PRESS RELEASE: Official visit in Azerbaijan of Prof. dr. Eden Mamut, BSUN Secretary General

Between 16 and 19 June 2022, Prof. Eden Mamut, Secretary General of the Black Sea Universities Network (BSUN) paid an official visit in the Republic of Azerbaijan on the occasion of participation to the IX Global Baku Forum organized by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, entitled "Challenges to the Global World Order". The event was attended by heads of state, politicians, university professors, experts in international relations, representatives of the civil society, writers and media representatives from numerous countries and international institutions. The discussions in the Forum were marked by the events related to Russia's aggression against Ukraine and its consequences on various regional and global levels.

The participants stressed the need to immediately stop the aggression and initiate negotiations for the establishment of sustainable peace in the Black Sea region and outlined the existing institutional and procedural implications and shortcomings in the functioning of the various bodies and organizations that should have intervened in resolving this conflict.

During the session dedicated to the Leadership Council of SDSN Black Sea, Prof. Mamut presented the ongoing activities of BSUN, the initiatives related to the transformation of universities in the context of major regional and global challenges, the involvement of universities in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, with an emphasis for the “Blue Growth” initiative, and the current priorities of BSUN.

Thus, in the context of the preparations for the BSUN 2022 Congress to be held between 12 and 14 October 2022, at the University of Bucharest, BSUN initiated a position paper of the university community from the region that emphasizes the need to immediately stop the conflict in Ukraine in order to ensure security conditions for the return of refugees and the resumption of activities, including in universities and research institutes.

In the bilateral meetings held during the works of the Forum, a series of contacts and agreements were initiated regarding possible projects and collaboration initiatives with the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS) and universities from Latvia, Italy, Switzerland and Turkey.

On the sidelines of the Forum, Prof. Mamut paid several visits to BSUN member Universities in Azerbaijan, as followings: - On June 16, 2022, Prof. Mamut had a meeting with Prof. Elmar Gasimov, Rector of Baku Higher Oil School and representative of the member Universities from Azerbaijan in the BSUN Executive Board. On this occasion, there were presented the activities carried out within the frame of BSUN and the pathways for extending the collaboration through the involvement of the Universities from Azerbaijan in different BSUN projects; - On June 17, 2022, a visit was paid to the Azerbaijan University of Arts and Culture, during which meetings were held with the University Management, teachers and students. During the meeting with Rector Ceyran Mahmudova, Prof. Mamut presented the activities of BSUN and further steps to be followed in order to assure the involvement of the Azerbaijan University of Arts and Culture in organizing festivals, summer schools and activities for the use of artistic and cultural means in promoting Sustainable Development and environmental protection. Also, the collaboration opportunities between this University and other BSUN member Universities were analyzed. In this context, it was proposed the establishment of a collaboration framework with the University „St. Kliment Ohridski” from Sofia and Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, in the field of management of artistic and cultural activities, respectively of the use of digital and multimedia means. During the meeting with the teachers and the students from the Azerbaijan University of Arts and Culture, Prof. Mamut presented the results of the Black Sea CONNECT project, focusing on the outcomes of the organization of the Black Sea CONNECT Art Fair "Healing the Black Sea by Art". There were presented the final conclusions and the gained experience and there were raised proposals for organization of the next edition of the event. - Also, on 17 June 2022, it was organized the visit to the Azerbaijan Technical University and the Workshop on “Water and Energy Security and the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development ”. The event was chaired by Rector Vilayat Valiyev and it was attended by teachers, experts and students from the MSc and PhD programmes from Azerbaijan Technical University. On behalf of BSUN at the event participated: Prof. Sergey Belikov, President of the Zaporizhzhya Polytechnic National University, Prof. Nicolaos Theodossiou from Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Prof. Grigorios Zarotiadis from Aristotle University in Thessaloniki and Prof. Phoebe Koundouri from the Athens University of Economics and Business (via online connection). On behalf of SDSN (Sustainable Development Solutions Network) participated Mr. Andrija Erac. The video record of the event can be followed on the BSUN official webpage: https://bsun.org/. - On 18 June 2022, Prof. Mamut visited the Nanotechnology Center of Baku State University and participated in the Workshop on "Collaborative Perspectives in the Field of Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies".

The works of the event were chaired by Prof. Mustafa Muradov and there were attended by teachers, researchers and students from the PhD and MSc programmes from Baku State University. Also, Prof. Ioan Stamatin from the University of Bucharest participated through online connection to the works of the event.

For additional information, please contact: BSUN International Permanent Secretariat Phone no. +40 754 202356 E-mail: office[at]bsun[dot]org

Date: 23.06.2022

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