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Baltic Sea Youth Platform report 2021

Baltic Sea Youth Platform is an Erasmus+ Programme project aiming at empowering youth and fostering actual participation in decisions and policy-making in the Baltic Sea Region. It started on February 1st 2020 and was prolonged from August 2022 until December 2022. Despite many difficulties and inconveniences caused by the pandemic, the project partnership supported and got involved in many significant youth-oriented initiatives throughout the past year, thus promoting the idea of BSYP.

In 2021 project partners meetings were held online every two weeks, which contributed to building strong engagement and developing new initiatives and great ideas for further cooperation.

On March 1st, BSYP conducted the Youth Forum within the 2nd EU Macro Regional Strategies week hosted by DG REGIO. Julia Orluk, ERB’s Youth Board former Chairwoman, who’s been engaged in the BSYP project from its’ very beginning, was among the panellists of the bottom-up session to empower the participation of Youth and Civil Society Organisations in MRS.

In March 2021, the First Interim Report for the Baltic Sea Youth Platform Erasmus+ project was submitted and approved by the Swedish Agency.

In April, the BSYP project participated in two youth-oriented events:  BSSSC Youth Network on April 14th and Digital Youth Workshop on Green and Social entrepreneurship co-organized with Youth4Nature.

May 2021 was another busy month for BSYP. On May 6th BSYP became a part of a youth panel during a CBSS trafficking conference focusing on human trafficking during the digital era. The meeting was co-organized by TH-TFB and the CAR unit of the CBSS. Next, on 12th – 14th May, the CBSS Ministerial Youth Edition was held, where again BSYP was very active. During the event, young people from the Baltic Sea region came up with great ideas that evaluated the CBSS Vision Statement Beyond 2030, presented to the Foreign Ministers at the CBSS Ministerial on June 1st.

Finally, between 28th and 29th May, BSYP joined the BSSSC Youth Spring Event, where modern democracy, Baltic sustainability and entrepreneurship were discussed with experts from EU Parliament.

On June 22nd, all BSYP project partners and associated partners joined Partnership Day to work on the platform vision with ACTER experts. Project partners discussed further steps regarding virtual platform development, toolkits and guidelines issues within Baltic Sea Youth Power Box, policy recommendations, youth input to the Baltic Sea Cultural Cities and other matters connected to the external report.

August 2021 was also filled with extraordinary events dedicated to Youth, and the BSYP project was proud to be a part of them. Starting up with 41st Hanseatic Days days on 19th -21st August, a hybrid event taking place in Riga and online. Among others, the program included the “Youth Hanza” event, which was a virtual meeting of young people from member cities, during which issues of current issues in the region such as the climate and environment, the participation of young people in these processes, as well as the history and traditions of Hanseatic cities were discussed interactively.

On 28th – 31st August, BSYP joined the ReGeneration Week 2021 – a hybrid event, where people participated physically on the Åland Islands and through the streaming tool Coeo. The ReGeneration Week provided an international meeting place for intergenerational dialogues for a sustainable system change. The theme for the ReGeneration Week 2021 was “ReThinking The System”, which highlights the need for a sustainable recovery after the pandemic. ReGeneration Week 2021 offered interactive lectures and workshops, intergenerational dialogues and provided tools to contribute to a more sustainable life in connection to the five different domains in Anatomy of Action.

On August 29th, the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS)/Baltic Sea Youth Platform, together with the Swedish delegation to the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, organized the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth Forum to promote dialogue between young people of the region and policymakers.

The Forum gathered young people and members of parliament from the Baltic Sea Region who discussed how to secure a democratically and environmentally sustainable future. It provided an opportunity for young people to give input to policymakers on the issues at hand and gain insight into international parliamentary cooperation.

Furthermore, BSYP was an active participant at the EUSBSR Annual Forum 2021. On September 30th, CBSS organized a panel discussion on Empowering Youth for Green Entrepreneurship, which became a platform for young entrepreneurs from across the BSR to share their insights on how to start a green business and provide their experience regarding existing obstacles and barriers for receiving funding and building a business model. The panel also gave the floor to representatives of financial institutions and programmes. The participants also had an opportunity to discuss how to improve the status quo regarding financial mechanisms and accessibility and provide a more supportive environment for young people to start their businesses in the BSR. The last day of the Forum was entirely dedicated to youth issues. Participants joined a plenary session on Youth’s involvement but also heard more about Klaipėda as the European Youth Capital 2021, the role of Youth in implementing ambitious green agenda of the EU, the presentation of Lithuanian Sea Museum, creative workshop on SDGs, presentations of sustainable solutions of businesses and many more.

In October, CBSS announced a call for the Baltic Sea Youth Dialogue 2021: Looking forward, looking back – 30 Years of Collaboration in the Baltic Sea Region. The dialogue, held between 4th-28th November, consisted of three lectures on the following topics: Safe & Secure Region, Sustainable & Prosperous Region and Regional Identity. All participants of the lectures had an exciting opportunity to dialogue with experts from the region. The discussion was followed by two activities: a cross country assignment and a learning diary. Each activity’s best creative entries were later awarded during the online ceremony on December 11th 2021.

On November 1st, the Baltic Sea Youth Platform partnership announced the recruitment for the Baltic Sea Talent Pool. Young people (18-30 years old) eager to be active in shaping policies within the region could apply to join one of the working groups: advocacy – responsible for writing policy recommendations and taking part in the events,  culture – implementing local actions and being part of the development of the Baltic Sea Cultural Cities and Regions Project Or to become a part of BSYP taskforce for child protection policies.

On November 23rd, CBSS presented the BSYP during the “Connecting minds across the ages” side event at the NDPHS Partnership Annual Conference.

Finally, on 25th and 26th November, the BSYP project partners met physically in Stockholm for the first time after nearly 20 months. At the two day meeting, organized in the premises of CBSS, representatives from Sweden, Norway, Lithuania, Estonia, Germany and Poland, including many youth representatives, had an opportunity to discuss the current status of the Project, partner contribution, funding options, add-ons to be created, development of intellectual outputs within Project as well as Strategy, Vision and Partnership beyond 2022. The second day of the meeting was filled with some great workshops within the Baltic Sea Belongs to Kids project and very fruitful discussions among members of BSYP Working Groups.

  • BSYP Vision Beyond 2022

As a follow-up of the youth involvement in the first CBSS Committee of Senior Officials meeting in mid-September, BSYP was asked to provide a first draft of a vision for the BSYP after the project ended. The document is an internal document of the CBSS to continue the discussions on the institutionalization of the BSYP. It was meant to start a debate amongst the CBSS Member States on how financial support of the BSYP could look like after the Erasmus+ Project ends. On November 23rd, the CSO met and discussed the BSYP Vision Beyond 2022 proposal and how to move on with the BSYP.

Welcome to the training session about the EUSBSR on 9th November 2021 at 9.30-15.15 CET, Online. The event will be organised by the Umbrella 2.0 partner – Union of the Baltic Cities. 

The overall aim is to shift the paradigm from taking part in international projects to becoming an active player in the EUSBSR process. The goal is to share the knowledge on how to build a process for the implementation of EUSBSR at the local level by local authorities and civil society organisations.

Please see the draft programme in the attachment here:


Please fill the application form here:

 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScSbnqdTjYbaqo2Br5yofc_90pIeHBoqhIvq2xE17VgT6Txfw/viewform

What is Umbrella 2.0?

”UMBRELLA 2.0-Boosting transnational cooperation capacities for multilevel actors in the Baltic Sea Region” goal is to increase awareness and knowledge of transnational cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region. More specifically, the project aims at initiating a process for the development of strong multi-actor and multilevel governance partnerships that can undertake cross-sectoral sustainable solutions while following the principles and objectives of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EU Green Deal and UN SDG.

Project partners:

  • Association of Polish Communes Euroregion Baltic (ERB) – the applicant
  • Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC);
  • Baltic Sea States Subregional Cooperation (BSSSC) – Associated partner

For any additional questions, please contact UBC Secretariat: info@ubc.net

Umbrella 2.0 organizes two webinars on project management. The material of the previous Umbrella project and the one used in these sessions is available for free in Moodle (register to Moodle platform here https://umbrellainterreg.moodle.school/login/index.php). 

1st PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR BEGINNERS

22 nd October 9.00- 14.00 with a lunch break

Agenda UMBRELLA 2.0 project training. Agenda for Beginners

Is it the first time you approached project management, E.U. funded projects, or international cooperation? Learn with us!

Some of the things you will learn:

– Project Cycle Management

– analyzing a problem or needs

– stating objectives and impacts

– identifying partners and stakeholders

2nd ADVANCED PROJECT MANAGEMENT

18th November 9.00-14.00 with a lunch break

Agenda: UMBRELLA 2.0 project training.Agenda for Advanced

Are you confident in project management? We have some tips for you.

Some of the things you will learn:

– Business Analysis Core Concepts Model

– How to plan a strategy

– Networking Diagrams

– TEAM

– Change Management ADKAR

Link to enrol in the courses: https://forms.gle/ozVb34WH8qd9yvS39

N.B. The webinars are for free. They will be held in Zoom Webinars and will be recorded. Some parts of the video lessons will be published in Moodle Platform

Max number of participants 20-25. First come, first served, but we need to confirm your participation up to 3 days after your registration to ensure we have equal geographical coverage within the Baltic Sea Region states, so don’t wait and sign up TODAY).

According to your needs, you can enrol in both the webinars, only in the basic or advanced only.

Are these dates not available for you?

Don’t worry, and the other two webinars will come in December and January.

We’ll keep you posted!

The key goal of the Umbrella 2.0 project is to raise awareness and knowledge of the importance and advantages of transnational and cross-border cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR), following the principles of the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR), European Union Green Deal and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The project, whose partners are Euroregion Baltic (ERB), the Baltic Sea States Subregional Cooperation (BSSSC) and the Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC) is funded by the Swedish Institute.

Umbrella 2.0 is dedicated to the BSR local authorities, civil society organisations and small institutions of diversified type, especially those who are newcomers to international cooperation. Our aim is to encourage them to be open to the possibilities provided by cross-border and transnational cooperation, to make them aware it is worthwhile to cooperate and that there are financial tools and project possibilities available to them, too. Furthermore, our ambition is to jointly explore the opportunities and benefits of being a part of the BSR and EUSBSR.

We believe that the best way to convince those who are new to international cooperation is by showing them the best examples of what has already been achieved by others. Thus, we have decided to ask directly those we thought could give some inspiration.

Enjoy the reading!

Click here:  

Umbrella 2.0 developed this booklet with best practices to further build the capacities of small and local actors and inspire more stakeholders to engage in transnational BSR cooperation.

The stories show examples of successful collaboration, extensive networking and present current and future “hot topics” for cooperation in EUSBSR thematic areas.

We asked partners of Baltic Sea cooperation projects and initiatives to share their stories about what good transnational collaboration can bring to their work, their organisations and local communities. They were all so enthusiastic about their work!

We encourage you to read those stories, get inspired and try to start your own transnational or cross-border activity.

DOWNLOAD HERE:

The event will be a joint discussion of five projects engaged in:

  1. green technologies and environmental protection,
  2. skills and labour development and education services for different target groups
  3. connecting and involving institutions to establish future partnerships

The discussion aims to present and inspire participants on how the cross-border cooperation projects can effectively involve local society, youth, and local authorities in activities for green recovery on different levels. The variety of invited speakers will allow leading the discussion towards many fields and threads. Invited to the discussion are representatives of such projects as WASTEMAN, Baltic for All, Umbrella, ArchaeoBalt and SEAPLANSPACE who will present concrete examples of what they did in the context of local community collaboration and their engagement, as well as the impact of the communities’ activities on the sustainable development of their regions. They will discuss options for cross-border training, and networking – all aiming at a greener future of small regions and establishing partnerships. After this session, participants will be able to identify which option for close partnership is suitable for their organisation, a project, or a cluster and how to engage local society for green recovery and more sustainable regions.

REGISTTER HERE: https://eusbsr2021.eu/

Organiser – Interreg South Baltic Programme 2014-2020

The Annual Forum of the Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region is the largest event of the Strategy. It brings together all the stakeholders implementing the EUSBSR as well as other participants who would like to contribute to managing the common challenges the Baltic Sea Region faces. The 12th Annual Forum will take place from 27 September to 1 October. It will focus on green recovery and will invite the participants to REVITALISE the Strategy, to RECOVER after COVID-19 together and to RECHARGE for a greener and more resilient Baltic Sea Region.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions

the 12th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region will be virtual. The Annual Forum will take place online from 27 September to 1 October 2021. The agenda of the Annual Forum will be full of interesting, engaging and inspiring discussions, workshops and presentations. You are most welcome to join!

We invite you to read the short descriptions and register for as many events as you wish by filling in the information in the registration form

Six major events

Planned to take place daily from 13:00 to 14:30 CET:

#01

High-level opening event/ strategic panel discussion on 27 September with the main focus on economic recovery through green and digital transformation.

#02

1st plenary session on macro-regional strategies’ role in setting EU agenda on 28 September. The macroregional strategies have shifted from being a pure platform for regional cooperation to being the hub for identifying challenges a particular region faces and for looking for common solutions. The ongoing embedding process strengthens this change. Therefore, it is important to discuss the ways to increase the EUSBSR’s ability to ensure the relevant issues are included in the EU agenda.

#03

The presentation of the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme 2021-2027 on 28 September. The participants of the Annual Forum 2021 will be the first to learn about the possibilities of the EU funding for transnational projects tackling the challenges the Baltic Sea Region face. The kick-off event will focus on the importance of cooperation across borders in order to develop an innovative, climate-neutral Baltic Sea region and to increase the resilience of its society.

#04

2nd plenary session on macro-regions’ contribution to the Conference of the Future of Europe (focus on social agenda) on 29 September. This session will create links to the ongoing Conference on the Future of Europe. Taking into account the fact that the aims of the Conference of the Future of Europe and the EUSBSR in terms of involvement of citizens coincide, we aim at ensuring EUSBSR’s contribution to this important wide-range debate. This plenary session will focus on the social dimension and the challenges the youth encounters due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants will search for the ways the multilateral cooperation could contribute to enabling the young people to participate more actively in the decision-making process.

#05

3rd plenary session on green recovery on 30 September. It will be devoted to the possibilities of the EUSBSR to significantly contribute to the Green Recovery of the EU.

#06

Closing event on 1 October. It will be fully owned by young people. They will be looking for solutions for the environmental issues the Baltic Sea Region encounters. As in the case of the opening event, some of the participants will come to a studio in Klaipėda, the other speakers will join online.

After the registration, you will receive the automated confirmation.

A personal link to the virtual Annual Forum will be sent to the registered participants one day before the event, on 26 September. We kindly ask you to keep this link as it will help you access the event.

Please note that if you answer “no” to the statement “I consent that my name and organisation will be published in the forum participant list”, you will not be able to use the networking tools during the Forum.

Introduced in 2009, the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) was the first EU macro-regional strategy of the European Union. Formally adopted by the European Council after a communique from the European Commission (EC), the EUSBSR is an agreement signed between the Member States and the EC to strengthen cooperation between the countries bordering the Baltic Sea and to meet the many joint challenges as well as benefit from common opportunities facing the Baltic Sea region through three objectives: Save the Sea, Connect the Region and Increase Prosperity.


The Umbrella 2.0 project has been developed precisely to make the EUSBSR more “user-friendly” for the local stakeholders. The Umbrella 2.0 project was initiated by the Euroregion Baltic (ERB) and is implemented throughout 2021 with two partners: Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC) and Baltic Sea States Subregional Cooperation (BSSSC). This project is funded by the Swedish Institute, which has supported Baltic Sea cooperation for many years, especially among the local actors. The project also builds on two previous capacity building projects successfully implemented by the Euroregion Baltic and its Partners within the Interreg South Baltic Programme.

Over the course of two months, the experts conducted a series of 14 interviews with Coordinators of all Policy Areas of the Strategy, attempting on the one hand to gain a broad picture of the current status of local stakeholders’ participation but also to listen to interesting ideas and proposals on what should be done further to integrate them in the works of the Strategy. To this end, we asked several questions through which we have received a great deal of interesting feedback and some concrete proposals for the future of the EUSBSR implementation.

The resulting report is directed both towards the local stakeholders who are newcomers to the Strategy as well as those local actors who are more experienced in Baltic cooperation but would like to organise their knowledge and understanding of how the Strategy can be of use for them. Lastly, we hope that this report will help all institutions directly or indirectly involved in implementing the EUSBSR to learn more about the importance of improved collaboration with the local level of governance to achieve the goals outlined in the Strategy.

Download the Umbrella 2.0 report here:

We invite you to join us on 15th June for another Umbrella 2.0 webinar – this time on EU Green Deal and its relation to the Baltic Sea Cooperation. If you represent small and local organisation from the baltic Sea Region this event is dedicated to you. We plan to bring closer the EU Agenda that is referring so much to sustainability, green planet goals and efficient use of resources.

Registration: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CUHZ0W3CTJuDK_dIwqD9Zg

European Green Deal

https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en

Climate change and serious environmental degradation are a fact. They are severe threats to our planet and all the living creatures, including us –  humans. We have extensively used finite resources like water, gas, oil,  rare metals, etc. As the result of overconsumption and overproduction, we have been producing too much, often very harmful, waste which has ended in our oceans and landfills. And most of it does not degrade. The air in many parts of the earth is polluted and harmful to our health and wellbeing. We have been destroying nature and biodiversity by cutting trees, using farmland extensively, overregulating rivers and using too much concrete. As a result, we experience extreme weather phenomena such as torrential rains, floods, high temperatures, hurricanes or draughts, and we face severe water shortages. The modern production of food is also harmful to nature  – it produces too much CO2 and causes nitrate leakage, degrades vast areas of soil and results in excessive water and energy use. Specialists throughout the planet and people living close to nature have been warning us for quite some time but only now we have realised how bad the situation is and that immediate actions are needed throughout the Globe.

As a response to the situation, the European Union has decided to adopt a new growth strategy which guarantees that:

  • There are no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050;
  • Economic growth and human wellbeing is not at the price of extensive resource use;
  • The planned transformation will bring positive changes to all the people and areas covered.

The new strategic document, adopted in December 2019, is called the European Green Deal. It is accompanied by an Action Plan which shows how to:

  • Boost the efficient use of resources by moving to a clean, circular economy, and
  • Restore biodiversity and cut pollution.

The goals are very ambitious and require changes and transformations in all sectors and the involvement of all of us – from decision-makers through research, business and agriculture sectors to consumers. Therefore a set of strategic documents and regulations have been introduced, and new ones are planned. Some of the key ones have been:

  • European Green Deal Investment Plan – looking into the financial resources;
  • Just Transition Mechanism –  to provide support for the areas which will be most seriously affected to support the necessary economic and social transformation;
  • European Climate Law;
  • Circular Economy Action Plan – to encourage us to use resources more efficiently and responsibly;
  • Farm to fork strategy – to make food production and consumption more healthy to us and the planet;
  • EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 – to protect our planet natural resources;
  •  New European Bauhaus – an environmental, economic and cultural project to make our living areas environment–friendly, aesthetic and inclusive for all.

All those policies and plans introduced at the EU level are in an obvious way necessary for the Baltic Sea Region. Current EUSBSR AP, with the support of EU and other available funds, takes them into account and responds to them. All the individual, national and international activities – no matter how small – need to add to the shared success. So it is time for all self-governments, business of all kind, educational and cultural institutions, and civil society to join forces across borders to stop the damage and reverse the negative changes. Being involved in international projects helps us understand the processes, learn from experience and change the world around us for the better.

According to the EUSBSR website – https://balticsea-region-strategy.eu/, the 12th Annual Forum of the EUSBSR will be held on 27 September – 1 October 2021 by Lithuania. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Forum will be fully virtual.

The Forum is organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Kaunas City Municipality, Klaipėda City Municipality and our Umbrella 2.0 partner – Union of the Baltic Cities.

Annual Forum 2021 fosters green transition through synergies

The topic of the Annual Forum 2021 is GREEN RECOVERY. The event aims at fostering green transition in the Baltic Sea Region through a close partnership and more active involvement of the stakeholders, in particular youth and local communities.

The guiding principle of the Annual Forum 2021 is SYNERGIES. In the context of recent challenges (the COVID-19 pandemic, green and digital transitions), it is worthwhile to combine forces to achieve more: enabling SYNERGIES between national and regional levels; different policy areas; Macroregional strategies; and different stakeholders.

Keywords of the event: revitalise, recover, recharge

The motto of the Annual Forum 2021 is REVITALISE. RECOVER. RECHARGE. The health crisis has had a huge impact not only on health systems but also on economies, social systems, education and our way of life. While still trying to prevent the spread of new variants of the virus and accelerate the vaccination, it is already possible to draw some lessons, cooperation and common action being among the most significant ones. Therefore, the Annual Forum 2021 aims at revitalizing more active involvement of the political level in the implementation of the EUSBSR; making the Strategy contribute to the post-pandemic recovery of the Baltic Sea Region and recharging for the green and digital transition.

We very much look forward to cooperating with all the stakeholders and wider society and hope you will join us for the EUSBSR Annual Forum 2021.

You can now read the reports from all 4 thematic workshops that we organised on 27th April, during the Umbrella 2.0 Awareness Raising Event.

Workshop 1 – Circular Economy

Workshop 2 – Culture and Tourism

Workshop 3 – Education

Workshop 4 – Biodiversity and water

We also have recorded the Questions and answers question for you, so if you are curious to know more about the Baltic Sea Cooperation related to EUSBSR, SDGs and EU Green Deal, do not miss it.

Our experts will answer the following questions:

Is the EUSBSR action plan updated from time to time? How often? And how does the negotiation work? Can local actors contribute to it? How?

Our expert: Anders Bergström, EUSBSR Policy Area Education Coordinator

Who’s in charge of monitoring the SDGs achievements in each country of the Baltic Sea States?

Our expert: Olga Zuin, Programme Coordinator of the CBSS Baltic 2030 Unit

How do you think the situation in the tourism sector will change after Covid in the Baltic Sea Region, e.g. how the pandemic affected the way of travelling if there will be any incentives to prefer “green transports.

Our expert: Andrea Krabbe, EUSBSR Policy Area Tourism Coordinator

How to find partners for cooperation activities/ international projects?

Our expert: Magda Leszczyna-Rzucidło, Umbrella 2.0 Project Leader, Euroregion Baltic

How the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region relates to the EU Green Deal?

Our expert: Marta Czarnecka-Gallas, Umbrella 2.0 Project Partner, BSSSC

What are the funding possibilities available at the moment for the Baltic Sea stakeholders when starting international cooperation?

Our expert: Marko Paunovic, Umbrella 2.0 Project Partner, UBC

The content of this website is the sole responsibility of the author and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union, the Managing Authority or the Joint Secretariat of the South Baltic Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020. The project UMBRELLA is partly financed from the Interreg South Baltic Programme 2014-2020 through the European Regional Development Fund.