Closing the project on “Nationalist Narratives and Memory Formation in the Countries of the Former Communist Block”

On June 12 the project on “Nationalist Narratives and Memory Formation in the Countries of the Former Communist Block” was finalized with closing ceremony in the format of round table. Within the framework of the project participant students from Tbilisi State University and International Black Sea University presented their research papers which were published as a special issue of the International Black Sea University Journal of Social Sciences.

Discussion was opened by the Rector of the International Black Sea University Ilyas Ciloglu and keynote speakers of the project – Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Poland – Mariusz Maszkiewicz, Ambassador extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Lithuania – Giedrius Puodžiūnas, and the Director of State Museum of Georgian Literature – Lasha Bakradze. Keynote guests made speeches on modern nationalist contexts in Poland, Lithuania, and Georgia.

Later they got engaged into the discussion with students. 
The event went through the speeches of the students, who received the individual evaluations from the invited experts, professors, and the field researchers. The discussants included Oliver Reisner – the Professor of Ilia State University, Levan Kakhishvili – Researcher of Georgian Institutre of Politics and the invited lecturer of the International Black Sea University, Elene Natenadze – Coordinator of the Project of Berghof Foundation “History and Memory as the Basis of the Dialogue”, and Ivanna Machitidze – Associated Professor of the International Black Sea University.

Educational -Research project – “Nationalist Narratives and Memory Formation in the Countries of the Former Communist Block” started in December, 2017 and consisted of the following phases: project participants attended ten lectures of Georgian and Foreign experts in December. In result, attendees worked with the project speakers on analytical articles, which were published as a special issue of the International Black Sea University Journal of Social Sciences.