Minutes of the 73^rd Meeting of the Executive Board
Dolina Charlotty, Poland, 11-12 June 2015
 
 
1.            Opening of the meeting by UBC President Per Bødker Andersen and adoption of the agenda. Election of two persons who, together with the President, will check the minutes.
 
Per Bødker Andersen, the President of the Union, opened the meeting. Mr Andersen expressed his gratitude to the host for inviting the UBC Executive Board to hold its 73^rd meeting in Dolina Charlotty. The meeting adopted the agenda, attached to the minutes.
 
Katarzyna Kutereba-Gnitecka, Deputy Mayor of Międzyzdroje and Jørgen Kristiansen, Deputy Mayor of Kristiansand were elected to check the minutes together with the President.
 
2.            Welcome words by Robert Biedroń, Mayor of Słupsk and Mirosław Wawrowski, Managing Director of Dolina Charlotty.
 
Robert Biedroń, Mayor of Słupsk, welcomed the participants. He referred to the Hanseatic history of the city and its tradition of the Baltic Sea cooperation. One of the city’s aims is sustainable development. Mr Biedroń wished the UBC successful meeting.
 
Mirosław Wawrowski, Managing Director of Dolina Charlotty, also welcomed the Board members to Dolina Charlotty. The resort has been organizing a number of events, e.g. Legends of Rock Festival. The UBC BBQ Championships and the UBC Youth Rock Bands Festival, organized for the first time, are the open accompanying events of the UBC Board meeting. Mr Wawrowski informed also about the Guinness World record in the highest number of people barbecuing simultaneously which is to be beaten in connection with UBC BBQ Championships.
 
3.            Project initiatives of Dolina Charlotty.
 
3.1          Creating the cooperation network of tourism and science (with support of the local authorities) in the BSR to promote the health tourism brand STRESS-OUT globally, Barbara Podruczna-Mocarska, Dolina Charlotty / University of Gdańsk.
 
The STRESS-OUT project was presented by Waldemar Sypiański.
The project is aimed at development, implementation and promotion of the innovative model prevention-relaxation called STRESS-OUT and pro-health tourism in the Baltic Sea Region.
Society is growing old and simultaneously  – activity among the elderly is increasing. Life gets faster and faster  and exposure to stress is greater. The social and economic costs of stress-related diseases can be measured in absences from work, low efficiency at work/ decrease of company results, early retirement. 
The project will be mainly directed to residents of the Baltic Sea countries because of the unique tourism and seaside qualities as well as common for Baltic Sea area health problems to solve.
The project coordinators are interested in co-operation with entities from the Baltic Sea Region to promote the project.
 
The presentation is attached to the minutes.
 
3.2          Powered parachutes journey around the Baltic Sea Region and beyond.
Ms Iwona Kwiatkowska, grupa Falco, presented the project “Sky is the limit” – motoparagliding flight along the coasts of 11 European countries from Cape of St. Vincent, Farol de Cabo monastery (Portugal) to Rovaniemi (Finland). It is planned to take place in May-July 2016.
 
The flight across 11 European countries, with the distance of  5500 km in maximum 60 days, will be the first and the longest motoparagliding flight across Europe.
 
The flight crew will consist of 2 individual pilots and 2 tandem teams. 150-200 additional European pilots will join throughout the duration of the expedition.
 
The presentation on the project is attached to the minutes.
 
The Board decided to support the project and encouraged the UBC cities on the route of the powered parachutes to help the organizers in case they need logistical support.
 
4.            Opportunities for business and growth in Słupsk Region, Bartosz Świtała, Project Manager, Pomeranian Regional Development Agency.
 
Bartosz Świtała, Project Manager, presented the opportunities for business and growth in Słupsk Region.
 
Pomeranian Regional Development Agency Joint Stock Company was set up in 1994. Its main field of activities are administration of Słupsk Special Economic Zone, administration of Słupsk Technology Incubator and regional development, including EU projects. The Agency has been running and implementing 24 projects of amount over 20 mln EUR. It supports entrepreneurship and labour market. 250 SME’s were created,  3000 people joined in trainings.
 
Słupsk Special Economic Zone offers 900 ha of investment lands for industrial and service activities. It ensures favourable tax exemptions (income tax exemptions up to 55% of eligible investment costs), support in the development of cooperative relations, friendly investment climate. Main lines of business
are: wood processing, plastic processing, food processing, metal branch, automotive,  transport services, logistics services, warehousing services.
 
Słupsk Technology Incubator offers office and production space. Mr Świtała informed about the international conference entitled: „From an idea to a successful international cooperation – Pomerania meets Scandinavia and Germany”, that took place in the Słupsk Technology Incubator on 10 June 2015.
Summing up b2b economic missions to Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Germany – 27 regional companies from ICT, Renewables, Eco-Tech sectors took part in business trips.
The participants could share their experiences and present opportunities for an international cooperation. STI became a platform for discussion and best practice exchange, useful in contacts with foreign partners.
Presentation is attached to the minutes.
 
5.            Presentation of new UBC member city Bergen auf Rügen, Germany, Ewert  Matthias, City Councillor and Monika Krahl, Coordinator.
 
The presentation of Bergen auf Rügen, the new UBC member city, was postponed till one of the next Executive Board meetings.
 
6.            Potential cooperation between UBC and the Baltic Sea NGO Forum, Magdalena Leszczyna-Rzucidło, Baltic Sea NGO Forum 2016 Coordinator.
 
Magdalena Leszczyna-Rzucidło from the Baltic Institute for Regional and European Concern (BISER) informed about the Baltic Sea NGO Forum in 2016 and the possibilities for cooperation with Union of the Baltic Cities.
 
BISER was established in 2001 to undertake initiatives in the field of horizontal integration and development of partnership networks within Baltic Sea Region. Its aim is also to run activities to support regional and local development in northern Poland.
 
Baltic Sea NGO Forum is a platform bringing NGOs from different Baltic Sea countries and from different fields together to exchange experiences, information and knowledge and to create partnerships. The NGO Forum serves not only as a meeting point for NGOs, but also offers an opportunity for a dialogue between NGOs and public authorities on future perspectives of co-operation in the region of the Baltic Sea.
 
The suggested topics of the Forum will be  social economy and youth entrepreneurship. The proposal of cooperation includes a joint meeting on the 2nd day of Forum, but also other joint events are possible.  Also, BISER hopes for the wider cooperation while working on EUSBSR  Horizontal Action Capacity priorities/work programme for 2016/2017.
 
Mikko Lohikoski, UBC Strategy Coordinator, Turku, commented on the proposal. The initiative of a joint forum was found very interesting and needed, as the cooperation of various sectors, e.g. local authorities, business, academia, and NGOs is required to achieve the common goals set by the EUSBSR. This proposal is also in line with the UBC Strategy.
 
The Board encouraged UBC members to promote Baltic Sea NGO Forum among NGOs in their cities as the forum is a good occasion to strengthen contacts and develop new projects.
 
Presentation is attached to the minutes.
 
7.            Work of the newly established 7 UBC Commissions.
 
Restructuring of the UBC Commissions has been one of the most important tasks set by the UBC Strategy 2010-2015. Member Cities have welcomed this change by signing up for the new Commissions – each of them has more than 30 members. As a result, they will be more targeted, active and efficient, attracting more Member Cities and meeting their interests better.
 
Instead of thirteen, there are now seven Commissions: Cultural Cities, Inclusive and Healthy Cities, Planning Cities, Safe Cities, Smart and Prospering Cities, Sustainable Cities and Youthful Cities.
At the Executive Board meeting in Kemi, 25-27 February 2015, the Commissions were asked to hold launch meetings, prepare actions plans and budgets.
 
– Cultural Cities Commission, Action Plan and budget proposal 2015-2016, Jaana Simula, Pori.
 
Jaana Simula, Pori, presented the action plan of the Cultural Cities Commission. It plans to prioritize the following issues:
•             Network based cultural cooperation
•             Professionalization of the cultural field
•             Strategic partnerships
•             Research
 
The Commission held its first meeting on 12 March in Riga in connection with the Conference “Cultural and Creative Crossovers”.
 
The budget proposal: 11 500 EUR in 2015, 11 500 EUR in 2016.
 
– Inclusive & Healthy Cities Commission, Action Plan and budget proposal 2015-2016, Jarosław Józefczyk, Gdynia.
 
Jarosław Józefczyk, Gdynia, the co-chair of the Inclusive & Healthy Cities Commission, presented its main priorities and actions which are as follows:
•             3 meetings (2 meetings of the topic teams + 1 annual meeting)
•             Establishing communication channels
•             Open spaces recognition (every City should indentify its  social space where different groups can express their opinions and needs)
•             Matching the open space idea partners for exchange, single events, projects
•             Defining financial sources for open space activities
 
The Commission’s kick-off meeting was held in Gdynia on 9-10 June 2015.
 
The Commission’s budget proposal is:  15 152 EUR in 2015, 19 450 EUR in 2016.
 
– Planning Cities Commission, Action Plan and budget proposal 2015-2016, Marek Karzyński, Gdynia.
 
Marek Karzyński , Gdynia, member of the Commission’s Steering Committee, presented the Planning Cities Commission’s main priorities and expectations for the coming years.
 
The Commission hopes to continue with two seminars per year with a raised support from UBC (from before 6.000 to 7.000 EUR for the seminar but no more than 50% of total costs), if possible. The main subject of each seminar is proposed by the host city and always corresponds to the most challenging problems discussed in the city.
 
The coming seminars will be held in Gdańsk, Poland, in October 2015, and the next in Söderhamn, Sweden, in May 2016. At the seminar in Gdańsk the new steering group and the Communication Officer will be elected/appointed.
 
The Commission’s budget proposal: 11 800 EUR in 2015, 21 400 EUR in 2016.
 
– Safe Cities Commission, Action Plan and budget proposal 2015-2016, Kaspars Vārpiņš, Liepāja.
 
Kaspars Vārpiņš, Liepāja, Chairman of Safe Cities Commission informed about the Commission’s priorities and action plan.
 
The Commission intends to continue promoting the safety cities idea e.g. via web-based database, projects and meetings held two times per year.
The kick-off meeting was held in Gdańsk on 21-22 May. Liepāja took over the chairmanship from Gdańsk.
 
The budget proposal: 15 000 EUR in 2015, 10 000 EUR in 2016.
 
– Smart and Prospering Cities Commission, Action Plan and budget proposal 2015-2016, Wolfgang Schmidt, Kiel.
 
Wolfgang Schmidt, Kiel, the chairman of the Smart and Prospering Cities Commission, acquainted the Board members with the Commission’s plans.
 
The Commission decided to focus on three areas:
•             Place promotion
•             Talent management
•             Innovation ecosystems
 
Two workshops and three seminars are planned in 2015-2016. The projects include i.a.: Go Green, Stay Global, Sailing Network, European Single Market.
 
The kick-off meeting was held on 26-27 May in Malmö. The Commission’s administration was elected: Wolfgang Schmidt (Kiel, Germany) as the Chair,  Lukas Wedemeyer (Kristiansand, Norway) as the Vice Chair, Jenny Broden (Karlstad, Sweden), Wolfgang Schmidt, Lukas Wedemeyer as the Steering Group members. Toril Hogstad (Kristiansand, Norway) will be the Gender Equality Officer.
 
The budget proposal:  9 500 EUR in 2015, 14 000 EUR in 2016.
 
– Sustainable Cities Commission, Action Plan and budget proposal 2015-2016, Sustainability Action Programme 2016-2020,  Björn Grönholm, Turku.
 
Björn Grönholm, Turku, Head of the Sustainable Cities Commission Secretariat, presented the action plan and the budget.
 
The UBC SCC is active in several processes and different development projects, policy, networking and capacity building activities. The Commission will finalize the implementation of the current Sustainability Action Programme 2010- 2015 and has started the work with planning the Sustainability Action Programme 2016-2020. A UBC Sustainability survey will be planned in 2015 and carried out in 2016.
 
The SCC is actively involved in the implementation of the EU Strategy for the BSR. The Commission has received flagship status as a lead in PRESTO and PURE projects, and as a partner in BSR Innoship project.
Engagement of UBC member cities in international cross-border cooperation will be one of the main goals of the SCC activities.
 
The first UBC Sustainability eBulletin was published in May 2015.
 
The  first Commission meeting was organized back to back with the Urban Magma Conference in Malmö on 18-20 March. A second Commission meeting took place in Turku on 3- 4 June.
 
In 2016 the UBC SCC is planning to arrange two Commission meetings, preferable in the Baltic States, Germany and Denmark.
 
The budget proposal:  35 050 EUR in 2015, 32 600 EUR in 2016.
 
– Youthful Cities Commission, Action Plan and budget proposal 2015-2016, Hasan Habib, Turku.
 
Hasan Habib, Turku, the Chairman of the Youthful Cities Commission, informed the future Commission’s priorities will be:
•             Influencing youth policies in UBC cities and strengthening of partnership with stakeholders
•             Promoting youth participation and combating youth exclusion and other barriers
•             To strengthen the co-operation with UBC- cities and other commission to tackle the burning issues related to youth.
•             To continue to improve the non-formal learning environment by creating inclusive & participative settings.
 
The Commission plans to organize 2 meetings each year and the UBC Youth Conference in 2015.
The kick-off meeting was held on 26-29 May in Kolding, Denmark.
 
The budget proposal: 11 500 EUR in 2015 and 11 500 EUR in 2016.
 
The Commissions’ action plans and the budgets are attached to the minutes.
 
Extensive discussion between Executive Board members and Commission representatives followed the presentations. The main questions concerned how to promote work of Commissions and how to attract member cities to get involved. Also the project preparation, links between the Executive Board and Commissions, communications, links of UBC Commissions with other relevant organizations were taken up.
 
 
Mikko Lohikoski raised the questions of outside funding and the contents that seems to be crucial to gain the cities’ participation. The Commissions should be supported to have a good start, e.g. from the UBC Secretariat in Gdańsk that could provide the technical and personal assistance. The Commissions that succeeded in external funds gaining, should also share their experience in project preparations with others. As for the contents, he suggested including smart city concept ideas as well the gender dimension into the work of the Commissions.
 
Per Bødker Andersen, President of UBC, referred to the idea of the seed money fund for the Commissions. Such fund, which amount should be discussed, would allow the Commissions to launch new projects and initiatives.
 
The Commissions’ representatives were asked for their ideas on what kind of support would be most expected.
 
Jarosław Józefczyk, Inclusive and Healthy Cities Commission, said the UBC should offer the frame, but the contents should be defined by the Commissions. He found the professional moderation an effective way of work, so hiring experts should be included in the budget.
 
Mr Andersen underlined the importance of using the resources which the UBC had. The cooperation between the Commissions, also in the field of project elaboration, is the key issue. Also, he pointed out that, according to the recommendation of the TF on UBC Development, each Commission should be assigned to a member of the new Executive Board.
 
Björn Grönholm underlined the coordination of the work was needed. The Commissions should consult each other and also the secretariat to plan the work in advance to avoid overlapping. Also, the Commissions should be linked somehow to the Executive Board members.
 
Mikko Lohikoski pointed out the action plans should list the goals of the Commissions as well as the ways and methods to achieve them. The actions should speak louder than meetings.
 
As for the working methods, the cooperation with other organisations, partnerships, adoption of the existing solutions to our needs would be essential.
 
Marek Karzyński, Planning Cities Commission, found its work effective so far, so the Commission intends to continue its working method to face the planning challenges of the hosting cities.
 
Kaspars Vārpiņš as the new Chairman of the Safe Cities Commission declared its readiness to cooperate with other commissions, e.g. with the Youthful Cities Commission. The Commission has been closely cooperating with the European organisations so far.
 
Wolfgang Schmidt, Smart and Prospering Cities Commission Chair, listed his proposals on how to make the Commissions’ work more effective. He suggested assuring the direct contact between the Commissions and the Board to have one member responsible for one Commissions. He also mentioned the Commissions’ strategies should be linked to the UBC general strategy. Another point was professionalization of the Commission’s work and the importance of communication issues.
 
Bo Hjälmefjord, Växjö, suggested having a thematic half a year that could also determine the Commissions’ activities.
 
Paweł Żaboklicki, Secretary General, informed about the UBC Board of Audit report. The BoA concluded that most of the Task Force on UBC Development recommendations were implemented except for one, namely the appointment of Board members to be responsible for the Commissions. The Board of Audit recommended to apply this solution as soon as possible.
 
Commissions’ action plans, budgets and presentations are attached to the minutes.
 
Decision:
The Board authorized the Presidium to make a decision on Commissions funding in 2015 and 2016.
 
8.            Preparations of the new UBC Strategy 2016-2021, Mikko Lohikoski, Strategy Coordinator.
The Strategy coordinator reminded that the current UBC Strategy, adopted for the years of 2010-2015, comes to its end this year, and the forthcoming General Conference in Gdynia shall adopt a new strategy for the coming years. The evaluation of the Strategy is available in the Baltic Cities Bulletin story written by Mr Lohikoski. Though much has been achieved, there is still some space for improvements.
The new Strategy period starts on 1 January 2016. Strategy Coordinator suggested putting more attention not to the internal matters, but to what the UBC wants to achieve within the next six years. It is crucial to define the UBC three or four major goals. The new Strategy should be short, clear and focused. Mr Lohikoski proposed that at the UBC General Conferences, every second year, the implementation plan for two-year-period could be adopted.
The UBC Commissions were suggested to set their priorities in accordance with the UBC’s goals listed in the new Strategy. They should be, therefore, consulted when elaborating the Strategy.
It is important to take the existing cooperation structures in the BSR and in Europe into account, e.g. EUSBSR. Also, the EU urban agenda should be referred to which focuses on the cities’ role for economic, social and cultural development.
The benefits from UBC membership should also be specified, namely what a city could gain being the a UBC member. Strategy Coordinator accented the role of internal communication in responding the cities’ needs and expectations. The external communication is essential to inform about the achievements and successes.
Mr Lohikoski concluded the Member Cities and Commissions should have the possibility to comment on the draft Strategy.
Per Schöldberg, Deputy Mayor of Växjö, suggested that the evaluation of the Strategy should take place at every Board meeting. Also, the Commissions should report if their activities are in line with the Strategy.  Moreover, he proposed that the situation in the country of the hosting city should be highlighted at the Board meetings.
The Board decided the work on the draft of the new Strategy should be continued. The cities and the Commissions should be asked for comments.
9.            Promotion of gender equality in the work of the Union of the Baltic Cities.
At its previous meeting in Kemi on 25-27 February 2015, the Board invited the city of Umeå to start the preparations of the Working Group on Gender Equality, including invitations to member cities to nominate their representatives to the WG.
In Kemi the Board decided also to find out which UBC member cities have already signed the European Charter for Equality of women and men in local life, by CEMR. After that the President would write to the member cities urging them to sign it.
Mr Lohikoski suggested the gender issues should be included into the evaluation criteria of the Commissions. One Board member could be appointed to report on this question.
Jørgen Kristiansen, Deputy Mayor of Kristansand, underlined that gender issues should be tackled by the Commissions.
The Board took note of the discussion. The Board decided to ask the city of Umeå to check which UBC member cities have already signed the European Charter for Equality of women and men in local life and to draft the action plan of the Working Group on Gender Equality.
10.          XIII UBC General Conference, Gdynia, 27-30 October 2015, Building smart cities in the Baltic Sea Region.
 
President Per Bødker Andersen presented latest programme of the forthcoming General Conference as follows.
 
1.            Welcome.
Per Bødker Andersen, President of UBC
Wojciech Szczurek, Mayor of the City of Gdynia
Grzegorz Schetyna, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Republic of Poland (invited)
Mieczysław Struk, Marshal of Pomorskie Region (invited)
 
2.            Invited speakers for plenary session.
– Elżbieta Bieńkowska,  European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (invited)
– Corina Creţu, European Commissioner for Regional Policy (invited, cannot come)
– Daniel Calleja, Director-General, DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
– Walter Deffaa, Director-General, DG for Regional and Urban Policy to be represented by
Judit Törökné Rózsa Head of Unit Competence Centre Inclusive growth, Urban and territorial Development
To be invited – Mayors of UBC member cities which promote and use smart solutions in practice. Three or four examples should be presented to start a moderated discussion.
 
3.            Meetings of new UBC Commissions
Afternoon 27 October 2015
 
4.            Conference workshops
 
W1.        Workshop to be organised by the UBC Commissions
W2.        Workshop on Sustainable Urban Mobility
                Coordination City of Gdynia
W.3        Regional INTERREG V Programmes for the Baltic Sea Region
                Coordination: South Baltic & Central Baltic(?) Technical Secretariats
 
5.            Report on UBC activities and renewal process , President Per Bødker Andersen
 
6.            New UBC Strategy 2016 – 2021
 
7.            Discussion
 
8.            Auditor’s Report
Auditor’s report 2013 – 2014 is attached to the minutes.
 
9.            Board of Audit Report
Board of Audit inspected UBC Secretariat in Gdańsk on 11 May 2015.
The Board of Audit report is attached to the minutes.
 
10.          Absolving the Presidium, Board, Secretary
The Board of Audit recommended to absolve the Presidium, Board, Secretary.
 
11.          Membership Fees 2016-2017
President suggested to keep the fees at the same level in the next period.
 
12.          Executive Board in the next period
The cities from each country are requested to nominate the candidate to the Executive Board.
 
13.          President and Vice-Presidents in the next period
The cities will be asked to send their candidates to the Presidium.
 
14.          Board of Audit in the next period
The BoA members will be asked if they are ready to continue their work in the next period.
 
15.          Secretariat in the next period
Interested member cities can submit proposals to host the secretariat in the next period.
 
16.          Auditor in the next period
 
 
So far UBC was audited by the licensed auditing company BILANS from Gdańsk. Price for audit 2013-2014 ca. 900 EUR.
 
17.          Venue of the XIV UBC General Conference in autumn 2017
Interested member cities can submit proposals to hold XIV UBC General Conference in autumn 2017.
 
11.          Latest activities of the Conference of European Cross-border and Interregional City Networks (CECICN); letter of support for CECICN Replicate project, Wolfgang Schmidt, Secretary General of CECICN.        
Wolfgang Schmidt, Secretary General of CECICN, informed about the CECICN recent activities.
 
In 2014 Per Bødker Andersen, the UBC President, was unanimously reelected as the CECICN President. The Political Board has nominated Wolfgang Schmidt, Chairman of the UBC Smart and Prospering Cities Commission as Secretary General of CECICN in 2015-2016.
 
The Network elaborated in 2014 a papers on Roaming fees, Urban Agenda and EU 2020 Strategy.
In 2015, the further cooperation is planned on the EU policies that affect the regions, and the dialogue with EU and CoR.
 
Recently, CECICN supported the REPLICATE Project which is to  boost a coherent urban development in Europe in the field of renewable energy  and thus contribute towards the ambitious targets fixed by the EU in this area.
 
The Conference of European Cross-border and Interregional City Networks (CECICN) has been set up in 2010. The UBC is one of the founding members. This European conference gathers nine cross-border and interregional city networks, representing more than 500 cities in Europe, situated both at internal and external borders of the European Union, which is 37% of the EU population.
 
The letter of support for CECICN Replicate project is attached to the minutes.
 
12.          Information from Communications seminar in Turku, UBC Communications Manager.
Report on UBC communications seminar “Communicating about Baltic Sea Region Cooperation” held on 15–16 April 2015 in Turku was presented by Irene Pendolin, UBC Communications Manager.
33 participants from 13 UBC cities, namely Elva, Gävle, Jelgava, Jyväskylä, Klaipeda, Kolding, Kotka, Liepaja, Pori, Trelleborg, Turku, Umeå, Växjö, including representatives of 4 UBC commissions: Cultural Cities, Safe Cities, Sustainable Cities and Youthful Cities, took part in the seminar.
The overall aims of the seminar were to improve UBC’s overall communications, to provide concrete tools and ideas for member cities’ and commissions’ everyday work. Also, the seminar was to integrate members of the new UBC Communications Network and to make them acquainted with the UBC daily work.
 
 
The UBC members cities and the Commissions were asked to appoint the Communications Experts whose tasks are to ensure that the commission follows UBC guidelines regarding communications and marketing and that the commission’s contact details and other information are updated.
The communication experts act as a liaison in matters regarding UBC communications and marketing.
Irene Pendolin informed about the most important things to be developed at www.ubc.net. The website should be mobile-friendly with more functional and clear design. It should bring clear messages on what UBC is and how and why cities should join UBC.  Website renewal would be preceded by renewal of UBC’s visual look, including logo.
Also, other issues were taken up, e.g. intranet, bulletin, social media and their role in improving the internal and external communication.
The proposed timetable would be as follows:

• Design of a logo and a visual ”face lift” – August 2015
• Design, production and testing of the web site www.ubc.net  / June – November 2015
• Beta version of the website hopefully available for testing at UBC’s GC
• Design, production and testing of UBC intranet / January – April 2016
• Creating UBC’s graphic guidelines and templates / January 2016
• Design and layout for the Baltic Cities Bulletin / January – February 2016
• Design of UBC general brochure / March – April 2016

 
Executive Board was informed that the Presidium would allocate maximum 20 000 EUR for measures proposed by Communications Manager concerning the renewal of UBC website, UBC’s visual look including UBC logo, design and production of UBC intranet, graphic guidelines and templates, layout design for Baltic Cities Bulletin, design of general brochure, and other measures considered needed in this renewal project. These funds can be used in 2015 and if needed in 2016.
13.          Interreg BSR positive assessment for Baltic Urban Forum for Smart Cities (BUF) project.
Björn Grönholm, Head of the Sustainable Cities Commission Secretariat in Turku, informed the Baltic Urban Forum for Smart Cities (BUF) project was positively assessed by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Monitoring Committee. The concept note demonstrated sufficient relevance and potential to become a good quality project in the Programme.
The objective of BUF project is to strengthen the innovation capacities of BSR local authorities and related innovation actors for the implementation of sustainable urban development by providing the model for smart city early dialogue model and implementation throughout the BSR. The project helps to identify, adapt and multiply good practices in order to build capacity and exchange knowledge, thus enabling the cities to become truly smart.
The project partners are: Tartu Smart City Lab – LEAD, Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC), Council of the Baltic Sea States, Institute of Baltic Studies, Vienna University of Technology, Baltic Environmental Forum Germany, city of Turku, city of Tartu, city of Malmö, city of Hamburg, city of Riga, city of Kaunas, city of Gdańsk, Positium (SME), Siemens as Associated Partner.
The project proposals are to be submitted by 14 July. The Monitoring Committee will decide on projects in November 2015.
The assessment is attached to the minutes.
14.          Baltic Cities Bulletin “Building up the new UBC”.
 
Paweł Żaboklicki, Secretary General, informed about the recent issue of the Bulletin entitled: “Building up the new UBC”. The stories deal with the questions on the reasons for UBC membership and its major benefits, the UBC’s role in the regional and European policies, and the future priorities.
Also, the cities list their expectations and suggestions, especially valuable when shaping the organization’s policy and strategy.
 
Moreover, the Bulletin brings the information on latest UBC meetings and activities, news from the member cities and more.
 
The Bulletin was printed in 4000 copies. The price of printing was 910 EUR.
 
15.          Any other business.
No further questions have been raised.
 
16.          Next 74^th UBC Executive Board meeting, Gdynia, 27 October 2015.
 
The next UBC Executive Board meeting will be held on 27 October 2015 in Gdynia in connection
with the XIII General Conference.
 
The meeting documents are available at:
http://www.ubc.net/documentation,58,3390.html
 
 
 
Per Bødker Andersen                                                                                  Paweł Żaboklicki
Chairperson                                                                                                     Secretary
 
 
Katarzyna Kutereba-Gnitecka                                                                  Jørgen Kristiansen
Adjuster                                                                                                            Adjuster