In the scope of the Clinton Global Initiative, CGDC committed Scholarships to Students from the Western Balkans

In September 2010, Petar Stoyanov, President of the Center for Global Dialogue and Cooperation, and Stamen Stantchev, Secretary General and Founder of CGDC, reached an Agreement with the Clinton Global Initiative.

Substance of Commitment The Center for Global Dialogue and Cooperation – CGDC committed to give scholarships to ten students from the Western Balkans region annually for the next five years. These scholarships will enable the students belonging to different religious and ethnic groups to live and study together. Consequently they will learn to understand and tolerate cultural differences and to be open-minded and liberal about others.

People of the Western Balkans belong to different ethnic and religious groups. Western Balkans is the only region in Europe where Catholic, Orthodox Christians, and Muslims have lived together for centuries. Following the fall of Communism, the dialogue between these diverse groups has diminished. CGDC sees an opportunity to make a lasting and positive change by investing in the education of young people, so that they may learn, understand, and embrace their differences. This is a very important and urgent matter, as these young men and women will become the future leaders of the Western Balkans region.

Why Clinton Global Initiative The worldwide financial and economic crisis has clearly revealed that there is a pressing need for local, but also global action. The Clinton Global Initiative platform is a pioneer and driving force towards individual and local, but also global action. The Center for Global Dialogue and Cooperation and its partners are proud and grateful to be part of this dedicated and visionary initiative.