WEASA 2023

#WEASA2023 will take place in July 02-12 2023 in-person at the College of Europe Natolin in Warsaw, Poland

WEASA is an annual summer school for mid-career professionals from the Eastern Partnership, the Western Balkans, and Poland. WEASA was founded in partnership by: The College of Europe in Natolin, the Polish-American Freedom Foundation and the German Marshall Fund of the United States. 

This year’s theme is: “Security and resilience in a changing world”. 

Russia’s unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine which began on February 24th 2022 has already provided many lessons for societies to draw from. First and foremost is the critical importance of security as a necessity for defending democratic values and ideals. For this reason, we have developed a program to touch on all the critical aspects of security – personal, societal, and global – during WEASA 2023 by focusing on the following topics: 

• The transatlantic partnership in a changing world order 
• Disinformation and an introduction to OSINT   
• European integration outlook for Eastern Partnership and Western Balkans 
• Media literacy: concepts and practical exercises 
• Effective social media practices / tips on how to be a positive influencer 
• Personal digital security: practical tools for being safe online   
• Hybrid threats in today’s world 
• Disinformation vs. freedom of speech 
• Advanced OSINT tools  

The program is designed to ensure a perfect combination of lectures, workshops and panel discussions providing both theoretical and practical background. The approach to the content was adjusted based on the suggestions of our alumni members. 

In addition, we have introduced some novelties to the summer academy content structure. The participants of the summer academy will present their countries from the perspective of Euro-Atlantic integration and indicate the main challenges their societies face in this process. Furthermore, there will be a special debate related to the future of security and the role of NATO. 

Dates and location:

WEASA 2023 will take place in July 02-12 2023 in-person at the College of Europe in Natolin in Warsaw, Poland. Participants shall plan to arrive on July 2nd and depart on July 13th. WEASA organizers will cover participants’ travel costs for travel for up to 350 euros. The accommodation and food for the whole duration of the summer academy will be fully covered by the organizers. 

• The full program of WEASA 2023 will be available soon
• Information about WEASA2023 Speakers will be available soon

Participants / Eligibility  

WEASA 2023 will host 35 participants coming from a cross-section of society and specifically from public administration, academia, NGOs, think tanks, media and civil society organizations who are citizens of the Eastern Partnership, the Western Balkans and Poland.  

We typically look for mid-career professionals (usually those with at least five years of professional experience), who work as policy analysts, experts, advisers, civil servants, journalists, private sector specialists and in NGOs and are interested in WEASA related topics. 

Participants must agree to accept the WEASA Regulations / Rules of Procedure. 

Questions can be directed at: contact@weasa.org