Innovative Food Business 6 September

Join this event to hear success stories from the Food Province of Finland's research and innovation work in the food system and become familiar with Seinäjoki based world-class food companies via business tours. The event is directed at international and national partners and stakeholders with an interest in developing the food sector. The event will offer insights into world-class food innovations, examples of how the RDI sector collaborates with the region’s companies to foster health and great examples of how we combat climate change. The event is organised by Into Seinäjoki Oy. 

INNOFOOD - International Food Innovation Days 7 - 8 September

InnoFood connects researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, start-ups, companies, and everyone who wants to get inspired on topics related to food, food innovation and entrepreneurship.

The two-day event aims at spreading and supporting an innovative food ecosystem based on forward thinking and actions. An additional aim is to sustain South Ostrobothnia - a region with a strong food identity - in becoming the epicenter of Europe’s food entrepreneurship.

InnoFood was hosted for the first time in 2022 with the name Innovation & Start-Up Days. The event is organised by the Ruralia Institute/University of Helsinki in collaboration with Into Seinäjoki and is funded by the Ruralia Institute/University of Helsinki, University Consortium of Seinäjoki, and the Regional Council of South Ostrobothnia. 

Please see the full programme of Food Days and register here. 

The events of the week are free of charge. 

The Department of Culture and Language Policy of the Basque Government is organising the CCIs and Innovation Contrast Open Conference, which will take place on the 25 - 26 October 2023 in Bilbao.

The CONTRAST project includes a global study on innovation ecosystems and the organisation of a final conference that will take place in Bilbao. In the framework of the new CONTRAST study, over 20 regions from around the world have been selected and consulted through an original methodology, with the intention to: learn about the innovation ecosystem of each of the participating regions; analyse the organisations and innovation projects in each region, and identify the trends, characteristics, and typologies that make these organisations innovative and pioneers in the sector. 

The final conference will be a unique opportunity to learn about the results of the study and from different internationally recognised experts in CCIs and innovation such as Cinzia Lagioia (Puglia Creativa), Valentina Montalto (UNESCO expert), Luca dal Pozzolo (Fondazione Fitzcarraldo), Pier Luigi Sacco (EIT Culture & Creativity),  Jenny Tingvall Kornmacher (Region Skåne and EIT Culture & Creativity), Nico Degenkolb (EIT Culture & Creativity) and more to be confirmed.

This is an open and free event, so please spread the word amongst your colleagues working on CCIs and/or innovation.

CONTRAST Open Conference – Key information: 

• When: 25- 26 October 2023
• Where: Bilbao 
• Venue: Bizkaia Aretoa 
• The topic of the conference: Contrast - Innovation in the Cultural and Creative Industries 
• Registration here
• For more information, please contact events@3walks.com

The first phase of the CONTRAST project was implemented in 2021. Further information and the results of the first phase of CONTRAST project can be accessed here.

Are you a researcher on nut cultivation and would you like to share your knowledge and experiences around your research? Do you like to participate in a brainstorm session with other European researchers around this interesting topic? Do not hesitate and contact the Flemish "Praktijkpunt Landbouw" of the province of Flemish Brabant now! 

What? 

This practice-based agricultural research institute is implementing a project concerning the opportunities and challenges of nut cultivation in Flanders. As this project will end in early 2024, the Praktijkpunt is exploring further follow-up opportunities.

That's why the Praktijkpunt Landbouw is looking for foreign researchers to share knowledge, research results and the possibility of joint cooperation. The Praktijkpunt is especially looking for experienced researchers from France, Luxemburg and Germany, although parties from all over Europe are welcome to respond.

Who to contact?

Are you willing to share your knowledge and research results of passed or future projects in the field of nut cultivation? Then you're the person we're looking for!

Contact Mr Rutger Tallieu via mail (rutger.tallieu@vlaamsbrabant.be) or phone (+32 16 21 37 66). 

From 16 to 22 September, the European Commission is organising EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK, the leading awareness-raising campaign on sustainable urban mobility, and calling on cities in Europe and beyond to get involved.

In this week, nearly 3000 towns and cities will promote a shift in behavior towards active mobility, public transportation and environmentally friendly transportation options by arranging various awareness-raising activities and events involving local participants. 

The chosen theme for the year 2023 is 'Save energy'.

Find more information and register your awareness-raising events and activities here!

The French Automotive & Mobility Network (FAMN) is organising an online roundtable focusing on the transformation of skills in the rapidly changing mobility sector. 

This roundtable will offer active participation from cluster representatives who will provide valuable insights into the regional-level strategies for skill transformation, as well as the participation of European officials and stakeholders, providing a broader European outlook.

This insightful roundtable will be held in the framework of the European Year of Skills 2023, an initiative launched by the European Commission to address skills gaps in the European Union and boost the European skills strategy. 

Please register here

Agenda
14:00 - 14:05: Introduction

14:05 - 15:00: PANEL 1 - Discussion between clusters & regional players: efforts made and remaining gaps (operational part)

Moderator : Jean-Baptiste HAHN, CARA

Elizaveta CHERNYSHOVA, CARA
Véronique ROTTIER, ID4Mobility
Aude-Marie DUBOIS, NextMove
Région Grand-Est: the role of a regional authority [to be confirmed]
Anna SPECHTENHAUSER, EU Office of Stuttgart Region and Automotive Skills Alliance

15:00 - 15:05 : Coffee break

15:05 - 16:00 : PANEL 2 - How to fill the gaps: perspectives from EU-level stakeholders (institutional part)

Moderator : Mathieu SARAIVA, FAMN - Réseau français de l'automobile et de la mobilité

Caroline COHEN, PFA - Plateforme automobile
Jakub STOLFA, Automotive Skills Alliance
Lorena IONITA, DG GROW
ADECCO Group [to be confirmed]

The French Automotive & Mobility Network (FAMN) is the European representative entity of the 4 French automotive & mobility clusters (NextMove, CARA, ID4Mobility, Pôle Véhicule du Future) and brings together over 1.500 members in total.

Save the date for the CBE JU Stakeholders' Forum which will take place on 6-7 December 2023 in Brussels. The Forum will engage all stakeholders, from primary producers and researchers to industry and decision-makers,  in a dynamic discussion on how to bring bio-based solutions to the market and keep the European leadership of the sector.

The forum will discuss how to stimulate the demand for circular bio-based solutions, how to facilitate access to finance and what R&I is needed for European bio-based leadership in the medium term. It will focus on three questions that are crucial for the successful development of the circular bio-based sector across Europe: 
 

How to stimulate demand for circular bio-based solutions?

• How can we boost investments in the bio-based sector?
• What do consumers and industries need to take up bio-based products and solutions?
• Which successful models could be transferred from other sectors?

How to facilitate access to finance to scale up circular bio-based production in Europe?

• What can we learn from successful financial engineering examples?
• Can success stories from other continents be implemented in Europe?
• What financing models could foster the replication of industrial plants in EU?

What R&I do we need to keep the European leadership in bio-based sector in the medium-long term?

• As a major contributor to the ambitious EU climate goals, what R&I does the bio-based sector need to thrive?
• What are the sector’s R&I priorities for the next 30 years?
• Which emerging technologies does the sector need to remain competitive on the global market?

Successful examples and lessons learnt will underpin the discussion.

You can find more information on this event webpage. 

ERRIN’s Spring Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2023 took place on 22 June this year. As always, it brought together the large and dynamic community of member regions and cities. Following the format part with the update from the network, the main focus was the EU Missions, approached in two policy debates, on the support and implementation frameworks in Adaptation, Ocean and Waters and Soil Missions, and the governance innovation and the perspective on Cities and the Cancer Missions. 

The two panels featured lively debates on the EU Missions moderated by ERRIN Working Group leaders Angele Liaigre (Cities Northern Netherlands) and Zoe Buyle-Bodin (Normandie Region).  Representatives from the Mission Secretariats: Irene Bonvissuto (Mission Adaptation), Kerstin Rosenow (Mission Soil), Wiebke Pankauke (Mission Cities), Claudia Pecoraro (Mission Oceans), and Kay Duggan-Walls (Mission Cancer) reflected on the achievements of the EU Missions so far. A number of ERRIN members added thought-provoking insights to the debate with their practical experiences: Klaas de Boer (Hanse Region), Irene Palomino (Extremadura), Francoise Guaspare (Ile-de-France) and Ylva Reinsart (Skåne Region). Neville Reeve from DG R&I linked the debate in the framework of the Horizon Europe strategic planning.   

The exchange highlighted again the crucial role of local and regional level and the need to bring together all local stakeholders in the Missions’ implementation. Even if there is room for improvement, for example in terms of further defining and creating synergies between some of the implementation frameworks, the ERRIN community is very keen to engage in the EU Missions. As discussed, the openness and willingness to shape the EU Missions together with stakeholders is really appreciated by the ERRIN members. We are eager to hear officially about the Mission evaluation results this week and happy that overall, the feedback has been positive. At the same time, we are looking towards the future, as expectations for the EU Missions are high, and the practical next steps will be crucial.

As usual, the ERRIN AGM served as a get-together accompanied by networking drinks and provided a chance to meet fellow members and exchange on collaboration opportunities. The presentation and video from the policy debate are available on the event page accessible for members.

ERRIN has been strongly engaged in work around all five EU Missions which are also identified as one of the network’s two key overarching priorities for 2022-2023, alongside widening and deepening engagement in R&I. We have closely followed up the Missions in several Working Groups and contributed to shaping the Missions through events, input papers and formal and informal dialogues with the Mission Secretariats. Over 70 cities in Mission Cities as well as 100 signatories of the Mission Adaptation Charter are ERRIN members. At the same time, we have been advocating mission-approach as a way to better mobilise whole regional innovation ecosystems, which could also support building strong Regional Innovation Valleys and interconnections between them. ERRIN acts as a liaison, mobilising the regions to get involved in the Mission work, not only through its Working Groups but also through EU Missions and Missions-related projects such as Pathways2Resilience, RESIST, NetZeroCities and MOSAIC. Read more about ERRIN’s work on the EU Missions here. 

On Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 June 2023, ERRIN participated in the Final Conference of the DT4REGIONS project.

This final event of this two-year project led by Emilia Romagna Region, alongside 6 ERRIN members, was a chance to reinforce the DT4REGIONS community and to involve regions, cities and communities from across Europe, encouraging all of them to share their challenges and look for common solutions on the DT4REGIONS platform.

Many lesson-learned and stories, finding and opportunities were shared during those two days:

• During ENoLL Open Debate, focused on ‘Skill development for European Public Servants in AI and Big Data’, we learned more about the DT4REGIONS project capacity building programme and the inventory of more than 100 learning tools, accessible here.

• During a session moderated by Ryan Titley, ERRIN's Director of Projects, we had the opportunity to explore the wide and complex landscape of digital transformation at EU level. This session, with representatives from Living-in.EU, OASC, AI4Gov, PrepAI, Auroral project as well as the Committee of the Regions, was a chance to discuss and announce several new initiatives, such as the Local Digital Twin toolbox survey (more information here).

• We announced the winners of the DT4REGIONS Awards, after receiving 34 excellent applications. An expert jury selected the winner of the most innovative solution as South Moravia's chatbot that can be deployed in emergency situations to use AI to identify callers' needs. A short list was also created by the jury, which was put to a public vote, attracting an incredible 938 votes on the DT4REGIONS platform, with the winner being selected as Puglia's COReHEALTH app, giving back control of a health journey to patients.

• The link between DT4REGIONS and Living-in.EU, with ERRIN involved in both initiatives, was further explored. Emilia Romagna Region’s also officially signed the  'Join, Boost, Sustain' declaration, joining four other ERRIN members in June.

You can find the full programme of the conference here and the recording of those two days here (Day one) and here (Day two).

The end of the project will not mean the end of ERRIN’s involvement in digital transformation, through our members’ expertise and commitments, the Go Li.EU project and our ERRIN ICT Working group.

If you wish to know more and engage with us, do not hesitate to contact rodolphe.doite@errin.eu.

Casual networking event for the Brussels/Belgium-based ocean policy and blue economy community.

You are working on topics such as the blue economy, maritime transport, fisheries, marine biodiversity, or ocean governance and want to get to know other blue minded people in Brussels, then come and meet the maritime community at the next Ocean Social at the Guingette Maurice in Parc du Cinquantenaire on 13 July at 18:00. 

This is an informal event, so no need to register. Look out for the penguin to find the group!