BackGet engaged with the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region!
Join us on 29 October for the Engagement Day at the Annual Forum 2024 in Visby. Share your ideas, learn how the Strategy is implemented, and connect with coordinators of eight Policy Areas. The day is open to local authorities, civil society, youth organisations, and the business sector.
The Annual Forum 2024 will begin with an Engagement Day focusing on widening participation, increasing engagement, and attracting new stakeholders to drive the Strategy forward.
For those new to the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, understanding how to benefit from it can be challenging. What can the Strategy offer your organisation or institution? Even after recognising its benefits, navigating the Strategy can still be difficult. With numerous contacts available, where do you start? Additionally, since the Strategy doesn’t provide direct financing, how can you fund cooperation with other countries?
The idea of organising a day to increase participation and engagement in macro-regional strategies was first implemented in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. Ms. Camilla Wristel, Programme Manager at the Swedish Institute, tells that similar participation days were held in conjunction with the Annual Forums from 2017 to 2019 arranged by the Norden Association Sweden, Swedish Institute and Union of the Baltic Cities.
“Now we are revisiting this idea for the first time since the pandemic and hope to welcome many new actors to contribute to the Strategy’s implementation.”
The organisers of Engagement Day specifically invite representatives from local authorities, civil society, youth organisations, and the business sector. These groups are currently underrepresented in initiatives focused on implementing the actions outlined in the Strategy’s action plan tells Ms. Camilla Wristel.
“We encourage participants of the Engagement Day to present their cooperation ideas linked to the eight Policy Areas represented at the event: Policy Areas Bioeconomy, Culture, Education, Hazards, Health, Nutri, Secure, and Tourism.”
The Engagement Day provides participants the chance to discuss their cooperation ideas with the coordinators of these policy areas and with actors from across the Baltic Sea region. The aim is to increase the level of engagement, generate new ideas for solving the challenges of the Baltic Sea region and to foster new cooperation initiatives.
In addition, the Camilla Wristel explains that the arrangers will invite stakeholders from Ukraine to participate in the Engagement Day:
“We also welcome stakeholders from Ukraine to join the Engagement Day to strengthen dialogues on how the Baltic Sea region can support Ukraine in these challenging times.”
Several new initiatives within the EUSBSR framework now include Ukrainian actors. This event aims to further strengthen the ties between the region and Ukraine by discussing how Ukrainian actors can be part of initiatives linked to the represented eight Policy Areas.
As many of the participants may be new to the Strategy, the Engagement Day will commence with an overview of the Strategy. To further understand the challenges the four invited groups may have in engaging in the Strategy, the day will start with a panel discussion to dig deeper into these challenges and possible ways forward. The Swedish Institute, being one of the arrangers of the day, will present its funding programmes aimed at initiating and further developing cooperation in the Baltic Sea region in alignment with the Strategy. The funding possibilities will be further discussed during the funding session arranged 30 October including several funding programmes in the Baltic Sea region. The main part of the Engagement Day will be workshops aimed at fostering a dialogue between the participants and the coordinators of the eight Policy areas represented. Ms Camilla Wristel concludes by welcoming participants to the Engagement Day:
“Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how you can contribute to the implementation of the EUSBSR. We look forward to seeing you in Visby on October 29!”
The Engagement Day is organised by the Swedish Institute together with the Norden Association Sweden and Region Gotland on 29 October, in close cooperation with eight Policy Areas of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region.
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