedonia. He is a member of ERSTE Stiftung/Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen’s “Europe’s Future Alumni Network” and of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG). Zoran Nechev has been working at DGAP as an associate fellow since July 2021. He specializes in EU-Western Balkans relations, EU enlargement policy, the external dimensions of justice and home affairs, corrosive/constructive capital, and malign influences. Previously, he was an academic guest at the Center for International and Comparative Studies, ETH Zürich, where he examined the effects of the EU’s conditionality policy. As a senior associate fellow at the EU Institute for Security Studies, he was involved in activities related to “Global Strategy,” resilience, and Balkan Futures.   Nechev is currently a PhD candidate at the Institute for European Studies, Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Anamarija Velinovska

Anamarija Velinovska is a project manager and a researcher at the Centre for EU integration at the Institute for Democracy (IDSCS). She works on project related to regional cooperation and advancement mostly focusing on Parliaments’ role in Berlin Process initiative and mechanisms for regional cooperation such as the foreign direct investment screening mechanism. Velinovska works on public opinion analysis on the EU integration perception of the citizens. 

She has received her MSc Public Policy at the University of Edinburgh and obtained her Bachelor in Journalism at the University Ss “Cyril and Methodius” – Skopje.