VBN InnoReg final seminar gathered innovation actors to Kaunas, Lithuania. VBN InnoReg project results were presented and VBN Joint Approach for Innovation Promotion was published in the event. The future of innovation promotion in the Baltic Sea region was widely discussed in the seminar.

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VBN InnoReg project meeting in Riga, Latvia, included workshop for the further development of VBN joint innovation strategy and study tours hosted by Latvian Technological Centre. Also VBN InnoReg pilot projects were presented in the Baltic Dynamics 2007 Conference in Riga.

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The Potsdam joint meeting aimed to give emphasis to the preparing of recommendations for the future action plans to support innovation promotion. Following these guidelines, the partners presented in the meeting the most important trends and challenges affecting innovativeness and competitiveness of the regions and discussed possible future projects.

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The second VBN InnoReg project meeting with 40 participants was organised in Tartu, Estonia. The aim of the meeting was to exchange experiences and discuss the RIS analyses work, regional meetings with innovation actors and pilot activities promoting better utilisation of innovations in the regions.

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VBN InnoReg study tour provided practical and comparable outlook on Finnish practises and organisations related to innovation promotion in the cities of Tampere, Seinäjoki and Espoo. Among others, it gave overview how the technology centres in different Finnish cities were established and how they have developed and gained their position in the regional innovation system.

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Commissioner for Regional Policy Danuta Hübner paid a visit to Finland on 26-27 June - on the eve of the Finnish EU Presidency. She spoke about the future of EU Regional Policy during a seminar in Tampere Hall that was organized by the West Finland Alliance (a strategic coalition between the Regional Councils of Central Finland, Ostrobothnia, Satakunta, South Ostrobothnia and Tampere Region).

In her speech Ms. Hübner underlined the importance of regions in promoting innovations: "It is in the regional level, where the growth is created and innovations are born". According to the Commissioner, it is utmost important that the provinces and regions participate and exchange experiences in transnational cooperation. In this regard she saw much potential and opportunities in the Baltic Sea region.

Commissioner Danuta Hübner web site

VBN InnoReg was presented from the point of view of promoting public-private partnerships and innovation in the BSR Interreg IIIB quality workshop on 13-14 June 2006 in Riga. Several professionals experienced in PPP and innovation, including representatives of BSR Interreg IIIB projects, and programme Steering Committee members participated in the event. The aims of the workshop were to extract the results of BSR INTERREG IIIB projects that deal with the issue of innovation, to gain insight into the current state of affairs concerning innovations and PPPs in the Baltic Sea region, to discuss and generate new ideas and proposals for the upcoming BSR programme’s draft priority “Fostering Innovations across the BSR” thus to adjust the priority to the needs of the actors in the region.

Recommendations, suggestions and the activities of support proposed during the workshop are passed to the programme’s Drafting team and will be incorporated in the draft priority. The wider public consultation of the future BSR programme will be launched in July 2006.

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VBN InnoReg project was presented in the "Baltic Sea Region Interreg IIIB Conference - setting regions in motion" in Malmö, Sweden on 16-17 May 2006. The event provided overview on the results and experiences from the BSR Interreg IIIB programme and information about the future transnational programme in the Baltic Sea Region starting in 2007.

Over 400 participants participated in the event. VBN InnoReg project was presented in the project exhibition together with the previous Via Baltica Nordica Development Zone project and about 30 other BSR Interreg IIIB projects.

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The VBN InnoReg kick-off meeting was organized in Tampere, Finland on 28-30 March 2006. About 40 representatives of the partner organisations participated in this first joint project meeting. In connection with the kick-off meeting, also the project Steering Committee met for the first time.

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