Documents & Publications
Speech by RCC Secretary General at Balkathon 5.0 Award Ceremony
03 OCTOBER 2024 | SPEECH
RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu opened the Award Ceremony of the fifth edition of RCC's flagship initiative Balkathon, held in Tirana on 3 October 2024.
"Five years ago, during a global uncertainty of the Covid pandemic, when the world was adjusting to a new reality, we asked ourselves: What can we create? What problems can we solve using technology? What ideas can disrupt the usual “cog in the wheel” roles and dive the region into problem-solving with freedom and creativity? How to ensure cooperation will not be abandoned? And we came with the idea of a hackathon called Balkathon-more than just a space for innovation, because to us it is a platform of cooperation. Bringing people with different skills and perspectives to the same place, encouraging collaboration that goes beyond boundaries.
In five years what began as a response to a crisis has since evolved into a platform for transformation. Nearly 400 applicants have participated in 23 diverse topic, supported by 72 mentors and evaluated by almost 60 experts in digitalisation and ICT. To date, we have awarded 22 ground-breaking solutions through Balkathon," said Bregu among other things.
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Opening speech by the RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu at Balkathon 4.0 grand finale
03 OCTOBER 2023 | SPEECH
RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu opened Balkathon 4.0 grand finale in Sarajevo on 3 October 2023.
"Balkathon is more than a competition; it's a canvas for your ideas, a laboratory for your creativity, and a launchpad for your dreams. In the face of the challenges that surround us, it's your novelty that offers hope, your start-ups that breathe life into change, and your ideas that can redefine our day-to-day life,"said Bregu, among other things.
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Opening speech by the RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu at Balkathon 3.0
06 SEPTEMBER 2022 | SPEECH
Majlinda Bregu, RCC Secretary General opened Balkathon 3.0 finale in Pristina on 6 September 2022.
Among other things, Bregu said:
"Being true to our focus on the region’s human capital development – we embarked on RCC’s Balkathon trademark journey three years ago.
What was initially a Covid lockdown-born idea – transformed into a sizable regional flagship initiative that is eagerly anticipated by our youth and start-ups.
In three (3) years, we are proud to have an initiative that:
-taps into the considerable potential of ICT sector to boost the added value and exports of services across the region,
-addresses unemployment in a region in which labour force participation rates remain low and youth unemployment is at a staggering thirty-three (33) percent (%) - more than double the EU average,
-creates further opportunities in a region in which thirty-nine (39) percent (%) of citizens are considering leaving for better opportunities abroad."
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Annual Report of the Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council 2021-2022
10 JUNE 2022 | REPORT
The Annual Report of the Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) covers the period April 2021 – April 2022. It outlines main RCC activities and achievements in the past year. It also lays out the overall background and crucial developments impacting and shaping the activities of the RCC and the region of South East Europe in the reporting period.
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RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu exclusive interview for Balkan Insider
22 OCTOBER 2021 | INTERVIEW
RCC Secretary General gave an interview for Balkan Insider on Green Agenda, Digital Transformation, Common Regional Market and more.
“True. The (Green) divide is large. 16 coal power plants in the region are outdated and produce more hazardous emissions than the 260 power plants in Europe. Making coal history might be a nice tittle for an op-ed. But to do that and compensate or invest in renewable energy to undercut coal will not be easy. But that is our reality. If it were not large, #WesternBalkans would be standing at different position towards the EU, right? Although, this is only one side of the coin. In Green Agenda is not a race after the high European standards, it is actually a race against devastating droughts, floods, premature deaths, and so on," said RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu for Balkan Insider.
Talking Points by the RCC Secretary General at the Western Balkans Digital Summit 2021
13 OCTOBER 2021 | SPEECH
Remarks by the Secretary General of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Majlinda Bregu at the high-level meeting during the fourth Western Balkans Digital Summit, held in Podgorica 11-13 October 2021.
High -level meeting was opened by Montenegrin Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic with the following high-level speakers: Majlinda Bregu, Secretary General, Regional Cooperation Council, Olivér Várhelyi, DG NEAR, EC Commissioner and Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, Director of Country Health Systems and Policies at the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
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Tanja Maras, RCC's Expert on Digital Connectivity for Western Balkan Business on Balkathon
17 MAY 2021 | INTERVIEW
Tanja Maras, Expert on Digital Connectivity at the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) for Western Balkan Business for Western Balkan Business on Balkathon.
Guided by this positive experience and the fact that a long and difficult road of economic recovery from the pandemic is ahead of us, this year too we organised this competition, adding a little something to its title – Balkathon 2.0, as we too have learned some lessons and endeavoured to make it more substantial this year, attracting even more participants.