8-9 October 2026, Bar, Montenegro

Public sector communication teams across the Western Balkans and Eastern Neighbourhood are facing the same challenge: expectations are growing, communication channels are multiplying, information moves faster than ever, while teams are expected to remain strategic, accurate, responsive and increasingly capable of using new technologies.

That is why Communicate Smarter: Mastering Strategy and AI for Public Sector Communicators was designed as much more than a two-day training - it was a direct response to what communicators themselves said they needed.

The programme was built on the first regional gathering of public-sector communicators, organised by ReSPA and SIGMA in Budva in June. During that event, participants from the Western Balkans and Eastern Neighbourhood openly discussed the challenges they face in their everyday work and identified two areas as priorities for further capacity building: strategic communication and the practical use of Artificial Intelligence in communication.

ReSPA listened, and the Bar workshop was designed around exactly those needs. Over two intensive days, communication professionals worked on how to shift from communication as a series of activities to communication as a strategic function that supports institutional priorities, reforms, and public policies.

With support from the Represent System and the guidance of expert Jelena Mikić, participants explored how to define meaningful communication objectives, better understand and segment audiences, develop clearer messages, select the right channels, and translate strategy into realistic communication plans. Particular attention was given to challenges familiar to almost every public institution: limited teams and budgets, competing priorities, content planning, approval processes and clear division of responsibilities. The strong practical approach encouraged participants to continuously bring their own institutional cases into the discussion, compare approaches and challenge existing practices.

The second day, led by Lazar Jovanović, moved from strategy to the practical use of AI. Rather than simply discussing AI tools, participants worked with them. Through live demonstrations, exercises and hands-on challenges, communication teams explored how AI can support research, monitoring, content development, adaptation of complex policy language, media relations, Q&A preparation, social media and everyday productivity. At the same time, Lazar placed strong emphasis on the issues that are particularly important for public institutions: data safety, accuracy, responsible AI use, human oversight and the need to keep professional judgement firmly in control.

For ReSPA, the programme is part of a broader effort to strengthen the role and capacities of communication teams across public administrations.

“Bringing communicators together is important not only because it gives greater visibility to the role of communication in the policy cycle. It also helps us understand what communication teams actually need to perform that role more effectively. ReSPA is therefore working on both fronts — strengthening recognition of strategic communication within public administration and, at the same time, providing communicators with practical skills and tools that make their work more effective. Budva helped us identify the needs; Bar allowed us to start addressing them in practice. I am already looking forward to the next capacity-building activities and peer-learning opportunities with colleagues from EU administrations,” said Milena Drača, Communication and Visibility Manager at ReSPA.

The workshop also confirmed something increasingly visible across the region: public sector communicators face many of the same pressures and challenges, regardless of the administration they work in. That makes regional exchange particularly valuable.

By connecting communication professionals from different administrations, encouraging peer learning and combining regional experience with expertise from EU countries, ReSPA aims to gradually build a stronger community of public sector communicators - one that is better equipped to support reforms, communicate policies clearly and strengthen the relationship between institutions and citizens.

Communicate Smarter started as a conversation in Budva. In Bar, it became practical work. And it will continue through new capacity-building, peer-learning and regional exchange opportunities.