|
Brussels is home to numerous think tanks. How many is open for debate, but surely more than 500. They all feed the political debate with studies, papers, new insights and propositions. But their work often remains under the radar of the mainstream media and the general public.
When politicians take center stage to address their voters, their speeches are often based on the research conducted in these think tanks. When opinion leaders or journalists write their essays or editorials, they are often inspired by reports or studies published by think tanks.
Every think tank has a clear mission. But even if they look at the world from a specific angle this does not necessarily mean their vision is blurred.
The litmus test of a good think tank, according to Rohinton Medhora, the president of the prestigious Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) based in Waterloo, Canada, is not whether it is “right, left, liberal or not, but whether it is proposing evidence-based discussion.” (https://cpr.unu.edu/what-are-think-tanks-good-for.html)
BOZAR, is a cultural institution that invests heavily in the political debate. We do that by emphasizing the importance of culture in the building of the European Union and in the external relations of Europa with other regions in the world.
The Association of European Journalists (AEJ) was founded in 1962 by a group of European correspondents striving to obtain a more qualitative reporting on the European integration process. Today it is a network present in some 30 countries with a lot of attention to media freedom and media literacy. The Belgian section works more specifically on branding the job of EU correspondent and on empowering the journalists in the fast evolving media landscape by informing them on new evolutions of importance to the job.AEJ is the ideal partner of BOZAR to coproduce these monthly think tank talks. Together we want to feed the public debate with new insights and propositions, developed by the best European think tanks in Brussels.
European Centre for Development Policy Management, Friends of Europe and Egmont Institute are all three among the solidly established European think tanks in Brussels much respected for their know-how in international and European affairs.
In the first part of the briefing the think tanks will present themselves, talk about their mission and their goals (and their financial resources).
In the second part the speakers will focus on Europe and development policies. They will discuss the situation in Africa and the role of China. Issues like migration, Europa as soft power and major donor of development aid will be tackled.
Entrance free, with registration. |
