The European Week of Cities and Regions (EWRC) has come to an end. This year’s edition has been particularly rich in ERRIN’s involvement, with the Secretariat co-organising four events, promoting projects, and the Working Group Leaders participating in several panel discussions.

During the sessions and events, ERRIN delivered key messages supporting the implementation of the EU Missions at local and regional levels. As ERRIN advocates for a bottom-up approach, the importance of multi-stakeholder engagement and collaboration, multi-level governance and the creation of synergies between Missions and with various initiatives and projects was highlighted:

• In the framework of the Cities Mission, ERRIN co-organised an interactive event with the MOSAIC project and the European Commission, focusing on the role of the multi-stakeholder engagement in driving progress towards climate neutrality in European cities.
• Drawing from regional experiences of Normandie, Mid-Norway and South Ostrobothnia, ERRIN organised a EWRC side event, addressing the role of regions in designing and implementing regional public policies to adapt to climate risks. This occasion underscored the importance of Mission Adaptation in supporting regions in achieving these objectives.
• The EUREGHA network, in collaboration with ERRIN, advocated for the role of regions in the Cancer Mission project on 'Establishing of Cancer Mission Hubs: Networks and Synergies (ECHoS)', as well as future Cancer Mission calls for proposals and activities.
• The City of Eindhoven represented ERRIN in a high-level discussion concerning the future of the New European Bauhaus.
• Turku-Southwest Finland participated in an event on ‘Securing and restoring our waters at regional and local level’ linking to the Ocean and Waters Mission.

Apart from the focus on the Missions, ERRIN has also joined Ile-de-France Region, Baden-Wurttemberg Land, Centre Val de Loire Region, the European Commission and POLIS network to discuss the challenges of digital transition in the transport sector, particularly focusing on the creation, transformation and loss of jobs as part of the official EWRC programme. Many ERRIN members and colleagues were invited to high-level panel discussions focused on Missions (find above), as well as other important topics such as: ‘Cross-border cooperation for adaptation to climate change’ (here), 'Retaining talents and skills for regional growth' (here)or ‘Regional challenges and good practices on equipping youth with relevant skills’ (here).

As part of the European Week of Regions and Cities, many European projects were present in the exhibition hall, including ERRIN’s RESIST, Living in EU and CCRI, which attracted interest and potential engagement in the projects’ future activities.

On the occasion of the EWRC, ERRIN has also co-organised other events such as a direct exchange between EIC President and regional stakeholders in the frame of the Innovation and Investment Working Group