UzhNU continues project with scientific institutions of the Visegrad Four to strengthen cooperation between border regions
A regular working seminar was recently held as part of the project Cross-border Cooperation between Ukraine and the Visegrad Four: Promoting Best Practices, at which two key areas of work were discussed with foreign partners – preparations for the conference and the publication of a monograph.
We would like to remind you that thanks to the project “Cross-border Cooperation between Ukraine and the Visegrad Four,” five research institutions from the Visegrad Four countries and Ukraine have joined forces to identify the most effective institutional and daily practices of cross-border cooperation. The goal is to find mechanisms that will help Ukraine's border regions successfully integrate into the European space as our country joins the EU. The initiative is particularly relevant now, amid war, economic challenges, and preparations for the start of negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the EU. The project aims to promote the renewal of approaches to cross-border cooperation, which plays a key role in regional development, interethnic dialogue, and improving the security and quality of life of people in border communities.
As noted by the head of the working group, Vice-Rector Myroslava Lendiel: "The purpose of the seminar is to summarize what has already been done at this stage and to begin preparations for the final conference, which we tentatively plan to hold in early February. Today, we will also discuss our next steps. We currently have the first draft of our monograph. I prepared the first chapter, the second was prepared by Yulia Fetko, PhD in Law, the third by Oksana Svezhentseva, PhD in History, and the fourth by Nadiia Kichera, PhD in Political Science. The entire monograph concerns the Visegrad Group's experience in the development of border areas, so the expertise of our colleagues from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic is very important to us. Our text is based on open materials — we studied government websites, resources of parliaments, Euroregions, and the EEC, and analyzed many articles and scientific works by experts from the Visegrad Four countries.
In accordance with the rules of the Visegrad Forum, UzhNU is working on the preparation of an e-book. At the same time, it aims to create a full-fledged printed monograph with an ISBN, which in the future will be useful not only for experts but also for scientists. The university will also help finance the printing of paper copies. This will be a kind of additional contribution from Uzhhorod National University.
Active preparations for the final conference will begin in November. Preliminary agreements have already been reached with the Zakarpattia Regional State Administration and the Zakarpattia Regional Council regarding their participation.
There are also plans to invite representatives of local authorities, non-governmental organizations, and agencies working in the field of cross-border cooperation. Uzhhorod National University expects broad participation from interested parties from Zakarpattia and border areas. In addition, representatives of the Ukrainian government will be invited, possibly in a hybrid or online format.
The organizers strive to make the conference meaningful, representative, and a foundation for further joint initiatives.
