Events

Did you miss an opportunity to join an in-person Nordregio Forum last November? During the past forum, we delved into the green transition topic and what it means for jobs and cities in the Nordic region. But what happened in Hamar does not need to stay only in Hamar. We would like to share inspirational keynotes, discussions and Nordic examples with you! Three steps towards the digital launch: Sign up for a digital launch of Nordregio Forum; On 31 January, check your e-mail inbox just before lunch (Stockholm time); Reserve a few hours to explore Nordic ideas on addressing the green transition challenges in the labour market and the cities. Mismatch in the labour market Nordic labour markets are challenged by a number of trends, of which the ageing population, digitalization, mismatch between competencies available vs needed, and the green transition stick out as perhaps the most important. How can regions adapt to demographic challenges, and rapid social and technological changes in the labour market? How can we achieve regional labour markets that are both sustainable and inclusive? What does the green transition mean to different regional labour markets? During the inspirational keynote, meet Even Aleksander Hagen (Innlandet County Mayor) – the youngest mayor in Norway with a strong vision on how to develop the inclusive and sustainable region of Innlandet. The panel discussion will set the scene on what kind of labour mismatches exist. Why? And what are the potential solutions? A variety of angles are discussed by researchers and practitioners from all around the Nordics, among others Marit Lofnes Mellingen (The Centre of Competence on Rural Development, Norway), Kresten Olesen (RegLab, Denmark), Jukka Teräs (Norrum Oy, Finland) and Jimmy Sand (The Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research/NIKK – Nordic Information on Gender, University of Gothenburg). The research insights session overviews the status quo and potential of Nordic competence mobility by Anna Lundgren and Ágúst Bogason (Nordregio). Nordic Solutions invites you on an inspiring…

Welcome to Hamar, Norway on November 23-24 and join us for inspirational talks, policy workshops, study tours and new research insights on timely regional development topics – mismatch in the labour market and communities in the green transition. Changing Labour Markets and Greener Communities: To adapt, or to transform? The Nordic countries are currently experiencing a shortage of qualified labour in many sectors. At the same time, some countries face a long-term unemployment issue driven by the mismatch of skills and available jobs. How can regions adapt to demographic challenges and rapid social and technological changes in the labour market? Re-starting competence mobility might be one of the answers. Mobility, urbanization and climate change are also creating the winds of change for cities: How will cities adapt and evolve to become greener, healthier, and inclusive? More information about the programme and registration will be available from mid-September. Nordregio Forum is the annual meeting place for professionals and policymakers working with regional, rural and urban development in the Nordic countries. It is a forum for exchanging ideas and trends, sharing new knowledge, examples and experiences, and pushing national and regional policy agendas while learning from each other. 

Nordregio Forum 2021 session 1 will focus on the impacts of remote work Post-Covid: As the pandemic is fading, we are facing a new reality with more people working remotely, from multiple locations. What is the potential for urban and rural regions? How can local and national governments support the change? Join the discussion with Nordic experts! Watch the Nordregio Forum 2021- session 1!  Programme 13:00 – 15:15 CET     13:00  Welcome greeting Moderators Ryan Weber & Linda Randall, Senior Research Fellows, Nordregio    13:03 Welcome speech Jukka Ihanus, State Secretary, The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, Finland 13:10 Keynote speech: The future of work is here! Maria Svensson Wiklander, co-founder of the Remote Lab, Sweden  (Knowledge and development node for the future of remote work » The remote lab)  13:23  Keynote speech: How remote working is reshaping regional development in the COVID-19 eraLamia Kamal Chaoui, Director, OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities   13:42 The regional impacts of remote work in Finland The moderators discuss today’s topic with Janne Antikainen & Sari Rannanpää, experts on regional development, MDI Consultancy, and focus on what are the impacts of remote work on regions and municipalities. What is the potential of multilocality for our societies? 13:55 Discussion with the keynotes and experts: What are the incentives to promote a sustainable multilocational lifestyle and remote work? And why?Q&A Session Here is your chance to ask questions to the speakers. 14. 10 Hop on a “Tour-de-Nordics” Hear directly from national and regional experts: How did Iceland succeed in implementing the new policy “10% of jobs are non-locational”? How are Norway and Denmark experiencing the new boom of second-home owners spending an increasing amount of time in rural areas? What kind of legal barriers is the Öresund region experiencing for digital remote work? And how to enhance cross-border labour market movements? Norway: Tor Arnesen, Researcher, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences Iceland: Hólmfríður Sveinsdóttir, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Transport and Local Government Denmark: Steffen Damsgaard, Chairman, The National Council of Rural DistrictsSweden-Denmark cross-border:…

Nordregio Forum 2021 session 2 will focus on just and green regional development. The Nordics are perceived as global front-runners towards carbon neutrality, but what kind of impact do we see at local and regional levels? How can we ride the wave and lead towards just green transition and rural renaissance? Join the discussion and learn from the precedents. Welcome to Nordregio Forum 2021 – session 2!  Watch the session on Youtube! Programme 13:00 – 15:15 CET 13:00  Welcome and intro to the programmeModerators Åsa Ström Hildestrand and Pipsa Salolammi, Nordregio 13:04  Welcome speechPaula Lehtomäki, Secretary-General, the Nordic Council of Ministers 13:10  What is just green transition? Why is it so important? How to create local value in the process?Interview with Nordregio’s Senior Research Fellows Anna Karlsdóttir and Anna Lundgren 13:20   Keynote speech: Green leadership – How did mid-size town Lahti become The EU Green Capital 2021? Pekka Timonen, Mayor of Lahti, Finland   13:40  Keynote speech: How to design effective climate policy with regional impact? Johan Kuylenstierna, Chair, Swedish Climate Policy Council    14:00  Panel Discussion: Climate Action Post COP26 and regional implications Anna-Leena Seppälä, Head of Unit, Ministry of the Environment, Finland will be discussing together with the keynotes of the day. 14:20 Hop on a “Tour-de-Nordics”Nordic experts share their planning tools for just green transition at the local level. The initiative DK2020 is helping all Danish municipalities to create climate action plans, but how? And how are Norway and Iceland proceeding with climate budgets, local leadership and ensuring that no region is left behind? Q&A Session – Ask the regional experts! Denmark: Anna Esbjørn, Head of program Cities of the Future at Concito (think tank)Iceland: Stefan Gíslason, Founder and Managing Director of Environice (consultancy)Norway: Kjetil Bjørklund, Climate expert, Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities. Explore how to make a climate budget (in Norwegian). 15.10 Final remarks by Rolf Elmér, Director of Nordregio

2020 has been a tough year for tourism and we are yet to witness the full regional and national impacts across the world. This year also provides an opportunity to take a step back and ponder what kind of tourism is sustainable in the long run? Has the business been financially, socially, and environmentally beneficial for the region? How do we handle the tourism paradox? The fourth session of Nordregio Forum 2020 dives into these questions and more, and you can register already today!   Check the recordings and links here In this fourth and final session on the 3rd of February, our researchers will focus on regional plans for sustainable tourism, how to measure impact, and the challenges ahead. We will also hear directly from some Nordic regions how they survived the shock, so far? Which are the new trends, tools and strategies to support local tourism, innovation and resilience, post-Covid?  The full programme, information about speakers and more is available on the Forum website: www.nordregioevents.org/programme The recordings from the first three sessions are available here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrur_rLAN0p6f6oeiw6Dlag

Welcome to two full days of key-notes, panels and discussions with experts, practitioners and more. Nordregio Forum 2019 will be held on Iceland for the second time, this time in beautiful Harpa in the centre of Reykjavik.  The full programme and more information can be found on our new event website: https://nordregioevents.org/forum2019

Nordregio Forum 2018 will focus on rural and regional development. What makes certain regions more attractive than others? What makes young people want to stay or return to some regions while others are suffering from out-migration of especially young women? What makes a region attractive for companies to invest in? What are the potentials for tourism in Nordic regions? We will dive into these, and more, questions and issues related to rural areas in the Nordic countries. With key-note speakers, parallel sessions, panel discussions, study visit and more, we hope to once again create an interesting arena for policy makers, organisations and other working with these themes to meet, discuss and exchange knowledge and experiences. Our key-note speakers come from a variety of fields and together they form an interesting mixture, providing us with a broad knowledge and experience. Read more about the key-notes here. The venue is Grand Hotel in Lund, Sweden. Just north of Malmö and only 45 minutes by train from Kastrup, Lund with its approximately 89 000 inhabitants is definitely a city, but with rural areas just around the corner. REGISTRATION The registration to the event is closed but if you missed the chance to join us, stay tuned on social media as we will share some highlights from the event: #nordregioforum2018 #nrpol. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin. Take a look at this short film from last year’s Forum to get a brief idea of what Forum could be!

WELCOME TO NORDREGIO FORUM AT VULKAN IN OSLO 29 – 30 NOVEMBER Read a brief summary of Day 1 Read a brief summary of Day 2 How do we create stronger linkages between the urban and the rural parts of our regions? How can smaller cities take the lead within sustainable development? What makes them attractive? How can cities in the Nordic countries benefit from Nordic collaboration and export promotion? Nordregio Forum 2017 will further examine these questions from the perspective of small and medium-sized Nordic cities. Nordregio Forum is also an arena for discussion and networking during parallel sessions and roundtables. The results will feed directly into the new Thematic Group on Sustainable Cities and Urban Development, established by the Nordic Council of Ministers as part of the Nordic co-operation programme within the regional sector – and contribute to the new initiative “Attractive Nordic cities”, part of the Norwegian chairmanship programme of the Nordic Council of Ministers for 2017. Nordregio Forum is the annual meeting place for professionals and policymakers working with urban planning and regional development in the Nordic countries. It is a forum for exchange of ideas and trends, for sharing new knowledge, examples and experience, and for pushing national and regional policy agendas by learning from each other.

Nordregio Forum has successfully come to an end – You can watch presentations online! Nordregio Forum 2016 gathered together over 150 innovators, researchers, policy-makers and practitioners from different organisation from all over the Nordic countries and elsewhere in Europe. During those two days Nordregio Forum 2016 offered a wide range of perspectives on the green transition state of the play and also some critical point of views. It served also as the final conference for the Nordic Prime Ministers’ green growth initiative and results from the many projects under the initiative. Heating, cooling and transport should get more attention in the debate on future energy systems, says Minister of Economic Affairs Olli Rehn (Finland). Rehn: ’We are at the start of a new economic era’. Forests are one of the most important natural resource for Finland and that makes bioeconomy very natural and important for the Finnish economy and according to him circular economy is the key to sustainable economic growth. Rehn started an inspirational day at the Nordregio Forum and discussions about Green transition and how to fast forward it together. Secretary General Dagfinn Høybråten (Nordic Council of Ministers) shared some results about the Nordic Cooperation for green transition. “There is a huge need to be attentive to the changes that need to happen in human behaviour. We can encourage this with policy measures. Don’t underestimate a population that is ready for change – push that change”. All presentations are found here: http://videonet.fi/web/norden/nordregio/ Over 150 participants at the Nordregio Forum 2016. Photo: Jussi Mäkinen. The global energy challenge presented by Mika Anttonen, ST1 energy company CEO. NETWORK AND FOCUS DURING OUR FOUR PARALLEL SESSIONS 1. Circular economy and industrial symbiosis – How to get it going? How to establish circular economy and promote circular business models in the regions?…

WELCOME to Nordregio Forum, 25-26 November 2015, the annual meeting place for professionals and policymakers working with urban and regional development in the Nordic countries. Nordregio Forum 2015 will focus on the strengths and weaknesses of Nordic city regions in a time characterized by fierce global competition, climate change and migration. Through international scholars and inspiring city examples, panel discussions and peer-to-peer dialogue, we will explore ways forward under three different, cross-cutting themes or challenges: 1. Competitive and sustainable city regions2. Effective governance of city regions: collaboration within and between city regions3. Liveable and socially inclusive city regions Nordregio Forum will also be an arena for discussion about a Nordic urban agenda for closer collaboration and increased political focus on our Nordic city regions and their needs in order to fulfil their important roles. PRICE Two days conference including lunches and dinner at Kronborg Castle: 3450 DKK + VAT One day participation fee: 1750 DKK + VAT ACCOMMODATION Hotel reservations are available via the registration form. VENUE Kulturværftet (Allegade 2) , Helsingør, Denmark.Easy to get to by train: Copenhagen/Kastrup Airport – Helsingør PROGRAMME Download the Forum programme here!A more detailed programme, including speakers in the two parallel sessions on day 2 will be published closer to the event. ORGANISERS AND SPONSORS Nordregio and Nordic Council of Ministers through its Committee of Senior Officials for Regional Policy in cooperation with the Danish Ministry of Business and Growth, RegLab Denmark and University of Copenhagen.

Nordregio Forum 2014 12-13 November 2014, Keflavik, Iceland Photo left to right: Ane Cecilie Blichfeldt & Johannes Jansson/norden.org Nordregio and partners are pleased to invite you to the second Nordregio Forum, the meeting place for policymakers, researchers and practitioners, seeking to ensure sustainable regional development in the Nordic countries. This year Nordregio Forum will focus on the potential of bioeconomy for growth and inclusive development in peripheral and sparsely populated regions, especially in the Arctic. Our distinguished speakers will highlight research results, case studies and policy recommendations within the following topics: Bioeconomy mapping – Towards an innovative and responsible bioeconomy How can new innovative use of local natural resources contribute to regional economic growth and development? What are the socio-economic and environmental consequences of the rise and fall of large-scale projects Multilevel governance and spatial planning in connection with large-scale projects Demographic challenges in the Arctic – What attracts young men and women, and skilled workers? The forum also includes excellent networking opportunities, as well as an exciting excursion to Grindavik, Asbru and Reykjanes, showing regional development in practice. Target groups The forum welcomes officials at relevant ministries in the Nordic countries, staff at regional and local authorities, non-governmental organisations, universities, research institutes and private consultants. Download detailed programme for Nordregio Forum 2014 Speakers Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Iceland Dagfinn Høybråten, Secretary General, Nordic Council of Ministers Calum Davidson, Director of Energy and Low Carbon, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scotland Peter Mehlbye, Director of the ESPON Coordination Unit, Luxembourg Kaisu Annala, Ministry of Employment and the Economy, Finland Dadi Mar Kristofersson, Dean of School of Social Sciences, University of Iceland Göran Cars, Professor, Royal Institute of Technology and Kiruna Municipality Anna Karlsdottir, Associate Professor, University of Iceland Keith Storey, Memorial University of Newfoundland St John’s, Canada…