Under the motto “Thriving Regions, Stronger Europe”, the he 21st edition of the European Week of Regions and Cities. will be centered on the following six thematic topics: (i) Regions in post-industrial transition; (ii) retaining talent for regional growth; (iii) breaking barriers to cross-border cooperation; (iv) small and mid-size urban centres driving growth; (v) local energy shift for security and sustainability; and (vi) promoting social innovation.

Local and regional involvement and action are particularly important in this Mission as is the need to combine various funding sources and intervention mechanisms. For these reasons, the Mission’s implementation plan foresees an annual Mission Forum as a major governance element. The annual Forum will be the moment to take stock, identify issues, steer the Mission and define the path ahead.

Details about registration will follow – stay tuned!

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment is launching a call for Partner Events to be organised around Europe and beyond during EU Green Week, from Saturday 3 June to Sunday 11 June 2023. This year, Partner Events should be on the topics of skills for sustainable, resilient and socially fair communities. Their objective should be to raise awareness and contribute to the public debate around this very actual topic. They may target the general public or specific stakeholder groups.

This year’s edition will give participants the opportunity to engage with scientists, farmers, rural communities, industry, advisors, policymakers, citizens and NGO representatives. It will provide an overview of European research and innovation activities and their achievements in agriculture, forestry and rural development. Participants will also be invited to share their views on how to shape the future EU agricultural research and innovation agenda. Please check this webpage regularly for upcoming details about the programme and side events.

How to participate?

Registrations will open on Tuesday 21 March 2023.

The long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas was launched in June 2021. Since then, rural pact mobilisation has started in various parts of the Union, to make rural Europe stronger, connected, resilient and prosperous by 2040. What are the experiences so far and what can we learn from each other in order to take the next steps for a revitalised rural Europe?

Some of the topics will be:

• Best practices and examples on the implementation of the Rural Pact at national level.
• Local Action Groups as Local Pacts.
• Young people’s involvement and participation in the Rural Pact.

Meet up with colleagues from different member states, politicians, researchers, and representatives of the EU institutions. The event starts with study visits to rural businesses in Uppsala county on May 3, and continues with an interactive conference on May 4.

Interreg Europe’s project SILVER SMEs is organising its final conference on 21 February 2023 in Brussels! The event will be an opportunity to explore the challenges of ageing in rural and mountainous areas and to discover how partners have successfully boosted the development of the Silver Economy in response to these challenges.

From training and communication with entrepreneurs to the creation of calls dedicated to SMEs and the integration of the Silver Economy as a territorial development axis, partners of the SILVER SMEs project managed to find solutions adapted to each of their territories in order to develop the Silver Economy, for the benefit of the older rural population.

How to foster new, practical ways for better management of abandoned agricultural land in a sustainable way? Members of the Focus Group will collect and highlight best practices, approaches and methods in the process of reversion of land abandonment, and also they will identify the challenges and opportunities for those dealing with land abandonment.

Focus Group meetings are not open to the public.

This event will be dedicated to matchmaking and networking amongst advisors, farmers, researchers, and other relevant stakeholders to support the preparation of proposals for the upcoming Horizon Europe Calls on advisory networks. Additionally, the event will create opportunities for exchanging knowledge and innovative ideas and practices, that may inspire potential applicants to take part in the next Horizon Europe call.

The EU Agricultural Outlook conference is the flagship annual event for broad exchanges among stakeholders on market prospects in agriculture. This includes discussion of the political framework and uncertainties surrounding market developments in the next 10 years.

Through interventions from senior representatives from EU bodies and international organisations, panel discussions, and inspiring examples, this future-oriented event gathers farmers, agri-food experts and rural actors to discuss topical issues, in addition to examining medium-term outlook for agricultural markets, income and environment, with a 2032 horizon.

No prior registration is required.

Young people are the future of Protected Areas in Europe. As such, EUROPARC believes that Parks and Protected Areas should make sure that young people have a role in shaping and building this future, today.

The EUROPARC Youth Manifesto, launched in 2018, paved a way with clear visions of a future built together with youth, Protected Areas and local municipalities. Since then, there have been many initiatives to implement these visions on local levels.

In this webinar, EUROPARC wants to showcase three examples where Protected Areas have implemented various projects to increase opportunities for young people to take up active roles in their Protected Areas and local communities. Get inspired, and see how your Protected Area can support and empower youth, to create the green future of tomorrow!