CBSS Summer University attracts many students from the Region and beyond

Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (Latvia) – “Media Literacy and Democracy: Baltic Perspective”

In 2018, the “Baltic International Summer School” organised by Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences in Latvia was devoted to media literacy and democracy. The purpose of the intensive programme was to improve the ability of communication and journalism students to evaluate the information provided by the media and to develop its content and to perceive the published information in a more analytical and critical way. In order to facilitate the critical evaluation of information, the students have created several videos on the topics of fake news and fact-checking which you can watch here.

Further, on 26 June 2018, the students visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia to attend a seminar on media literacy and where the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andrejs Pildegovičs, spoke to the students about the interaction between diplomacy and media and risk factors in contemporary international relations.

Novgorod State University (Russia) – “Intercultural Dialogue as a Key Factor for Sustainable Development of the Region”

This CBSS Summer University brought together a multidisciplinary group of students and professors from different countries of Baltic Sea Region to discuss and explore the strategic importance of intercultural dialogue as a way to achieve sustainable development in Veliky Novgorod, Russia. Featuring cross-cultural trainings and case studies based on culture assimilators, the programme encouraged the participants to solve vital problems appearing in real and virtual life interaction.

The nexus of history, culture, and economics was outlined in the lectures and seminars on the history of Veliky Novgorod, with the Novgorod land in the Viking Age come into focus of attention from an archaeological point of view both during the lecture at the museum and the field trip to archaeological excavation site in Staraya Russa.

You can find more detailed information [in Russian] about the different programme items on the website of the Novgorod State University.

Uppsala University (Sweden) – “War and Peace Journalism in an Age of Global Instability”

The Summer School took place on 10 – 16 June 2018 in Uppsala, Sweden. The participants came from international programmes on bachelor and master levels, from Vilnius University, Estonian Business School, Tartu University, Turiba University as well as Uppsala University itself. The course offered a mix of lectures, role-plays, workshops, discussions, and study visits, focusing on the role of media in conflict situations from various perspectives. On the final day of the course, the students held their own presentations of the key aspects of what they had learned. The Summer School was made possible with funding from NordPlus and included also a visit to the CBSS Secretariat where the students gained a deeper understanding of how an intergovernmental organisation works – especially with issues related to civil security.

Södertörn University (Sweden) – “Populism and Radical Politics, across East and West, Right and Left”

While in previous, the partner universities aimed at studying regional identity through understanding the impact of cultural memory and institutionalisation of the contemporary Baltic Sea Region, this year populism and radicalism across the political spectrum both theoretically and empirically was in focus of this Summer University. Particular attention had been paid to the European post-1989 context within Baltic, Central and Eastern Europe, and the cultural, economic and political developments that these developments have caused. The learning process has been enhanced by a ferry travel from Stockholm to the heart of European solidarity of Solidarity – Gdańsk – reaffirming also the importance of transnational endeavours for constructing a genuinely connected, regional community.

More details of the Summer University at Södertörn can be found here and here.

Saint-Petersburg State University of Economics (Russia) – “Baltic Energy in Changing Energy Landscape”

For the second time, the Saint-Petersburg State University of Economics invited master and PhD students of economics, business or political science to Russia to explore Russia-EU and Baltic Sea Region relations and current energy trends in the world. Discussing the reasons for and consequences of the recent oil price drop and its implications for other fossil fuels as well as its relation with international carbonization efforts, the students worked towards a better understanding of the link between theory, the institutional framework and practical problems with respect to a sustainable approach in the energy cluster.

The programme included also a presentation by CBSS Senior Adviser Daria Akhutina, laying out the Sustainable & Prosperous Region’ portfolio and highlighting the CBSS’ work on energy, sustainability and the economic and social development in our region.

Read more about the Summer University here