Academic impact & education for sustainable development: the contribution of its universities.

• Author: Mamut, Eden
• Position: BLACK SEA REGION - Black Sea Universities Network

the Black Sea region has been defined as a cradle of human civilization. Among its past historical riches, the region is home to the Legend of Jason and the Argonauts and their search for the Golden Fleece, and the biblical account of Noah's Ark. Athens, Istanbul, Odessa, Sevastopol, Troy, and Yalta are just a few of the names on the Black Sea coast that have a place in world history.

In antiquity, the concept of university as an arena for free debates, and profound analyses on subjects of major concern for individuals and communities, has been conceived and developed in the Black Sea region.

From the crusades and the Golden Hoard to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the region has witnessed multiple religious and political changes. In the face of countless conquests through the ages, the people of the region have endured and today represent a remarkable mixture of cultures and religions.

With a large stockpile of oil, gas, and mineral resources, with excellent conditions for agriculture and located at the crossroads of east-west, north-south transport corridors, the Black Sea region has large economic potential. According to the World Bank, with 336 million inhabitants populating 19 million square kilometres the region had a growth rate of 7.3 per cent in 2006 generating a combined gross domestic product of $1.3 billion.

However, the Black Sea region still suffers from several unresolved conflicts in Trans-Dniester, Nagorno-Karabakh, Ossetia, and Kosovo.

Industrialization, extensive and intensive farming, and regional population explosion have caused irreversible soil degradation, overfishing, eutrophi-cation, and the flow of chemical and radioactive poisons into the Black Sea. As a consequence, the sea is in danger of becoming a toxic and nearly lifeless ecosystem--an ecological disaster with few equals.

In order to address these challenges, following a recommendation of PABSEC or the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, the Black Sea Universities Network was established in 1998 at the second Conference of Rectors from the Black Sea Region.

The region's academic community welcomed the Network with enthusiasm and it has grown to 117 universities representing 12 member countries of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, viz., Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine.

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Since its establishment twelve years ago, the Network has promoted the mobility of students and academic staff, organized scientific meetings, summer schools, and workshops in different fields. Today it is an extremely valuable platform for...