George Tarkhan-Mouravi, Georgia, elected new PASOS Chair on eve of high-level PASOS conference on forthcoming Czech EU Presidency
News Source: PASOS Secretariat, Prague, Czech Republic
New PASOS Board members elected from Georgia, Latvia, Moldova, and Poland; Riinvest Institute for Development Research, Kosovo, becomes newest PASOS member
Four new PASOS Board members were elected at the PASOS annual assembly, held on 19 October 2008. The new Board members, each elected for a two-year term, are: George Tarkhan-Mouravi, co-Director, Institute for Policy Studies, Georgia, Dace Akule, Researcher (European Policy), Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS, Latvia, Igor Munteanu, Executive Director, Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) “Viitorul”, Moldova, and Jacek Kucharczyk, Research Director, Institute of Public Affairs, Poland. Six candidates were nominated for the four positions, and the selection was made by a vote of the PASOS members (31 independent think-tanks spanning 24 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia).
The new directors join three other Board members, whose two-year terms end in autumn 2009, namely Zhidas Daskalovski, President of the Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM), Macedonia, Olga Shumylo, Director of the International Centre for Policy Studies (ICPS), Ukraine, and Nicu Popescu, Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
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George Tarkhan-Mouravi, new PASOS Chair(photo: Vavřinec Menšl) |
At the first meeting of the new Board on the evening of 19 October, the Board elected as Chair George Tarkhan-Mouravi. Olga Shumylo was elected as Deputy Chair, and Dace Akule as Treasurer.
George Tarkhan-Mouravi, who previously served on the first PASOS Board from 2004-2007, specialises in social and political analysis, Caucasian politics, democratic transition, development and poverty studies. He was involved in developing the civic sector in Georgia, having initiated and/or headed a number of NGOs. He has served as National Co-ordinator for the UNDP Human Development Report for Georgia, Yearbooks of 1995, 1996, 1997 and 2003-2004, and as co-author of the national Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Programmes of the Georgian Government.
The new Board will work with the PASOS Executive Director, Jeff Lovitt, to finalise and present to the PASOS members a new multi-year strategy for PASOS, drawing on the strategic brainstorming exercises conducted at the Assembly, and to launch a PASOS Advisory Council in the coming months.
The directors, whose terms came to an end on 19 October 2008, were the outgoing Chair, Vita Terauda, Director of the Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS, Latvia, David Král, Director of EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, Czech Republic, Darina Kadunkova, Deputy Director of Development at the European Institute, Bulgaria, and Cholpon Nogoibaeva, President of the Institute for Policy Analysis and Research, Kyrgyzstan.
On the eve of the PASOS Assembly, the PASOS Board approved the membership of Riinvest Institute for Development Research, Kosovo, bringing the PASOS membership to 31 members (plus five Associate Members) spanning 24 countries. Riinvest’s mission is to promote the modern economic development of Kosovo based on the philosophy of entrepreneurship. Operating since May 1995, Riinvest works in co-operation with different stakeholders, such as the Government of Kosovo, UNMIK, and the business and civil community, in order to conduct appropriate research activities.
The PASOS Assembly was followed on 20 October 2008 by the most important and high-level conference to date on the priorities of the Czech EU presidency, a joint conference organised by PASOS and EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy. Top-quality panels from leading think-tanks in the EU and its eastern neighbours, including the Western Balkans and Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, as well as top EU officials, engaged with the Czech government and a high-level audience of ambassadors. The event, held with the support of the Office of the Czech Government, and of the Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative (LGI) of the Open Society Institute (OSI), is now widely regarded as having been by far the most important and effective conference to date focused on the priorities of the Czech EU Presidency, which takes place from January to June 2009.
