It seems a long way off in the summer heat, but the forward-thinking Swedish hosts have already started preparing for the EUSBSR Annual Forum in October. Under the title Sustainability, Resilience and Security, the event will be held on 29-31 October 2024 in Visby on the island of Gotland, Sweden.
This year’s Forum is structured around four thematic elements:
Engagement: The side event on 29 October is an opportunity for not yet engaged stakeholders to get acquainted with the Strategy and learn how the Strategy can support their strategic objectives. Participants are welcome to present their initiatives and to discuss them with 8 of the 14 policy area coordinators. The target groups for this day are civil society, youth organisations, the business sector, local authorities and Ukrainian stakeholders.
Co-creation: Interactive workshops, panel discussions, and seminars invite participants to discuss challenges and to elaborate on solutions. These sessions emphasize cross-sectorial, transnational, and multilevel collaboration, designed to generate practical outcomes, and foster ongoing cooperation. All activities are related to the Action Plan of the Strategy and ongoing processes or projects in the 14 Policy Areas.
Policy Dialogues: Central to the Forum are policy dialogues addressing the strategic objectives of the EUSBSR. These discussions range from large plenary sessions to focused panels, each tackling key aspects of the Strategy and exploring solutions to enhance the Baltic Sea Region’s development.
Networking Village: The Networking Village serves as a social hub for informal exchanges and spontaneous connections. Located at the heart of the Forum, it’s a place for participants to meet between sessions, start new conversations, and spark collaborations. The 14 Policy Areas, Pan-Baltic organisations, the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme, the Swedish Institute, and other financial programmes will be represented.
European House Budapest will have a special programme dedicated to youth participation during the Engagement Day on 29 October and a workshop during the Annual Forum on 30 October between 16:30 18:00 hours titled From vision to collaborative practice, an occasion to discuss how to enhance citizens’ involvement in shaping EU macro-regional strategies in a Baltic Sea Region context. Hope to see many of you in Visby.
