CIPE conference marks 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall

CIPE’s recently held a conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, to mark 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and also to focus on the future of reform across the region. The latter goal is important because consolidation of democracy and market economies in the post-communist countries is still being hindered by a lack of knowledge about effective reform strategies. 

Seventy of CIPE’s past and current partners from Eastern Europe and Eurasia attended this two-day conference. Two CIPE board members participated in the conference and shared their insights – Myron Brilliant, CIPE Vice President and Senior Vice President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Phillip Truluck, Executive Vice President and COO of the Heritage Foundation. Additionally, in attendance were representatives of CIPE Regional Office (Bucharest, Romania) partners, such as the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (Moldova), the Entrepreneurship Development Foundation (Azerbaijan), the Association for Foreign Investment and Cooperation (Armenia) and the Advocacy Academy (Romania).

The participants learned first-hand lessons from successful and ongoing transitions, and devised strategies to address the remaining challenges to democratic and economic reform. John Sullivan, CIPE Executive Director, set the tone for the two days with the remark that each country travels its own path and that it is important that the reform process be built up from the grassroots, in order to identify the issues that are important locally and turn them into an agenda for reform.

This conference was a unique opportunity to hear from prominent reformers at the forefront of ongoing transition efforts. This event contributed to CIPE’s continued efforts to build a network of reformers throughout Eastern Europe and Eurasia and strengthen communication among partner organizations. Think tanks and business associations discussed strategies for developing sustainable reform-oriented organizations and best practices for strengthening institutional capacity. CIPE Regional Office Director, Camelia Bulat facilitated the session on think tanks’ contribution.

Last but not least, CIPE partners shared their views on the role CIPE and its partners can continue to play in order to advance the national business agenda process as a key driver of economic reform.

To see the full conference agenda, click here.

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