SMART, SOCIAL, SUSTAINABLE 4TH ANNUAL FORUM HELD IN ULM, 29-30 OCTOBER 2015
The 4th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, jointly organised by the European Commission, the State of Baden-Württemberg and the City of Ulm took place on 29 and 30 October 2015 at the Trade Fair Ulm.
Under the title “Smart, social, sustainable – Innovation for the Danube Region”, the forum put a strong emphasis on topics such as innovation, professional training and dual education, entrepreneurship and civil society as key factors for a sustainable and integrative growth in the Danube Region. Several thematic sessions gave the participants of the conference the opportunity to take a closer look at the complex mechanisms that should be put together on a political, project and funding level in order to profit largely of the potential of a macro-regional strategy.
On the 29th October PA2 organized a workshop under the title “Putting synergies into practice: regional initiatives together for sustainable use of local resources” aiming at (1) sharing lessons learnt from already established cooperation with the main on sustainable use of local resources in the field of energy and environment, (2) taking advantage of various experiences and approaches to horizontal cooperation among different regional/macro-regional initiatives, as well as (3) showing ways how cooperation with other regional initiatives can be conducted. On the second day of the conference the PA2 workshop on “Energy efficient and sustainable Danube cities and regions: Linking strategic thinking and energy issues” showed various issues the cities are facing and presented possible solutions for innovative and eco-sensitive thinking regarding the use of renewable energy sources.
On the margins of the 4th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR), Ministers in charge of EU Funds, European Affairs or European Integration from the participating States and Regions and the European Commissioner for Regional Policy gathered in Ulm and agreed on the Joint Statement of Ulm on the EU Strategy for the Danube Region.
The Joint Statement of Ulm on the EU Strategy for the Danube Region can be downloaded here:
Photo: © European Union
