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Description
The overall aim of the project is, firstly, to facilitate sharing of the best practices between the border police and customs services of Slovakia and Ukraine as well as to explore prospects for the deepening of the integrated border management; secondly, to increase public awareness and understanding of the work of border services in the bordering regions and municipalities of Slovakia and Ukraine; lastly, to transfer the knowledge of the impact of the border on socio-economic development of border regions as well as opportunities for cross-border cooperation between local and regional policy and decision-makers on both sides of the border. The SIBSU project will improve public understanding of the work of the border services as well as it will facilitate the dialogue between border services and municipalities, including wider civil societies, on both sides of the border. And finally, it will include education activities in the field of cross-border cooperation on the level of local actors, making the Slovak – Ukrainian border not only safe, but also inclusive and cooperative, which is friendly and open to cross-border cooperation. Sharing the best practices between the University of Prešov and the Uzhgorod National University in the field of preparing experts on cross-border cooperation will be an important long-term investment into the human capacity building of the public, business and NGO actors in the Slovak-Ukrainian border regions in the field of cross-border cooperation.
Summary of project results
The overall goal of the SIBSU project was to facilitate the exchange of ideas, knowledge, information and experience among border and custom services of Slovakia, Ukraine and Norway. The aim was to analyze the opportunities for deepening integrated border management and increase awareness and understanding about the work of the border police and custom services in border regions and municipalities in Slovakia and Ukraine. The project also included an analysis of the impact of the border on the socio-economic development of the border regions, as well as on opportunities for further cross-border cooperation on both sides border.
The 8 activities of the SIBSU project were structured into 3 main project areas (with changes to the initial plans resulting from the Russian war of agression in Ukraine):
A) Safe border
1. 12 thematic workshops and 12 manuals for representatives of the border and custom administration on both sides of the border
2. 8 Fellowships for Ukrainian (in Slovakia) officials and a study visit (mixed group of 10 people) to Norway
3. 8 Language crash courses: 4 Ukrainian language courses for Slovaks, 4 Slovak courses for Ukrainians (each course for 10 selected participants)
B) Inclusive border
4. Project conferences, website/social accounts, 2 public lectures, interviews for regional and local media and 2 (Slovak)+4 (Ukrainian) study trips for journalists to the border
C) Cooperative border
5. Transfer of knowledge for improving the planning of cross-border cooperation - expert materials for policy and decision makers at local, regional and national level, conference to share the findings and public officials networking- 1 book in English, 1 in Slovak, 1 in Ukrainian, 10 policy papers (English) , 10 short articles (Slovak, Ukrainian, English)
6. Capacity building by preparing experts in Slovakia and Ukraine on cross-border cooperation (1 course on border studies at Uzhorod National University, 1 textbook and 5 workbooks prepared, presentations for university students)
- organized 12 thematic workshops for 124 representatives of border and custom services of ukraine and slovakia, 12 manuals on the same topics printed and distributed in the amount of 300 per topic
- 8 representatives of border and custom services 14 days stay in Slovakia, exchanging experience and best practices
- 10 representatives - 8 of border and custom services and 2 representatives of Partner 2 and 3 in Norway exchanging experience and best practices
- 4 rounds of language crash courses - Slovak for Ukrainians and Ukrainian for Slovaks (45 participants)
- organized public poll, academic and analytical research on factors influencing CBC and published a book on the topic (English, Slovak, Ukrainian)
- establishing a course at Uzhorod National University on border studies
Summary of bilateral results
The project benefited from having donor partner by its direct participation at research activities, events and exchange of lessons learned and best practices. The main results from a bilateral level are new partnerships, cooperation with counterparts in Norway and exchange of experience and knowledge from Norway to Slovakia and Ukraine.