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Draft agenda

 

Thursday, 20 November 2025 

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​15.00 -  Opening of the Information and Registration Desk

18.30 - 21.00 - Welcome cocktail, buffet-style dinner and surprise event

 

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Friday, 21 November 2025 

 

8.00 - 9.00  -  Registration

9.15 - Welcome Address (Luka Mesec, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities and Simon Maljevac, Minister of Solidarity-Based Future)

 

9.30 – 11.00 

Panel 1: “Welfare or Warfare? Europe’s Social Model in the Age of Geopolitical Turbulence”

MODERATOR:

  • David Adler, Co-General Coordinator of the Progressive International

 

PANELISTS:

  • Yolanda Díaz Pérez, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Economy of Spain

  • Tea Jarc, Confederal Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation

  • Nicolas Schmit, former European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights

  • Luka Mesec, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities of Slovenia

 

11.00 – Group photo

11.15 - 12.00 - Coffee Break

 

12.00 – 13.30

Panel 2: “ Economic Sovereignty and Security: The Role of Employee Ownership in Europe’s Industrial Future ”

MODERATOR:

  • Aleksandra Kanjuo Mrčela, Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana

 

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

  • James J. Bonham, President and CEO of The ESOP Association, USA

 

PANELISTS:

  • Rachel Bachmann, Head of Strategic Initiatives at the Institute for Economic Democracy

  • Igor Feketija, State Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities of Slovenia

  • Isabelle Ferreras, Research director of the Belgian National Science Foundation (FNRS)

  • Tej Gonza, Co-Founder and Director of the Institute for Economic Democracy

  • Ruth Paserman, Director of Funds, Programming and Implementation - DG Employment, Social Affairs, and Inclusion at the European Commission

 

13.30 – 14.30 - Lunch Break

 

14.30 – 16.00

Panel 3: “The EU’s Democratic Dilemma: Labour, Rights, and Regional Integration”

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MODERATOR:

  • Faris Kočan, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Social sciences, University of Ljubljana

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KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

  • Adnan Ćerimagić, Senior Analyst for the Western Balkans at the European Stability Initiative (ESI)

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PANELISTS:

  • Sandra Benčič, Member of Croatian Parliament, Možemo!

  • Radomir Lazović, Member of the national Assembly of Serbia, Green-Left Front (ZLF)

  • Monika Zajkova, Member of the Parliament of North Macedonia, Liberal-democratic Party of North Macedonia

  • Andrej Zorko, President of the Association of Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (ZSSS)

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