The Executive Director of Bulgarian School of Politics “Dimitry Panitza” Dr. Irina Alexieva took part in the International Neighborhood Symposium that was held in Odessa from 13 to 18 June 2017. This year the Symposium was organized for 7th time and the topic was “Changemakers in the Eastern Neighbourhood and the Mediterranean South”.

A changemaker is a business leader, a policy maker, an activist, a young leader, a scholar, as well as a social entrepreneur that believes in change while also seeking to make it happen. A changemaker is thus an innovator, a trendsetter, and a visionary; someone who is willing to take creative action to solve social and societal problems.

The Symposium focused principally on the Eastern Neighbourhood and the Mediterranean South, two regions that are shared neighborhoods of the European Union, its member states, the Russian Federation, and Turkey. While each region is distinct with its own historical, political, social, cultural and economic features; their vicinity implies a number of synergies and shared experiences on a variety of themes.

Hence, the aim of the 2017 edition of the International Neighbourhood Symposium is to discuss, assess, and understand the regional dynamics as well as the impact these are having on the transformation of the societies of the countries of the Eastern Neighbourhood and the Mediterranean South. 

The Executive Director of Bulgarian School of Politics Dr. Alexieva spoke about the topic: „Politics versus Populism” giving examples for the social, economic and cultural factors that are influencing the rise of populism in the recent years.

The Symposium is organized by The Center for International and European Studies (CIES) at Kadir Has University in cooperation with local partners UA: Ukraine Analytica and the Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism”.