“The Challenges to Peace in the Black Sea and the Role of the Tatars for a Future based on Security, Trust & Cooperation”
Date: December 5th, 2025
Venue: I.N. Roman Library Hall, Constanta, Romania
Starting time: 4 pm, EET (GMT + 2)
The Global Peace Offensive is an initiative launched by World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS) in collaboration with the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA) in recognition of the unprecedented threats to peace and human security confronting humanity today and the inadequacy of traditional diplomacy initiatives to reverse the contagion of insecurity, violence and war spreading around the globe. It transcends traditional conflict management and embraces comprehensive, inclusive efforts to transform crises into opportunities for enduring peace. Such an offensive, underpinned by strategic unilateral actions and a commitment to building trust, can break the cycle of violence and pave the way for a more stable and cooperative international order. The objective of the Peace Offensive is to promote positive momentum on peace and human security by innovative strategic initiatives that present a viable pathway for resolving protracted crises at the local, regional and global level. This project is founded on the premise that there is scope for positive initiative when parties to conflict recognize the legitimacy of reciprocal initiatives for compromise. It calls for unilateral, symbolic gestures to encourage reciprocal actions in response. It aims to transform adversarial dynamics into collaborative relationships, even amidst the most entrenched conflicts. It focuses on the potential for Graduated Reciprocation in Tension Reduction as a mechanism for de-escalating hostilities.
The Black Sea Universities Network is developing a long-term partnership with the WAAS and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Black Sea. Recently, Black Sea Universities Network (BSUN) defined three priority topics that could address the most important challenges of the wider Black Sea Region from the Caucasus to the Balkans. The proposed topics that have been selected are the followings:
- Migration in a broader acceptance, including forced migration of population due to natural disasters and military conflicts, brain drain, demographic processes, multiple scale impacts in the society and other connected processes.
- Sustainable development in terms of the implementation of UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, scientific support for the governments and decision makers, sustainable management of resources, circular economy, blue economy and aspects related to education for sustainable development and other related topics.
- Human security, considering the issues related to security of human beings from a multiple dimension, according to the related documents of the UN.
The proposed event is going to be organized at the I.N. Roman Library in Constanta, Romania, in a hybrid format. The event is dedicated to the National Day of the Tatar Minority in Romania, and the World Day of Human Rights in the format of open discussions and debates to identify priority topics for cooperation between the communities of the region, academia and Governmental organization involved in the regional peace process.
Aim: The event is aiming to offer a framework for debates on the role of bottom-up approaches for contributing to the peace process in the Black Sea Region by focusing on the role of a specific ethnic group that is present as minority communities in all countries of the region – the Tatars.
Agenda
16:00 – Opening remarks.
Amelia STĂNESCU, Director of the Ion N. Roman Library, Constanta, Romania
Garry JACOBS, President & CEO, WAAS
Prof. Osman Bulent ZULFIKAR, Rector of Istanbul University, BSUN President
Prof. Anatolii MELNYCHENKO – Rector of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute
16:30 Keynote speeches:
Maryna BUDNYK, Legal Adviser for Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities
H.E. Ramu DAMODARAN, Permanent Observer of the UN University for Peace
Prof. Dr. Eden MAMUT, The Tatar Communities in the Black Sea Region: Surviving over Centuries of Confrontations
17:00 – Building a Sustainable Peace in the Black Sea Region
Panel Speakers:
Rifat CIUBAROV, President of World Organization of Crimean Tatars
Olha KURYSHKO, Presidential Representative of Ukraine in Crimea
Andrii KLYMENKO, Journalist, Ukraine
Prof. Hakan KIRIMLI, Bilkent University, Turkiye
Prof. Radu CARP, CESMINT, University of Bucharest, Romania
Dr Luka Martin TOMAŽIČ, GPO Center, Alma Mater Europaea University, Slovenia
Questions, Answers & Comments
Concluding remarks: Donato KINIGER-PASSIGLI, WAAS Vice President and Global Peace Offensive Center President
19:00 Closure of the event
Important note: Mr. Czeslaw WALEK, Senior Adviser to the OSCE High Commissioner will attend as an observer to the conference.
