International Social Science Summer School in Ukraine – Mykolaiv (Ukraine)
The application must be sent by e-mail to ukrainesummerschool@gmail.com, by 30 April 2013.

http://www.ukrainianstudies.uottawa.ca/summer_school_2013.html

The 5th Annual International Social Science School, to be held in Mykolaiv, Southern Ukraine, on 2-9 July 2013, will have the theme of “Challenging the Social Order: Revolution, Reform and Transformation Under and After Socialism.” For an intensive week in early July, an international group of twenty doctoral students and up to a dozen faculties are converging to a different town in Ukraine to hear and discuss presentations on ongoing research on a critical theme. The Summer School is designed to be interdisciplinary and international and follows the format of a Workshop. The program also includes lectures and field trips, of historical and contemporary significance, within the region.

Co-Sponsored by The Embassy of France in Ukraine – The Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Ottawa (Canada)  – The Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales [EHESS] (France) – The Petro Mohyla Black Sea State University in Mykolaiv (Ukraine) – The Doctoral School of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (Ukraine) – The University of Paris Ouest Nanterre-La Défense (France) – The Franco-Belarusian Center for European Studies (Belarus)
Program description

“There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.” Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, ch. 6

The countries of the former Socialist Bloc have repeatedly experienced throughout the last century the difficult, perilous and uncertain task Machiavelli warns us against. Building, managing and deconstructing socialist states and societies appears to be a circular process of radical social and economic transformation. Thus, collectivization, arguably one of the most ambitious attempts implemented by a state to alter the socio-economic order, can be been as a starting point for major crises such as famines, population displacement and deportation, and the disruption of the countryside. Perestroika, enacted as a response to the decline of the Soviet economy, served as a catalyst for painful transition processes in Central and Eastern Europe, the introduction of neoliberal reforms and steep rise of social inequalities. Similarly, Soviet informal practices have been interpreted both as a reaction to the deep economic crisis of the late 1980s and as constituting a major cause of yet another crisis, the failure of the rule of state and economic transition.

These challenges to the social order have had seminal political consequences, such as Soviet industrialization and the rise of Stalinism, the post-war establishment of Communist rule in Central Europe, the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, the introduction of political pluralism under perestroika, the August 1991 putsch and the collapse of the Soviet Union, shock therapy, the 1998 financial crises in Russia, the colored revolutions and the return of authoritarianism.

The Summer School seeks to examine these moments of disruption of the existing social order when state and society are challenged in their institutions, rules, values and principles. Topics under consideration include:

the causes and dynamics of revolution, reform and transformation
mobilization, protest and rebellion
the management of social or political crisis
the production of new norms (informal, legal, economic, political)
the impact of dominant economic models
the management of the past: transitional justice, lustration, the politics of memory
how individuals and groups adapt to a new social order: career paths, survival strategies

The Fifth International Social Science Summer School in Ukraine welcomes proposals from the disciplines of history, sociology, anthropology, political science, economics, and adjacent fields. While the primary focus will be on the socialist and post-socialist era (in the former Soviet Union, Central, Eastern and Southern Europe), pre-Soviet history may also be examined.

The Summer School is designed to be interdisciplinary and international and follows the format of a Workshop. Each participant will have the opportunity to present a paper and receive comments from a group of international scholars, as well as from the other participants, who are expected to be active in these discussions. The School’s program consists of lectures, panel presentations and discussions, as well field trips within the region.
Location

The International Social Science Summer School in Ukraine takes places in a different city of Ukraine every year. Previous schools have been held in Uman (2009), Dnipropetrovsk (2010), Ostroh (2011) and Zhytomyr (2012). The 2013 Summer School will be hosted by the Petro Mohyla Black Sea State University in Mykolaiv, Southern Ukraine.

The history of Mykolaiv, located on the Black Sea Cost, about 110 kilometers east-northeast of Odessa, is closely linked to its Port. The Port of Nikolaev is an important river port and one of Ukraine’s largest and busiest ship-building centers. After the Russian Empire annexed the Black Sea coast in 1788, the Port of Mykolaiv was founded as a shipyard near the site of the ancient Greek Olbia. Originally built for repair of Russian Navy ships during the Russo-Turkish War, the Port of Mykolaiv was opened as a commercial harbor in 1862, and the first foreign ships were welcomed into the port. This also led to the establishment of several foreign consulates in Mykolaiv. In the early 19th century, as with most urban areas in Ukraine, Mykolaiv developed into one of the largest Jewish centers in the Russian Empire and was the birthplace of the the seventh leader in the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty.

In the Soviet era, Mykolaiv was a major shipbuilding center, closely linked to the military industry. The shipbuilding industry provided about 60% of Mykolaiv citizens with work. Because of this military orientation, the Port of Mykolaiv was closed to foreign visitors through the late 1980s. Most of the tragic events of the past century echoed in Mykolaiv’s history, such as the Civil War, the famine, the purges, German occupation and the Holocaust.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the industrial city of Mykolaiv faced a huge economic crisis. Most of the state-owned military-oriented industries faced restructuring and/or privatization, with unequal suc3 Fifth International Social Science Summer School in Ukraine cess. New branches of economy appeared. The image of the city is also evolving, sometimes in unexpected ways: the past city of shipbuilders became “the city of brides” with the development of foreign-oriented marriage agencies. In November 2012, the city was also in the center of the political news : the election vote count led to bloody clashes in Mykolaiv Oblast’s Pervomaisk, where pro-government and opposition candidates were both claiming victory in district 132.

A city of glory and a city in crisis, Mykolaiv is a perfect place for a Summer School focused on the challenges of a new social order.

Excursions and meeting organized by the Summer School team will focus on these different dimensions of the regional history.
Duration

One week, Tuesday 2 July – Tuesday 9 July 2013.
Call for application
Eligibility

The Summer School is open to PhD students (or students enrolled in a kandidat nauk program) and young researchers (up to six years removed from their PhD or kandidat nauk degree).

Proposals strong on theory and empirical research are particularly welcomed.

The working language of the Summer School is English.

Prospective participants must be fluent in English. Selected candidates will be notified before the end of May.
How to apply?

To be considered for the Summer School, candidates must complete an application form (that includes a 500 word project proposal) and add a CV.

They are also encouraged to send an additional written sample, such as a conference paper, a dissertation chapter, or a publication, although this is optional.

The application must be sent by e-mail to ukrainesummerschool@gmail.com,
by 30 April 2013.

The application form can be requested at ukrainesummerschool@gmail.com or downloaded on the following address: http://www.ukrainianstudies. uottawa.ca/summer_school_2013.html
The scientific committee is being set up.

The Summer Research Laboratory (SRL) on Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia is open to all scholars with research interests in the Russian, East European and Eurasian region for eight weeks during the summer months from June 10 until August 2. The SRL provides scholars access to the resources of the University of Illinois Slavic collection within a flexible time frame where scholars have the opportunity to seek advice and research support from the librarians of the Slavic Reference Service (SRS).  Graduate students and junior scholars will also have opportunity to attend a specialized workshop on Scholarly and Literary Translation from June 10-15, 2013.

For more information and to apply, please see the REEEC SRL website: http://www.reeec.illinois.edu/srl/

For graduate students, the SRL provides an opportunity to conduct research prior to going abroad and extra experience to refine research skills.  Students will also have the opportunity of seeking guidance from specialized librarians skilled in navigating resources pertaining to and originating from Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia.

The SRS is an extensive service that provides access to a wide range of materials that center on and come from: Russia, the Former Soviet Union, Czech and Slovak Republics, Former Yugoslavia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania. The International & Area Studies Library, where the Slavic reference collections are housed, contains work stations for readers, a collection of basic reference works, and current issues of over 1,000 periodicals and 110 newspapers in Western and area languages.

The Slavic Reference Service provides access to several unique resources pertaining to the Russian, East European and Eurasian region.  Currently, there are plans at the University of Illinois’ to become the first library in the Western Hemisphere to gain access to the Russian State Library’s Electronic Dissertations Database, which contains the full text of nearly 1 million dissertations in a wide variety of fields.

In addition, the SRS provides access to

·         the only copy of the famous 594-volume Turkestanskii Sbornik  of materials on Central Asia prior to 1917 available outside Uzbekistan;

·         recent direct acquisitions from Central Asia which include the complete national bibliography of Kazakhstan (2002-2010) and the complete digitized national bibliography of Uzbekistan (1917-2009), both of which are not held by any other U.S. library;

·         perhaps the most complete collection of Russian Imperial provincial newspapers (gubernskie vedomosti) in North America; and

·         extensive print, digital, and microform holdings relating to Eastern Europe, including rare materials acquired via Keith Hitchins and other noted scholars.

International Forum 2012 on “Transnistria—The Forgotten Holocaust, 1941 to 1944”

Chișinău (Moldova), Odessa (Ukraine)
Period: Sep. 23-29, 2012
Deadline for application: Jun. 24, 2012

Description of the Event

The International Forum is part of the programme GESCHICHTSWERKSTATT EUROPA initiated by the German Federal Foundation ”Remembrance, Responsibility and Future“ (EVZ). The Forum looks at the conflicting recollections of the contemporary history of Europe and at recent debates and research on the collective and cultural memory of the Europeans. It will be led by the Leipzig historians Matthias Middell and Stefan Troebst.
I
Transnistria, the region between rivers Dniester (Nistru) and Bug, is still a white spot on the map of the Holocaust. Today mostly part of Ukraine with a small strip belonging to Moldova’s separatist eastern edge, the self-proclaimed ‘Dniester Moldovan Republic’, it was from the summer of 1941 to the spring of 1944 under Romanian civilian administration. In the Treaty of Tighina of 30 August 1941, the German Reich had handed over this formerly Soviet territory to its Romanian ally while still maintaining a military presence there. Between September 1941 and October 1942, some 100,000 Jews from Romania including the regained provinces of Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia were deported beyond river Dniester. In the regional capital Odessa and in concentration camps like Bogdanovka, Domanovka, Akmetchetka or Vapniarka mass shootings of Jews took place, while others were put to death by hunger or diseases.

An estimated number of up to 300,000 Romanian and Ukrainian Jews fell victim to the Holocaust in Transnistria. Perpetrators were Romanian officials, military personnel and civilians as well as German military units and administrative staff, also members of the regional German community, i.e., Schwarzmeerdeutsche. Probably only 100,000 Jews survived. There is, however, also an additional dimension to the Holocaust in Transnistria: In the summer and fall of 1942, also some 25.000 Romanian Roma were deported to the region. Here approximately 11.000 died of cold, hunger or illness and some were shot, while the others could return to Romania in 1944.

During this one-week event seminars and lectures will be delivered. Furthermore, visits to museums like the Museum of the History of the Jews of Odessa and excursions to the site of the concentration camp Bogdanovka will take place. Scholars from various fields of study and different parts of Europe will lecture on the events of 1941 to 1944 and on their place in Moldovan, Romanian and Ukrainian cultures of remembrance.

Guidelines for applying

Please send your applications by e-mail together with a letter of motivation and a curriculum vitae to the coordination office of the International Forum. Closing date for applications will be June 24, 2012. Applications will be reviewed by June 30, 2012, and applicants will be notified immediately thereafter.
Organizers

Global and European Studies Institute of the University of Leipzig
German Federal Foundation ”Remembrance, Responsibility and Future”

Information & contacts

Coordinator Ulrike Breitsprecher
International Forum | GESCHICHTSWERKSTATT EUROPA
address: Universität Leipzig Global and European Studies Institute
Emil-Fuchs-Strasse 1
04105 Leipzig, Germany
tel.: 0049.(0)341.973.34.93
e-mail: ifgwe@uni-leipzig.de

 Effects of the economic depression to the law and state in Central-Europe

Győr (Hungary), Jul. 16-20, 2012

Application deadline: Jun. 5, 2012

The first Summer Seminar of the Széchenyi István University’s Doctoral School of Law and Political Science offers a forum for debate and reflection on the effects of the economic depression on Central European countries. The Seminar is addressed at young people coming from all over the European continent and especially its Central region. Noted lecturers, experts and professors help to discuss the legal, political and economic aspects of the economical depression on the specific context of Central Europe. The Summer Seminar will also include cultural events.
The Doctoral School of Law and Political Science of the Széchenyi István University will be responsible for most of the expenses related to the Seminar, such as:
- lectures and discussion panels;
- accommodation;
- boarding two times per day;
- facilities for studies and entertainment;
- publication opportunities.
The participants will have to provide for their own travel expenses to Győr and insurance. There is no registration fee.
How to apply to the Seminar

Eligibility

The Seminar is open to PhD students and young researchers (under 35 years of age) from all over Europe. However, students from the Central European region are particularly invited to apply.
Application Procedure

The application shall include:
- letter of motivation,
- filled application form, which can be downloaded from here.
- letter of recommendation from a professor (not compulsory but recommended)
All documents should be sent via e-mail to Dr Csaba Erdős at: csizmarik@sze.hu.
Applicants can be informed about the results until Jul. 15, 2012.

Organizer

Széchenyi István University’s Doctoral School of Law and Political Science

Information & contacts

Dr Csaba Erdős
Assistant of the Doctoral School
e-mail: csizmarik@sze.hu.

La justice entre droit et conscience du Moyen Âge à nos jours

avant le 30 septembre 2012

Le principe de l’intime conviction, qui ne rend pas les preuves nécessaires, a été estimé inconcevable durant des siècles. Au Moyen Âge, les juristes ne cessent de dire que le juge ne doit pas juger selon sa conscience, mais en se fondant sur la loi et sur des preuves. À l’époque moderne, les juges doivent s’appuyer sur le système des preuves légales, « plus claires que le jour ». Mais depuis la Révolution, les jurés d’assises jugent selon leur intime conviction, « en leur âme et conscience ». L’intime conviction n’est-elle pas une forme de sécularisation de l’idée religieuse de conscience ? (A. Padoa-Schioppa)

De nombreux travaux ont révélé que, en dépit de l’affirmation souvent réitérée de l’obligation faite aux juges de juger selon la loi et non en suivant leur conscience, les penseurs faisaient état d’une réalité plus complexe : les rapports entre le droit et la conscience sont affectés par une tension qui non seulement ne s’est jamais démentie, mais qui s’est développée jusqu’à placer la conscience au premier rang, sans pour autant que la tension disparaisse. Ce colloque souhaite reprendre cette question où bien des pistes ont déjà été tracées, mais dont plusieurs demandent à être prolongées ou reprises. Elle sera examinée tant sous l’angle doctrinal qu’à travers les pratiques, les représentations et les fictions, et elle fera donc appel principalement aux historiens, aux juristes, aux philosophes, aux spécialistes de la littérature. Toutes les catégories de documents pourront être sollicitées : textes doctrinaux, manuels, documents judiciaires, chroniques et textes narratifs, fictions, images…

Nous proposons d’évoquer, sans  que la liste soit exhaustive ni limitative, les thèmes suivants :

Les juges et la conscience. Au Moyen Âge, si le droit commun (ius commune) réaffirme le principe du droit romain sur l’obligation faite aux juges de juger selon la loi et les preuves, ceux-ci prêtent un serment par lequel ils se soumettent à Dieu et à leur conscience, et cette conscience est chrétienne. Elle est définie à la fois comme connaissance des faits et comme conscience morale. De là découle une tension exprimée d’abord par l’arbitraire (arbitrium) du juge, présenté comme un recours dès lors que la preuve n’est pas pleine et entière ; ensuite par les débats doctrinaux sur la vérité judiciaire, quand le juge a acquis une connaissance hors du tribunal, mais que celle-ci s’avère différente de celle qui ressort des débats judiciaires. Cette conception se précise pendant l’Ancien Régime : les parlements ne se considèrent pas comme menottés par le système des preuves légales, que les juges des tribunaux inférieurs, eux, doivent appliquer sans état d’âme. À l’époque contemporaine, si les jurés d’assises jugent en leur âme et conscience, en revanche les autres tribunaux ne peuvent condamner que si trois éléments sont réunis : l’élément légal (les faits visés sont punis par la loi), l’élément matériel (les faits sont bel et bien constitués), l’élément moral (le prévenu avait l’intention de commettre le délit).
  La controverse sur le droit et l’équité. Le conflit fréquent entre l’équité et la loi, entre la « justice naturelle » et l’application stricte de la législation, pose un véritable dilemme au juge et se rencontre à toutes les époques, Canonistes et civilistes ont eu des appréciations différentes : pour les premiers, il vaut mieux obéir à Dieu qu’aux hommes, alors que les seconds sont réputés plus stricts dans la volonté de s’en tenir à la loi humaine. Les docteurs posaient la question de l’adéquation entre la loi divine et le droit positif : on pourra, par exemple, examiner quels sont les enjeux de ces débats doctrinaux. Prônée pendant l’Ancien Régime, du moins pour les juges supérieurs, rejetée sans nuances, en théorie mais pas en pratique, dans les premières décennies du xixe siècle (dans la crainte qu’elle ne favorise la remise en cause de l’ordre social et politique), l’équité a été admise ensuite, pour être finalement valorisée comme un idéal, sous réserve de ne pas porter atteinte à la loi, et comme source d’inspiration pour pallier ses insuffisances. Dans ces conditions, le jugement « parfait » n’est-il pas celui qui, fondé en équité, ne heurte pas la loi ?
  Le prince, la loi et la justice. La loi est l’émanation du législateur souverain. À partir du xve siècle, les principes précédemment énoncés commencent à être battus en brèche ; dans les nouvelles principautés, la justice est liée au pouvoir et de plus en plus à l’interprétation de la loi. Cela suscite des positions divergentes où cette fois la conscience de l’homme, et non plus seulement celle du juge, est en question : certains penseurs affirment désormais l’adéquation entre le salut et l’obéissance au prince, ou la capacité de la loi positive autonome à créer du droit liant la conscience de l’homme dans le for interne. La crise conciliaire de la fin du Moyen Âge a conduit à une redistribution des pouvoirs au profit des principautés laïques : on pourra par exemple observer l’évolution de la Pénitencerie apostolique et dans quelle mesure elle  tend à absorber une partie des causes jugées par les tribunaux ecclésiastiques, opérant par là un glissement du for externe au for interne. Les parlements de l’Ancien Régime agissent, certes, au nom du roi et de ses lois ; mais en cas de désaccord, ils se présentent comme les gardiens de la « loi vivante », antérieure et supérieure à la « loi positive ». Une telle prétention disparaît à l’époque contemporaine, ce qui n’empêche pas la Cour de cassation, mais aussi les autres juridictions, d’interpréter la loi, voire de prendre des décisions qui, faisant jurisprudence, la contredisent ou anticipent sur elle (parfois même les deux à la fois).
Le for interne et le for externe. À l’opposé de la tendance précédente, dès la fin du Moyen Âge, des penseurs font valoir à travers leurs écrits une fracture entre la conscience et le droit positif. Que l’on pense à la condamnation par Jean Gerson de l’abus du recours à l’excommunication parce que c’était, de la part de certains ecclésiastiques, faire passer la transgression de leurs lois pour la violation de la loi divine. D’autres, en pensant le décalage entre la loi positive et les normes morales, ouvrent la voie à la Réforme. En 1898, le président du tribunal de Château-Thierry, Paul Magnaud, résolvait ce problème à sa manière : il acquittait Louise Ménard, ouvrière de vingt-deux ans prévenue d’avoir volé un pain, alors qu’elle et sa famille (sa mère et sa fille) n’avaient pas mangé depuis deux jours ; ce jugement, décidé en faisant prévaloir sa conscience sur la loi, lui valut alors la réputation de « bon juge ». À notre époque, c’est la conscience qui détermine le choix final du juge, du moins en cour d’assises : la notion d’intime conviction est bien la marque de ce subjectivisme.
Normes juridiques, normes morales. Il semble qu’à partir du xve siècle le droit canonique perde sa primauté comme science du devoir-être au profit de la théologie morale (Paolo Prodi). Les sommes pastorales et les manuels de confesseurs posent la question des rapports entre la conscience et la loi. Il conviendrait d’étudier les phases et les modalités de la distance qui s’instaure entre les normes juridiques et les normes morales à travers la philosophie morale et la théologie.

Si le thème du colloque est pertinent pour toute la période envisagée, il ne l’est pas moins dans l’actualité immédiate. On peut ainsi se demander si l’introduction récente de jurés populaires (les « citoyens assesseurs ») dans les tribunaux correctionnels, en élargissant le principe des jurys d’assises, ne vise pas à introduire dans ces tribunaux l’intime conviction, donc une « conscience populaire ».

Les propositions de communication (un titre et un projet d’une demi-page) doivent être envoyées avant le 30 septembre 2012 à bgarnot@aol.com et brunolemesle@cegetel.net

Cervia, Hotel Genzianella
Via Roma 85 – Cervia – Italy

Deadline for application: June 3rd, 2012

The Background

The 18th edition of the CEI International Summer School “Beyond Enlargement. The Wider Europe and the New Neighbourhood” will take place in Cervia, from Sunday 2nd to Saturday 15th September 2012.

Since 1995 the “Europe and the Balkans International Network – Centre for Eastern European and Balkan Studies”, established by the University of Bologna, has been organising a yearly Summer School for post-graduate students from Eastern Europe and from the European Union. Up to the ninth edition, held in 2003, the School was entitled “Post-Communist Transition and European Integration Processes”. Starting from 2004 the School has the title: “Beyond Enlargement. The Wider Europe and the New Neighbourhood”. This title change is explained by the enlargement of the EU towards ten East European Countries in 2004, seven of them belonging to the CEI area that represents the conclusion of the so called “post-communist transition”, at least for this part of Eastern Europe. The recent policy of the EU on “Greater Europe and the new neighbourhood” offers new rooms for an interaction between the CEI and the EU strategic goals, and this will be taken into serious consideration in the School programmes as well as in the selection of the students.
The School Offer

The overall objective of the Cervia Summer School 2012 is to promote the CSOs Network consolidation, through sustainable transfer of scientific know how, and through a permanent interaction stemming from both formal and informal learning. The School will deal with diversity management as a new frontier in the development of democracy and peace. Democracy, in this course, will be analysed also in the light of the “Democracy plus” conception, as asserted from Wojciech Sadurski. In other words, it means that Democracy, “not only requires designing and following the correct procedures, but its laws must in addition comply with certain values, such as human dignity, liberty, equal concern for all etc., in order to be fully legitimate”. In this sense, the School will adopt a holistic approach while delivering its courses with regard to all aspects of diversity management training and cross cultural orientation. In this sense, the Cervia Summer School 2012 will highlight mostly the relevance of “participatory democracy” through Deliberative Forums involving Civil Society Organisations. Deliberative approaches to decision-making imply a crucial role of empathy mechanisms, with the aim of achieving more shared policies and spirit of accommodation among conflicting claims. In deeply divided societies, deliberative approaches might serve to overcome discriminations against gender, religious beliefs, ethnic minorities, sexual orientation.

That is why, the main objective of the Summer School 2012 is to raise sensitivity against discriminations and in support of reconciliation, as well as to a more sustainable development in terms of economic production as well as of styles of life by actively promoting the CSOs Network experience and perspectives within the Summer School framework.

The School offers its participants a unique international arena where the problems of the Enlarged Europe can be analysed in depth through the active participation of a prominent and well experienced International Faculty and a select, widely differentiated group of CSO activists from various countries. Thanks to its scientific and methodological approach, tested during the past seventeenth editions, the School contributes in creating strong roots for high standards of self-understanding and tolerance, looked upon as basic values for the advancing of the civil societies, for the consolidation of political institutions in South-Eastern Europe, Caucasus and CIS, and the overcoming of conflicts in these Regions. Indeed, these are the basic prerequisites for the integration of this Area inside the EU in the next future, or for the establishment of a good neighbourhood.

At the same time, the young generations coming form these areas are expected to become members of the new leadership, supporters of democratic principles, human rights values and free market economies. These generations could also become able to create, in their own countries, positive expectations from economic and democratic integration in Europe or from a strong cooperation with the EU, reversing the current trends, particularly in South East and CIS Europe, where strong national confrontations and ethnic contrasts are often considered as values.

One of the most significant challenges for democracy in the diverse and increasingly integrated world of today is diversity management. Originally, the notion has been referred to enterprises and labour organization while dealing with transnational corporation businesses. However diversity represents today a great challenge for the development of Democracy and modern Governance, involving institutions, local authorities and the civil society organisations (CSOs). In this sense CSOs can act as peace enforcers and shape policy making processes.

The recognition, respect, and the acceptance of otherness do not represent only crucial components of any democratic political strategy that aims at social peace and stability, justice and social development. All contemporary societies need to be aware of that and, consequently, scholars, governance and, most importantly, civil society should pay adequate attention to diversity management. It is for this reason that a strategy of active diversity management in the Western Balkans, capable of channelling existing grievances to arenas less prone to violent conflict (such as politics, education, culture, mass media) but still able to spark one off, is essential in preserving the still fragile stability we witness today especially considering the current global economic crisis. CSOs should be the principal catalyst and sustainable multipliers of these strategies.

Consequently the sustainable development and green economy challenges issue is essential in order to deepen the study of the new scenarios of sustainable development, as a new approach to economic and social issues. This implies a specific care to the environment protection and to alternative technologies for energy. The growing relevance of these topics is related both to the need of relaunching the European economy under new basis and to guarantee peace in terms of access to resources: actually, the exploitation of existing energy sources has to cope with their increasing scarcity while the claims for their exploitation are dramatically broadening. The debate that took place in Copenhagen and its modest results have contribute however to spread the awareness of these challenges in the CSOs which claim their active participation in the decision making process in order to assure a more assertive and proactive consensus as well as a social cohesion and well being to the new social and economic transformation. Therefore the EU approach to these issues will be in depth presented and analysed during the classes by focussing on the Implementation of Sustainable Development Practices in the EU strategy, on the Indicators of Sustainable Development, on the role of civil societies in the Ethics and Economics in a Process towards Sustainable Development as well as in the Ethical Bases for Environmental law.
The 2012 Summer School will be articulated into 2 courses:
Course A: Diversity Management, Governance and the Role of Civil Society Networks

CSOs Network: challenges and perspectives on the CEI area
The Role of Deliberative Forums in deeply divided societies
Civil Society Organisation contribution to EU Regional strategies
Fighting against discriminations: The Rule of Law and CSO ‘dog-watching’ activities
Fighting against discriminations: Gender Policy and Nationalism
Fighting against discriminations: Diversity management in multi-religious countries
Fighting against discriminations: the Roma in the Western Balkans

Course B: Sustainable Development, Green Economy and the Role of Civil Society Networks

Awareness-raising impact of CSOs Network on sustainable development
Climate change and CSOs in a European perspective
Cross-border cooperation (CBC) initiatives: a civil society paradigm
Regional economic strategies: the Danube Cooperation Process, the Central European initiative and the Adriatic Ionian Initiative
European Investments opportunities for a sustainable economy
Sustainability in rural and agricultural systems: organic farming in the Western Balkans.
Territorial capital and diversification for a new rural paradigm
Sustainable energy: food, society and policy

Course B is organized in collaboration with the Summer School in International Cooperation and Sustainable Development Policies.

Participants will attend the courses split in two groups, one per area. Courses will be held in Cervia (Ravenna), Italy, and will include 70 hours of lectures, seminars and workshops. Moreover, both courses will be supplemented by some interdisciplinary events, scheduled inside the courses calendar. The subjects of these meetings will concern topics of politics, international dimension and the role of the European Institutions, potential cooperation with New Neighbourhood Eastwards and inter-regional relations in South East Europe.
Civil Society Networking: expanding the CSO Network

Members of CSOs Network, and particularly 2010 alumni, will be pro-actively involved in the 2012 Summer School courses, by introducing the Network to the attendants during a particular session that will be devoted to the role of civil societies in deeply divided countries, their main tasks and commitments with a focus on diversity management and sustainable development.
Interdisciplinary Events

The School promotes interdisciplinary event and panel discussions scheduled inside the courses calendar. These interdisciplinary events are designed precisely in order to increase the sensitivity of all participants about the mutual influence that characterises topics related to good governance, economic development and sustainability, democracy and environmental protection. This sensitivity will allow them to better operate in their specific conditions to the benefit of their own country.

Moreover, these modules will be organised in a form of exercises and simulations:

Deliberation in Deeply Divided Societies
Dealing with Diversity: Developing a Multi-Cultural Mindset

Requirements

The School admits young CSO’s and NGO’s activists and graduate men and women, with a background in Politics, Economics, Law, Philosophy, Social Sciences, Agrarian Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Literature and Communication Sciences. The minimum qualification required for participating is a bachelor degree.
Scholarships and Fees
Scholarships

Only participants which are activists and/or participants of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and NGOs and with citizenships from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo Turkey, are eligible for scholarships that cover both the course fees and the board and lodging (in double or triple rooms). The candidates with citizenships from above-mentioned countries which are also currently activist of CSOs will be automatically considered for scholarships. The scholarship covers accommodation expenses (board and lodging) in Cervia starting from the dinner of September 2nd to the breakfast of September 15th included and contribution for the travel expenses. Additional overnight stays or additional meals must be paid directly by the participants.
Fees

A € 950 fee is applied for EU and Overseas participants. The fee includes: board and lodging expenses in Cervia (from dinner in the evening of September 2nd to the breakfast of September 15th), and tuition. Please note that the travel expenses must be covered separately by the admitted students themselves.
Application Form and Deadline

Deadline for application: June 3rd, 2012 is the strict deadline set for receiving the properly completed:

application form;
curriculum vitae in European Format (this format of CV is specific and is available for free download or can be filled on-line at http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/documents/curriculum-vitae/templates-instructions); CV must be in English;
letter of endorsement from your CSO.

Incomplete applications and/or applications received after this deadline will not be considered for the selection.

In order for prospective students to apply to the Summer School, they must

register in the Summer School’s website at http://www.summerschools.it/cissc/;
browse the “Application to the 18th Summer School” and follow the instruction in order to:
fill out the application form;
upload their CV in European format (this format of CV is specific and is available for free download or can be filled on-line at http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/documents/curriculum-vitae/templates-instructions); CV must be in English;
upload a letter of endorsement from the NGO/CSO they belong to.

Further information

Further information my be requested to:

Ms. Dessislava Krasteva – project coordinator
Istituto per l’Europa Centro-Orientale e Balcanica
CEI International Summer School
Hotel Genzianella, Viale Roma 85, Cervia, Italy
Phone: +39 0544 937 950

Venues: Flensburg (Germany)
Period(s): Sep. 6 – 13, 2012
Application deadline: Jun. 1, 2012

The ECMI Summer School aims to set out the conceptual and normative approaches to the study of national minorities in border regions and to explore their different applications in relation to current arrangements across Europe. By the end of the summer school, the students will be able to critically evaluate the successes and failures regarding the accommodation of national minority groups in the border regions of the European states.

Researchers from ECMI will be joined by distinguished international scholars, local politicians and representatives of minority groups from the Danish-German border region. Drawing on the effective collaboration between Germany and Denmark in the fields of minority accommodation and cross-border cooperation, ECMI’s research and policy consulting expertise, its engagement in conflict resolution, competence development and institution building in Kosovo and Georgia, and the empirical and normative expertise of the speakers, the Summer School promises a comprehensive examination of Europe’s national minorities in border regions. Upon completion of the Summer School, the participants receive certificates of participation.

How to apply to the Summer School
Eligibility

The European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) invites applications for the Summer School National Minorities and Border Regions from junior scholars and practioners from all over the world. Courses are taught at the Master’s level and the language of instruction is English. The participants should have a strong command of spoken and written English to be able to participate actively in the discussions.
Application Procedure

In order to apply you will need to do the following:  Complete the online application form; Submit a statement of interest; Submit an up-to-date curriculum vitae. Complete applications normally take 2 weeks to assess. The final date for applications is 1 JUNE 2012.

The tuition fee for this year’s two-week Summer School National Minorities and Border Regions is EUR 400. The fee includes all teaching materials, coffee/tea, welcome drinks and dinner, guided tour of Flensburg and day trip to Sønderburg city. The selected participants will be asked to pay the whole amount at once. Unfortunately, no scholarships, financial assistance or special discounts are available.

Organizer

The European Centre for Minority Issues
University of Flensburg

Information & contacts

e-mail: summerschool2012@ecmi.de