Summer University  

Intercultural Dialogue as a Key Factor for Sustainable Development of Region

 When: June, 3-11, 2018

Where: Veliky Novgorod (Russia) Novgorod State University

Number of ECTS – 7

Number of students: 25 

Summer University 2018 will bring together to Veliky Novgorod (Russia) the 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. Dialogue is the oldest and most fundamental mode of democratic conversation. It is both a specific working method and an integral part of all other policies to manage cultural diversity today.

The cross-cultural trainings and case studies based on culture assimilators will bring program participants from different countries together to solve vital problems appearing in real and virtual life interaction.

The nexus of history, culture, and economics will be outlined in the lectures and seminars on the history of Veliky Novgorod, its specific role in bringing together Russia and its Western neighbours The Varangian name of the city – Holmgård – is mentioned in Norse Sagas. Novgorod land in the Viking Age will become the focus of attention from archaeological point of view both during the lecture at the museum and the field trip to archaeological excavation site in Staraya Russa.

The overview of past and present historic ties in the Baltic Sea Region will engage students in the discussion of the policy of Russification on the “Western flank” of the former Russian Empire in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The program participants are invited to debate whether the local national intelligentsia (Latvian, Finnish, Estonian) was created with the direct interest of St. Petersburg; to what extent they managed to create their own mythological history.

Keeping traditions of the past and tailoring them to the needs of contemporary society will become the subject matter of the interactive seminar on reconstruction of folk customs. What, how and for what purpose to reconstruct, how it could affect the sustainable development of the region will be discussed at an interactive seminar and supported by ethnographic dance party and international cuisine show.

The sustainable development of Baltic Sea Region became the aim of people living in this region long time ago, even though the term “sustainability” was coined much later. Sustainable development is a way to reconcile two different and sometimes conflicting sets of objectives: “development-progress-growth” and “stability-security”. The lectures included in the program will highlight the success factors of sustainable development of the region, ecological aspects of sustainable development for Baltic Sea Region, and contemporary issues of international law vital for the region.

The academic input will be provided by Novgorod State University professors, as well as by lecturers coming from different universities and institutions of the Baltic Sea Region such as Opole University (Poland), Liepaja University (Latvia); Vitebsk State University (Belarus), St. Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia) Tomsk State University (Russia).

Cultural enrichment activities will become the indispensable part of the Summer University program. During the tours to the ancient Novgorod Kremlin, Yaroslav Court Yard, Rurik Settlement (Gorodischche), the open-air Museum of Wooden Architecture “Vitoslavlitsy”, the field trip to the archaeological excavation site and the house of Feodor Dostoevsky in the town of Staraya Russa the students will have a chance to discover different historical sights of the North-Western part of Baltic Sea Region.

Registration for the Summer University begins on March, 20 and ends on April, 22 2018. Only Master Degree students may apply. To register for the program, the following documents should be submitted to the address nshaydorova@gmail.com

1. Proof of Master degree-program admission/enrolment
2. Statement of Intent (300-500 words)
3. Scan of the information page from the international passport (passport should be valid at least till August, 2019)

For all accepted students, housing in the university dormitory and meals would be provided free of charge. The students will have to pay for their travel expenses, medical insurance and visa expenses. The students will receive the official letter of invitation from Novgorod State University which should be used for getting the entry visa to Russian Federation. Applying for visa is the responsibility of a student.

For more information, please see the link or contact the program administrators by writing to Natalia Shaydorova, Head of International Relations Office of NovSU:

nshaydorova@gmail.com

For updates of the program please also see the CBSS website (cbss.org), under the heading "Regional Identity" - "CBSS Summer University".