Conference Concept

Confrence Concept

The philosopher Roger Scruton reminds us that conservatism is not rooted in abstraction but in inherited norms, lived practices, and the continuity of real communities. Politics begins with settlement belonging to a historical community whose laws, customs, and liberties evolve in order to preserve what is valuable. In this sense, as Hannah Arendt argued, education itself is inherently conservative.

“[The] task is always to cherish and protect something. The child against the world, the world against the child, the new against the old, the old against the new.”(Hannah Arendt, Conservatism, 1954)

Education stands at the frontier between past and present, sustaining continuity without foreclosing renewal. Conservatism, therefore, is not nostalgia but a commitment to conserving the moral, cultural, and institutional inheritance that makes freedom possible.

In the Balkans, conservatism is inseparable from geopolitics. The region’s political traditions have been shaped by imperial legacies, shifting borders, external influence, and ongoing tensions between sovereignty, cooperation, and integration. These experiences produce distinct responses to questions of statehood, identity, security, and culture.

This conference seeks to map these traditions and identify points of convergence across the region, creating a shared platform for conservative dialogue in a contested geopolitical environment.

Key questions for discussion:

1. How have historical empires, great-power competition, and recent geopolitical pressures shaped conservative thought in the Balkans?
2. What role can conservative principles play in balancing national sovereignty with regional stability and international integration?

“Those most able to benefit from the highest levels of this education should be given the opportunities to do so at their own pace and should never be deliberately held back by lower levels of demand simply because these are deemed to be appropriate for the majority as with the distinctive provision that may also be needed for those with lower levels of attainment there is no one way in which this might be achieved.”(Nicholas Tate: Conservative Case for Education, 331)

Supporting young people with exceptional intellectual abilities is as old as education itself. While concepts of talent are culturally shaped, societies have recognized from the earliest civilisations the responsibility and strategic importance of educating their most gifted members. Ancient China developed state examination systems to identify and promote outstanding students; Plato reserved leadership for the most talented; and medieval European universities introduced tutorial systems built on personal mentorship and sustained intellectual challenge.

In the 21st century, the achievements of exceptionally talented students are more visible than ever through international competitions and academic networks. Contemporary debates focus on the relationship between ability and social background, the timing of talent identification, and the conditions required for a genuinely talent-friendly learning environment. Academic performance does not always reflect potential, making targeted support and institutional flexibility essential.

This panel approaches talent management as a cross-age and cross-institutional responsibility, with particular attention to education in both formal and extracurricular contexts.

Key questions for discussion:

1. What good practices can be identified among the four key actors—family, state, higher education institutions, and professional talent organisations—and how can their roles be strengthened?
2. What defines a talent-friendly institutional learning environment?
3. Given long-standing traditions of elite formation, how should elite education be understood in 2026?
4. What might constitute the core principles of a conservative elite education curriculum?

British historian and education expert Nicholas Tate has described education as a dialogue with the past. Traditionally, three core disciplines—history, classical literature, and philosophy—have formed the foundation of a holistic education. Together, they may be understood as the languages of human understanding. Although their centrality has been challenged since the Enlightenment and the rise of the natural sciences, they remain indispensable to a classical–conservative curriculum.

Among these fields, history education occupies a particularly exposed position. It is often drawn into contemporary political struggles and becomes a tool for politicisation or ideological instruction. In recent years, developments in progressive education—especially in Western Europe and North America—have revealed the cultural and institutional consequences of severing education from the Greco-Roman heritage that shaped these societies. Movements seeking to reinterpret, marginalise, or symbolically dismantle historical memory have made the stakes of history education unmistakably clear.

For societies not directly affected by these developments, the challenge is no less urgent. The panel examines how classical disciplines can be defended and renewed, and how history education can preserve national memory while remaining intellectually rigorous in a contested cultural and geopolitical environment.

Key questions for discussion:

1. What is the role of classical disciplines in sustaining cultural continuity and civic responsibility in the 21st century?
2. How can history education resist politicisation while remaining relevant to contemporary students?

3. What responsibilities do states and educational institutions have in protecting historical memory and cultural heritage from ideological erasure?