ReGeneration 2030 Summit: Making sustainable production & Consumption the new norm in the Baltic Sea Region

From 18 – 20 August 2018 more than 100 Nordic and Baltic Sea Region stakeholders met in Mariehamn (Åland) for the first ReGeneration 2030 Summit. ReGeneration 2030 is a movement of young people committed to doing their part in implementing the UN 2030 Agenda and its SDGs, particularly SDG12 – responsible consumption and production, amongst the most challenging ones.

The 70 young participants came from all Baltic Sea Region countries and represented a variety of youth from the age of 16 to 30 years. All participants were engaged in inter-generational learning within 12 workshops, ranging from topics such as circular economy and industrial symbiosis, sustainable fashion, waste reduction, tourism and SDGs or youth participation in political dialogues.

During the Summit a Working Group with representation from all the countries was set up. The Working Group developed the draft of the ReGeneration 2030 Manifesto, which was finalised in a plenary, voted and unanimously then adopted on 20 August 2018 in the Parliament of Åland. The Manifesto proposes a vision for sustainable Nordic and Baltic Sea regions in 2030 where sustainable consumption and production will be the new norm. The Manifesto also outlines the young people’s commitments to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda, and presents demands to the governments and businesses to take their responsibility in enabling the transition to sustainable consumption and production.

Among the participants in ReGeneration 2030 Summit were representatives of the CBSS Baltic 2030 Unit, Nordic Council of Ministers Expert Group on Sustainable Development, Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC), Lithuanian Ministry of Environment, Swedish Institute, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), the think-tank Global Utmaning, as well as business actors such as IKEA and Filippa K. Official welcoming words were also provided by Mr. Jörgen Petterson, Chair of the BSPC, and by the Premier of the Åland islands, Ms. Katrin Sjögren.

The CBSS Baltic 2030 Unit has actively supported ReGeneration 2030 since its beginning in November 2017. It provided advice and expertise, as well as financial support through the project supported by the Swedish Institute “Baltic Youth 2030”. Furthermore, the CBSS promoted the active involvement of pan-Baltic organisations such as the Baltic University Programme (BUP), Baltic Sea States Sub-regional Cooperation (BSSSC) and Euroregion Baltic (ERB). Through these macro-regional platforms, the CBSS aims to improve the cohesion between national and transnational strategic objectives of the youth.

The Manifesto will be introduced to several political arenas, such as the BSPC, the CBSS Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) and Expert Group on Sustainable Development (EGSD), BSSSC Annual Conference, NCM Expert Group on Sustainable Development, as well as different pan-Baltic and European relevant platforms.

For more informations vist the Regeneration2030-page

Livestream of the summit