SECURITY IN THE BLACK SEA REGION.

SHARED CHALLENGES, SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

THE 2015 EDITION

PROGRAM CONCEPT NOTE
Updated March 30th
Organizers: / The program is carried out under the high patronage of the Romanian Presidential Administration, and the auspices of the Romanian Intelligence Service, by the National Intelligence Academy “MihaiViteazul”through its National Institute for Intelligence Studies, in partnership with the Harvard University and the collaboration of the US National Intelligence University (NIU).
Rationale: / The program takes on the legacy of its predecessor, the Harvard Black Sea Security Program. While embracing the latter’s mission and goals, it is also designed as a framework aimed to take regional agency and responsibility further in creating a synergic and sustainable future for the region and beyond. Lessons learnt from the former BSSP have convinced us that the Black Sea region can thrive if and only if each and every actor in the region is involved in preserving a shared core of values and a common approach to regional interests.
Goal: / The goal of the “Security in the Black Sea Region. Shared challenges, sustainable future” program is to foster an enhanced level of understanding and expertise, on the most significant challenges we are set to address in the coming period throughout the region, from energy security to cyber-crime from inter-ethnic conflicts to terrorism.
Embracing the fact that knowledge has always been a factor of social development, it is also our aim to preserve and further develop the shared body of knowledge, a common vision on major opportunities that await us into the 21st century, as well as on the ways in which we can address them efficiently throughout the region, through coherent security policies.
Program objectives: /
  • Fostering communication and spreading innovative ideas and best practices throughout academia, policy makers and practitioners across the region;

  • Continuing to develop our understanding on interacting regional and global drivers that affect the region, the local actors’ synergic development;

  • Stimulating cooperation in areas of common interest for the nations in the Black Sea Region;

  • Stimulating the promotion of regional history, values, culture and agency;

  • Continuous horizon scanning to identify emerging challenges against the region, as well as opportunities to promote its vital interests;

  • Encouraging growth of ideas, goals and strategic thinking of policy makers in the Black Sea Region.

Learning outcomes: / Participants are exposed to a large variety of political, academic, and diplomatic points of view on relevant topics for the Black Sea regional security, and they are, accordingly, encouraged todevelop an interdisciplinary perspective on the topics under discussion.
Lectures and practical exercises are balanced so as to encourage program attendees debate, perform horizon scanning, develop in-depth analysis, and create a vision for the future.
Structure: / A five days intensive training program
Training
theme: / 2015
Drivers of conflict, factors of change in the Black Sea neighbourhood
Previous editions: / 2014
Energy security – innovative solutions to enduring problems;
Target audience: / Policymakers and foreign affairs officials in the Black Sea Region, A6 level correspondent or higher.
Training format: /
  • Panels devoted to public policy, academic innovation, horizon scanning etc.
  • Expert talks and presentations delivered by key note speakers
  • Roundtable discussion sessions (reviews of current issues, policy analysis on topics that generate or benefit from extended discussions)
  • Problem solving sessions
  • Alternative scenario creation & tailored exercises

Training principles: / Open discussion. Teamwork. Creative & forward thinking. Initiative. Mutual understanding. Respect.
Being addressed to regional stakeholders in the Black Sea Region and their partners, one of the main aims of the program is to create the right framework in which attendees can interact freely and creatively, in full respect of each other and their diverging interests, to promote mutual understanding and respect.

The 2015 edition of the

“Security in the Black Sea Region. Shared challenges, sustainable future” Program

Date: / May 24-30, 2015
Duration: / 7 days
Location: / Bucharest,Danube Delta (Tulcea county)
Topic: / Drivers of conflict, factors of change in the Black Sea neighbourhood
Description: / Shaping a regional balance of power which can efficiently contain risk and preserve the limits of democracy, sovereignty and sustainability throughout the Black Sea region is now more than ever a priority on the agenda of policymakers and stakeholders both in Europe and beyond it.
On a global scale, rising conflicts across the world from Libya and Yemen to Syria and Iraq, frail borders and challenging ethno-separatist ambitions carrying the heavy load of global powers’ own strategic interests, as more recently has been the case with Ukraine,leave little room for the development of grand strategies towards a just and lasting peace.
Furthermore, the added resurgence of tensions between Europe and the US on the one hand, and the Russian Federation on the other has created for the first time since the 90’s a renewed interest on concepts such as state, nationalism and sovereignty. And as major power imbalances emerge, the people centred approach to security based on good governance and interdependent development, so much hailed by international organizations just a decade ago, gets in the shadow of revamped cold War rhetoric.
Throughout the Black Sea Region, we have also witnessed an increasing strain placed on local actors to contain and address what seems to be a rising tide of (un)frozen conflicts, economic challenges and social unrest. At the same time, never before has the region witnessed a wider range of regional actors voicing their commitment to foster development and progress through economic interdependence and a common understanding and vision over free and representative governance.And never before since the turn of the Millennium has the Black Sea region come to be seen by the well-established global powers as a pivotal area in their strategic development and competitive edge in relation to emerging powers.
And as the state itself, the primary unit of reference in international relations and governance is more and more subjected to a multitude of pressures – from those imposed by ethno-separatists and stateless terrorists to those generated by the slow moving bureaucracy of the supra-stateentities - policy makers and stakeholders need to find solutions to secure governance and stability. Forging channels of communication and partnership at local level, creating adaptive mechanisms of reaction and response to local, regional and global challenges has to become a priority in the years to come.
In this context, the second edition of the joint National Intelligence Academy (Romania) and Harvard University (USA) program will be devoted to discussing shared challengesas well as identifying actors responsible for producing and resolving insecurity.
The main goal will remain that of generating an enhanced understanding ofdrivers of conflict and factors of change in the Black Sea neighbourhood.
Program attendants are encouraged to discuss topics which include:
  1. The future of the Black Sea Region in multiples paradigms
  2. Framing border(less) perspectives in the Black Sea region: human vs. national vs. transnational security
  3. (Un)frozen conflicts in the Black Sea Neighbourhood - national and international perspectives
  4. Resisting dystopian futures in the Black Sea region: from migration to terrorism, state corruption and organised crime
  5. Game-changers in the 21st century: implications for the future of the region.

Format /
  • Panels devoted to public policy, academic innovation, horizon scanning etc.
  • Expert talks and presentations (1h) delivered by key note speakers in the field of: e. g. international relations with regional impact, security studies, frozen conflicts, terrorism, migration etc.;
  • Multiple problem solving sessions on the topic: “Game-changers for regional competitiveness - the Black Sea region by 2030”.

Day 1 (Monday, May 25)
Opening ceremony, 2 IR panels, problem solving session 1
9:30-11:00 / Opening ceremony
  • H.E. Klaus IOHANNIS, President of Romania
  • Sergei KONOPLYOV, Director, Eurasia Security Program, Harvard University
  • Sorin DUCARU, Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, NATO
  • H.E. Bogdan AURESCU, Foreign Affairs Minister, Romania
  • Eduard HELLVIG, Director, Romanian Intelligence Service

12:00-13:30 / Panel 1:
The future of the Black Sea Region in multiple perspectives
  • José-Miguel PALACIOS, Head of Analysis Division in the EU Intelligence Analysis Centre (EU INTCEN) of the European External Action Service
  • LG Gheorghe SAVU, Romanian Military Representative to NATO and EU Military Committees
  • Daniel IONIȚĂ, State Secretary for Strategic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Romania
Q&A
13:30-14:30 / Lunch
14:30-16:00 / Panel 2:
Framing border(less) perspectives in the Black Sea region: human vs. national vs. transnational security
  • Ioan Mircea PAȘCU, Vice-President of the Foreign Affairs Committee, European Parliament
  • Gen.(ret.) Tad OELSTROM, Director, National Security Program, Harvard University
  • Igor ISTOMIN, Senior lecturer, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russia
  • Oktay F. TANRISEVER, Professor, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
Q&A
16:00-16:15 / Coffee break
16:15-16:30 / Exercise (general presentation)
16:30-18:30 / Problem solving session 1
Group 1 / Group 2 / Group 3
Day 2 (Tuesday, May 26)
2 security studies panels, 1 expert talk (key note speaker in plenary session), problem solving session 2 and 3
9:00-10:30 / Panel 3:
(Un)frozen conflicts in the Black Sea Neighbourhood – an international perspective
  • Anatoliy GRYTSENKO, member of Ukrainian Parliament
  • Representative of Emerging Security Challenges Division, NATO
  • Boris BARKANOV, PhD, Davis Centre for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University
  • Mehmet ORGEN, Strategies and Agreements Department Head, Plans and Policy Division, Turkish Naval Forces Command
Q&A
10:30-10:45 / Coffee break
10:45-11:45 / Expert talk – Plenary Session
  • Vladimir SOCOR, Senior Fellow, the Jamestown Foundation, US

11:45-12:00 / Coffee break
12:00-13:30 / Panel 4:
(Un)frozen conflicts in the Black Sea Neighbourhood – national perspectives
  • Dumitru PUFU, Head of International Defence Cooperation Directorate, Ministry of National Defence, Romania
  • Nikoloz VASHAKIDZE, First Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Georgia

Andrei CURĂRARU, Senior Consultant, Service of the Supreme Security Council, Republic of Moldova

  • Lada L. ROSLYCKY, Director of Strategic Communications Ukraine Today, Ukraine
  • Olga VORKUNOVA, Director of Russian Peace Academy
Q&A
13:30-14:30 / Lunch
14:30-16:00 / Problem solving session 2
Group 1 / Group 2 / Group 3
16:00-16:15 / Coffee break
16:15-18:00 / Problem solving session 3
Group 1 / Group 2 / Group 3
Day 3(Wednesday, May 27)
3security studies panels,2expert talk (key note speakers in plenary session),
time at disposal
9:00-10:30 / Panel 5:
Resisting dystopian futures in the Black Sea Region: from migration, to terrorism, state corruption & organised crime etc
  • Peter STANIA, Director, International Institute for Peace, Austria
  • Bakhtiyar ASLANBAYLI, Baku State University, Azerbaijan
  • Representative of Romanian Intelligence Service
  • Laura Codruța KOVESI, Director ofNational Anticorruption Directorate, Romania
  • Ilie BOTOŞ, State Secretary, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Romania
Q&A
10:30-10:45 / Coffee break
10:45-11:45 /
  • John LOMBARDI, Deputy National Intelligence Manager for Eurasia, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, US

11:45-12:00 / Coffee break
12:00-13:30 / Panel 6:
Resisting dystopian futures in the Black Sea Region: from migration, to terrorism, state corruption & organised crime etc.
  • Ambassador George Cristian MAIOR,Professor, “Mihai Viteazul” National Intelligence Academy
  • Elaine PRESSMAN, Senior Fellow, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security Studies, Canada
  • Sergiu MEDAR, Professor, Former National Security Advisor to the President, Romania
Q&A
13:30-14:30 / Lunch
14:30-15:30 / Expert talk – Plenary Session
  • Joe CANNATACI, Head of the Department of Information Policy and Governance, Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences, University of Malta

15:30-15:45 / Coffee break
15:45-17:15 / Panel 7:
Game-changers in the 21st century: implications for the future of the region
  • Daniel BURGHART, expert, The Black Sea Region, National Intelligence University, US
  • Theresa FALLON, Senior Associate, European Institute of Asian Studies, Brussels
  • John NOMIKOS, Research Institute for European and American Studies, Athens, Greece
  • Cristina IVAN, expert, National Institute for Intelligence Studies, “Mihai Viteazul” National Intelligence Academy, Romania
Q&A
Day 4(Thursday, May 28)
problem solving session 4
Day 5(Friday, May 29)
1 plenary session (wrap-up & conclusions, closing ceremony), downtime
8:00-09:00 / Exercise deliverable – plenary session
09:00-09:45 / Closing ceremony
Day 6 (Saturday, May 30)
8:00-13:00 / Breakfast, hotel check out, travel to Bucharest

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