On March 29-April 2, 2001, IREX, in collaboration with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWC) [12], hosted the Black Sea Regional Policy Symposium at the Xerox Document University Training and Conference Center in Leesburg, VA. The symposium, sponsored by the US Department of State, Title VIII Program and The Starr Foundation, provided senior and junior scholars, as well as members from the policy community, with the opportunity to come together to study and discuss timely topics related to the Black Sea region, a region of critical geopolitical importance in the post Cold War landscape.
Symposium participants included 15 junior scholars, five senior scholars, as well as members of IREX and WWC staff. Junior scholars were invited to apply for grants to present research papers at this four-day symposium, receive feedback from participating senior scholars, and engage in US policy development discussions.
The 15 junior scholars chosen to participate in the Symposium represented a diversity of fields and perspectives, including archaeology, environmental studies, economics, security issues, and energy issues. Topics included Black Sea Cooperation Towards European Integration; Alternative Mechanisms of Financing Regional Environmental Institutions in the Black Sea: A Focus on Environmental Funds; and Women, Employment and Tourism in Post-Totalitarian Bulgaria.
Click here for a full list of participants. [13]
The five senior scholar participants in the symposium were:
- Dr. Boyko Nitzov - Associate Director for the Institute for Energy, Economics, and Policy at Sarkeys Energy Center, University of Oklahoma
- Dr. Charles King - Assistant Professor at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and Department of Government
- Dr. James Millar - Director of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, and Professor of Economics and International Affairs at The George Washington University
- Dr. Bruce Kuniholm - Professor of History and Public Policy, Director of the Center for International Studies and Vice Provost for Academic and International Affairs at Duke University
- Dr. Boian Koulov - Adjunct Professor of Political Geography at the Elliot School at George Washington University
The four day event commenced with a dinner at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for scholars in Washington, DC on March 29, 2001. Welcoming remarks were given by IREX President Mark G. Pomar, Deputy Director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Michael Van Dusen, and Acting Director of INR/RES at the US Department of State W. Kendall Myers. Among those in attendance were: Ambassador Ceslav Ciobanu of the Embassy of Moldova; Vladimir Belskiy, Counselor from the Embassy of the Russian Federation; and Oleksander Potiekhin, Counselor from the Embassy of Ukraine
Sessions began in the morning of March 30, 2001. The following three days were broken into seven sessions each chaired by one of the five senior scholars; Joyce Warner, Director of the Academic and Research Exchanges division at IREX; and Hakan Altinay, Caspian and Black Sea Program Coordinator in IREX/Istanbul. Sessions included:
- Comparative Studies of Sea Basins and Integration;
- Integration of the Black Sea Countries: Inter-regional and Intra-regional Aspects;
- Economic and Trade Development of the Black Sea Region;
- Interethnic Relations and Religious Issues of the Black Sea Region;
- Security, Military, and Migration Issues of the Black Sea Region;
- Environmental Security in the Black Sea Region; and
- Wrap-up session and evaluation
Click here for the symposium agenda and presentation summaries. [14]