The Georgian Institute of Politics hosted Black Sea summer school from July 20th to 26th at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. “EU and the Black Sea region: new realities and a changing geopolitical context” was the main topic of the academic program, around which various important subjects were discussed, such as: the wider Black Sea region in the global context, the European Union and geopolitics of the Black Sea, the challenges for Eastern Partnership and European integration, Georgian foreign policy, foreign policy in the Wider Black sea region, etc. The project was organized by the Centre International de Formation Européenne (CIFE) and the Georgian Institute of Politics with support of the Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF).
The international summer school offered a high-profile study course for students of graduate programs in political science, international relations and other relevant fields. The course included lectures, discussions, a study visit to the Information Center on NATO and EU, and a cultural program for Georgian and international students.
Black Sea summer school provided an opportunity for students to attend lectures conducted by renowned experts on EU and the Black Sea region from a number of universities. As prof. Andrey Makarychev (University of Tartu, Estonia) mentioned, it was topically very focused school on the Black Sea region, combination of academic lectures and classes and more practical oriented analysis.
While discussing the importance of Black Sea summer school with students and what it meant for them, one of the participants – Alexandru Klipii (Student, Republic of Moldova) – talked about how the knowledge and experience gained over these 5 days can be useful for him in the future:
“I myself represent a country which is located in the Black Sea region. I’m from Moldova. And participating in such schools, like the summer school here in Tbilisi, or last year’s in Batumi as well, help me understand what to do for such countries for the world to know more about it, to be more interested in it, to know what steps to take to invite, eventually, more investors in this country, to attract more tourists.”
All the activities were aimed for students better understanding of the topics and sharing ideas. Participants also had a chance to go sightseeing in and outside of Tbilisi together. All the candidates completed the program successfully and received a certificate of participation.
