SEASN Academy in Sofia Marks 10 Years of Regional Cooperation and Knowledge Exchange

On 4–5 November 2025, the South Eastern European Advisory Service Network (SEASN) celebrated its 10th anniversary with a two-day SEASN Academy and General Assembly, held in Sofia, Bulgaria. The event brought together representatives of advisory services, research institutions, ministries, and international networks from across South-Eastern Europe and beyond.

First day: SEASN Academy and 10 years of SEASN

The first day of the Academy, hosted at Hotel Central in Sofia, was dedicated to marking a decade of SEASN’s development, reflecting on its origins, achievements, and future role within Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS). The event opened with welcome addresses by Igor Hrovatič, President of SEASN, and Prof. Mladen Mladenov, Director of the National Agriculture Advisory Service (NAAS) of Bulgaria. A central part of the programme focused on “SEASN – 10 Years from the Beginning to Today and the Future”, with contributions from key individuals who have shaped the network since its establishment.

From initiative to network: how SEASN was born to the publishing of the SEASN monography

A result of preparations for SEASN’s 10th anniversary was the publication of SEASN Monography, which gathers the first steps of network creation, its importance in Europe’s agricultural, forestry and food sector, initiatives the network undertook, and its growth in the period of 10 years.

 

The origins of SEASN date back to the late 2000s, when the need for stronger regional cooperation among agricultural advisory services in South-Eastern Europe became increasingly evident. Early initiatives, supported by FAO, highlighted significant gaps in human capacity development, fragmented advisory structures, and weak links between advisory services, research, and education across the Western Balkans and neighbouring countries. Building on this context, the idea of a regional advisory network gradually took shape through dialogue among national advisory organisations and in close interaction with European and global advisory networks. A decisive momentum was created in the period around 2013–2015, when cooperation with IALB, EUFRAS, and later GFRAS demonstrated the added value of organised, trust-based networks for knowledge exchange, professionalisation, and policy visibility. In 2015, in Sofia, SEASN was formally established as the South-Eastern Europe Advisory Service Network, bringing together founding members from both EU and non-EU countries with a shared vision of strengthening advisory services within emerging AKIS frameworks.

 

The sessions addressed broader AKIS-related topics, including:

• the added value of advisory organisations and networks within AKIS, presented by Elena Teodora Miron from the Chamber of Agriculture Austria (LK Österreich), who highlighted the role of advisory networks in connecting actors, facilitating learning processes, and strengthening knowledge flows within AKIS;
• the role of AKIS in the SEASN region: building knowledge and innovation for the future of agriculture, presented by Agnes Jakab Gaborne, who provided an overview of AKIS structures across EU and non-EU SEASN member countries, highlighting similarities, differences, and common challenges in institutional development, coordination, and knowledge exchange;
• the role of advisory services in climate change mitigation and adaptation, addressed by Dimitar Vanev from the National Agriculture Advisory Service (NAAS) and Chavdar Marinov from Carbonsafe, with a focus on practical approaches, climate-smart advisory tools, and emerging mechanisms such as carbon credits;
• future perspectives for advisory services under the next CAP period, with particular attention to pre-accession countries, presented by Hugo Almeida from the European Commission, who outlined policy developments and the evolving role of advisory services within the EU and neighbouring contexts.

The first day concluded with closing reflections and a social evening, providing space for informal exchange and networking among participants.

You can take a look at the presentation from the anniversary here.

Second day: General Assembly, LiveNet workshop, and field visit

The second day, hosted at the National Agriculture Advisory Service (NAAS) offices, focused on SEASN’s internal governance and future activities through the General and Electional Assembly, and the election of new SEASN bodies. During the Assembly, Dr Slađan Stanković, from the Institute for Science Application in Agriculture (IPN), Serbia, was elected as the new President of SEASN.

In the continuation of the programme, participants took part in a LiveNet project workshop, dedicated to mapping livestock advisory systems in the SEASN region and discussing how advisory actors can be better connected to support Sustainable Livestock Production (SLP). The interactive workshop enabled participants to exchange national experiences, identify key advisory actors, and explore opportunities for building stronger advisory networks within the LiveNet framework.

The Academy concluded with a field visit to a livestock farm near Sofia, where participants observed good practices in dairy production, digital animal monitoring, and advisory-supported innovation at the farm level. The visit provided a practical dimension to the discussions held during the workshop, reinforcing the importance of linking advisory services with real-life farming systems.

Looking ahead

The SEASN Academy in Sofia marked not only an anniversary but also a moment of reflection and renewed commitment. As SEASN enters its second decade, the network remains focused on strengthening advisory services, enhancing knowledge exchange, and supporting innovation across South-Eastern Europe through cooperation, learning, and shared action.