Despite its strategic place and role in Europe , the Balkans is a region whose demography – in the broad sense of the term – has attracted relatively little attention. It is also a region where changes in the last twenty years have been so profound that all aspects of its environment have been radically affected.
In Europe, and among the international community as a whole, there is a real need for knowledge on issues such as population distribution and dynamics in the Balkan region, the demography of ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities, migration potential or the impact of deteriorating health and social conditions on life expectancy.
In the effort to fill this knowledge gap, eight demographers
- Kiril Donkov (Bulgaria), Vasile Ghetau (Romania), Radu Halus (Romania), Byron Kotzamanis (Greece), Snjezana Mrdjen (Croatia), Alain Parant (France), Goran Penev (Yugoslavia) and Jean-Paul Sardon (France)
- decided to form a network in 1996 named DemoBalk, i.e. Demography of the Balkans.
In the early 2000s, the eight founding members were joined by Luigi Di Comite and Michela Pellicani (Italy), Emira Galanxhi (Albania) and Katerina Kostadinovska-Daskalovska (F.Y.R.O.M).
In 2007, the network was transformed into an international association under Greek law
comprising twenty members: eleven from the network (Radu Halus being an honorary member) and nine new members: Ivan Balev (Bulgaria), François Begeot (France), Corrado Bonifazi (Italy), Mirjana Devedzic (Serbia ), Arjan Gjonça (Albania), Verica Janeska (F.Y.R.O.M.), Cornelia Muresan (Romania), Slavka Popovic (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Snezana Remikovic (Montenegro).
In 2008,
two new members were integrated in DemoBalk: Maja Berber (Croatia)
and Ceren Inan (Turkey)
DEMOBALK's expansion and the acquirement of legal status have not modified its initial objectives to:
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stimulate cooperation between scientists and institutions working on population issues in the Balkans;
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promote the exchange of documentation and information;
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set up a national and regional demographic database;
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stimulate research and comparative studies;
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assess the consequences of demographic trends and alert institutions to the dangers and risks;
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organize scientific meetings;
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disseminate the most interesting research findings.
Independently its role in the creation and regular updating of a large demographic database (linked to a map collection and a geographical information system) DEMOBALK is engaged in an ambitious programme of international conferences and publications. Via its members, the Association is also closely involved in various data collection operations that have taken place in the Balkans over the last few years. Likewise, DEMOBALK is actively associated with various academic and vocational training courses in demography and statistics.
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