On Monday, April 3, 2023, a forum was held on the topic of ‘Geopolitical Transformations and the Republic of Srpska’ organized by the Centre for Socio-Political Research of the Republic of Srpska

At the forum, the attendees had the opportunity to hear from a diverse range of scholars who shared their perspectives on the topic at hand.

• Professor Pierre-Emmanuel Thomann is a distinguished expert in geopolitics, holding professorial positions at the University of Lyon III Jean Moulin and ISSEP in Lyon, France. He is also the founder and president of the international association EUROCONTINENT, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. At the core of his scholarly research lies the reform of the European project, achieved through astute geopolitical analysis and the identification of shared interests among nations and peoples both at the European and Eurasian levels.
• Professor Alexander Lvov is a philosophy professor at the University of St. Petersburg, Russia. He is an expert in the fields of philosophical anthropology, philosophy of culture, and the history of philosophy, and has authored over fifty papers in these areas. Currently, he serves as the deputy head of the philosophy department at the Institute of Philosophy within the University of St. Petersburg
• Professor Peter Mantello is a distinguished scholar in the fields of media, ethics, and technology. He currently holds a professorship at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan, where he shares his expertise on contemporary media technologies, artificial intelligence, and the related issue of modern-day terrorism. With a keen interest in geopolitics and media manipulation, Professor Mantello is also the author of several influential monographs on these subjects.
• Professor Douglas Mark Ponton is an associate professor of English language and translation at the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Catania. His research interests include the analysis of political discourse, ecolinguistics, and pragmatics. He has held professorial and research positions at the universities of Catania, Messina, and Pisa. Professor Ponton is a member of the editorial board of the Russian Linguistic Journal, a linguistic consultant for Vernon Press, and a reviewer for numerous domestic and international journals.

Bogdana Koljević Griffith, Phd, assumed the role of keynote speaker and moderator for this event.

At the event, the President of the Republic of Srpska Mr. Milorad Dodik, and the Minister of Science and Technology Development, Higher Education, and Information Society Prof. Željko Budimir were present as active participants in the discussion.

The attendance and active involvement of representatives from educational, scientific, and social institutions, as well as media and university students from Banja Luka and East Sarajevo, demonstrate the relevance and importance of the topics discussed and the content presented at the event. The materials produced during the event and the issues addressed therein have a significant bearing on some of the most pressing socio-political questions in Republika Srpska and beyond.

The video recordings from the event will soon be made available to the public through the Centre’s website and YouTube channel.