Last week, on the 12th of September, the EEA/Norway grants Programmes’ closing Conference “Together for Smart and Resilient Local Government Growth” was held in Liepāja, at the concert hall “Great Amber”. Around a hundred participants from Latvia, Norway, Greece, Estonia, Romania and Slovenia attended the conference. It was organised in cooperation with partners by the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development.
During the opening of the conference, all participants were welcomed by the Minister of Smart Administration and Regional Development Inga Bērziņa and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Latvia V.E. Ine Måreng. The Ambassador especially stressed the importance of bilateral cooperation and the sustainable partnership between countries that have contributed to the development and prosperity of local governments in our regions.
During the conference, the representatives from Latvian and Norwegian municipalities presented their experience and various solutions for the growth of municipalities.
The mayor of Liepāja Gunārs Ansiņš talked about the municipality’s efforts to attract investments for city development, emphasizing the importance of EEA and Norway grants in order to improve the quality of the environment and develop entrepreneurial skills for young people.
Vice-Mayor of Bodø Ida Gudding Johnsen presented the growth of the municipality in an attractive manner. The municipality is located in Northern Norway, and this year Bodø is one of the European Capitals of Culture.
The Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authoritieswas represented by Elisabeth Enzinger Søhoel, she was talking about the added value of cooperation between two parties. The Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities is a long-term donor state partner to Latvia.
The Head of the Latgale Planning Region Administration Iveta Maļina-Tabūne and project promoter Gatis Vorošens from the Weld Pro company informed about the development of small businesses in Latgale and the role of EEA grants investments in Latgale region. Furthermore, Haralds Burkovskis, the representative of Ropaži municipality, emphasized the events where people from different cultures can easily understand each other, and one of them is football. Within the EEA grants project, a stadium in Ropaži municipality was built for the integration of asylum seekers into the local community.
EEA grants project promoter, entrepreneur Gatis Vorošens
The first part of the conference ended with a panel discussion about youth involvement and participation in local development. The panellists mentioned that motivation is a key issue—why it matters—and that we can learn a lot from young people, especially in their approach to climate and environmental issues in daily life.
The second part of the conference was opened by Anne Marie Mo Ravik, a representative of the Norwegian Environment Agency, who reviewed the bilateral cooperation with Latvia. It is noteworthy that the Norwegian Environment Agency is a long-standing and important donor state partner for Latvia in the climate and environment programme. Siri Sorteberg participated remotely and gave a comprehensive presentation on promoting climate resilience and measures at the state level and in municipalities across the country.
In two panel discussions during the second part of the conference, participants discussed how to promote the growth and resilience of municipalities in various areas. The first panel focused on addressing climate-related changes and developing adaptation solutions, while the second discussion explored how to overcome challenges related to population decline in the regions and how to foster entrepreneurship. Furthermore, security and resilience challenges on the Eastern border in Latvia must be solved not only at the national level, but countries and municipalities must work together at the European level.
The themes of the conference and panel discussions were related to the areas of the both programmes administered by the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development – the EEA grants programmme “Local Development, Poverty Reduction and Cultural Cooperation” and the Norway grants programmme “Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation and Environment”.
On 11 September, participants of the conference attended three projects in Liepāja implemented under the EEA and Norway grants programmes.
Participants became acquainted with the Norway grants project in the field of environment, which aimed to reduce historical pollution in the Karosta Canal in Liepāja. Participants also visited the Science and Education Innovation Center “Nature House”, which is one of four innovation centres in Latvia, established within the framework of the Norway grants Research Programme, in order to promote knowledge development and career of young people in STEM and environmental sciences. The visits concluded with an introduction to the support provided for business development by visiting the Youth Entrepreneurship and Career Support Center in Liepāja.
The organizers thank all participants and partners for their involvement and kind words. The implementation of the projects has finished, but the work invested has been important for improving the living conditions and creating a cleaner environment for the inhabitants of the regions.
The recording of the conference, please, find here.
Subscribe to news
Receive notifications of the latest contests, news and news events in programs that are important to you!
Report Irregularities
Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway have a zero-tolerance policy on corruption and mismanagement in the EEA and Norway Grants. We strongly encourage you to share your concerns and report suspected irregularities.