The 7th edition of Tirana Connectivity Forum was organized on 7–8 October 2021 by the Cooperation and Development Institute in Tirana, in partnership with Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Friedrich Ebert Foundation and Hanns Seidel Foundation and supported by Europe House Albania. TCF2021 was part of the official calendar of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It took place in a hybrid format at the premises of Europe House in Albania and online.
Under the theme “Building Better Balkans Together”, the Forum provided a platform where the connectedness between EU and SEE6, the SEE6 institutional reforms and the relevance of good governance in the above processes were assessed, discussed, debated and reviewed. The goal was to upload the conclusions and lessons learned into a more efficient, impactful and sustainable policy-making dynamics that is tailor-made to SEE6 development needs, and contributes to a speedier convergence of the region with the EU.
Witnessing the increased presence of connectivity initiatives, the multiplication of the actors involved in the region and of available financing possibilities, TCF21 focused particularly on political will and good governance as preconditions for the success of investment in the publicly funded SEE6 infrastructure. Building on the achievements of the Western Balkans Summit in Berlin in June 2021, it allocated a very important place to the contribution of CSOs and think tanks in this dynamic.
