International Centre for Black Sea Studies

🌱 Did you know that plastic pollution is one of today’s most pressing environmental challenges?

Last month, Toural Project partners joined forces with the community in Ukraine to raise awareness about plastic pollution.

👉 More information here: https://toural-project.eu/2026/06/03/toural-raises-environmental-awareness-through-citizen-science-event-in-the-kutsurub-community/

The leads WP2 on Cultural and Creative Tourism (CCT) Analysis & Policy Pathways aiming at stakeholders' engagement and co-creation of policies and business models.

📢 One week left!!

📌 The voting period of the 2026 Photo Competition '𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐌𝐲 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬.' will end on 26/06.
👉 Have you voted yet? Support your favourite photos before the deadline 📸

📢 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐒!

📌 On 15 June 2026, Director General, Mr. Georgios Mitrakos, addressed the 𝟓𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 (𝐂𝐌𝐅𝐀) of the BSEC Member States, held online.
ℹ️ The Meeting officially concludes the current Georgian 🇬🇪 BSEC Chairmanship-in-Office for the period 1 January – 30 June 2026 and initiates the transition to the upcoming Hellenic 🇬🇷 BSEC Chairmanship-in-Office for the period 1 July – 31 December 2026.

🔎 https://icbss.org/news-participation-of-the-icbss-director-general-at-the-52nd-meeting-of-the-bsec-cmfa/

NEWS: Participation of the ICBSS Director General at the 52nd Meeting of the BSEC Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs - ICBSS - International Centre for Black Sea Studies On 15 June 2026, the ICBSS Director General, Mr. Georgios Mitrakos, addressed the 52nd Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs (CMFA) of the BSEC Member States, held online.

🗞️ 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒-𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄

On 10 June 2026 Director General, Mr. Georgios Mitrakos, served as jury member at the Eco-Innovation Challenge (EIC) Shark Tank Event in 🇲🇩 organised UNOPS and implemented by Civitta.

During the Shark Tank Event, and prior to the announcement of the winners of the Eco-Innovation Challenge, Mr. Mitrakos also participated as speaker in a fireside chat session on the theme "What does it take to turn environmental innovation into real impact?".

This working visit aligns with ICBSS’ commitment to fostering dialogue, sharing knowledge, and building partnerships to promote sustainability and development in the wider Black Sea region and beyond.

Read the full Press-Release:
https://icbss.org/press-release-participation-of-the-icbss-director-general-at-the-bbsea-shark-tank-event/

PRESS-RELEASE: Participation of the ICBSS Director General at the BBSEA Shark Tank Event - ICBSS - International Centre for Black Sea Studies On Wednesday 10 June 2026, the ICBSS Director General, Mr. Georgios Mitrakos, participated at the Eco-Innovation Challenge (EIC) Shark Tank Event in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova, organised by UNOPS.

How can the youth and local communities lead the way in promoting environmental awareness and culture❓

🌱 On 11 June, the Kutsurub rural region - Toural project team, along with a youth team managed to collect and hand over for recycling approximately 200kg of plastic.
Congratulations to all of the participants for the implementation of this initiative.

The leads WP2 on Cultural and Creative Tourism (CCT) Analysis & Policy Pathways aiming at stakeholders' engagement and co-creation of policies and business models.

🌊 On behalf of the Director General, Mr. Georgios Mitrakos, who had the honour of contributing to the Shark Tank Event of the Eco-Innovation Challenge as a jury member, we would like to express our sincere gratitude for the opportunity to witness the innovative solutions and strategic perspectives that will improve the environmental health of the .

Blueing the Black Sea UNOPS

Did you know that 2 of the 13 countries record the lowest percentages % of fish caught by bottom trawling or dredging?

🌊 According to the 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓, Romania 🇷🇴 and Russia 🇷🇺 , score rates of 2.10% and 4.20% respectively for the SDG 14 indicator "Fish caught by trawling or dredging (%)."

Protecting our oceans starts with sustainable practices.
The time to act is now.

𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 – 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐒𝐞𝐚 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 & 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬

🌍 On the occasion of the World Day (5 June), the publishes a set of with data about the current status and progress of environmental sustainability across the 13 countries.🌱

Let's focus on the environment.
The time to act is now.

🔎 Discover More: https://icbss.org/world-environment-day-2026-black-sea-region-facts/

World Environment Day 2026 #NowForClimate│Facts from the Black Sea region - ICBSS - International Centre for Black Sea Studies On World Environment Day (5 June), the ICBSS publishes a set of infographics with data about the current status and progress of environmental sustainability across the 13 BSEC countries.

🗞️ On 19 – 21 May 2026, ICBSS Junior Project Manager, Ms. Elpida Besi, participated at the 4th Toural Project General Assembly, held in Pineto, Teramo Province 🇮🇹
The meeting was organised and hosted by the project partners, the Provincia Di Teramo and .

During the GA meeting, project partners discussed the work that has already been completed during the second one and a half years of TOURAL, as well as the next steps for the final months of the .

The leads WP2 on Cultural and Creative Tourism (CCT) Analysis & Policy Pathways aiming at stakeholders' engagement and co-creation of policies and business models.

🔎 More at: https://icbss.org/news-4th-general-assembly-meeting-of-toural/

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NEWS: 4th General Assembly Meeting of TOURAL - ICBSS - International Centre for Black Sea Studies On 19 – 21 May 2026, ICBSS Junior Project Manager, Ms. Elpida Besi, participated at the 4th TOURAL Project General Assembly, held in Pineto, Teramo Province, Italy.

📣 The congratulates the 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐳𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐢𝐣𝐚𝐧 🇦🇿 on the occasion of its 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲 (𝟐𝟖 𝐌𝐚𝐲), and expresses its warmest wishes to the 𝐀𝐳𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐢𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐢 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞!