Alumni

In recent years a solid network of alumni has been developed within each School. These networks serve to strengthen co-operation and links amongst current participants and with previous participants. The Association of Schools of Political Studies plays an important role in supporting and sustaining the international Alumni community.

Getting involved in the alumni networkWFD 2017 Fun Pic Web

Alumni of the Schools are invited to register and create a profile on the ASPS website. You will have your own username and password to access the alumni database, where you can directly contact other alumni and search for them by year and by School.

* Sign up to receive our Newsletter for regular updates on Schools' activities
* Join us on Facebook and Twitter to get involved in the online community
* This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. your articles on a topic related to your work, the Council of Europe, democracy, human rights or the rule of law to be published in our Library.

If you wish to further support the Association, you might consider becoming a member.

Alumni Spotlight

Many of the steadily growing number of alumni from the Schools of Political Studies go on to attain high-level positions, either in their own countries or internationally, and are in a position to act as multipliers for the values the Schools represent.

Some of the most successful of the Schools’ recent alumni include:

  •     Mr Hrvoje MARUŠIĆ (2005, Croatia) Croatian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway
        Ms Maya MANOLOVA (2006, Bulgaria) National Ombudsman of Bulgaria
        Mr Edgar GHAZARYAN (2007, Armenia) Armenian Ambassador to the Republic of Poland
        Mr Aliaksandr ADAMIANTS (2007, Belarus) Director of the European College of Liberal Arts in Belarus
        Mr Ivica KOJIĆ (2007, Serbia) Chief of Staff of the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia
        Ms Eralda METHASANI-CANI (2008, Albania) Deputy Minister for European Integration
        Mr Ramadan ILAZI (2008, Kosovo) Deputy Minister of European Integration of Kosovo
  •     Mr Peter SLAVOV (2009, Bulgaria) MP in the National Assembly; Deputy Head of the Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
  •     Mr Nicolae CHIRTOACA (2008, Moldova) Former Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to the United States of America
  •     Ms Satka Hajdarpašić (2009, Montenegro) Director of Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration
        Mr Costel BERCUS (2009, Romania) President of the Roma Education Fund
        Mr Igor CRNADAK (2010, Bosnia and Herzegovina) Minister of Foreign Affairs of BiH
        Mr Valeriu MUNTEANU (2011, Moldova) Moldovan Minister of Ecology
  •     Mr Nugzar SKHIRTLADZE (2012, Georgia) Judge of the Supreme Court of Georgia Supreme Court of Georgia
        Ms Azra JASAVI Ć (2012, Montenegro) Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro
        Mr Driton KUCI (2012, “the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”) Macedonian Minister for Economy
  •     Ms Marija MILIC (2013, Bosnia and Herzegovina) Adviser to the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina
  •     Mr Frane ŠESNIĆ (2014, Croatia) Director General of the Development Agency Zagreb
  •     Ms Silvia MIHALCEA (2014, Romania) Director General of the National Office of Trade Registry
        Ms Annamária VICSEK (2014, Serbia) State Secretary for Education, Science and Technological Development of Serbia
  •     Ms Venera RAMAJ (2015, Kosovo) Policy Advisor on Rule of Law at the Netherlands Embassy in Kosovo
        Mr Yaroslav YURCHYSHYN (2015, Ukraine) Executive Director, Transparency International Ukraine
        Ms Bilge ARICIOĞLU (2016, Turkey) Head of the Commission on Children’s Rights of the Bursa Bar Association
  •     Ms Senida MESI (2016, Albania) Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Albania

Alumni Events

Alumni events provide a space for distinguished SPS alumni from more than twenty countries to debate on topical issues, as well as to brainstorm ideas for the development of the Schools’ Network, in particular its alumni dimension. The outcomes of discussions during the seminars are hoped to be of use to the participants in their respective professional or activist functions, as well as in informing the programme of upcoming editions of the World Forum for Democracy.

The most recent alumni seminars were held in Strasbourg and Sarajevo (see below). The alumni seminars have more recently evolved into the Civic Roundtable, launched in 2016. This continues the annual meeting of alumni and additionally invites participants from those countries where no School exists, in order to further enrich debate and the sharing of experiences. For more information on the Civic Roundtable, please visit its dedicated page.

2018 Civic Roundtable

December 2018, Thessaloniki: "Multilateralism in Crisis"
Programme

2017 Civic Roundtable

July 2017, Strasbourg: “Forced Migration and Asylum: Dynamics and Policy Responses in Europe and its Neighbourhood.” 
Programme + Meeting report

2016 Civic Roundtable

May and June, Berlin and Strasbourg: “Towards a new European civics”
Programme + Meeting report

2015 International Alumni Seminar

June 2015, Sarajevo: “Defending Democracy, Freedom and Human Dignity against Internal and External Threats”
Programme + Meeting report 

2014 International Alumni Seminar

June 2014, Strasbourg – “Harnessing young people’s potential for building a democratic future”
Programme + Meeting report 

Schools of Political Studies Network seen through the eyes of alumni

Film by Marina Lalovic and Francesco Adolini