The Balkan Foundation for Sustainable Development (BFSD) was established in 2005 by the MAKMONTANA - Association for Sustainable Development of Mountain Regions in the Republic of Macedonia and with initiative and support from the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) - Vienna office, Austria, and the European Academy (EURAC) from Bolzano-Italy. Its founding was based on a bold vision to create a vibrant, inter-regional foundation in the South East Europe (Balkan region) that will support the activities related to the South East European (Balkan) Convention Process and emerged from the belief that supporting democracy, sustainable development, cross-border and inter-ethnic cooperation at the local and regional levels is a cornerstone of a stable and democratic Europe.