OPEN DAYS 2010 Final Programme - European Commission - Europa

From knowledge to growth: Stimulating the green economy
The workshop will deal with the transfer of knowledge from universities to the
industry to foster innovation in the field of green economy, as well as on the role
of local and regional actors as facilitators in this process. Examples will include the
actions undertaken by the Aarhus local agency for enterprise in the field of ecoinnovation;
the sustainable construction cluster in Central Portugal; CleanTech
Mid-Norway partnership comprised of industries, university, research institutes
and investors in the field of clean technologies; the Fraunhofer Institute (Saxony)
active in research and development in the field of production technologies for
the automotive and mechanical engineering sectors and the eco-innovation
project of Englands Northwest Region that works with businesses, helping them
to reduce the environmental impact of their work.
Putting eco-innovation at the heart of regional economic growth
Eco-innovation is one of the most rapidly growing sectors in the EU economy.
Investing in different types of green technologies has also become key for many
local and regional authorities in implementing their economic development
strategies. This workshop brings together representatives from leading European
cleantech regions to discuss the role that regions play in fostering eco-innovation
and green growth. Topics covered will include regional eco-innovation/cleantech
strategies, incubation, investment, research and education. This workshop aims
to look at ways in which local and regional authorities can develop and support
cleantech businesses and how European cohesion policy can contribute.
Beyond GDP: Challenges for Europes cities and regions
Statistical indicators are important for designing and assessing policies aiming at
advancing the progress of our societies in a changing world and influencing the
functioning of economical markets. Lately polls have shown that EU citizens feel
that social, environmental and economic indicators should be used more equally
to evaluate progress. The need to improve data and indicators to complement
GDP has been increasingly recognised and solutions to improve, adjust or
complement GDP are being sought after. At the same time, a lot of actions are
undertaken at local and regional level in defining, using more inclusive indicators
for further sustainable development. The workshop will highlight a few of these
examples and aim to inspire regions and national governments when switching
to sustainable governance.
Workshops
Tuesday 5 October 2010
05A15
11:15 - 13:00
Venue: Norway house
Organiser: 2020 Regions: Acting for the
Future
Speakers: Ana Abrunhosa, Management
Board of the Regional Operational Program,
Portugal; Mark Bacon, Lancaster University,
United Kingdom; Jan Beyer Schmidt-
Sørensen, Head of Department, Business
Development, City of Aarhus, Denmark;
David Morrall, Managing Authority East of
England Region, United Kingdom; Reimund
Neugebauer, Fraunhofer Institute for
Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU,
Germany; Mette Rostad, Director, Cleantech
Mid-Norway, Norway
05A16
11:15 - 13:00
Venue: Centre Borschette, room 0B
Organiser: European Commission, DGs
Environment and Regional Policy/REGIO
Speakers: Germán López Lara, Andalusia
Energy Agency, Spain; José Antonio Martínez
Bermejo, Agencia de Inversiones y Servicios de
Castilla y León, Spain; Paul May, East of England
Development Agency, EEDA, United Kingdom;
Bernhard Puttinger, ECO World Styria, Austria
05A17
11:15 - 13:00
Venue: Stockholm Region Representation
Organiser: Bringing Europe 2020 Beyond GDP
Chair: Carol Thomas, Conference of Peripheral
Maritime Regions, CPMR, France
Speakers: Gerry Finn, Border, Midland &
Western Regional Assembly in Ireland, Ireland;
Alenka Loose, Municipality of Ljubljana,
Slovenia; Robert Manchin, Chairman and
Managing Director Gallup Europe, Belgium;
Walter Manshanden, TNO Innovation and
Environment, Netherlands
OPEN DAYS 2010 – European Week of Regions and Cities 21