Economic Diplomacy Seminar 2011 - Summer Success!

               EDS 2011 was exceptional this year!  Around 30 people, participants, leadership, and speakers, came to Fuzine to learn, discuss and live in the principles of Jesus applied to Economic Diplomacy.  For 10 days we gathered to listen to lectures on the EU, economic diplomacy, politics, discrimination and a different kind of economics. 

                At the beginning of the seminar, we heard from Leo van Doesburg, from Holland, who gave an introduction to Economic Diplomacy, Milan Pavlovic, Co-director of EDS from Serbia, who spoke about the current economic crisis and how we got to this point, and Justin Kagin, Co-director of EDS from the US, who spoke about following Jesus as a new way to practice economic and political development.  Later on there were fun games played by all of us around the lake in the beautiful tourist town of Fuzine.  The mayor himself gave an introduction to the town and projects initiated, opening himself to questions from the participants.  And that evening a stirring movie of corrupt businessmen in Romania motivated the participants to immediately confront the problems in their own countries.

                EDS was especially privileged to have the Trinity Forum partner with us again, for the 4^th time.  Jack Fallow, from the UK, moderated discussions on the life journey you pursue as well as character in this modern age.  He helped participants engage with the material, discussing significant texts from Greek philosophy, biblical texts, to modern day essays.  This material is usually dialogued in forums with top business and political leaders but was made freely available to our young leaders by the Trinity Forum.   Jack also stayed to talk more about his extensive experience in business, for private one-on-one mentorship, and to just generally be a friend to those who participated in the seminar. 

                After the Trinity Forum we devoted a full day to discussing discrimination in the region and abroad.  Mihaela Kovac and Aurora Martin spoke about ethnic and gender discrimination, how it can damage our economy and the relationships we have with one another.  Mihaela, herself a Roma, pointed out the negative images people think about when they hear the word Gypsy and how these prejudices affect the way the Roma perceive themselves.  Aurora emphasized that discrimination is a violation of Human Rights and illustrated with the relationship between discrimination and the direct, structural and cultural violence. After that she demonstrated how certain approaches of the religion and of the traditions could promote and maintain discrimination, she looked over the different types of gender discrimination promoted by Communism, Nationalism and Capitalism, concluding with the effects of the migration and of the economic crises on the women's role in the society.  In the evening we had an experimental night where participants had to play roles of discriminators and those being discriminated against.  It was humorous but also very powerful when people felt how it is to be a victim or victimizer.

                During the second half of the seminar, Nolan Sharp gave us the DISC test, a personal development exercise, and a lecture on how Jesus confronted the powers of his time, and how we can confront the powers of our time.  Drazen Glavas talked about the theology of work and how work is no longer a curse but a blessing.  He also inspired people with vision and purpose and directed people to write down their goals and vision.  Another inspiring lecture was from Tihomir Kukojla who followed up the movie about William Wilberforce “Amazing Grace” to talk about servant leadership following the example of Jesus.

                During the last few days of the seminar, Rita Poppe spoke about belief in politics and practical ways to involve yourself in the political process.  Her lectures were both motivating and informative.  And Leo van Doesburg complemented these lectures by asking about identity within the EU and the relationships between society, politics, human dignity and principles of Jesus.  After these lectures there were some heated discussions on the role of government, the corruption involved and how we can change things.

                During the seminar we used small groups to build friendships and to discuss the issues raised during the lectures.  We also had workshops for giving practical skills and friendship/mentorship walks to give participants one on one help.  These were complemented by a trip to the beach in Crkvenica, panel discussions, a talent night, and a couple dialogue cafes.  The team which facilitated these events and worked hard were especially tightly united and worked diligently on behalf of the participants and each other.  During the 10 days, all of our relationships grew into bonded networks, and our bonds into friendships, which will truly last forever.

                Throughout the seminar we also got to know who Jesus is and what his plan was for the economy, for politics, and for life.  In “the love economy” Justin Kagin spoke about Jesus’s emphasis on giving, his view on interest and lending, and how he saw corruption and paying taxes.  He attempted to convey that these principles were worth following and can have a powerful impact.  Later he spoke about the amazing horse “Secretariat” who had a 22lb heart and gave glory to God, and how much more God wants to give glory to people who follow Jesus and have the love he did.

                Finally, participants gave their five minute presentation either alone or in a group on economic diplomacy and the principles of Jesus, and their vision for change.  They were very creative in their approach and it was interesting to listen to the variety of thought and view the considerable efforts put into them.  Each of them were truly inspired and we hope to see them bear fruit.

                To end this report it is best to write a response from one of the many participants who rated the seminar highly.  He wrote “EDS was one of the best seminars I have ever attended to, not only the content was surprising to me but also the surrounding and the people around me. It certainly gave a spirit to the seminar, it provided joy and knowledge. Every activity was designed to fulfill the gap that our educational system had been missing for decades or so. I'm glad I was a participant and I encourage every candidate, without any doubts, regardless of their ethnic and religious background, to apply and attend a seminar of such character.”

Thank you again for joining us or being a part of us from abroad, it truly was an exceptional experience.

Love and Blessings,

Justin Kagin and Milan Pavlović

EDS Co-Directors

FB: Economic Diplomacy Seminar

http://edseminar.blogspot.com/

Economic Diplomacy Seminar 2011

The Economic Diplomacy Seminar, or EDS, will have its fifth year in 2011 (August 18th through the 28th). After four years EDS is a shared experience with over 135 participants, young leaders and professional practitioners from the surrounding region and the world. This is not an exclusive vision of a small group of people but something that many people share, are sharing with others, and are developing together for the future of the region and beyond.

We are excited by a new year with a new group of participants. We know that with Jesus and following his principles these participants will truly make a difference. We are also thankful for this year's leadership and speakers who we believe will inspire those that come. I am sure that we are in for an amazing year!

For those interested in EDS the following is a sample of our invitation letter for this year which will give a general idea of the program that we follow. Again excited about this year! And will keep you all updated.

Warm Regards,

Milan Pavlovic and Justin Kagin
EDS Directors

The Economic Diplomacy Seminar will take place in Hope House, a retreat house of the Life Center International, in Fužine, Croatia from 18 to 28 August 2011.

EDS is based on the principles of Jesus of Nazareth. It applies his principles specifically to the fields of economics, business, politics and diplomacy. The reason for this foundation is that the economic problems in the emerging Europe demands the application of his principles. Principles that Jesus followed, like integrity, moral leadership, service to the community, a focus on the poorest and their needs, good economics, and faith can combat corruption, selfishness, greed, youth hopelessness, debilitating high unemployment, and abject poverty among some ethnic and refugee groups in the region. Our hope is that when these experiences and principles are applied, they will end up developing this region, not just in terms of economic growth, but through the creation of leaders passionate about the economy, politics, peacemaking and friendship.

By taking part in EDS this summer with a number of other young adults from several countries you will undertake an intensive and inspiring journey that will enrich you emotionally, intellectually, relationally and spiritually, and motivate you to make a difference in your country and community.

Throughout these two weeks you will engage in activities that will combine both theory and practice. Prominent speakers will speak to you from fields related to economic diplomacy. Our past speakers have included:

• Todd Becker, former OSCE Mission director of Croatia
• Clerim Cepani, former Albanian Ambassador
• Lynn Dennehy, US financial accountant
• Milenko Djurić, Public Relations Consulting Group, Belgrade, Serbia
• Leo van Doesburg, Officer Relations & Networking; East European Representative European Christian Political Movement (ECPM) and trainer on communication, strategies and politics;
• Jack Fallow, Founder Chairman of Gas Force Limited, a very successful employee owned utilities company, co-founder of Centre for Organizational Effectiveness and Honorary Professor at Brunel University, London, UK;
• Drazen Glavaš, Croatian business consultant and founder of EDUKACIJA, TRENING I KOMUNIKACIJA (ETIK);
• Melita Marčeta, Management Board member of the Zagreb Stock Exchange;
• Robert Maričak, Former CEO of General Graphic Group, a top Croatian technology company;
• Robert Milčev, Executive Director of the Boris Trajkovski Foundation;
• Andrew Nedelchev, European program director for Crown Financial Ministries and Crown Companies in Europe;
• Željko Puja, Professor of Psychology
• Krešimir Sever, President of the Non-aligned Croatian Unions, Zagreb, Croatia
• Mats Tunehag, Swedish newspaper editor and international speaker promoting Business as Mission and Small and Medium Sized Enterprises to build up the economy of developing countries;
• Dr. Richard Werner, Professor of Finance, Southampton University, UK. Author of a ‘New Paradigm in Macroeconomics' (Palgrave Macmillan) which correctly predicted the collapse of the UK banking system and property market, highlighted the problem of 'recurring banking crises' and suggested workable solutions. In 2003, the World Economic Forum selected him as 'Global Leader for Tomorrow' in Davos.
• Teodora Živković, Executive Director in sector for information technologies and operations, Privredna Banka Zagreb, Croatia

In small groups you will synthesize these lectures and discuss them. In workshops you will apply principles to practical activities such as grant writing, communication skills and negotiations, and our mentors will encourage you in your personal development and your visions for change. Combined with the academic element will be times of relaxation which will include a trip to the Adriatic Sea, music, sports, recreation, and much more.

The total participation cost of €740 includes all program expenses, study and leisure trips in Croatia, and full board. Travelling expenses to and from Fuzine are not included. Some partial scholarships are available for those from developing countries in case you are unable to pay the seminar expenses in full. If you need a scholarship, please fill in the part of the application form that addresses the scholarship questions as well. A partial scholarship enables you to pay the discounted rate of €150.

Enclosed with this letter is an application form. Due to the limited number of spaces available we would strongly recommend that you submit your application for our evaluation as soon as possible, or by May 30, 2011 at the latest. Should you have any additional questions feel free to ask by e-mail posted to edseminar@gmail.com. Your completed application form should also be sent to the above e-mail address.

We look forward to your application.

Yours sincerely,

Milan Pavlović and Justin Kagin
Economic Diplomacy Seminar (EDS) Directors

Richard Werner-Financial Crisis

Richard Werner, a speaker at EDS 2007 was speaking about central bank policy making and on Bloomberg Television, even though this is an older interview, April 2007, it is still interesting for those wondering about the current financial crisis.

Part I


Part II

Welcome to EDS!

EDS 2009!

The Economic Diplomacy Seminar 2009 gathered 30 young people (both in leadership and as participants) from 11 countries and lasted from July 19 through August 2. The participants arrived on July 19, starting the adventurous and challenging two weeks of learning, discussing and exchanging knowledge, skills and experience in the fields of economics, diplomacy, business, politics and life in general. The number of participants this year brought additional value and benefit for the participants themselves and the seminar, because it enabled greater cohesion relations between the people to develop over the period of 2 weeks, which brought their readiness to open up and speak frankly about all the issues that arised out of the lectures, small group dissucssios, round-tables, and thematic movies with a message.

We noticed that participants were willing to share and to express their sincere opinions toward themes that were set up officially during sessions, which brought to the fore new related themes and put participants into situations to think, connect, understand and conclude together including valuating and revising their conclusion in a group of people, comparing their thoughts, attitudes and conclusions with the thoughts and attitudes of the other people and passing through the process of learning from others’s experiences as well.

As Economic Diplomacy Seminar is based on the principles of Jesus, we all were satisfied that we could make a conclusion that EDS 2009 made a great influence in participants’s lives, involving principles of Jesus in their set of values and motivating them to think about what they learned through the other set of lenses that Jesus offers for looking at economics, business and diplomacy and at the life and world reality in general.

The Seminar challenged participants to go out from their usual mode of thinking, challenging their mindsets and perception, offering new approaches and aspects of analysis of themes and subjects offered, taken from the reality and complexity of life situations that everyone can find themselves in. That allowed the participants to get a sense of how conclusions on discussed topics, cases and situations would work in real life and how they can apply what they learned in their environments and communities, to their countries or anywhere in the world. Therefore the whole set of offered material was put in the intercultural frame and impacted participants to accept the atmosphere of intercultural diversity and open mind as one of the basic pre-conditions and tools for successful communication and learning over those two weeks. The first speech at the start of the Seminar about “Intercultural communication as a tool for life and work“ ensured to become clear and understandable for participants that accepting the fruits of offered intercultural setting and frame in which seminar was happening would bring great benefits and great added value to them and excellent possibility for unique experience in their lives, in terms of learning and acquiring additional quality of excellence, for the future and for the whole life, where ever they go after. They were encouraged to be brave and to accept the challenge that was offered to them and we were glad to conclude that they were following this challenge through the whole seminar, until the very end of it. We were also glad to see that many of leadership team members noticed the same.

The speakers at the Seminar were Dražen Glavaš, Leo Van Doesburg, Jack Fallow, Melita Marčeta, Željko Puja, Tihomir Kukolja, Justin Kagin, and Milan Pavlović.

The following themes were delivered by speakers during speaking sessions :

1. Introduction to Economic Diplomacy – speaker Leo van Doesburg
2. How the EU functions – speaker Leo van Doesburg
3. Global Terrorism and Economic Diplomacy – speaker Dražen Glavaš
4. Is there an Answer? Surprised by Hope – speaker Dražen Glavaš
5. Trinity Forum (Enterpreneur for Life) – speaker Jack Fallow
6. Trinity Forum (Doing Well and Doing Good) – speaker Jack Fallow
7. Building Insitutions – speaker Jack Fallow
8. Capital Markets and Investments – speaker Melita Marčeta
9. Challenges in Management – speaker Melita Marčeta
10. Team Building and My Role in it – speaker Željko Puja
11. Business Ethics – speaker Andrew Nedelchev
12. Law and Business – speaker Boriana Staikova
13. Negotiations – Katrin Nedelchev and Leo van Doesburg
14. From ROM to EDS and Jesus – speaker Tihomir Kukolja
15. Roma – The Effects of Discrimination – speaker Mihaela Kovacs
16. Jesus and Banking – speaker Justin Kagin
17. Another Way – speaker Justin Kagin
18. Intercultural Communication – speaker Milan Pavlović
19. DISC – speaker Nolan Sharp

Participants, leadership team members and speakers were from the following countries: Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia&Herzegovina, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Cyprus, UK, USA, and the Netherlands.

Participants were organized in small groups where international and intercultural diversity was ensured within the groups as a fruitful frame for discussions that were following lectures. Each speaker defined few questions out from the lectures that participants were discussing during their time in the small groups.

Also, various workshops were offered, presenting and discussing practical applications of concrete methods and techniques in work. Two sets of workshops were delivered, with following topics:

1. Carrer Planning, Profession and Life (Dražen Glavaš)
2. Communication, Conflict Management and Negotiations (Leo Van Doesburg)
3. Lisbon Treaty (Leo van Doesburg)
4. Practical Leadership (Jack Fallow)
5. Using Psychology in Business (Željko Puja)
6. Restful Work (Katrin Nedelchev)
7. Bribery and Corruption a Biblical Perspective (Andrew Nedelchev)

Each participant had the possibility to choose four out of seven workshops offered.

Participants also used the possibility to spend more time with person from the leadership team during “friendship and meet the team“ time when meetings with relaxing time were made with chat, walk or coffee.

EDS organized also different activities for team building and creating of friendships that enabled participants and leadership team to enjoy games, sport and nature together. They were practicing and enjoying rowing on the beatiful lake in Fužine, followed with team games where they were organized in groups training the team building. They also spent the day tour on the Croatian islands of Krk and Košljun and time in Punat, visiting the museum on the island of Košljun and enjoying the natural buties of Croatian sea coast, spending the swimming afternoon at the beach in Punat.

Exursion in Crikvenica, beatiful town on the sea coast gave them another opportunity for enjoying the fun at the beach and swimming in the Adriatic sea.

Participants had opportunity to spend one day in Zagreb, capital of Croatia, were the meeting and roundatble in the City Hall in Zagreb was organized. This meeting was hosted by the official of the City of Zagreb responsible for city development. After the meeting in the Town Hall, participants took part in the Business and Diplomatic Forum that was organized in the hotel Arcotel. Speakers at Business and Diplomatic Forum were economic diplomat from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Croatia, executive director of Privredna Banka Zagreb and the professor of Business Ethics from one of the universities in Zagreb. Participants had very goods opportunity to ask questions and they utilized this opportunity very well.

Beside speaking sessions, small groups discussions, workshops and different team activities, participants and leadership team had two Dialogue Cafes, moderated by Tihomir Kukolja, where certain questions were analysed and discussed within groups. Conclusions were drawn from the summaries of the expressed thoughts and ideas during their exchanging in the groups. Groups were composed in the way to include different people in the group arround the table for each of those questions.

Each of the evenings at the Seminar brought interesting events like thematic movies (Bordertown, Amazing Grace), Evening of Sharing and Presentations of projects and organizations that are making positive changes in the region, Talent Night with skits, music and entertaining, Food Experiment followed by discussion and reflections, Fun Night (Karaoke Party), Evening with spiritual Emphasis.

Two Summaries of the Week were given by Milan Pavlović and Justin Kagin, Seminar Co-Directors, reminding participants on activities that they passed through, learning outcomes, virtues of the whole event and benefits they were gaining from being at the Seminar.

Seminar ended with the Banquet followed with acknowledgments and Evening of Sharing and Inspiration. At the end of that eveing participants had the nice time with bonfire and music.

Before the departure, each of the participants and leadership team members got the CD with the audio and video materials and photos from the speaking sessions, workshops and other activities during the Seminar.

Economic Diplomacy Seminar was conducted and managed by Milan Pavlović and Justin Kagin, EDS co-directors and international leadership team that involved leaders from nine (9) countries (Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia&Herzegovina, Romania, Bulgaria, UK, USA, and Netherlands).

In conclusion we would like to present just a few of the positive comments we received from participants.

In response to the question, did EDS meet your expectations some participants wrote:

„Not at all, it's far beyond them. I'm very impressed and amazed at how great it was.“

„No, its better.“

„Yes and much more!“

In response to additional comments at the end of the feedback questionare participants wrote:

„thank you so much for this great experience!“

„I think that EDS is a great opportunity for each person for open our mind and I really like the idea, thinking what I can do, change in my community. This seminar made me think more about this and I really like to not forget when I will get home all things that I heard here and after all the investments that EDS made in me after these two weeks, to just try to act, to pass to facts from theory. So, I just want you -EDS- to thank you for giving me this opportunity and I hope that we will keep in touch! :)“

„I know you are all probably exhausted but know that you did a wonderful job and have encouraged me so much with your examples and your passion and courage.“

„I really appreciated the performance of the team. As soon as they realise there was a problem they act and tried to solve the problems.“

„The speakers definitely [I was impressed by the most]-their expertise, their approach and their passion! Especially Tihomir and Drazen - words just flow out of them, it's amazing! Also how kind and friendly everyone is. And the Trinity Forum material is excellent.“

„Many thanks for personal talks with a couple of very warm, friendly and supportive people :)“

Milan Pavlović and Justin Kagin

Economic Diplomacy Seminar (EDS) Co-Directors