Factor of Water Resources in Relations in the North of Europe

International Summer School ‘Factor of Water Resources in the North of Europe’ that took place in Petrozavodsk State University completed its work on the 14th of May, 2012.
The School was organized within the framework of the project ‘Establishing the EU Centre in the Barents Region of Russia’, implemented with the financial support of the EU. More than 40 people took part in the School, among them participants from Saint-Petersburg, Finland, Estonia, Canada and Hungary.
The School was devoted to the following topics: strategic importance of water, cooperation in the field of water resources, management of water resources in the Northern Europe, sustainable development of cross-border resources and continental and marital foreign policy.
Programme of the School included two main forms of work: lectures and discussion in working groups. Students and lecturers discussed issues on the topic of the day and those issues interesting for participants within working groups. This type of work allowed participants consider important issues within different approaches and share opinions among all participants freely.
On the 17th of May participants of the School had an opportunity to visit Karelian Research Centre of Russian Academy of Sciences, where they took part in a roundtable together with the representatives of Institute of Water Problems of the North.
Participants shared their impressions and sentiments about the School during the closing ceremony. As a result, the School was considered to be successful. References of participants - students and invited experts can be seen as positive. Participants actively shared their opinions about positive experience of conducting an annual summer school, and general use of such events. Participants shared their desire to prolong cooperation on the organization of the summer school in the future.