The Three Seas Initiative (3SI) is a project initiated in 2015 by the presidents of Poland and Croatia, which groups 13 Central European countries. Its strategic goal is not only to maintain and strengthen the unity of the European Union and the Euro-Atlantic space, but also to eliminate historically conditioned economic gaps and strengthen security in the region by tightening infrastructure, energy and economic cooperation between Central European countries.
It is also a platform for cooperation between the presidents of the countries located between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas. This year's meeting of heads of state will be held on 11 April 2024 in Vilnius. For the first time, a scientific conference has been included in the agenda of the summit-related events. University of Lodz is its co-organiser.
At the beginning of 2024, a group of scientists from the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, the Three Seas Initiative Research Center (CB3SI) at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences (ISP PAN) and the Faculty of International and Political Studies of the University of Lodz (WSMIP UŁ) turned to the President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda with a proposal to initiate a scientific debate with the participation of experts from the countries of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI).
It was pointed out that so far this event had excluded full-scale participation of representatives of the world of science and resulted in scientists being assigned to the "business" category within the summit. Additionally, the role of science diplomacy as elements of strategic communication between countries in times of war and peace was emphasized. Thanks to the combined efforts of Lithuanian and Polish scientists, representatives of the academic world will have the opportunity to meet for the first time at the International Conference "The Three Seas Initiative: One Concept, Different Approaches?", which will be held on 10 April 2024 at the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences (Lietuvos Mokslo Akademija).
The objective of the conference is to present the research findings of the team of experts from the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) participating states. The conference sets out to add to our knowledge of regional cooperation and discuss the current state of research in this area from various academic disciplines and national perspectives.
The main research questions the contributors seek to answer revolve around the current state of knowledge on the 3SI and the reasons for the widely differing levels of interest in this form of regional cooperation. What are the main sources of knowledge about the 3SI? What is the state of the knowledge on the 3SI? What are the methods of acquiring knowledge about the 3SI in individual countries?
Dr Barbara Jundo-Kaliszewska from the Faculty of International and Political Studies at the University of Lodz
On behalf of the faculty of International and Political Studies of the University of Lodz the organisation of the conference was undertaken by Lithuania expert Dr Barbara Jundo-Kaliszewska. Last November, the researcher took part in a Study Visit to Vilnius organised by the Three Seas Initiative Research Center (CB3SI) headed by Prof Agnieszka Orzelska-Stączek and Dr Aleksandra Kuczyńska-Zonik. As part of the event, meetings were held with scholars and politicians in Vilnius, including at the Presidential Palace, the RL Sejm or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In addition to strictly organisational activities, the scientist from the University of Lodz managed to obtain funds from the Three Seas Initiative Research Center (CB3SI) for the trip of a group of students from the Faculty of International and political Studies to the summit in Vilnius and participation in the conference. As Dr Jundo-Kaliszewska says, the aim of the study visit of the students to Vilnius will be to promote knowledge in student communities about the Three Seas Initiative (3SI), develop scientific research on regional cooperation of countries belonging to the format, internationalise Polish scientific and research initiatives and establish new and developing current contacts between students from Vilnius and Lodz.
The agenda of official summit-related events includes panels devoted to, among other things: issues of cybersecurity, transport, reconstruction of Ukraine and the Belarusian Business Forum. According to the organisers, the first international scientific conference taking place as part of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) summit entitled ‘The Three Seas Initiative: One Concept, Different Approaches’ has the opportunity to make a significant and substantive contribution to the development of regional cooperation, as well as contribute to the internationalisation of Polish-Lithuanian scientific and research initiatives and increasing the recognition of their achievements.
The conference organisers include: Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, the Three Seas Initiative Research Center at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the University of Lodz Faculty of International and Political Studies.
The Obserwator Miedzynarodowy portal about the Three Seas Summit and the scientific conference (in Polish)
Source: Dr Barbara Jundo-Kaliszewska (Faculty of International and Political Studies, University of Lodz)
Edit: Communications and PR Centre, University of Lodz