BALKAN COMMUNICATION NETWORK - CONCEPT

SAM Proposal on the establishment of a “Balkan Communication Network” between Balkan Strategic and Research Centers

21 Strategic and Research Centers from 9 Balkan countries (Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Bulgaria , Croatia , Greece , Macedonia , Romania , Serbia and Montenegro , Turkey ) intend to establish a "Balkan Communication Network". This document provides the general framework for the establishment of the Network.

The “Balkan Communication Network” will be established by the Founding Conference to be held on 9-10 June 2005 in Ankara , with the participation of 21 strategic and research centers from the Balkans.

The “Balkan Communication Network” aims to create a platform providing the Member Centers with an opportunity for sharing information about their activities, researches, publications and joint projects.

The membership to the Network will be open to all strategic and research centers of the Balkan countries, with the approval of the Annual Conference.

The criteria for the membership will be determined at the Founding Conference.

SAM proposes to create a Web Site of this Network, which would provide a regular, comprehensive and interactive framework for the exchange of information. This will also give an opportunity to all who is interested in the issues of the Region, to follow the activities of the Member Centers and of the other mechanisms, such as “Balkan Contact Group” and “Balkan Wise-persons Group” to be established by the Founding Conference.

SAM proposes to host the Web Site with the technical assistance and facilities, kindly provided by the Computer Center of Bilkent University in Ankara .

Each Member Center (Moderators) will have an account to create, edit and delete menus availing them the opportunity to share their activities and publications, with a special user name and password given by the Administrator/Webmaster from the Bilkent Computer Center . This special user name and password will also serve the Member Centers in accessing the secured area(s) reserved for the activities of the “Balkan Wise-persons Group” and “Balkan Contact Group”.

The Administrator/Webmaster will be responsible to back up the Web Site and to protect it against the illegal attacks.

The code of conduct within the Network will be determined during the Founding Conference.

The technical information about the SAM Network Web Site proposal will be presented during the “Balkan Conference on Cooperation between the Strategic and Research Centers ” to be held on 9-10 June 2005 in Ankara .

STRUCTURE AND TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE BALKAN COMMUNICATION NETWORK

Definition
The Strategic and Research Centers participating in the First “Balkan Conference on Cooperation between the Strategic and Research Centers ” held in Ankara on 9-10 June 2005 agreed to establish a “Balkan Communication Network” (hereafter Network).

Objectives
- to enhance the cooperation among Balkan Strategic and Research Centers ;

•  to create a platform which will provide the Member Centers an opportunity for sharing information, researches and publications, as well as their joint projects;
•  to enable all who is interested in the issues of the Region, to follow the activities of the Member Centers and of the other mechanisms of the Network.

Membership
The participating Centers of the First Founding Conference held in Ankara in 2005, who share the spirit and the values for the establishment of the Network are the “Founding Members”.

The membership to the Network is open to all strategic and research centers of Balkan countries, who are committed to the spirit and principles declared by the Conference. The centers willing to participate in the Network shall address to the President-in-Turn (i.e. the President-in-Turn will be the Member Center/Centers organising the Annual Conference. President-in-Turn Center will also carry out functions of Secretariat during its tenure). The applicant center shall be invited to the regular meetings of the Member Centers by the President-in-Turn, thereby its membership is to be decided at the Annual Conference.

Each Member Center shall be bound by its commitment in establishing and developing the Network, in consistency with the defined objectives. Members of the Network pledge to fulfil the membership responsibilities.

The continuation of the membership of a Center, which consistently acts against the spirit and objectives of the Network, shall be considered at the Annual Conference.

Working Procedures
Establishment of the Network is realised through the creation of a “Web Site” entitled “Balkan Communication Network” (BalCom Network). The said web site will be hosted at the facilities of the Computer Center of Bilkent University in Ankara .

The Network is managed by an Administrator/Webmaster, who hosts the deployment of the Web Site.

Administrator/Webmaster upkeeps the Web Site technically and protects it against illegal attacks.

Each Member Center (Moderator) has an account to create, edit and delete menus with a special user name and password provided by the Administrator/Webmaster to the Centers to share its activities, publications etc. This special user name and password will also serve the Member Centers in accessing the secured area(s) reserved for the activities of the “Balkan Wise-persons Group” and “Balkan Contact Group”.

All information deployed in the said Web Site will be in English.

Each Member Center is responsible from its section in line with the commitments and objectives stipulated in the “Charter on Good Neighbourly Relations, Stability, Security and Cooperation” signed on 12 February 2000 .

The BalCom Network will be open to public access, excluding the secured area(s) which can only be used by Member Centers with aforementioned special username and password.

The information and other publicised documents deployed in the BalCom Network Web Site will be subject to international rules regarding the privacy and copyright protection.