2022 recap
Traditionally, before the New Year, we sum up what we managed to implement during the year.
2022 was the year of the Ukrainian Presidency of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. We became the first country that is not a member of the EU and was given the right to shape the agenda and priorities for all 14 countries participating in the Strategy. It is symbolic that Ukraine completed the Presidency already being granted candidacy for EU membership.
We held the international conference "Education, retraining, and inclusion: transformation during the crisis" on September 15-16. The event gathered more than 1,500 viewers and 40+ speakers and brought together representatives of the Ukrainian government, local self-government bodies, the educational community, the public sector and international partners. During the event, the participants discussed the issues of inclusion in the field of education and the labor market, as well as considered the main problems of the transformation of professional education during the war. The 11th Annual EUSDR Forum, which took place on October 19-20 in Košice (Slovakia), became the largest event within the Ukrainian Presidency. The joint holding of such an event by two participating states - Ukraine and Slovakia - is a unique experience for the entire Danube region. The forum was aimed at strengthening the cooperation of all 14 countries participating in the Strategy in countering the growing challenges and threats caused by the military aggression of the Russian Federation, the energy crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, we continued to support the coordinator of PA9 in Ukraine - the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. In particular, a thematic conference was held, and the Ukrainian team joined the organization of the 23rd meeting of the Steering Group. In June, a stakeholder conference "Youth in a time of crisis: building flexible education, training and labor market systems in the Danube region" was also held, which was attended by the @Ukrainian Institute for International Politics team.
Together with the Український кризовий медіа-центр, we organized a public discussion “New dimensions of regional security. Analysis approaches and recommendations”. During the discussions, representatives of state institutions, the diplomatic corps, the government, and non-governmental organizations considered prospective scenarios for the deployment and resolution of the Russian war against Ukraine in the information, energy, and migration dimensions. The discussion was held within the framework of the project "Unresolved conflicts of Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. A common vision of the Eastern Partnership and the EU for reconciliation and confidence-building in the region". #smartspecialization will play an extremely important role in the recovery of Ukraine after the victory. Thus, the National Council for the Recovery of Ukraine from the Consequences of the War has developed a Plan of Measures for the Post-War Recovery and Development of Ukraine, highlighting the important role of smart specialization. The team of the Ukrainian Institute for International Politics also participated in the development of one of the sections of this Plan.
We hope that next year some Ukrainian regions will be able to resume the entrepreneurial discovery process and achieve new results in the implementation of smart specialization! At the 3Si summit in Riga Ukraine received the status of a 3Si partner state. Previously, our team actively substantiated the participation of Ukraine in the activities of the Three Seas Initiative during the implementation of the project "Three Seas - a road map for Ukraine". What gives Ukraine a new status and how to take advantage of it - in the article by our expert. 
We thank our partners for their productive cooperation and support for Ukraine in this difficult time.
Thank you to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the opportunity to meet 2023 in an independent country! Happy New Year! Happy 2023! 
