The year 2013 will soon come to an end. We have had a lot to celebrate this year and a lot to be proud of, such as the launch of three new Schools (the Visegrad School, uniting participants from four different countries, Tunisia and Morocco); the 20th anniversary of the founding member of our Network, the Moscow School; a new approach towards working together on regional projects such as the Regional Academy for Democracy in the Western Balkans and finally the participation of the Schools in the World Forum for Democracy here in Strasbourg in November 2013.

However, the year 2013 also came with a shock, when Ilgar Mammadov, Director of the Baku School of Political Studies, was wrongfully arrested by the Azerbaijan Authorities on 4 February 2013. He remains in prison until today. As we enter into the New Year, we hope that Ilgar will be released soon and that our Network of Schools will continue to grow and prosper.

May the year 2014 bring us new ideas and new visions to advance the work of the Schools. On behalf of the European Association of the Schools of Political Studies of the Council of Europe we wish all participants of the Schools, alumni and friends around the world a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
 

Jack Hanning, Secretary General
Yulia Kochneva, Project Manager
European Association of the Schools of Political Studies of the Council of Europe