SEERC’s mission is to support the stable and peaceful development of South East Europe (SEE) by conducting pure and applied research in, and for the region. SEERC’s main goal is to promote an independent, objective analysis and public discussion on issues related to the development of South East Europe and to provide a forum for researchers in the SEE region.

For this reason, SEERC works with and within, but not exclusively, in the South East European region. It engages in research, training, networking activities and the composition of a series of publications, strongly supported by its core staff of researchers, and the collaboration with University of Sheffield staff and an extended network of academics and professionals.

SEERC currently has twelve ongoing projects funded by various EU and other donors’ programmes. Among them is the case of the INTERVALUE project funded by the South East Transnational Cooperation Programme. Through this project, SEERC contributes to the formation of a South East European platform that sets up a mechanism, which allows the recording, sharing and dissemination of key R&D results from the region and helps to establish supply chains between the R&D institutions and the business sector. It is a project that aims to enhance interregional cooperation by creating a critical mass of R&D results in selected areas and by enlarging the marketability of R&D results through joint actions. The project, in a direct effort against academic and research isolation, also seeks the dissemination and commercial exploitation of research outcomes delivered from the SEE research centres; in the long-term, the activities are expected to bring forward and to improve the capabilities of R&D organisations in SEE to demonstrate their research outcomes and at the same time will facilitate the access of companies to innovative results. The INTERVALUE project includes partners from Greece, Italy, Hungary,Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and the FYR of Macedonia.

Another project impacting the SEE region from a different viewpoint is the YOU RESPOND project (funded by the DAPHNE III programme of DG Justice, Freedom and Security). The project is the outcome of a seminar organised by SEERC and the University of Sheffield in Thessaloniki exploring the concept of a “child at risk” in South East Europe. Based on the principles outlined in the UN Convention of the Child 1989, the project’s focus is to develop a good practice guide and training materials designed to ensure the effective participation of young people in relation to identifying and addressing the needs of children at risk, concerned by violence, sexual exploitation and human trafficking. It stresses the need to enhance the capabilities of all who work with and for children and to increase their expertise on children’s rights through training and better co-operation with key stakeholders. The findings of the YOU RESPOND project, together with the accompanying educational materials, will assist those working to develop preventative measures against all forms of violence and for support to victims and groups at risk, most specifically children and young people, to ensure the voice of the child is heard by increasing the capacity and expertise of young people in this field.

Author: Nikos Zaharis