On 13 September 2021 Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Arnoldas Pranckevičius held an online meeting with Deputy Mayor of Kaunas City Mantas Jurgutis, Mayor of Klaipėda City Vytautas Grubliauskas and Secretary-General of the Union of the Baltic Cities Paweł Żaboklicki. The participants focused on the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on the organization of the Annual Forum 2021 of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR).
The Vice-Minister thanked the partners for their decision to participate in the organization of the event that is significant for the whole Baltic Sea Region. The programme of the Annual Forum includes forty high-level and expert level plenary sessions, workshops, discussions and other events.
”One of the important results already achieved while working together is stronger involvement of cities and municipalities in the implementation of the EUSBSR. We expect that hundreds of participants will have a possibility to learn more about Kaunas, the European Capital of Culture 2022, and Klaipėda, the European Youth Capital 2021 while the cities themselves will be encouraged to join other EUSBSR projects in the future”, Vice-Minister Pranckevičius emphasized.
“This partnership brought new elements to the Annual Forum of the EUSBSR – never before it has paid such great attention to the cities that will play a significant role in green transformation. We are also glad that we can provide a platform for youth to express their position on the issues of regional importance”, stated Vice-minister Pranckevičius.
“UBC participation as core partner in the Annual Forum is very important as it brings the network in the center of policy making in the Baltic Sea Region. Also, Member Cities of UBC will have the chance to showcase their policy and project initiatives during the programme of the Annual Forum and in that was straighten the visibility of their work”, states Paweł Żaboklicki, Secretary General of the UBC.
“UBC is glad to contribute to better outreach of local, non-engaged actors such as business, academia, or civil sector in order to better promote EUSBSR and in generally benefits of European cooperation”, Paweł Żaboklicki, continues.
The 12th Annual Forum will be held online from 27 September to 1 October
The 12th Annual Forum of the EUSBSR will take place from 27 September to 1 October online. Its main topic is green recovery. One of the aims of the Annual Forum is active involvement of youth and local communities and authorities. Thus, the organizers will provide opportunities for cities’ presentations and cooperation while the last day of the event, the 1st October, will be fully dedicated to the youth.
The Annual Forum 2021 is being organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Kaunas City, Klaipėda City and the Union of the Baltic Cities. Please follow this link for the programme of the Annual Forum, more detailed information and registration: www.eusbsr2021.eu.
Call for contributions: “Cities leading positive social transformations” and “Cities as leaders in Green recovery“
The Annual Forum 2021 will offer the EUSBSR cities a space to showcase their promising practices, to debate with other stakeholders and to build stronger commitment to EUSBSR as a regional platform. The Union of the Baltic Cities invites cities’ representatives to contribute to the following sessions with presentations on their practices, projects, and experiences:
Session I: “Cities leading positive social transformations”
29th of September, 15:00-18:00
The session will be dedicated to showcasing cities’ strategic projects in promoting positive social movements in terms of social inclusion, participatory models in communities and decision making, citizenship initiatives, debating the role of new technologies in promoting social cohesion and finally reflecting on impacts of corona crisis on social movements.
Session II: “Cities as leaders in Green recovery“
30th of September, 15:00-18:00
The session will be dedicated to showcasing cities’ strategic projects in advancing green projects and initiatives in terms of transport, food, ecology, smart cities and discovering the role of European and cross-border cooperation in this matter.
More information on how to apply for the sessions: https://ubc.net/content/12th-eusbsr-annual-forum-register-and-contribute
UBC contact person for Annual Forum 2021:
Marko Paunovic
Head of UBC Antenna in Brussels
Union of the Baltic Cities
marko.paunovic@ubc.net
https://ubc.net
Avenue Michel Ange 49, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
M:+32495948417
The project is co-financed by Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme.
