On October 18-21 CCDS board members – Shorena Lortkipanidze and Tamara Pataraia attended first annual meeting of the Black Sea Women in Nuclear Network – Uniting Women, Leading Change, Making Waves – in Valetta, Malta. Participants included as members of the BSWN from Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Turkiye, Ukraine, Austria, Belgium, United Kingdom and United States, as well as representatives of respective state organizations of various countries. The meeting was organized by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in partnership with the Odessa Center for Nonproliferation.

The meeting focused on sharing best practices, informing participants about international initiatives aimed at promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in nuclear fields, providing expert assessment of current challenges to nuclear security and nonproliferation in the Black Sea region, discussing the network’s achievements in the past year, and developing a roadmap for its sustainable future.

Topics of the working sessions and discussions were as followed: BSWN progress report, national and international initiatives promoting women in nuclear fields, gender and nuclear policy, Ukraine, DEI and nuclear safety and security, future of the network, action plans and International Nuclear Security Journal (INSJ) special issue.

The event was funded by U.S. DOE NNSA and the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority.

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