Volt There Monthly
🇧🇦 The Country With 3 Presidents
🎤 Upcoming Event: Reclaiming AI for Democracy
🇪🇺 EU Course: Volt Youth in Action!
Your Thoughts
Dear FIRSTNAME, welcome back to the VoltThere newsletter, where we will share progress from our projects, developments with our partners, and milestones from our training platform, ECHO. Through this newsletter, we aim to keep you informed and connected across Europe and beyond. This newsletter also aims to hear from you: your thoughts, experiences and projects!
– Federica Vinci, General Board Member
The Country With 3 Presidents
With Bosnians heading to the polls on 4 October this year, this is the perfect moment to unpack one of the most complex political systems in Europe. In this explainer, we show how, thirty years after the devastating war, Bosnia and Herzegovina is still shaped by a constitution built on ethnic balance, and why these elections matter for the country’s future, and its path toward the EU.
Bosnia and Herzegovina Unpacked
Thirty years after the war ended, Bosnia and Herzegovina is still finding its footing. Two entities and a rotating three-person presidency. A foreign-appointed “High Representative” who can still overrule domestic law. It’s one of the most complex political systems in Europe and a fascinating case study in what it takes to hold a divided country together.
In our latest explainer video, we break down how a constitution built to balance ethnic groups now shapes everything from public jobs to EU accession, and how a single gas pipeline became a flashpoint between Sarajevo, Banja Luka, and Brussels.
It’s also a story about what’s possible. Despite the gridlock, EU integration remains a real aspiration for many Bosnians, and every election is a chance to push that forward.
Watch the explainer video here, and see why even the locals admit: it’s complicated!
Explore our full library of explainer videos on the ECHO YouTube channel.
EU Course: Volt Youth in Action!
Following the launch of our ECHO platform, we’re taking the next step: our EU Course is soon being tested by a dedicated group of young Volt members!
Learn. Test. Shape.
The EU Course takes you step by step through the history, institutions, and organizations of the EU. How does the European Parliament actually work? Why does EU enlargement matter? And do you know what the Brussels Effect is?
The course answers these kinds of questions and builds a solid foundation for anyone who wants to better understand how the EU works, and the impact it has on our everyday lives.
Our test club will be the first to dive into the course. They’ll test the content, structure, and user experience, and their feedback will help us refine the course before it becomes available to everyone.
Follow our ECHO channels (Instagram, LinkedIn) for updates on ECHO! Here’s one of our explainers on Youth Mobility, part of the EU Course!
Upcoming Event:
Reclaiming AI for Democracy
Deepfakes and disinformation, but also increased efficiency and innovation: AI has become as much a threat to democracy as an opportunity for it. On 14 October, join us at our panel discussion “From Distrust to Weapon: Reclaiming AI for Democracy” on how we can steer AI to strengthen democracy rather than undermine it.
The evening is inspired by “Keeping Democracy in the Race,” a research report by Charge, Volt’s affiliated research platform, and features a panel with our MEP Reinier van Lanschot and Robin Twickler, AI expert and leader of Volt Groningen, with more speakers to be announced soon!
This ties directly into Volt’s own AI position: don’t wait, but steer. Van Lanschot was recently appointed rapporteur for the EU’s Cloud and AI Development Act, a key step in Europe’s push for technological sovereignty.
De Balie, Amsterdam, 14 October, 19:30–23:00 (in English).
Follow our Volt There channels (Instagram, LinkedIn) for updates and the full speaker line-up!
Save your spot for the event here!
Your Thoughts
Excited to join us for our AI & democracy panel on 14 October?