Venue: The Swedish Representation to the EU, Square de Meeus 30 Time: Tuesday 5 June 8:30-13:00 followed by Barents Cooperation 25 Years Anniversary Lunch (Arctic seafood and refreshments)
The Barents cooperation, covering northernmost Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, is a unique cooperation in the European Arctic
Through 25 years, it has delivered high-level dialogue in the region along with everyday people-to-people collaboration and regional cooperation. It is a unique platform that involves the EU as a participating partner, together with Iceland and Denmark and representatives from the indigenous communities.
The Arctic is of enhanced importance due to increasing challenges that also delivers new opportunities.
It is of immense importance to keep the low-tension in the region to be able to tackle the common global challenges, building on a day-to-day, local and regional collaboration over the borders in the European Arctic region.
The seminar will discuss how the Barents cooperation these 25 years have been of great importance and a best practice for cross-border cooperation in Northern Europe, and how we see the Barents cooperation develop into the future.
High-level speakers and practitioners from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia and the EU will present the best practices for cross-border cooperation in the Barents region followed by a “Talking Barents” panel debate.
The Barents Cooperation Forum was organized in Helsinki on December 8th by University of Applied Sciences of Kajaani, Regional Council of Kainuu and the Barents Euro-Arctic Region secretariat.
Representatives of several programmes and ministries brought a multitude of funding news to the audience. After the presentations it was possible to participate in workshops and bilateral meetings with 150 participants interested in the Barents region as a cooperation platform.
Following presentations can now be downloaded on forum website:
Opening words Pentti Malinen, Regional Mayor, Regional Council of Kainuu
Summary and highlights from Barents region cooperation survey Mikko Keränen, R&D Director, Kajaani University of Applied Sciences
Collaboration between Arctic ETC (European Territorial Cooperation) programmes Ole Damsgaard, Head of Secretariat, Northern Periphery Programme Secretariat
Enhancing Financing Cooperation in the Barents and Arctic Regions Birgit Autere, Team Leader Regional Cooperation, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
How can Barents cooperation projects be financed? The role of the International Barents Secretariat as a facilitator of financing Laura Quist, Executive Officer, The International Barents Secretariat
Opportunities and challenges for the Barents Cooperation. Viewpoints and experiences of the Russian BEAC Chairmanship 2015-2017 Sergey Petrovitch, Deputy Director of the Second European Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
EU external cross-border cooperation. Lessons learned and opportunities for the Barents region. Norwegian viewpoints and experiences. Elizaveta Vassilieva, Adviser, The Norwegian Barents Secretariat
Case example: The New Horizons. What is a successful International project made of? Tomas Lind, Project manager
NEFCO financing for environmental projects with a focus on the Barents Region (Presented at Project clinic Q&A) Henrik G Forsström, Senior Adviser, Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO)
Programme for Environment and Climate Co-operation. Northwest Russia - Nordic countries (Presented at Project clinic Q&A) Nordic Council of Ministers
The Barents region comprises the northernmost parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. It was established in 1993 as a result of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and it is also the first macroregion to move beyond the Cold War's Iron Curtain. Six million people live in the Barents Region.
The encyclopedia represents the ultimate guide to the region bridging the gap between Russia and the Nordic countries in terms of geography, history, ethnicity, religion, cultural content, political systems and economies. It fullfills the project about the Barents Region which started with The Barents Region. A Transnational History of Subarctic Northern Europe.
The BEAC Ministerial Meeting took place in Arhangelsk, Russia on June 20th. The gathered participants from transport authorities from Norway, Finland, Sweden, European Commission, regional administrations - members of the Barents Regional Council, International Barents Secretariat, Council of the Baltic Sea States, as well as various stakeholders in the transport sector, and academics.
In May 2016, NordRegio approved funding of the project on Climate Change Mitigation in the Barents region from the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Arctic Programme. The project follows the Climate Change Action Plan for the Barents cooperation, which was adopted at the Meeting of the Environment Ministers of the BEAC, held in Inari in December 2013. The application was prepared in cooperation with the BEAC Working Group on Environment.
Norrbotten County Administration (Sweden) is the lead partner of the project. The network includes Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Finnish Ministry of Environment, Arctic Center in Rovaniemi and Ministry of Natural Resources of Arkhangelsk region. International Barents Secretariat is going to follow the project’s implementation, assist in coordination between Nordic and Russian partners and contribute to information dissemination.
The project has been granted 300.000 DKK. Co-financing from both Nordic and Russian partners is awaited. The funding will be allocated for networking activities, such as seminars, workshops and a study visit to Sweden, as well as mapping of sources of greenhouse gas emissions in a pilot settlement of Arkhangelsk region.
Cooperation on the Climate Change issues is aimed at development of regional climate strategies for the Russian part of the Barents region, which will contribute to reducing of GHG emissions that accelerate climate change.
Cross-cultural network management: case study in connecting young Barents -network
Tiina Idström (2013)
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the reflections of cultural diversity on network management. The theoretical background of the research is in theories of cultural diversity and network management. As the basic theory of national cultures, I have used Hofstede’s cultural dimensions which are power–distance, individualism–collectivism, masculinity–femininity and avoidance of uncertainty. The main researchers on the field of network management are Agranoff and McGuire with their theory about collaborative management activities.
The Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) set up an Ad Hoc Working Group to assess the financial needs, existing financial sources and financing gaps in the Barents region. Report on the results of the assessment was recently published.
The Commission of Senior Officials of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) met in Arkhangelsk, Russia, on 22 March 2016 with the participation of representatives of the European Union and ministries of foreign affairs of the Russian Federation, Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland. The meeting was held within the frames of the Russian Federation chairmanship in the Barents Euro-Arctic Council.
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