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Activities – Thematic Forum activities

Thematic Forum 1 meeting - Lublin, 21-22 June 2007

Administrative and programme structures along internal and external borders of the EU

The Thematic Forum 1 meeting was officially opened by Mr Krzysztof Grabczuk, board member of the Marshall's Office of Lubelskie (PL), the host of the Thematic Forum. He reminded that since Poland's accession to the European Union, Polish borders have changed a lot: Poland now has borders to old and new member states but also external borders. Even though the external borders of the EU with the Ukraine and Belarus have to be protected in accordance with the high Community standards, they should, however, not be barriers as regards the contact between citizens on both sides.

At the beginning of the working session, Mr Tomasz Dylag, Implementing Authority for European Programmes in Warsaw, gave a detailed overview on the development of cross-border co-operation in Poland from the early 90ies until now and explained how it evolved from the PHARE cross-border cooperation programme (CBC) to INTERREG and the Neighbourhood Programme.
The Implementing Authority for European Programmes was created in 1994 and its aim is to provide support and expertise to all programmes implemented by the national Ministry of Interior e.g. the certification of costs in INTERREG programmes and projects as well as the running of Technical Secretariats for two programmes (Poland - Belarus - Ukraine and Interreg Programme Poland - Slovakia).
He highlighted the challenges of the first PHARE CBC system e.g. the difficulty to realise real cross-border projects under the PHARE/INTERREG programme due to different rules and structures which were improved in the programming period 1999-2003 as e.g. some joint programming documents and structures were implemented. He also briefly described the first experience with INTERREG and the preparation of the New Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) which is the first instrument enabling the implementation of real cross-border projects at external borders of the EU.

Mrs Monika Przenioslo, Marshall's Office of Lower Silesia reported on her experiences in cross-border co-operation at an internal border with Saxony (Germany) and the Czech Republic.
The first PHARE CBC programme 1994-1998 focused on cross-border infrastructure development and micro-projects promoting people-to-people activities in particular cooperation in culture, tourism and education. In the second programming period PHARE CBC / INTERREG (1999-2006), the administrative and financial management of the programme were improved, partnerships with German and Czech partners strengthened, co-operation at political level intensified and remaining infrastructural gaps closed. The key experiences gained in this phase encouraged the Polish side to take over the management of the cross-border programme "Brandenburg- Lubuskie" for the programming period 2007-2013.

Mr Bert Kilijan, Province of Gelderland, briefly presented the experiences of Gelderland with international cooperation structures. The Province has already been co-operating for 14 years in various programmes in order to share experiences with other European regions. In this context, he also gave examples for the bilateral partnership with the Lubelskie region e.g. in the field of rural development strategies.

Closing the working session Mrs Malgorzata Langiewicz, European Centre for Integration and Self-Government "House of Europe" presented some examples for successful projects implemented with partners from Belarus and Ukraine. The most important project "Polish-Transfrontier Agency" that had the aim to create an expert network, provide training to potential applicants as well as to support the implementation of the Neighbourhood Programme PL-BY-UA which resulted in the elaboration of a joint Polish-Ukrainian Strategy defining the key priorities and activities for the cross-border development in that region. While referring to the rather difficult political relations with Belarus, Mrs Langiewicz stressed that on local/ regional level there is a strong will to cooperate and contacts are not restricted by such means as refusal of issuing visa.

The second part of the day continued at the town hall of Lublin were Mrs Wróbel, city of Lublin, briefly presented Lublin and its major role in scientific research and higher education in the Eastern part of Poland co-operating on various topics (culture, innovations, training, tourism) with partners from the Ukraine and Belarus. More information is available under: www.eurotrojkat.pl, www.koziolek.pl, www.um.lublin.pl.
The following day a study visit was organised to the border crossing point in Dorohusk, which has been modernised and extended in accordance with the standards of the Schengen Treaty. More information is available under: www.nadbuzanski.strazgraniczna.pl.
Mr Woloch explained and illustrated the work related to illegal immigration, detection of smuggling and other daily problems and challenges of the border guard units at the external border to the Ukraine and Belarus, which is mainly a natural border formed by the river "Bug". Thus, one important task of the border guards is also to monitor the Bug river (also with regard to possible pollution).
As the density of border crossing points is comparatively low, efforts are made in order to build new facilities and to expand and modernise already existing crossings. Along with financial difficulties, the necessity to build bridges for the reason of the long water border and the obligation to protect the unique birdlife of this area are major challenges while planning and building new border crossing points. Mr Woloch assured that the border crossing points at the external border in Poland are very well prepared for the enlargement of the Schengen area. All standards were met in 2004 already.
After a short guided walk also on the Ukrainian side of the border the participants went to the town of Chelm where the Euroregion Bug is based. Mrs Galina Grabarczuk, the director of the Polish Secretariat of the Euroregion, presented the Euroregion Bug which is a cross-border structure that was created in 1998 by Polish, Ukrainian and Belarusian regional and local authorities. It is one of the largest Euroregions in Eastern Europe with a population of 4.975.200 inhabitants. The Euroregion Bug promotes cross-border co-operation between the three states and provides a platform for cross-border exchanges of ideas, approaches and know-how.

Moreover, the cross-border organisation is responsible for the management of the Small Project Funds within the Neighbourhood Programme PL-UA-BY. In previous years many different micro-projects in culture, tourism, education etc. were implemented.
Further information is available under: www.euroregionbug.pl.

Thematic Forum 1 meeting – Xanthi, 14-15 May 2007

Threats of the past, assets for the future: the development of the heritage of border regions

The Border Region Delta Rhodopi organised an additional Thematic Forum 1 meeting from 14-15 May 2007 in Xanthi (Region of East Macedonia and Thrace). It focused on strategies for maintaining cultural heritage of past centuries and transforming military heritage of recent times in border areas. The meeting was opened by Mr Alexandros Horinos, Secretary General of the Prefectural Authority of Drama-Kavala-Xanthi, who welcomed the participants from the RFO Main Partner regions and the Border Region Delta Rhodopi on behalf of the president of the region, Mr Konstantinos Tatsis, and briefly introduced the organisational and working structure of the prefecture. He underlined the importance of cross-border co-operation for the region while reminding of the excellent collaboration with the Association of Rhodope Municipalities on the Bulgarian side and the manifold projects that were implemented together with the partners from Bulgaria.

Due to the vivid participation of representatives of local municipalities from the Border Region Delta Rhodopi in the meeting Mr Menelaos Hatziapostolidis briefly presented the key issues, objectives and activities of the RFO "Change on Borders" as well as the main outputs and results achieved so far. He gave a short introduction into the subject and thanked all speakers for the willingness to bring their expertise and experiences into the RFO network.

As first keynote speaker Mr Stratos Manos took the floor whose work as architect strongly focuses on the transformation of military camps into civil facilities. He outlined the general legal framework regulating the decommitment process in Greece, explained major problems related to the decommitment of military camps in the area of Thessaloniki and presented some good and bad examples of transformation strategies. On the following day, the participants of the forum had the opportunity to learn more about the difficulties and challenges which border regions with abandoned military camps have to face while visiting the facilities of the former American radio station "Voice of America" in the surroundings of Kavala.

In the second part of the Thematic Forum meeting, the focus was put on the preservation of cultural heritage in border regions. Taking the strategy elaborated for the city and surroundings of Kavala as example, Mr Markos Dembas demonstrated that an integrated approach ensuring the complementarity of urban development and cultural heritage policy is of crucial importance for such historical places. Thus, the cultural heritage of the past can be maintained in a sustainable way and become an asset for the future. For the city of Kavala such an asset is the Imaret, a unique Islamic monument hosting a luxury hotel that was restored with respect to the history and the religious character of the building.

The last two presentations held by Mr Kyriakos Tirologou (see annex) and Mrs Zlatka Nikolova gave an overview on different INTERREG-projects (INTERREG IIIC and IIIA) implemented in the city of Xanthi and in the Euroregion Rhodopi. The Euroregion has been established in 2001 by the Border Region Delta Rhodopi on the Greek side and the Association of Rhodope Municipalities on the Bulgarian side with the aim to jointly promote this area and enhance cross-border co-operation in tourism, culture, education and business. Since then, many different projects have been implemented which range from the publication of joint tourism information to the organisation of language courses, joint events and study visits. In the future, more attention should be paid to the promotion of cross-border business activities which are still very limited due to the lack of well-developed infrastructure and border crossing points in this area.

Thematic Forum 1 meeting – Linz, 21st March 2007

“Biotechnology and life science clusters in border regions

The region Upper Austria organised a Thematic Forum 1 meeting held on 21st March 2007 in Linz. This meeting was focused on biotechnology and life science clusters in border regions. Mr Robert Schrötter, Provincial Government of Upper Austria, opened the meeting and pointed out that the support of innovation and the development of a research facility network are two prime objectives of the Upper Austrian technology policy.

An introduction into this topic was given by Mr Patrick Pammer (Upper Austrian Research GmbH) presenting biotechnology as part of our daily life, e.g. as regards food or textiles. He emphasized the importance for successful science to interlink public research and industry in order to be able to create cutting-edge technologies.

A concrete example of a co-operation between business and research was explained by Rupert Körber (Ecoplus) presenting the Technopolprogram Lower Austria. This programme oversees projects which help building bridges between businesses and scientific research. In this context, the BioTec Area Krems - a life science cluster - was introduced which provides a unique mix of practical academic training, advanced research and innovative applied science by interlinking the fields of education, economy and research and development. This co-operation enables fast-track approval procedures, provides practice oriented scientific training and above all, profits from a strong political support making this scientific cluster become one of the strongest players in the Vienna Region. (Presentation)

Another interesting example of a cluster co-operation in this field was given by Dr. Beat Glatthaar (BioValley Basel) presenting BioValley, the tri-national life science cluster (D/ F/ CH). This cluster offers a trans-national network consisting amongst others of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities and research centres, technology parks and economic promotion agencies. A cluster needs a clear strategy and measurable targets which for BioValley are the transfer of technology, the promotion of start-up companies as well as the enhancement of new alliances with (inter)national partners, thus aiming at becoming the most successful biotechnology region. (Presentation)

Further presentations in terms of life science education were held by Prof. Müller (Kepler University Linz) giving an overview on the BIO System Analysis (BIOSA), a university cooperation with neighbouring regions and by Ms Kalliopi Kotzamani (Laboratory of Anthropology Democritus University Thrace) introducing the European Association of Global Bioethics which is mainly focused on the implementation of research and education on ethical problems arisen from the ongoing developments in life science and technology. (Presentation)

After having discussed various aspects of biotechnology and life science clusters in border regions within the scope of this Thematic Forum, the afternoon was finally dedicated to the related study visit to the University of Applied Sciences in Linz, specialised on medicinal technology, as well as to the Upper Austrian Research GmbH (UAR), centre for biotechnical nanotechnology. It has become clear that the UAR tries to positively affect innovation in Upper Austria by enhancing the creation of new technologies, products and services and consequently, contributes towards raising the competitiveness of the entire region.

Thematic Forum 2 meeting – Gmünd, 22nd March 2007

“Cross-border University Cooperation and Labour Mobility”

The Thematic Forum 2 meeting held on 22nd March 2007 in Gmünd was focused on labour market and qualification in border regions. Host of the meeting was the Provincial Government of Lower Austria represented by Dr. Bernhard Köhle. He opened the meeting by shortly characterising the current situation of the Lower Austrian labour market. While facing three different labour markets (Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Hungary), Lower Austria is challenged to find a joint and mutually supported approach which satisfies different interests and needs. This, in turn, requires adequate strategies as well as economic understanding which should be illustrated in the framework of this Thematic Forum.

The first insight into the Lower Austrian labour market situation was given by Mr Mario Danler (Lower Austrian Labour Market Service) by presenting the labour market policy in this border region. He pointed out that one of the remedies found to the high unemployment rate is the co-foundation of various socio-economic enterprises or of the qualification network "cross-border employees". The major aim of this network is to support companies doing business with neighbouring countries, like e.g. the Czech Republic. Especially the employees should be promoted by getting joint vocational training, personal development and language courses in English and Czech. This prospering project underlines the significance and importance of the life-long learning process, not only as regards the personal level, but also the economic one. (Presentation)

Another interesting topic was introduced by Mr Walter Reiter (L&R Social Research) presenting Expert Academies (EA) in the field of cross-border labour market policy. EA are bilateral programmes to encourage and stabilize cross-border cooperation in different areas of labour market policy. These programmes not only target the development of sustainable networks on both sides of the border, but also the preparation for the future labour market challenges of an integrated region. (Presentation)

In this context, Ms Vera Vyskovsky (ecoplus) presented CENTROPE, a cooperation between the four EU member states Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovak Republic. This project tries to gain attractiveness and visibility of the Central European Region on an international scale and to achieve sustainable integration on the basis of diversity. Thus, one picture of the labour market situation of this region should be portrayed. (Presentation)

This focus was again picked up during the study visit to the cross-border industrial park Gmünd/Ceské Velenice located on the Austrian-Czech border, a concrete example of cross-border labour mobility across the border.

Further interesting labour market issues were raised e.g. by Ms Barbara Maschin (Regional Management Industrieviertel) who vividly illustrated LAGERA as a regional cross-border initiative for the preparation of the free Austrian-Hungarian labour market (Presentation) , whereas Dr. Giorgos Mavrommatis (Hellenic Migration Policy Institute), expert from the region of East Macedonia Thrace, talked about the effects of circular migration on the labour market situation at the Greek-Albanian border region. (Presentation)

Finally, a presentation on cross-border cooperation in vocational education in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine called "Euregio Competence Strategy" was held by Mr Michael Hall-Brunton (Euregio Meuse-Rhine). (Presentation)

Although this Thematic Forum showed that already a lot of projects supporting cross-border labour market and qualification have been realised, still a lot of services and institutions on both sides of the border need to be coordinated and socio-economic disparities need to be overcome.

Thematic Forum 2 meeting – Karlstad 1st February 2007

“Cross-border University Cooperation and Labour Mobility”

The Thematic Forum 2 meeting held on 1st February in Karlstad was focused on the development of labour markets in border regions giving concrete examples of cross-border cooperation along the Swedish-Norwegian border. Host of the meeting was the County Administrative Board of Värmland (Sweden). One of the main targets of cross-border cooperation in the region of Värmland is to improve the development of a better integrated cross-border labour market by dismantling border-related barriers.

In this context, Mr. Alvar Löfskog (Karlstad University) presented the "University Alliance Inner Scandinavia" (UNISKA), a cross-border cooperation within the framework of a formalised network of Swedish and Norwegian academic institutions. Due to globalisation and internationalisation processes leading to an increasing demand on the educational level, the UNISKA mainly focuses on networking and education in order to strengthen the position of individual members and to get a more distinct presence on a regional, national but also international level. (Presentation)

A further example of cross-border university cooperation at the Swedish-Norwegian border was presented by Dr. P. O. Norell (Karlstad University) by introducing the "Master of Public Administration" (MPA) as a competence and leadership development programme in Inner Scandinavia. This programme is mainly focused on social aspects and networks among the participants as well as within society and has achieved very positive results so far (97% would recommend colleagues to apply for the next programme). (Presentation)

An overview on the study programme "Master of Innovation Management" was given by Mr Peter de Souza (Hedmark University College), another interesting presentation on cross-border university cooperation focusing on innovation processes and systems. The superior aim of this cooperation is a better understanding and promotion of innovation processes by creating the appropriate conditions, establishing new networks and exchanging experiences between and within different societal sectors. This project mainly targets leaders and co-leaders in the private sector, but also in sectors of public administration involved in economic growth. (Presentation)

In the framework of cross-border university cooperation, the support of the INTERREG programme helped to realise many cooperation projects so far, e.g. the Fisheries Research Institute in the Thracian Region, Greece, presented by Dr. Evridiki Boukouvala (Fisheries Research Institute, Kavala) or the Laboratory of Atmospheric Pollution and Pollution Control Engineering at the University of Thrace introduced by Prof. Dr. Spyridon Rapsomanikis (University of Thrace). The Fisheries Research Institute mainly concentrates on research in the fields of marine molecular biology as well as aquaculture. However, the laboratory of the University of Thrace focuses on cross-border atmospheric pollution loads and the relation between greenhouse gases and local but also global climatology.

After having discussed various aspects of cross-border university cooperation and labour mobility within the scope of this Thematic Forum, the participants' particular interest was finally sparked in the related study visit showing concrete examples of cross-border labour mobility at the Swedish-Norwegian border, like e.g. the project "GrenseTjänsten" located in Morokulien, an area across the border. This project helps people who intend to emigrate from one country to another to get along with the various problems occurring and provides support by giving advice to private persons and companies working and operating in a cross-border context. The aim is to identify concrete border-related barriers by notifying the appropriate political authorities in order to be able to finally help dismantling these barriers. For more information, please see: www.grensetjansten.no.

Thematic Forum 3 meeting – Basel 1st December 2006

“Education and Training in border regions”

The Thematic Forum meeting on the 1st December in Basel was focused on education and training across borders. Host of the meeting was the REGIO BASILIENSIS (Northwest Switzerland), a regional association which supports cross-border cooperation in the German-French-Swiss border region. One of the main targets of cross-border cooperation in the Upper Rhine region is to improve the chances for economic development of the border regions as well as the development of a better integrated cross-border labour market by dismantling border-related barriers.

Dr. Guy Morin, member of the government of the canton Basel-City, opened the Thematic Forum and referred to the fact that the REGIO BASILIENSIS is Europe-wide one of the first organisations which got professionally involved in overcoming system frontiers. Since then, the German-French-Swiss Upper Rhine region is seen as the model region for cross-border cooperation.

In this context, Dr. Beat Münch (University of Basel) presented the cooperation initiative of three universities called EUCOR (European Confederation of Upper Rhine Universities). In this framework, several cross-border projects are carried out, like e.g. REKLIP (Regional Climate Project) and ELTEM (Eucor Learning and Teaching Mobility). Dr. Münch underlined that the success of such projects very much depends on a close and efficient cooperation between the cross-border countries. (Presentation)

A further example of a successfully implemented education and training concept was presented by Ms Margaret Oertig-Davidson (Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz). She presented the "International Business Management" studies which is a cooperation between the border regions (Alsace, Baden-Württemberg, Basle) in each of which all students spend parts of their studies. This concept focuses on the international approach which is furthermore given by staying one semester abroad and attending one live project in a non-trinational country. Ms Oertig-Davidson very concretely explained the importance of intercultural communication in this context and put emphasis on the main challenges of this study course which are closely linked to the differences in the three education systems. (Presentation)

Another interesting presentation was held by Martha Schwarze (REGIO BASILIENSIS) by giving a short introduction to the Upper Rhine School and Teacher cooperation. The superior aim of this cooperation is to overcome language barriers by developing the regions' potential for multilingualism. She gave three examples of cross-border educational projects which are the TRISCHOLA, a programme for Upper Rhine cross-border school operation, the Bilingual Upper Rhine School Manual, a manual aiming at enabling pupils and teachers to use a common pedagogical tool, and the Upper Rhine Teachers Day, a teachers' conference focusing on current topics related to cross-border educational every day life. (Presentation)

Further examples of cross-border education and training were given by Andy Schär (Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz) presenting the project E-Twinning as an online school partnership in the border region (Presentation) and Martin Kohlbrenner (Task force of the Upper Rhine Conference) explaining the significance of the EUREGIO-certificate which should help to encourage internships in the neighbouring countries. (Presentation)

The participants' interest was particularly aroused by the visit to the ExpoTriRhena, an exposition on the history of the Upper Rhine border region Germany-France-Switzerland. In this permanent exhibition, the life of the population of all three states is compared with each other, national differences are analysed and the impact of borders on the life of the people in these regions is vividly illustrated.

Thematic Forum 3 meeting – Strasbourg 30th November 2006

"Education and Training in border regions"

The region Alsace organised a Thematic Forum 3 meeting focusing on “Education and Training in Border Regions” which took place on 30th November in Strasbourg. Mr Pierre Meyer, Director of the Department for Co-operation and International Relations of Alsace, opened the meeting and pointed out that the work done by the RFO-network should be used as a contribution of European regions to EU policy while preparing the next programming period 2007 – 2013.

The first presentation held by Mrs Arlette Bothorel from the Marc-Bloch-University dealt with methods and results of a survey which was recently conducted in Alsace in the context of the sub-project "Language Bridges". The survey was conducted in order to better understand how subjective factors influence the motivation of young people in learning languages. Therefore, about 20 pupils were asked to give their opinion on their language preferences and knowledge. The results of this survey confirmed that although pupils recognise the importance of learning other languages, they hardly make use of their foreign language knowledge or of foreign media like radio and TV in their daily life. This behaviour clearly shows that the fact of living in a border region has no influence on the way how the youngsters use and further develop their language skills outside the school. (Presentation)

Bilingual education provides an opportunity to improve the teaching and knowledge of foreign languages in particular. The Advisor of the President in Language Matters in Alsace explained that many measures have been taken in Alsace in order to promote bilingual classes: several bilingual schools have been established, exchanges of students take place regularly and efforts have been made in order to introduce teaching of languages at the age of 3. However, bilingual teaching is not that easy as most of the teachers are monolingual.

Another interesting topic was presented by Mr Jacques Sparfel, Secretary General of EUCOR (European Confederation of Upper Rhine Universities) who presented the aims and results of the university co-operation within EUCOR which was founded in 1989. This cooperation primarily focuses on promoting cross-border co-operation in research and studies. Seven universities from France, Switzerland and Germany co-operate within the framework of EUCOR in order to intensify the exchange of students and lecturers, to implement joint research projects and to facilitate the mutual acknowledgement of diplomas. (Presentation)

In this context, Mrs Delphine Rault gave an overview on the cross-border confederation of teacher training institutions in the Upper Rhine region called COLINGUA. The most important current project of COLINGUA is the introduction of a tri-national Master-Course in Multilingualism giving students from France, Germany and Switzerland the opportunity to obtain a diploma which is acknowledged in all three countries. Mrs Rault and Mr Sparfel explained that the main difficulties and challenges in such projects are the different accreditation and education systems in the three states. Further information about COLINGUA is available at www.colingua.org.

Thematic Forum 2 meeting - Papenburg 16. / 17. 06.2006

“Tourism and cultural / natural heritage - new tourism strategies for border regions”

More than 35 tourism experts and representatives of the RFO "Change on Borders" and its partners participated in the meeting which dealt with "Tourism and natural / cultural heritage in border regions". Host of the meeting was the Ems Dollart Region (EDR), a cross-border organisation, which supports cross-border cooperation in the Dutch-German border region.

Mr Franz-Josef Sickelmann, Head of "Regierungsvertretung Oldenburg" opened the Thematic Forum and welcomed the participants on behalf of the Federal State Lower Saxony. He referred to the good experiences in cross-border cooperation at the German-Dutch border when he mentioned the financial contribution of Dutch partners to the finalisation of the motorway A 31 which runs - although close to the border - solely on German territory.

Mr Michael Schnaider (Executive Director of the Dienstleistungsgesellschaft it.emsland) discussed the contribution of tourism to the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy (presentation). There is a strong link between the European economy and the tourism industry: 4 % of the gross domestic product of the EU is dedicated to tourism and 7,3 Million (is equivalent to 4 %) employees are working in this sector. Although the contribution of the tourism sector to the Lisbon Strategy is considerable and although the tourism industry is still growing, it should be taken into account that there are challenges resulting from globalisation, transformation towards an information society, changes in the demand of tourists and from demographic changes. According to Mr Schnaider, the European Union is aware of the importance of tourism and supports adequate financial possibilities in order to promote a sustainable growth in the tourism industry.

Many different actors are working in the field of tourism in the Ems Dollart Region. Mr Hollmann (dwif consulting) gave several examples of the coordination of tourism development in rural areas (presentation).

With the support of the INTERREG programme many tourism projects have been realised in the Ems Dollart Region, like e.g. the International Dollard Route (presentation), presented by Mr Kurt Radtke from Ostfriesland Touristik GmbH. A cross-border bicycle route with a length of 204 km has been implemented and is very popular with German and Dutch bicycle tourists. Its success is also related to additional services, like package offers for hotels along the route, luggage transfer to the hotels, kiosks with regional products (e.g. milk refreshments) along the route, etc. The offers have been continuously improved and expanded corresponding to the demands of the tourists. Mr Carli (Emsland Touristik GmbH) presented another example of cross-border bicycle tourism: the "United Countries Tour (UCT)" (presentation). He demonstrated in a very vivid way the challenges and problems that occurred during the implementation of a cross-border bicycle route and showed the solutions found.

Further examples of successfully implemented tourism concepts were presented by Mr Wiebe Brandsma from the Province Groningen (presentation) and Mr Frits Schuitemaker from the organisation "Erfgoedlogies" (presentation). Mr Brandsma spoke about the German-Dutch cooperation in the development of new waterways in the Ems Dollart Region and the transformation of old peat transport routes into routes for leisure cruising and water sport. Mr Schuitemaker reported on the wide range of new functions for old farmhouses that are transformed and now used e.g. as a sport studio, museum, gallery or as a restaurant.

Another interesting presentation came from the border region in Lubelskie (Poland). Mr Tomasz Grodek presented the Polish-Ukrainian work for implementing a cross-border bicycle route (presentation). It became obvious, that there are similarities in the approaches of the Lubelskie Region and the Dutch-German border region in the efforts to promote the project.

The participants were particularly impressed by the visit to the Meyer shipyard that not solely provided insight into shipbuilding, but demonstrated the close connection between tourism and technology. Since many tourists are only coming into the region in order to visit the shipyard, Papenburg is making a lot of effort to get these tourists also into the town centre and making them stay for another day or at least for a restaurant visit. For example, all tourists have to pick up their tickets for the visit to the Meyer shipyard in the town centre; no tickets are sold at the shipyard. Further information about the Meyer Shipyard is available here.

Thematic Forum 3 meeting 25 - 26 November 2005

“Ecological tourism in border regions”

The regional government of Andalucía organised a meeting on 25 - 26 November 2006 in Seville, Andalucía (ES), which was focused on ecological and sustainable tourism across borders. The region is well known as a coastal and cultural tourism destination. In addition, the region is aiming to develop its potential for ecological tourism in rural areas and is therefore also cooperating with its neighbouring countries.

During the meeting, for example, the ambitious "transcontinental biosphere reserve" project between the Andalucían Provinces Malaga and Cadiz and the North of Morocco was presented by Fernando Molina Vázquez of the Regional Ministry for Environment of Andalucía.

The project, involving several Ministries on both sides of the border, seeks to develop a common biosphere reserve with UNESCO standards which should help to jointly conserve biodiversity (including maritime areas), secure environmental protection and promote sustainable tourism as a basis for rural economic development. The Mediterranean regions involved are characterised by similar and complementary geographical and cultural features which are the basis for a joint development strategy and cooperation plan. Some challenges still have to be solved e.g. regarding different protection levels and cooperation in the maritime parts which is more problematic.

Also experts from the Provinces Gelderland and Overijssel as well as Limburg (NL) and the Region Värmland (SE) had the opportunity to share their experience gained in cross-border tourism projects with the participants. In this context Mr Aad Blokland (Limburg) presented cross-border experiences with tourist cooperation within the INTERREG IIIA project "Three-Countries Park" (DE, BE, NL). The park within the so called city network "MHAL-region" (Maastricht, Hasselt, Aachen, Liège) is considered as a joint long-term development concept combining nature protection, eco-tourism and recreation facilities in the Dutch-Belgian-German border area. More information about the project is available at: www.3landenpark.org.

Thematic Forum 1 meeting - Neumark 07.10.2005

“Cross-border transport”

A Thematic Forum 1 was held on 7 October 2005 in Neumark, Saxony (DE). The topic of the meeting was cross-border transportation including the related infrastructure. More than 40 participants from seven countries attended the Forum.

The discussions were focused on cross-border transport projects, solutions to transport problems as well as the lasting cooperation between different border regions. Several examples of successful collaboration between different regions were highlighted.

The presentations from representatives of different border-regions dealt with:

• The development of cross-border transport between Saxony and its neighbours
• Administrative cooperation between cross-border regions
• The utilisation of cross-border infrastructure developments to further improve the cooperation between countries.

Ms Yvonne Schönlein, member of the Joint Technical Secretariat at the Saxon Development Bank, presented an example of an INTERREG IIIA project in Saxony dealing with the possibilities for supporting cross-border infrastructure.

Besides the meeting a study visit in the Bavarian - Saxon / Czech border-region took place. As an example for cross-border transport, the participants had the opportunity to travel by regional train from Saxony to the Czech Republic and continuing to Bavaria. The so-called "Vogtlandbahn" is aiming at improving the public rail transport in this border region. Several small German and Czech cities are now easy to reach in a day-trip. The public transport facilities are well-accepted and the number of passengers has risen.

Thematic Forum 3 meeting – Bayreuth 06.10.2005

“Good Neighbourhood - Intercultural Competence”

Bavaria was host of the Thematic Forum meeting “Promotion of socio-cultural integration” with more than 30 participants, representing 9 countries and 4 Euroregions on 6 October 2005. The meeting, which took place at the District Government of Upper Franconia in the city of Bayreuth, was focusing on “cultural competence, good neighborhood, and cross-border 'people to people'-activities”.

Upper Franconia is situated in North-East Bavaria, adjoining the German federal states of Thuringia and Saxony as well as the new EU member state Czech Republic. With regard to the border between Bavaria and the Czech Republic, two neighbouring regions with a common cultural background have been separated due to political reasons for more than 4 decades. Knowing only little about one´s neighbour leads to a certain reluctance and reserve among the people living in the border region.

The meeting therefore dealt with key cross-border issues and challenges which are relevant to the hosting region, but also had a look upon the cross-border cooperation between Bavaria and Austria:

• Increasing the social cohesion in the border regions
• Reducing the mental barriers and intensifying the socio-cultural contacts among the citizens
• Reducing the competition of border regions and creating a common awareness for the need of working together to face globalisation
• Improving the cross-border cooperation of the public authorities on different levels

After a warm welcome by Mr Angerer (president of the district of Upper Franconia), Mr. Prof. Goppel from the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport and Technology explained that border regions have always been in the focus of regional planning in Bavaria, due to the guideline philosophy of equivalent living and working conditions in all parts of the country.

Ms. Dr. Birgit Seelbinder, lord mayor of Marktredwitz and president of the Working Group Bavaria of the Euregio Egrensis presented the “Cross-border State Garden Show Marktredwitz - Eger” as an example for good neighbourhood relations. More information is available under: www.marktredwitz2006.de.

A concrete cross-border project in the hosting region was presented by Ms. Professor Dr. Gabi Troeger-Weiß, University of Kaiserslautern. She informed about the project “Good neighbourhood in the Bavarian-Czech border region” (www.gute-nachbarschaft.org). The guiding principle of this project is the belief that “understanding is the essential basis for friendship”. This is implemented by cross-border children and youth programmes in order to reduce mental barriers or through information management and intercultural workshops, etc.

Mr. Walter Haas, Regional Manager of the Euregio Salzburg - Berchtesgadener Land - Traunstein described the history and prospect of this region, emphasising the traditionally close cross-border relation between Bavaria and Salzburg.

“How to impact intercultural competence” was the topic of an interactive workshop led by Ms Christine Koch and Dr. Fritz Audebert from ICUnet. The workshop dealt with intercultural awareness and the question about how to intensify socio-cultural contacts. It was combined with an exhibition on the topic, discussions and an exchange of experience. The participants agreed that an intercultural training may help to increase the mutual understanding of people with different cultural backgrounds.

Combined Thematic Forum 2 + 3 meeting – Nijmegen 09. - 11.06.2005

"Change on Borders" - regions came to Nijmegen to exchange experiences on innovation in the field of cross-border health care

From 9 - 11 June 2005 many "Change on Borders"-Partners came to Nijmegen (NL) to exchange experiences in the field of "innovations in health-care" and "cross-border health care systems".

The subject "health care" has a close relation to the hosting region, as cross-border health care activities in the Dutch-German border region are well advanced. This region has the objective to offer its citizens an optimum of health care facilities, no matter on which side of the border supply or demand arises.

Cooperation between the Netherlands and Germany on health care issues was established in 1997 and is based on a cooperation agreement signed by more than 30 German and Dutch partners. These are for example Dutch and German health insurance funds, hospitals, doctors, pharmacists or patients' organisations. Within projects, the requirements of cross-border health care are implemented.

During the three-day meeting the participants were presented different project examples. Mr Scheres, the coordinator for a cross-border health care project in the Dutch - German border region talked about cooperation initiatives between hospitals in Maastricht (NL), Aachen (DE) and Liège (B). The project's aim is to build up a complementary network of excellence in the health care sector in order to secure high quality and specialised care facilities in the border region.

Mr Smits from the University Medical Center of Nijmegen presented an initiative on the cross-border use of an air ambulance, which is a milestone in the cross-border situation. In order to realise such a project, an international agreement was essential to get air rights on both sides of the border. Ms Dwars, director of a Dutch-German Euregional Health Servicecenter, informed about her work and experience in building up working relations of health care stake-holders across borders. Also a project example of the Andalusian - Portuguese border region dealing with the use of Information & Communication Technologies in health care was presented.

The presentations showed that, even though the cooperation between service providers in the field of health care has significantly improved in the past ten years, a lot of practical problems still need to be solved. There are many differences in the national health care systems of the two countries and it is still a long way to being able to offer an integrated "care chain" of health services across the border.

Most of the speakers stressed the need for harmonisation and standardisation of health care offers in border regions. A lot of training and communication between professionals working in this sector is necessary in order to understand different administrative and technical systems and ways of proceeding for example in emergency cases. Nevertheless all participants agreed on the potential of cross-border cooperation in order to improve the situation.

Thematic Forum 1 meeting – Joensuu 17.03.2005

“Governance in Border regions” was the topic of the second “Thematic Forum 1” meeting, which was held on 17 March in Joensuu (agenda). The experience of the RFO partners with the cooperation at external EU - borders was in the focus of the discussion. Several experts from RFO Main Partner regions presented their knowledge on cross-border structures.

The participants learned a lot about the Finnish-Russian Border and the development of cooperation structures along this border. Since the EU membership of Finland in 1995, regions have gained more importance in the planning of (cross-border) regional development strategies.

An example for institutional cooperation along the Russian-Finnish border is the “Euregio Karelia” consisting of the Republic of Karelia/Russia and several Finish regions. The Euregio Karelia was set up in 2000 and is comprising 700 km of joint border between the EU and Russia within an area of 1.5 Mio inhabitants. For more information about the Euregio Karelia see: www.karjala-interreg.fi.

The question, how to get from government and administration to governance in cross-border cooperation could not be answered in general. The meeting has shown, that each region has specific characteristics, that need to be taken into account, when building up cross-border structures. This is the reason why there is no standard solution for a cooperation structure in border regions.

In order to enhance the gained knowledge, a study visit was arranged to the Koli National Park. During the morning, the group was hosted by the Nature Heritage Centre Ukko. Several INTERREG IIIA cooperation projects with Russia were presented. One project for example is dealing with the ecological assessment and monitoring of the transboundary Lake “Pyhäjärvi” in the context of the Water Framework Directive. This project helped to clarify the ecological state of the lake, gathered data for the further cooperation within the implementation of the Water Framework Directive and contributed to water protection.

Thematic Forum 2 meeting – Enschede 27. – 29.01.2005

The first “Thematic Forum 2” meeting was titled “Science to Business / Business to Science” and took place in Enschede (NL) on 27 – 29 January 2005 (agenda). In the centre of the discussion was the “Lisbon Strategy” which refers to a meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the European Union in Lisbon in 2000 where the Member States decided to make the European Union “the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world” by 2010.

In Enschede everybody agreed that in a knowledge-based economy technology and innovation have a close correlation. Some speakers pointed out, that there is a wide gap between technology and innovation or – to be more specific – between science and business in many of the EU Member States. The development of different models in order to bridge this gap was the main part of the discussion.

In this context the idea arose, to initiate a sub-project referring to the gap between science and business. An SWG could be taken as a good opportunity to exchange information and experience, build a new network and develop new methods for technology transfer from one (border-) region to the other.

Thematic Forum 3 meeting – Bolzano 26. – 27.11.2004

The first meeting within “Thematic Forum 3” was held under the title “Multilingualism in border regions: trends – needs – best practices” and took place on 26-27 November 2004 in Bolzano (agenda). Besides several Main Partners and experts from different regions, representatives of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano and of the sub-project “LABS” attended the meeting.

The common ground of the discussion was the location of two or more linguistic communities in their area. All participants agreed that in border regions linguistic and cultural diversity are important aspects of daily life. However, the multilingual situation is often considered as a problem, that obstructs cross-border mobility and job chances. The discussion about how to solve this problem was one of the main-objectives of the meeting (minutes).

 

Thematic Forum 1 meeting – Pamplona 01. – 02.10.2004

The first meeting of “Thematic Forum 1” was organised by the Region of Navarra (ES) and took place in Pamplona on 1-2 October 2004 (agenda). Several Main Partners and experts from different regions attended the meeting. It focused on cross-border water management and Geo-Information Systems (GIS).

Experts in the related fields gave presentations on their experiences. One subject for example was “cross-border flood prevention and river basin management along the Rhine”. Another presentation informed about the role and experiences made with GIS in Navarra.

During the meeting an enthusiastic project partnership consisting of Spanish, Dutch, Austrian, Polish and German partners was formed with the aim to exchange experiences in the field of cross-border Geo-Data Systems. The Region of Navarra, which has gathered a lot of expertise in the development of Territorial Information Systems, was willing to lead the project. (In the meantime this sub-project has been submitted and it was approved under the name “CrossSIS” in the third call.)

The second day of the meeting was dedicated to a study visit to “sewage treatment plants” in the villages of Roncal and Garde near the Spanish-French border.

Kick-off meeting Trieste 06 – 07 May 2004

Many Main Partners of the RFO “Change on Borders” took the chance to participate in the joint “kick-off meeting” in Trieste. During the meeting a draft work plan for the three Thematic Forums with a provisional schedule for meetings to be organised during 2004-2007 was developed. Furthermore an intensive discussion about possible sub-projects for “Change on Borders” took place (more information).