80th Executive Board meeting, Växjö, 24 October 2017
MEMO
1. XIV UBC General Conference in Växjö, 24-27 October 2017.
The Board went through the programme of the General Conference.
2. Candidatures to the UBC organs.
The Board took note of the following candidatures to the UBC organs:
Executive Board:
- Næstved, Denmark
- Elva, Estonia (till the administration reform in Estonia has been implemented)
- Lahti, Finland
- Rostock, Germany
- Liepāja, Latvia
- Tauragė, Lithuania
- Kristiansand, Norway
- Gdynia, Poland
- St. Petersburg, Russia
- Växjö, Sweden
- Gdańsk, Poland – observer
President and Vice-Presidents:
- Per Bødker Andersen, City of Kolding – President
- Marie-Louise Rönnmark, City of Umeå – 1st Vice-President
- Jarkko Virtanen, City of Turku – Vice-President
- Mantas Jurgutis, City of Kaunas – Vice-President
Board of Audit:
- Marta Chełkowska, Director of Tourism Department, Marshal Office of Pomorskie Region, Poland
- Jukka Vilen, Director of the City Office, Kemi, Finland
- Roger Kaliff, Chairman of the City Council, Kalmar, Sweden
3. Conference resolutions.
Two resolutions have been proposed for adoption: the Appeal on Tackling Rising Populism and Euroscepticism and the Resolution on UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals. The resolutions are available on UBC website in General Conference section.
Decision:
The Board recommended the General Conference to adopt the resolutions.
4. Proposal to continue the work of UBC Task Force on Youth Employment and Well-Being.
The UBC General Conference decided in October 2013 to establish a Task Force on youth employment and well-being. Task Force presented its’ final report during the next general conference in Gdynia, Poland, in October 2015. In order to fulfil these tasks UBC Executive Board decided in Gdynia to continue the work of the Task Force ‘til the end of the year 2017.
During the last two years UBC Task Force on Youth Employment and Well-Being has started a cooperation with the EUBSR (European Union Baltic Sea Region) Flagship School to Work (S2W). The Flagship aims to strengthen transnational cooperation between stakeholders in the Baltic Sea Region in the field of education and works in order to prevent early school leaving and to develop new support methods for vulnerable groups of students/youth.
Decision:
Based on the recent developments in new forms of co-operation in Baltic Sea Region in implementing Youth Guarantee and supporting youth employment and well-being, continuation of the work of Task Force would benefit UBC and its member cities. Therefore UBC Executive Board decided to continue the work of the Task Force on Youth Employment and Well-Being until the end of the year 2019.
5. Baltic Sea Cities – Sharing the European Dream, UBC Conference on Integration of New Citizens, Rostock, Germany, 12-14 March 2018.
Invitation from the Mayor of Rostock to hold back-to-back Executive Board meeting.
Being a follow-up of the conference on the impact of the European refugees crisis in the Baltic cities, organized in Rostock in March 2016, the UBC Conference on Integration of New Citizens will try to address the questions on the role of migration in the cities development. How should our cities be in 20 years? How to master the integration of new citizens as full members of the society? How to live, work and learn together to share the European dream?
During eight workshops, using modern analytical methods, equipped with the lessons of the past, the participants from the Baltic Sea region including migrants are expected to work out interesting concepts.
The conference will be accompanied by examples of various cultural influences the newcomers bring to our cities.
Decision:
The Board warmly accepted the proposal of the Mayor of Rostock and encouraged member cities and commissions to take active part in the conference. The Board decided to hold the Board meeting in conjunction with the conference, the exact date to be determined by the President.
6. KPMG evaluation report.
Following the UBC Strategy, at the meeting in Kaunas, 7 June 2016, the Board had a throughout discussion on organization of the UBC work, regulations, procedures and secretariat. The Board stressed that all entities should undergo a periodical evaluation and decided to engage an external consulting company to check the internal procedures within the UBC in order to optimize performance. The President decided to appoint KPMG Finland to perform the evaluation.
The secretariat received the KMPG report on 12 June 2017. The Board meeting in Berlin was held on 15 June 2017. The Board in Berlin held an extensive discussion on the report. The Board decided comments to the report should be sent to the President by 15 August 2017. The second version of KPMG report was delivered to the secretariat on 23 October 2017, on the eve of the Board meeting in Växjö.
Decision:
The Board decided to set up a task force to be chaired by the President. The task force members are to be appointed by the President. The task force shall prepare proposals of recommendations to the Board by September 2018 at the latest. The Board will decide which recommendations to adopt to strengthen the UBC work.
7. Proposal to appoint an Executive Board member to each Commission to follow their work.
The Board revised its decision taken in Berlin 15 June 2017, and assigned the following members as Commissions’ liaisons:
Cultural Cities – Kaunas
Gender Equality WG – to be determined
Inclusive & Healthy Cities – Gdynia
Planning Cities – Rostock
Safe Cities – Liepāja
Smart & Prospering Cities – Kristiansand
Sustainable Cities – Vice-President Jarkko Virtanen
Youthful Cities – Växjö
Link to General Conference documents: