On February 18, 2025, a professor at the Department of International Economic Relations at Khmelnytskyi National University received a letter from the organisers of Blue Impact Lab informing her that she had won the competition based on the results of an expert evaluation of more than 120 applications to participate in the Blue Impact Lab scenario planning laboratory. As a result, from April 2 to 5, 2025, she became the only participant from Ukraine in the interactive laboratory organised by EU COST Action RethinkBlue at the University of the Aegean on the island of Rhodes, Greece.
The Blue Impact Lab brought together researchers from the social, natural, and applied sciences from 16 countries, as well as politicians and stakeholders, to study key methodologies and best practices for assessing the socio-economic and environmental impacts of sustainable blue economy development. Issues such as employment, social equality, renewable energy, community participation, protection of marine and coastal ecosystems, tourism, aquaculture, waste management, and governance were discussed. The Blue Impact Lab included:
1) practical workshops on impact assessment methods (day 1);
2) a visit to Halki, Greece's first ECO island (day 2);
3) interactive stakeholder engagement and project modelling based on the scenario developed (day 3);
4) presentation of the completed group project based on the proposed scenario for the Blue Economy (day 4).
Professor Ilona Dumanska had the opportunity to participate in all activities and present the results of the team's work. The participants in the group project with Ilona Dumanska included scientists from the US, Latvia, Albania, and Poland. The resulting scenario was used in the project design: Renewable Energy and Blue Economy Innovation: Creation of fixed-based offshore wind turbines within the Rhodes area. On the last day of Blue Impact Lab, she and other members presented the project results in a highly creative manner and received only positive feedback, thanks to their attention to even the smallest details.
Commenting on the Blue Impact Lab, event coordinator Professor Maria Lekakou from the University of the Aegean, Greece, said "The Blue Impact Lab provided the perfect environment for research into the sustainable development of the blue economy. More importantly, experts, researchers, and stakeholders were able to exchange ideas and practices on how to research, create, and evaluate sustainable development policies in islands and coastal regions."
More details in the photos:
Day 1 – Blue Impact Lab – lectures and discussions at the University of the Aegean, Rhodes, led by experts on sustainable development strategies for island and coastal regions; as well as various opportunities for networking between scientists and stakeholders for participants from 16 countries.
Day 2. Part 1 – ferry trip from Rhodes to Halki and meeting with the mayor and stakeholders. Discussion of Halki's practices as the first ESO island. Selection of photo materials and collection of information for design.
Meeting with local authorities and learning about best practices for organising a sustainable community
Day 2. Part 2 – Research on practices for identifying stakeholders and critical points, modeling the island's policy for attracting sustainable investments from external donors – construction of solar stations and other green energy production practices in line with the "Zero CO2 emission" imperative.
Familiarisation with best practices for attracting investment and developing green energy on the island of Halki
Days 3 and 4 – organisation of teamwork on the scenario: Renewable Energy and Blue Economy Innovation: Creation of fixed-based offshore wind turbines within the Rhodes area, presentation of the project by the entire team.
Professor Ilona Dumanska thanks Khmelnytskyi National University Rector Serhiy Matiukh for his letter of support addressed to the competition committee and the rector's office staff: Dmytro Vasylkivsky and Kateryna Skyba for supporting scientific initiatives in the field of internationalisation of education and science at the Department of International Economic Relations.
Press release of the event: Sustainable Impact Assessment in Islands and Coastal Regions discussed in Rhodes – RethinkBlue | COST Action CA22122