Resilience – the ability of a community to cope with the many forms of stress that may emerge, is one of the key concepts in any effort of reflecting about modern society and its future. As crises of different types, duration, and complexity make their presence felt, sometimes in rapid succession, it is of paramount importance to learn to adapt quickly and to strive to transform a shock into an opportunity for improvement. It is not enough to bounce back, societies must bounce forward.

Black Sea Resilience Forum will bring together the visions and perspectives of NATO, the European Union and the United Nations. These organisations are actively engaged in a conceptual effort of envisioning and building a more resilient future not only for themselves, but also for communities at every level, in every part of the world. Crucially, they recognise that resilience is a whole-of-society effort.

Inclusiveness and empowerment of non-governmental stakeholders (NGOs, academia, businesses) are key at every step of the process, from the moment a vulnerability is identified until a solution is designed and a policy is implemented. Therefore, the Black Sea Resilience Forum will bring on the main stage not only key decision-makers, but also experts and representatives of different communities of interest.

The Black Sea Resilience Forum comes at an opportune moment, just as NATO and the EU are recalibrating their strategic outlook, taking stock of the recent crises and making resilience one of their core concepts. The ideas discussed and the experiences shared in Bucharest will become a part of this reflection process.

Stay tunned. Updates to follow soon!