On July 14-18, the Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP), in cooperation with the Centre International de Formation Européenne (CIFE), Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, and New Vision University, organized the Black Sea Summer University 2023 on the topic – The Shifting Geopolitics of the Black Sea Region.
Renata SKARDZIUTE-KERESELIDZE (Deputy Director at Georgian Institute of Politics), Marie-France PERDIGON (Director of Summer University Programme, CIFE Nice), and Assoc. Prof. Irakli KOBALIA (Dean of the School of Politics and Diplomacy, New Vision University) opened the Black Sea Summer University 2023 with welcoming remarks.
The joint program brought together 29 young political science students and international relations researchers from Georgia and different countries worldwide. During the one-week program, participants met Georgian and foreign experts to discuss the challenges that Black Sea region countries face amid the significant geopolitical shifts in the region.
The program included distinguished lecturers from different countries: Assoc. Prof. Ivanna MACHITIDZE, New Vision University, Georgia; Prof. Gvantsa DAVITASHVILI, Professor in International Relations, New Vision University, Georgia; Prof. Madeleine HUBIN, Assistant professor in International Relations and European Politics, HEC Liège (Belgium); Giorgi SHAISHMELASHVILI, Head of Research at Civic IDEA/Visiting Lecturer at International Black Sea University (IBSU); Major General (Ret.) Vakhtang KAPANADZE, Deputy Director-general of Military Advanced Technologies Research, Development and Production Center FDI – DELTA/researcher of the analytical center GeoCase; Dr. Despina AFENTOULI, Executive Director, Institute of International Relations, Athens, Greece (IDIS); Ambassador Ivane Matchavariani, Former Ambassador, Georgian Embassy to Japan/Co-Chairman of the Executive Board at the Georgian Strategic Analysis Center (GSAC); and Prof. Kornely KAKACHIA, Professor of Political Science and Jean Monnet Chair, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University; Georgian Institute of Politics.
The BSSU program was concluded with a round-table discussion on Georgia’s relations with NATO and the EU, the membership perspectives, and the next steps for progressing towards this perspective. The meeting also tackled the overall approach of EU and NATO member states regarding further enlargements. Oliko SHERMADINI, Political Officer at the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, presented the EU perspective, while Arkadiusz LEGIEC, Political Officer at the NATO Liaison Office for South Caucasus in Georgia, discussed the Georgia’s NATO Integration Process from the NATO perspective. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Despina AFENTOULI, Executive Director at the Institute of International Relations, Athens, Greece (IDIS).
Black Sea Summer University (BSSU) has been hosted by the Georgian Institute of Politics, in cooperation with the Centre International de Formation Européenne (CIFE), since 2015.
