Seminar on the Security, Safety, Vulnerability Organized by the SIFAM Was Held at the UNWE

The UNWE hosted part of the activities included in the Summer Seminar on the Security, Safety, Vulnerability organized by the Specialized Administration and Management Institute of La Francophonie /SIFAM/ and its partner universities, including our University.

A special guest for the Scientific Forum was the Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria Iliana Yotova. Among the official guests were also the Ambassador of Belgium – H. E. Frederic Morris, the Ambassador of France – H. E.  Florence Robin, H. E. Zakia El Midaoui, Ambassador of Morocco and Chairman of the Group of Francophone Ambassadors and Krum Zarkov, member of the Bulgarian Parliament /Bulgarian Socialist Party/, member of the Parliamentary Committee on Internal Security and Public Order.

The Rector Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov welcomed the participants in the prestigious Francophone Forum. He noted that the topic of the Summer Seminar on the Security, Safety, Vulnerability has had a significant resonance in the recent years and even more in the recent months. “On the top of geopolitical risks are the climate and health challenges combined with the necessity to increase digitization and at the same time the enhancement of cyber security requirements. The enlargement of the community is creating polarized sentiments and the military risks are challenging the supplies security. Global companies no longer know how to deal with local problems", the Rector outlined. He added that the UNWE as the largest and most prestigious business university not only in Bulgaria but also in Southeastern Europe is a natural environment for a discussion on these important issues for Europe. 

The Vice President of Bulgaria Iliana Yotova shared her contentment with being part of the SIFAM Summer Seminar.

The European Union, Border Security, Common Defence and Enlargement - it is the topic you have chosen this year for the opening of the CIFAM Summer Seminar. In the recent decades we have often talked about Europe in the context of crises - economic, migration, debt, health and unfortunately, more recently, geopolitical. The crises make the basic question even more relevant - what is the EU today, how far is it getting and how is it protecting itself and its citizens. The key policy of European citizens today is undoubtedly the security" said the Vice President Iliana Yotova.

The Ambassador of France to Bulgaria Florence Robin outlined that the migration crisis and terrorist attacks which have affected some EU countries underline the necessity to strengthen the external borders of the EU. "The French Presidency of the EU is committed to these issues. We have worked to strengthen the Schengen area and, in particular, we have acted to reform the Schengen Borders Code", explicitly said Mrs. Robin. She added that there has been a lot of progress during the French Presidency. "But there is still a lot to be done on the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum", said the diplomat.

"The war in Ukraine largely determines the topic proposed for our Round Table Conference. I believe that this war is one of the events of the same scale or similar impact as the fall of the Berlin Wall or the attacks on 11 September. It has had a significant impact on the processes that have been input both at NATO level and at European Union level", pointed out the Belgian Ambassador Frederic Morris. He added that from a European perspective we have not made much progress in the field of European defence and we have neglected this aspect of our sovereignty for too long.

During the event were also discussed the geopolitical, climate and health risks as well as the increasing digitalization in Europe.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vanya Ivanova from the UNWE Economics Department delivered a presentation on the Ecological Transition of the Economy - Challenge, Opportunity or Crisis

At the Scientific Forum the UNWE was represented by Prof. Dr. Miroslava Rakovska, Vice Rector for Academic Activities, Prof. Dr. Tsvetana Stoyanova, Vice Rector for Institutional and Business Cooperation and Student Policies, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dragomir Stefanov, Secretary General for Social and Living Issues of Undergraduates and Foreign Students, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yanko Hristozov, Secretary General for International Cooperation /in the picture below/.

At the summer seminar from our university were also Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elena Simeonova, Vice Dean for Academic Activities of the International Economics and Politics Faculty, Assoc. Dr. Svetla Boneva from the International Economic Relations and Business Department at International Economics and Politics Faculty, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Bakalova, Dean of the International Economics and Politics Faculty, Prof. Dr. Daniela Koch-Kozhuharova from the Foreign Languages and Applied Linguistics Department at International Economics and Politics Faculty and Gergana Kirilova, Director of the Rector's Office /from the left to the right in the photo below/.

The event was also attended by lecturers from St. Climent Ohridsky University of Sofia, Technical University - Sofia, New Bulgarian University, the French universities Paris-1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and Paris-2 Panthéon-Assas, representatives of the Institute of Economic Research at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, etc.