While in the Azerbaijani capital in attendance of the 12th Global Baku Forum, the President of the Scientific Council of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization, Professor Emil Constantinescu, also took part in a high-level exploratory workshop organized by the Black Sea Universities Network (BSUN) at the Baku Higher Oil School, in partnership with the BHOS and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). Also attending the workshop were a number of senior Fellows of the World Academy of Art & Science, such as Garry Jacobs, Jonathan Granoff, Janani Ramanathan and Jo Nurse.
The event focused on The role of universities in promoting peace and security in the extended Black Sea region from the Caucasus to the Balkans, and brought together representatives of all of the leading universities and academies of Azerbaijan, alongside students and faculty of the Baku Higher Oil School interested in the activity of the World Academy and the Black Sea Universities Network.
During the exploratory workshop, President Constantinescu’s intervention focused on the priorities for peace and security in the broader Black Sea region, highlighting the importance of the academic milieu in the crystallization and promotion of a culture of peace through education, drawing attention to the University’s unique mission of not only shaping characters, but also inoculating the fundamental values of democracy and peace.
At the close of the event, the audience had the opportunity to address their questions to the panellists, and to engage in a general discussion on the perspectives, possibilities and opportunities for closer academic collaboration in the Caucasian-Pontic space.
This latter theme had also been the topic of a brief work meeting, held prior to the Workshop itself, between the Secretary-general of the BSUN, Professor Eden Mamut (“Ovidius” University of Constanța), the President of the Scientific Council of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization, Professor Emil Constantinescu, and the Ambassador of Romania to Azerbaijan, H.E. Mr. Vasile Soare, with the Rector of the Baku Higher Oil School, Professor Elmar Gasimov – discussing the possible inter-academic partnerships between universities in Romania and Azerbaijan.
