The Fifth meeting of the SEEIIST Steering Committee was held on 27 June 2019 in Sarajevo, Bosnian and Herzegovina, at the premises of the Council of Ministers.
The welcome address was given by Mr. Suvad Dzafic, Assistant Minister for Science and Culture, Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The meeting started with the great news that the SEEIIST Memorandum of Cooperation, prepared by the members of the Steering Committee and finalized together with representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, will be signed at the level of the Prime Ministers of the region at the upcoming Summit of the Berlin Process in Poznan, Poland, on 4-5 July 2019.
Figure: Participants of the meeting from right to left: Mr. Suvad Dzafic (Assistant Minister for Science and Culture, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Bosnia and Herzegovina), Mr. Dragan Sataric (Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development), Mrs. Tea Glazar (Secretary Science Directorate, Ministry of Education, Science and Sport), Mr. Herwig Schopper (former Director General of CERN, Honorary Steering Committee member), Mrs. Sanja Damjanovic (Minister of Science of Montenegro, Chairperson of the SEEIIST Steering Committee), Mrs. Mimoza Ristova (Professor at the University ‘Sc. Cyril and Methodius’ Skopje, North Macedonia), Mr. Redi Shtino (Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, Albania), Mr. Leandar Litov (Assoc. Professor at the Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’, Bulgaria), Mrs. Alma Hasanovic (Senior Adviser for European Integration and International Relations in the field of Science, Ministry of Civil Affairs).
The initial topic was followed by many others, including in particular the ongoing activities and future plans for the SEEIIST Design Study Phase which has recently started, thanks to the first financial support of the European Commission DG-RTD. The discussion on present and future project applications for Capacity building related to the SEEIIST project is also noteworthy.
Another important topic discussed at the meeting was the creation of the SEEIIST Association as a temporary solution for a legal entity. The discussion ended with the election of the President and the Vice-President of the Managing Board.
Further points were the planning of the Kick-off Meeting ‘Start of the SEEIIST Design Phase’ to be held on 18 September 2019 in Budva , Montenegro, and the promotion of the SEEIIST project at the upcoming Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF2020) in Trieste on July 2020.
