CBSS at the 10th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region

The 10th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) on 12‑13 June 2019 brought all those passionate about the Baltic Sea Region together in sunny Gdańsk, Poland to commemorate a decade of the strategy’s achievements and focus on the future of the Baltic Sea Region. The “Reuse, reduce, rethink” theme of this year’s forum put the spotlight on circular and sharing economy in the Baltic Sea Region and its wider implications to environmental and demographic challenges. Over 700 participants from governmental, international organisations and NGOs, academia and businesses weighed in on the issue.

The Forum’s sessions and workshops were a great opportunity to assess the current progress towards circularity in the Baltic Sea Region, learn from different experiences from all over the region and explore the possibilities that macroregional cooperation allows to ease the transition to an even more sustainable model. We at the CBSS Secretariat were, of course, actively involved in the Forum, running two workshops, contributing to the plenary sessions and participating in many other related activities.

Our Director General Ambassador Maira Mora shared her insights on demographic challenges in a plenary session “Demography and circularity in the Baltic Sea Region: interdependent or disconnected?”, alongside other experts, such as the Director of Nordregio Kjell Nilsson, Professor Marju Lauristin of University of Tartu and Baltic Sea States Sub-Regional Cooperation (BSSSC) Youth Board Member Martin Rummelein.