Sustainability and cooperation overarching themes at Forum Strategov 2019

The annual Forum Strategov in St. Petersburg is regarded as Russia’s main platform for discussion of methods and tools of strategic planning and attracts a lot of Russian and international participants. CBSS was actively engaged in many parts of this year’s Forum, 28-29th of October. 

CBSS Director General, Maira Mora, spoke in the opening session. She confirmed the CBSS’ commitment to promoting sustainability and the sustainable development goals in Russia, as well as outlined the CBSS’ role and engagement in the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. 

Daria Akhutina, Senior Adviser for Sustainable and Prosperous Region co-moderated a round-table discussion on how to create a common platform for the EUSBSR and the North-Western Russian Federal District Strategy. 

Ms. Akhutina also spoke at a round-table discussion on maritime economy, on behalf of the CBSS Expert Group on Sustainable Maritime Economy. Program Coordinator for Baltic 2030, Olga Zuin, and Policy Officer for Sustainable and Prosperous Region, Valdur Lahtvee moderated and spoke at a session focusing on strategies for a transition to circular economy and sustainable urban development.

Ms. Zuin also took part in a panel discussion on how to monitor and implement the sustainable development goals.

At the forum, the CBSS also had an active role in the Forum Strategov Youth Platform. Ms. Zuin spoke about how the CBSS supports youth engagement in sustainability at the workshop “Manifesto ReGeneration 2030: Leaders of the Future”. She mentioned that today’s youth is very active and emphasized the importance of engaging youth in decision-making processes. 

CBSS also participated in the SDG game “Game of Goals”. At the event, Russian university students from different faculties gathered to compete in developing the best solutions to achieve the SDG’s. CBSS intern Elina Ibo held a presentation about how the Baltic Sea States are performing on the SDG’s, based on the Baltic 2030 Report. CBSS also had an expert advisory role during the game.

Back to back with the Forum, the CBSS also organised a session on the interaction between the different strategies in the Baltic Sea Region. The session was an opportunity for Russian and European Partners to meet, discuss and find possible areas for collaboration. Read more about this event here.

Find photos from the Forum here.