Macedonia is hosting a high-level regional conference on demographic change, scheduled for May 7-8 in Skopje. The event is organised by the Ministry of Social Policy, Demography and Youth, and will bring together representatives from across the region to discuss one of the defining challenges of our time - population decline and how to build demographic resilience.

The topic is burning across the entire Balkans. Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Bosnia are all losing people - through low birth rates, but even more through emigration. Young people leave for Germany, Austria, Slovenia, the Netherlands. Some come back. Most don't. Demographic conferences have been happening for decades - and the trends keep moving in the same direction.

Whether this conference will produce concrete measures or just another document full of recommendations will become clear after May 8. Either way, Skopje becoming a regional hub for this kind of conversation is a positive sign. Demography is not a problem that solves itself.