The international seminar brought together leading experts in the field of sustainability and security at SumDU

An international seminar on sustainability and security "NATO and Ukraine: why do we want to make the nation more sustainable?", which brought together government officials, public organizations, academics, and international experts, was held at Sumy State University Congress Center on May 19-21.

The event was organized by the Research Center for Regional Security of Sumy State University and the International Center for Defense and Security (ICDS), in partnership with the Development Cooperation Programme “Sustainable Ukraine”, with the support of NATO's Science for Peace and Security programme.

At the opening ceremony, the Head of the Sumy Regional State Administration Vasyl Khoma noted that the seminar with the participation of international experts with experience in the field of sustainability and security is extremely useful, because our country, and in particular Sumy region, as a border, feels daily information attacks by a neighboring state. He expressed hope that during fruitful discussions, the participants of the event will develop interesting ideas that will improve the information security system and add confidence in the future.

The Minister for Veterans Affairs Yuliia Laputina noted that when the aggressor country does not abandon its plans to seize our lands, we should focus on a human-centered approach that promotes civic identity, national unity, and stability.

Rector of Sumy State University Vasyl Karpusha greeted the seminar participants. He stressed that much attention is paid to information security at the university, in particular, with the support of the NATO Information and Documentation Center in Ukraine, SumDU established a Research Center for Regional Security, which aims to conduct research, analytical, organizational, informational and educational work to develop priorities of regional security policy. The university also provides training in the majors of "Cybersecurity", "Journalism", "Ecology", there is a military department operating.

During the seminar there were several panel discussions on the transformational effects of international cooperation; managing social vulnerabilities to counter hybrid threats; regional aspects of national stability formation; characteristics of measuring sustainability at the national, public, and personal levels, etc.

"The main purpose of the seminar is the exchange of experiences. It is very nice that we have the opportunity to receive Ukrainian and international experts at SumDU, to create a platform for discussing important issues of sustainability and security, combating social conflicts, and forming a national identity” - said the Head of the Research Center for Regional Security of SumDU Mykola Nazarov.