Europe in Our Region

10 November 2008

Key points from the 'Europe in Our Region: finding opportunities and promoting success' event held at Lumley Castle, Chester le Street on Friday 24 October 2008

The Brussels Open Days went local with an information and networking event held at Lumley Castle in County Durham. The event followed on from the region's participation in the 'Promoting Regions & Participation In Europe' conglomerate.

The one day event aimed to raise awareness about how North East England is represented within the European institutions and the European advice and support organisations which can be contacted locally. It also showcased a diverse selection of projects in the region what involve partners from other European countries and what have recently secured European funding. Delegates had the opportunity to tap into these projects' good practice and experience of developing a strong transnational project, partnership and funding application. Delegates also gained a perspective as to how the region is promoted to an international audience.

The event was attended by almost 100 delegates, including elected members, officers and practitioners from local authorities, universities, non governmental organisations, social partners and consortium bid and project partners from across Europe. The programme was specifically designed for those who had little or no previous experience of transnational working, but who may be interested in undertaking a project with other European partners. Speaker presentations focused on how a European dimension can add value to activities and help organisations deliver their core business.

The event was split into two sessions. The first outlined the roles of the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions, Europe Direct North East and the North East of England Office in Brussels (NEEO). Andrew Kerr, Chair of the North East England European Strategy Group and Chief Executive of North Tyneside Council, chaired the session, which included Stephen Hughes MEP, Cllr Cyndi Hughes (Darlington Borough Council and Member of the Committee of the Regions) and Antonia Mochan (European Commission Representation in London). Andrew said that the North East has a great deal to gain from increasing its engagement with Europe and that organisations such as Europe Direct and NEEO are there to help. Stephen Hughes MEP and Cllr Cyndi Hughes explained how they and their colleagues work with the EU and the Brussels office on issues such as energy, financial inclusion, education, culture and regional promotion. Sarah-Jane King from NEEO explained how partners can access advice on European opportunities and influence European decision-making on policy and legislation by working with the Brussels Office.

The second session profiled how the region is becoming more outward-looking in engagement and promotion, with a presentation of the new phase of the Regional Image Campaign by Tania Robinson from One NorthEast. A series of thematic workshops then looked at how projects on sustainability, business finance, universities and economic development, and lifelong learning and youth, have achieved more by taking a transnational approach and using non-structural funds co-financing from the EU.

The key points to emerge from the workshops were:

Sustainability (IM-CORE project - Innovative Management for Europe's changing COastal REsource)

The Durham Heritage Coast Partnership is a partner in IM-CORE, a project driven by the shared problems of a shared resource - the North Sea Coast. Part driven by Climate Change the project is funded through the North West Europe Interreg Programme. The project helps the Durham Heritage Coast achieve its objectives and it also raises the profile of the coast and the team. It provides access to a wide range of knowledge and expertise from across Europe. It also enables best use to be made of limited resources and by being involved in the Interreg programme, extra resources for the project were accessed. Such projects provide personal development opportunities and personal challenges and allows partners to experience new cultures, languages and ways of working.

Business & Innovation (Achieve More)

The Achieve More project addresses barriers and challenges for the development of knowledge intensive small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector by working with incubators, clusters and investers - all essential to the future competitiveness of any SMEs. There are tangible benefits for SMEs involved in transnational projects. They should be directly engaged with a project, e.g. as sub-contractors, to protect them from bureaucracy.

Lifelong Learning

The Lifelong Learning workshop promoted the benefits of being involved in a Lifelong Learning project, e.g. adding value to existing services and helping achieve core objectives. Schools often undertake Lifelong Learning projects to help them improve their OFSTED reports.

Universities & Innovative Competitiveness (RUn-UP)

The RUn-UP project (Role of Universities in Urban Poles) involves partner cities from Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern Europe, and looks to improve the way in which universities contribute to local economic development. The workshop highlighted the importance of projects having political leadership. It also considered the issue of retaining students in the region and asked what statistics are available?

Iain Derrick from ONE NorthEast concluded the event by explaining how transnational projects can support and add value to the region's activities in the context of the ERDF programme, which is geared to increasing innovation and business support in the region.

Feedback from event delegates has been positive and includes quotes such as:

'I didn't think it (the event) would be as relevant and useful and dynamic as it was!'

A record will be made of those delegates who, on the feedback form, expressed an interest in being involved in a transnational project. The event organisers from the region (Europe Direct, One NorthEast and NEEO) will have access to this information and will contact individuals if they become aware of suitable transnational projects for them to be involved in. Organisers will also follow up on those feedback forms where individuals highlighted particular needs or made specific suggestions. For example, Jack Drum Arts requested more support for the arts, culture, and media/ film industries, a number of individuals expressed an interest in learning more about the Lifelong Learning Programmes, and the North East Strategic Migration Partnership (NESMP) said it would welcome an opportunity to develop initiatives on how NESMP could add value to many regional partnerships.

Presentations and background documentation

Due to the size of most of the files they have been converted to Microsoft Document Imaging format. If you unable to open them and would like a paper or CD copy please contact Europe Direct North East - Telephone 0191 383 3448 or Email europe.direct@durham.gov.uk

• event flyer that we used to promote the event;
• information about the workshops - this was sent out with the flyer when we first promoted the event;
• pen pictures of all the speakers;
• Europe Direct North East presentation by Dorothy Gibson;
• the RUN-UP project was presented by Martin Gray, Gateshead Council;
• Natalia Blagburn, Finance Tree on the Achieve More project;
• Councillor Cyndi Hughes in her capacity as a Committee of the Regions member, and
• Antonia Mochan of the European Commission Representation Office in London.

Unfortunately the following three presentations couldn't be converted. If you would like copies then please contact Europe Direct North East (see above).

• Niall Benson, Durham Heritage Coast's IMCORE project presentation that was delivered as part of the Sustainability workshop;
• Sarah-Jane King on the North East of England Office in Brussels, and
• Regional Image Strategy presentation delivered by Tania Robinson, One NorthEast