CBSS at the EUSBSR Annual Forum 2020
This year, we had the exciting opportunity to co-organise, alongside the City of Turku and the Ministry for Foreign affairs of Finland, the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) Annual Forum. Despite the year taking an unexpected turn, we did not lose our enthusiasm to plan a great experience for our Baltic Sea Region colleagues. We are still just as excited to meet everyone virtually on the 20th of October!
We at the Secretariat, together with our project partners, have worked hard to secure the most interesting speakers and experts: you can see what awaits you in the draft programme here. The Forum will also maintain its networking tradition and will have a virtual Networking Village where you will have the opportunity to get to know the activities of your colleagues and future collaboration partners. Come to the CBSS room for virtual high fives!
This year, there is Forum beyond just Forum: the EUSBSR Workshops have already begun and will take place before the Forum itself. Find the full list of the wide variety of topics and register here, below is the list of workshops that the CBSS will be co-organising or contributing to. So, here is what the CBSS will be up to:
Risks and (untapped) potential of digitalisation in ports and at sea
28 September 2020, 12:30 CET
The workshop will focus on digitalisation of port operations and procedures, including the associated opportunities, threats and hazards. In this context, the aim is to promote new and sustainable business models, innovations, project initiatives and intra-regional collaboration in the Baltic Sea Region.
Digitalisation affects global shipping and ports, where macro-regional collaboration on maritime digitalisation can help turn climate and environmental challenges into new opportunities in line with the EU Green Deal, strengthen crisis management and rescue capabilities in ports and at sea, and address the rising threat of cyberattacks.
In the workshop, we will explore the gaps and experiences of existing initiatives and approaches, and identify opportunities and threats. We will gain new perspectives, insights, and inputs by inviting participants from academia, industry, and governments to discuss and co-develop a foundation for strategic projects based on macro-regional collaboration.
For more information visit the Forum website or contact Rasmus Uglebjerg With (Danish Maritime Authority) [email protected] or Josefine Eva Lilly Pallesen (Danish Maritime Authority) [email protected]
Register here
Macro-regional research cooperation – a crucial factor for implementing the Green Deal in the Baltic Sea Region
30 September, 14:30–16:00 CET
The Baltic Science Network – one of the organisers of the workshop – has been in the middle of the Baltic Sea Region’s scientific co-operation for a number of years; who better to cover the science-policy-society interactions than the experts from the Network. Such experience comes especially in handy now when the challenges we face easily cross borders and require everyone to pool their resources together to overcome them.
The workshop will explore science-policy-society interface, cooperation and communication between researchers and the concrete steps for the research community to reduce its own ecological footprint.
Register by sending an email with your name, position and organization to Ms. Sara Owusu ([email protected])
Find more information here or contact Tom Schumacher (Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Ministry of Science, Research and Equalities, lead partner Baltic Science Network) at [email protected]
Common Road Map for Co-operation in the Baltic Sea Region: Joint actions for Sustainable Region
6 October 2020, 13:00–16:00 CET
The Workshop aims to discuss the possible formats, actions and measures to undertake for further development of the co-operation between multilevel stakeholders in the EU and North Western Russia, especially in areas where such cooperation is needed, where it improves the efficiency of the EUSBSR and addresses the interests of both.
The Workshop is based on outcomes of the Stakeholder’ Meeting and the Session on SDGs as a common framework for strategies in BSR which took place at Forum Strategov in St. Petersburg 2019 and the Survey, carried out in 2020 where the 7 prioritised areas of cooperation have been defined by the stakeholders coming from the regions of NW Russia. The outcomes of the so far implemented CBC and BSR Interreg projects will be considered as well.
The Workshop will gather the key actors from the BSR, including representatives from cooperation platforms, cities and regions to discuss the Road Map and possibility to draft a Joint Action Plan for Sustainability of the BS Region as well as the instruments and resources needed for that purpose.
Register here
For more information contact Daria Akhutina at [email protected]
Equipping BSR societies with tools to handle the new reality: Adaptation to Climate Change and Reducing Security Risks
12 October, 13.00 – 16.00 CET
Climate related risks for municipalities are growing in number and intensity. The EU is working towards climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction on the local level, but an important part of this work is determining which hazards we might face and what consequences they might produce. The workshop will introduce selected risks and tools for the Baltic Sea Region.
Furthermore, the workshop will focus on the policy dialogues on climate change and risk reduction, and on the opportunities existing in the region for climate change cooperation and facilitation and our Project Officer Valdur Lahtvee will be presenting ideas about climate mainstreaming within the EUSBSR.
For more information contact Björn Grönholm at [email protected]
Innovation for carbon neutral transport in BSR
14 October, 10:00–12:00 CET
If you were impressed by Valdur’s knowledge in the Climate Adaptation workshop, join him in the workshop on carbon neutral transport where PA Innovation, PA Transport, PA Energy and HA Climate will explore the status, barriers and opportunities to boost wider use of hydrogen as clean vehicle fuel and as energy storage required for wider deployment of large-scale offshore wind energy production in the BSR.
Transport accounts for a quarter of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions and is still growing. To achieve climate neutrality, a 90% reduction in transport emissions is needed by 2050. Besides other measures, there is a need to ramp-up the production and deployment of sustainable alternative transport fuels. By 2025, about 1 million public recharging and refuelling stations will be needed for the 13 million zero- and low-emission vehicles expected on European roads. The Commission will support the deployment of public recharging and refuelling points where persistent gaps exist, notably for long-distance travel and in less densely populated areas.
For more information visit the Forum website or contact Valdur Lahtvee at [email protected]
More information coming – watch this space!
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