On March 13 and 14, 2012, Muriel Pels (EU funding advisor) and Christa Stoop (Utrecht representative in Brussel) visited the representatives in Brussel of Malmö, Regione Emilia Romagna, Verband Region Stuttgart and Central Denmark region. Purpose of the visit was to find out the hottest themes on which the SCN-cities could cooperate to capitalize the SCN-network. Besides a valuable exchange of challenges and good practices of international cooperation in our organisations in the context of the economic downturn, the meetings offered an inspiring overview of overlapping priorities. The Utrecht list of policy priorities for the next years - Cultural affairs (including it's candidacy for European Capital of Culture 2018), Inner city reconstruction and social inclusion, Accessibility and air quality, and Sustainable energy production and consumption - turned out to be a useful base for the explorations.
With Malmö there was overlapping interest in for example regeneration areas and social inclusion, renewable energy production, school drop-outs, and reducing health inequalities. With Central Denmark we identified common priorities e.g. in methods to involve and commit local stakeholders to international cooperation and EU funding, city branding, and clean-/green-tech unlocking the potential of creative SME's. With Region Stuttgart Utrecht we talked about the European Creative Industries Alliance and about the transformation towards renewable energy production in combination with promotion of sustainable mobility and transport. And with Region Emilia Romagna we shared issues of accessibility and air quality, e.g. electric mobility, integration of ticketing systems, and Intelligent Transportation System.
All in all a very fruitfull 24 hours. Now: how to capitalize the findings? One suggestion was to draft a proposal for funding of the capitalization process itself, e.g. through Europe for Citizens. This could make the efforts of the SCN to frame and programme cooperation for 2014-2020 more coherent and effective. It could also modernize twin-city arrangements into an innovative network arrangement, by involving local stakeholders to travel and meet. An interesting topic for the SCN Annual Meeting in Gent, 27-29 June?
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