Introduction 5 Chapter 1: a description of the organisational structure set up for the implementation of the Strategy 6

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PA 12: To maintain and reinforce the attractiveness of the Baltic Sea Region in particular through education and youth, tourism, culture and health

Coordinated by

1) Tourism: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany)

2) Health: Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being

3) Education and youth: Hamburg

Brief summary of overall progress:

Education

Education in the BSR should be seen in the context of the EU 2020 strategy where it is a transversal and underlying topic in all three pillars of smart growth, sustainable growth and inclusive growth. Education is the basis for developing economies, building innovation and learning about sustainability. In the context of demographic change and the shortage of a qualified workforce, education plays a particularly important role in increasing the number of highly qualified young professionals.

All EU Member States are aiming for the 2020 strategy’s targets, including the following education targets:

The rate of early school leavers should be under 10%;
At least 40% of the younger generation should have a tertiary degree.

Education in the Baltic Sea Region is to be seen in the European context, i.e. respecting the full educational responsibilities of the Member States. Referring to the macro region of the Baltic Sea, education can and should strengthen what has always been the strength of the Region: A strong regional identity, the most innovative region of Europe, and a high economic potential.

In order to use the full potential in future, further develop the economy and overcome disparities in the Region, the Baltic Sea Region should see education as an underlying topic and further develop educational targets as set out in the EU 2020 strategy: enhancing the performance of education systems, facilitating the entry of young people to the labour market, and empowering people by developing their skills throughout the lifecycle.

There is no obligation for EU Member States to cooperate in education. All activities are voluntary and education is not an EU policy. This may explain why ministries and agencies are still not playing an active role in the Priority Area Education. The lesson to be learned from that is: 1) the macro-regional approach should be linked to the EU 2020 strategy as Member States are working on this (i.e. progress reports to the European Commission); and 2) the PAC has to undertake research to identify colleagues in charge and with knowledge of the issue. Once identified, these people need to be motivated to take part in the activities of the macro-regional strategy; this uses up a lot of PAC time resources. It would be much better if ministerial colleagues came to participate in a proactive way.

Since autumn 2010, the process of clarifying the Flagship Projects (FP) to be put into the Action Plan has continued. The main objective was and is: 1) to find out whether Flagship Projects included in the Action plan really function; and 2) to include Flagship Projects representing areas of the educational and lifelong system which are not yet present in the Action Plan.

A second strand of activities in the PA was, together with the Flagship Project Leaders, to define the function of the steering group, in terms of communication, and the roles of PAC and FP leaders.

The Flagship Projects included in the PA are still changing: through the last amendment of the Action Plan, a new FP has been integrated following a proposal from the PAC: the “Baltic Training Programme – BTP” which includes an area of further vocational training for young adults covering the topic of entrepreneurship. Here, the Norden Association is the FPL and has taken over a very active role in the steering group. One of the two Youth projects has been taken out as no FP leadership could be found. However, another Youth project led by the Blekinge Region is under preparation and will work on mentorship and entrepreneurship; this one should be included in the Action Plan and become a FP. The FP “Mobility of students and researchers in the BSR” has been stopped by both project lead partners (Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Germany, Ministry of Science in Denmark). It held a final conference in cooperation with the Baltic Development Forum (BDF) and the Nordic Council of Ministers on 23 November 2010 in Copenhagen. A final paper was promised to be written, but so far, nothing has been delivered, except a first draft. The PAC agreed with the BDF to cooperate on the “Fifth Freedom” in order to focus more on this topic.

The FP “BSR Quick” is currently preparing another project proposal under the Baltic Sea Region Programme. This new project will be a spin-off and address the development of female entrepreneurs and the elderly workforce.

During the last meeting of the steering group (with PACs, FPLs, NCPs and the Commission) in January 2011, a definition of roles and tasks of PACs, FPLs and NCPs was developed and discussed.

In order to increase visibility, there are plans to set up a PA website. The use of a share point will be examined in order to increase communication within the PA between meetings. With the future technical assistance support, the PAC plans to organise meetings at ministerial level in all countries where no contact exists at present.

Mid-term and long-term aims and objectives for education in the BSR are as follows: make cooperation more binding at ministerial level, set up a strategy working group at ministerial level from all EUSBSR states, put together examples of best practice and experiences, undertake a survey with the aim of identifying major common fields of development in the educational sector, and set up a catalogue of impulses for the development of educational systems.

Priority fields of educational development could be: implement the dual system of vocational training (including the active role of the private sector); implement the dual system of bachelor studies (including the active role of the private sector); implement good practice in early childhood education; further develop diploma recognition (through EQR, etc.); compare systems of monitoring and benchmarking; foster mobility; support teacher training; and provide education in sustainable development.

Tourism

The involvement of stakeholders in the implementation process is developing steadily. Currently, about 60 stakeholders have registered their interest in PA Tourism via the PA Tourism homepage, representing local and regional authorities, universities, projects and marketing organisations. Most of them are involved in local or sub-regional activities. As to direct input and feedback from the stakeholder side, direct contact with various EU projects like BaltMetPromo, Parks&Benefits or Baltic Museums 2.0 and direct interaction during events plays an important role. PA Tourism was presented at several events.

The establishment of a governance structure for cooperation in the tourism sector in the BSR is underway but it might need some 2-3 years until it becomes fully effective. In this respect, the funding of structures and activities also plays a crucial role.

Project proposals have been submitted to the INTERREG IV B South Baltic-Programme and Baltic Sea Region Programme, as well as to the Finnish ERDF programme (cf. Flagship Projects’ reports hereunder).

Initial preliminary results are now available. An analysis carried out in FP 12.9 of tourism-related EU projects indicates the existence of about 82 projects, most of them taking place under the umbrella of the INTERREG IV A Programmes. In principle, most of these projects are in line with the objectives of PA Tourism and also those of the Baltic Sea Tourism Forum (BSTF) which indicates a high potential of synergies in the cooperation.

Because of the involvement of the PAC and the FPLs, the objective of developing tourism cooperation at BSR level has become more visible. Nonetheless, the objective as such is not as self-evident to all the stakeholders as one might expect.

Based on current actions, contacts with tourism stakeholders will be further developed. Further meetings with stakeholders are expected to take place in the course of the year. These meetings shall be held in different parts of the BSR, where possible with the support of the INTERREG IV A Joint Technical Secretariat. The target groups are national tourism ministries, tourism-related projects, local and regional tourism marketing organisations and other public authorities.

The involvement of third-country stakeholders, especially from Russia, was on the agenda of the follow-up “Turku Round Table” held on 27 May 2011 in St. Petersburg.

Towards the end of 2011, a stakeholder conference for PA Tourism is planned in which progress will be presented and the next steps discussed.
Health
The NDPHS has a framework, expertise and political support for fostering the implementation of the health area of the EUSBSR. The NDPHS Strategy correlates with the EUSBSR, to ensure that the health and social well-being related activities in the Northern Dimension area be implemented in a coordinated and efficient way and involve all relevant actors. Furthermore, the NDPHS presents an example of pragmatic and successful collaboration between the EU and non-EU countries within a jointly created framework, which contributes to fostering the objectives of the health component of the EUSBSR. During the period under review the NDPHS was able to successfully pursue the implementation of the planned goals, although limited financial resources continue to postpone the achievement of more ambitious plans.

Examples of the recent tangible achievements towards the implementation of the health area of the EUSBSR include the following:

Fostering macro-regional cooperation in health and making it more integrated and inclusive: The Partnership successfully approached several key regional stakeholders to involve them in the implementation of the EUSBSR. Among the involved key regional stakeholders is the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) for cooperation, inter alia, in the field of reducing hazardous and harmful use of alcohol. The cooperation continued between the NDPHS and the e-Health for Regions network, the latter having been engaged by the NDPHS to take the lead role for the e-health component of the EUSBSR Action Plan. Finally, several other regional frameworks for cooperation have been contacted for cooperation, among them the BioCon Valley and the ScanBalt BioRegion, both of which are involved in the development and implementation of the Flagship Project “Set up cross-sectoral reference projects for innovation in health and life sciences”.
Providing assistance in identifying potential sources of financing for activities contributing to the implementation of the EUSBSR: The Partnership co-organised a seminar with the INTERACT Point Turku on project development and funding. The participating financing institutions and EU programmes presented their funding programmes and the financial resources available for projects in the field of health and social well-being – 18 different financing programmes were presented in 11 presentations made during the event.
Fostering macro-regional cooperation in policy-shaping: When discussing the next EU financial programming period, the participants in the above-mentioned seminar agreed that there was a need to raise the profile of health and social well-being and to ensure that it would be visibly exposed in the list of funding programmes’ priorities. The NDPHS, supported by other relevant regional stakeholders, plans to take a role in pushing for a change in this regard.
Development/facilitation of regional Flagship Projects contributing to the implementation of the EUSBSR: Most of the NDPHS expert-level structures embarked on the development of regional Flagship Projects, among them: (i) the EUSBSR Flagship Project on alcohol and drug prevention among youth; (ii) two projects son improving the services for vulnerable groups in order to prevent HIV; (iii) a project on nutrition, physical activity and prevention of obesity and diabetes in schoolchildren; and (iv) a project on health policy and strategy support to combat the non-communicable diseases epidemic in the Northern Dimension geographical area, etc.

Regarding the challenges and future steps, it is important to note that the NDPHS is well equipped for a focused, coordinated and sustainable implementation of the health component of the EUSBSR. At the same time, project financing availability remains a critical issue in the implementation process. As to the immediate steps to take, these include, but are not limited to the following: (i) further efforts will be make to involve other relevant regional stakeholders in the implementation of the EUSBSR; and (ii) Flagship Project applications will be finalised and submitted to financing institutions and programmes. Limited international and national funding for project development, applications and implementation is a challenge, especially in the area of health and social well-being, which is “under-invested” compared to other sectors. The NDPHS believes that engaging EUSBSR Priority Area Coordinators in the development of the Baltic Sea Region programmes’ priorities could help ensure better alignment of funding for the implementation of the EUSBSR Action Plan.

Actions:

Cooperative actions:

Education: “Further increase exchanges within the Baltic Sea Region” for students at schools, colleges, vocational institutions and adult education organisations under programmes from the European Union, from international organisations (such as the Nordic Council of Ministers) and from national / regional / local authorities. This could equally be extended to entrepreneurs and other professionals.

Report: The topics of this action are included in the Flagship Projects 12.1, 12.2, 12.4 and 12.5 that are described below and that are making it concrete.

Education: “Develop people-to-people actions” to reinforce the daily cooperation between citizens. For example, school exchanges to improve mutual understanding and promote language learning should be increased.

Report: The Norden Association already has the opportunity of supporting the people-to-people-actions, as they have a strong network of schools. Flagship Project 12.4 illustrates this action.

Tourism: “Highlight and optimise the sustainable tourism potential” of the Baltic Sea Region by establishing an environmentally-friendly tourism strategy at the level of the Baltic Sea Region (including Russia). This strategy could include the harmonisation of standards, the development of similar projects in different regions, joint marketing of the Region and cooperation on projects.

Report: The objective of this action is to highlight and optimise the sustainable tourism potential by establishing an environmentally-friendly tourism strategy for the BSR, including Russia. The development of a strategy for the Region and a manual for sustainable tourism are on the agenda of FP 12.10. The results shall be confirmed by a PA Tourism stakeholder conference at the end of 2011. As to the involvement of Russia, tourism is not on the list of common interest that is currently being talked about by the Russian government and the European Commission. Nonetheless, Russian involvement is pursued on a regional basis. Additionally, contact with the Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture will be established.

Tourism: “Network and cluster stakeholders of the tourism industry and tourism education bodies” based on the ongoing activities started with the first Baltic Sea Tourism Summit in October 2008. At the second Baltic Sea Tourism Forum in Vilnius in September 2009, it was decided to continue this process on an annual basis, with the next forum being hosted by the Kaliningrad Region in autumn 2010. Six future fields of intensified cooperation, among them common promotional activities, the creation of a common internet platform and the development of Baltic Sea Region products and services have been agreed on.

Report: According to this action, aspects to be mentioned in the strategy are joint marketing of the Region and cooperation on similar projects. The mapping exercises and the building-up of a network, especially in FP 12.7 and 12. 9, are a first step to identifying the different actors and their objectives. In the next step, the common denominators of the various activities will have to be identified. Next to that, issues like common marketing for the BSR are also being discussed in the Baltic Sea Tourism Forum and individual projects like BaltMetPromo involving the Baltic Development Forum. Through continuous dialogue, these issues will be further elaborated on.

The aforementioned activities also relate to the second cooperative action targets which are the development of networks and clusters of stakeholders in the tourism industry and tourism education bodies in the BSR. Reference is being made in the Action Plan to the “Baltic Sea Tourism Forum”. One result of the Kaliningrad Forum in November 2010 is a draft action plan which targets the joint development of products and services and their marketing in the fields of cultural and nature tourism, maritime tourism, events, and wellness and health-related tourism. The PAC accompanies these activities. Next to that, FPL 12.7 and 12.8 are also directly involved in the organisation of the work of the BSTF which promotes close cooperation with PA Tourism. The objective of this action is also supported by the activities in FP 12.8 which aims at setting up a tourism network. The result of these activities will be strongly influenced by the outcome of the project application of FPL 12.8 in the INTERREG IV B Baltic Sea Region Programme in spring 2011.

As the implementation of both cooperative actions is related to the Flagship Projects 12.7, 12.9 and 12.10, they will be finished only after 2012.

Health: “Contain the spread of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis” through partnerships and international collaboration in prompt and quality care for all, focusing on Tuberculosis / HIV co-infection and ensuring early diagnosis of HIV infections, providing access to treatment and strengthening interventions to reduce vulnerability, especially for Injecting Drug Users (IDU), prisoners, etc

Report: The NDPHS is developing two project proposals to strengthen inter-sectoral collaboration in HIV and related diseases prevention and care for vulnerable groups, with participation of partners from Russia, Poland, Lithuania and Finland. Both projects will aim at improving services for vulnerable groups in order to prevent HIV – one project is targeted at drug users and the other at primary prevention among youth. Concept Notes of both projects have been submitted to the Delegation of the European Union to the Russian Federation for financing from the Non-State Actors and Local Authorities Programme for the Baltic Sea Region. A project planning meeting was scheduled for April-May 2011.

Health: “Fight health inequalities through the improvement of primary healthcare” by assessing differences in the accessibility and quality of primary health care in the Region, by reviewing the situation of patients and health professionals, including their deployment, mobility and training and by promoting e-health technology as a means for closing gaps in health care access and quality.

Report: The NDPHS continued its focus on identifying and addressing the key problems related to the improvement of the primary health care in the Region. The role of the local hospitals has been identified among the priorities for regional action. Local hospitals, being an interface between specialist medicine and primary health care, could serve as important components of a comprehensive and equitable health system. At the same time, rapid knowledge expansion and specialisation, coupled with increasing population demands for health care sophistication and the effects of financial austerity, may threaten local structures that do not adapt rapidly enough to the changing environment. Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Sweden and Norway have already expressed their interest in regional cooperation in addressing the issue. The first kick-off meeting was scheduled for May 2011 in Riga, followed by a seminar in autumn 2011, where possible development of a Flagship Project could be further discussed.

Health: “Prevent lifestyle-related, non-communicable diseases and ensure good social and work environments” by developing comprehensive policies and actions in the entire region to prevent and minimise harm from tobacco smoking, alcohol and drug use to individuals, families and society (especially young people). Actions will contribute to the implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the “Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being (NDPHS)^³¹ Strategy on Health at Work” ensuring good social and work environments and preventing lifestyle-related, non-communicable diseases, using the workplace as an effective arena for promoting a healthy lifestyle.

Report: Several steps were taken towards strengthening the commitment and involvement of decision-makers and policy-makers in the prevention of lifestyle-related, non-communicable diseases (NCD) and ensuring good social and work environments in the Baltic Sea Region. Different NDPHS contributions have provided a basis for discussions on this issue. Another example of such activities is the established and evolving cooperation with the BSPC. In addition, major progress has been reported by the Member States in the implementation of the NDPHS “Health at Work” strategy, a merger of the ILO, WHO and EU occupational safety and health (OSH) strategies, committing the countries to improve OSH systems and improve the working environment, as part of the general health system. According to the informal surveys conducted during the BSN Annual Meeting, substantial progress has been achieved. Estonia, Finland, Germany Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden reported that work is in progress or partly ready for all or almost all items of the NDPHS Strategy on Health at Work.

Furthermore, the NDPHS is developing several project proposals to prevent lifestyle-related NCDs and ensure good social and work environments. A Concept Note of the “Healthier and Wealthier Cities and Villages: Management of change through monitoring, partnership, promotion and commitment” project has been submitted to the Delegation of the European Union to the Russian Federation for financing from the Non-State Actors and Local Authorities Programme for the Baltic Sea Region. A project proposal “Nutrition, Physical Activity and Prevention of Obesity and Diabetes in Schoolchildren” and a project proposal “Stop NCD-epidemic now!: Health policy and strategy support to combat NCD epidemic in Northern Dimension geographical area” were discussed at the first planning workshop in St. Petersburg, Russia on 23-24 March 2011. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Poland and Russia have expressed their interest in participating in the abovementioned two projects. In addition, the NDPHS is developing other new multi-country project proposals that will focus on industrial sectors and targets with high-risk working conditions, as well as return to work following work disability.

Among the challenges in preventing lifestyle-related NCDs and ensuring good social and work environments in the Baltic Sea Region is the fact that these issues are often given a low priority among the decision-makers. For example, there is a clear difference between the increasing availability and affordability of alcohol beverages in many countries and those countries’ capability and capacity to meet the additional public health burden that follows. This problem needs to get more attention from the policy-makers and decision-makers in order to reduce the spread of harmful drinking practices, which are among the main causes of the NCDs.

“Bring local authorities close to the citizens” by developing tools (for example based on the LEADER approach) whereby citizens would see their concerns and interests addressed by local authorities.

Report: no report available.

Flagship Projects (as examples):

12.1. Education: “Enhance cooperation – on a voluntary basis – between the regional Universities of the Baltic Sea Region” so that they coordinate their activities (research areas, exchange of students / professors / researchers, cooperation with enterprises) in order to establish the Baltic Sea Region as a region of sustainable development. This cooperation should implement political decisions devoted to Education for Sustainable Development. It could be based on the existing networks of universities, such as the ‘Baltic University Programme^³²’ involving almost all universities in the Region, and the ‘Baltic Sea Region University Network^³³’ with 40 members. A model could be the UHI Millennium Institute^³⁴. The envisaged Northern Dimension Institute which is under preparation by a number of universities in the Region could also provide further opportunities for networking. (Lead: Baltic University Programme in coordination with Lithuania (Vilnius University); Deadline for finalisation: to be determined) FAST TRACK

Report: Regional cooperation between universities is quite intensive. The Baltic University Programme (BUP) has been functioning since 1991. This Programme is coordinated by BUP at Uppsala University (Sweden). It unites 227 universities from 14 countries. The programme focuses on SD and ESD: university courses, university teacher training, student activities, research activities, exchange of students, common projects, etc. A third BUP Rectors conference will be held in October 2011.

About 40 universities cooperate in the Baltic Sea Region University Network (BSRUN), which started in 2000. The network organises conferences, the exchange of students and staff members, as well as common research projects. Dissemination of information is one of the main activities of the network. The secretariat is located at Turku University (Finland) and is mostly financed by the Finnish government.

The project leader has faced difficulties in securing financing for the Flagship Project and in finding relevant financiers that are interested in financing ESD and networking, and is trying to find possible financiers and contacting them for discussions.

Further cooperation of universities can be strengthened by:

- making financing available for networking between universities in the Region;

- coordination of university teacher training and research activities for the sustainable development of the Region;

- cooperation for common, higher education areas in the Region;

- benchmarking of the governance of universities;

- cooperation among citizens in the Region with a view to preserving and cherishing linguistic and cultural diversity;

- production and updating of courses.

There are no dates set for finalisation of such cooperation. Universities should agree on common indicators to ensure monitoring of the process.

12.2. Education: "BSR-Quick”. The project BSR-Quick aims at qualification for owners, graduates and employees of small and medium-sized enterprises. The project encompasses academic education (dual bachelor study courses) and vocational training. By creating a network of universities, the missing link between SMEs and the academic area will be forged. In addition to education and training, the project will deliver innovative solutions for individual companies (Lead: Hanse Parliament e.V. Hamburg, Germany, with 40 partners from all BSR countries including business organisations, universities and polytechnics, and public administrations. Deadline for finalisation: December 2012).

Report: Besides the formal partners, the project strongly cooperates with nine Russian partners from St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad and has substantial support from 41 associated organisations.

A unique network of universities entitled the “Baltic Sea Academy”, providing the missing link between SMEs and academic institutions, was established at the beginning of the project in 2010 and has grown from 8 to 15 members since. The concrete work focuses on education, qualification and very tangible R&D solutions for SMEs. The trainings and study courses developed are very well accepted by the entrepreneurs and often overbooked. Following a “Hanseatic Conference” on Education, a book with perspectives from different countries in the Region will be published in May 2011. The publication will also include strategies for a future education policy.

As a spin-off, a new project was initiated in spring 2011 and is directed specifically at the further qualification and promotion of female entrepreneurs as well as the integration of older employees.

The project will be finalised in December 2012.

12.3. Education: “Identify barriers hampering mobility of researchers and students in the Baltic Sea Region and enhance cooperation in the Region in the area of mobility” (the so-called "Fifth Freedom"). (Lead: Denmark, Lithuania and Germany; Deadline for finalisation: to be determined)

Report: No report has been delivered so far.

12.4. Education: “Promote school exchanges and develop a ring of partner schools around the Baltic Sea” in order to improve mutual understanding and promote language training. (Lead: Hamburg (in cooperation with the German Foreign Office); Deadline for finalisation: to be determined)

Report: While developing a ring of partner schools around the Baltic Sea, the following subjects should be dealt with and the following activities should be furthered:

– The number of exchanges between schools as well as between vocational institutions within the Baltic Sea Region should increase;

– The existing cooperation between schools should be encouraged and strengthened, e.g. by suggesting the schools deal with subjects of mutual interest as a basis of the cooperation;

– Language learning should be promoted.

It has not been possible so far to take stock of all existing school partnerships within the Baltic Sea Region. Hardly any country carries out surveys in order to gather data on school partnerships.

Lists of COMENIUS projects are available, but these connections exist only on a temporary basis and do not initiate long-term partnerships in the first place (perhaps now and then as a by-product).

If we have no data of the relevant schools, we are unable to proceed much further. We will have to narrow the scope of our work to a small number of countries within the Baltic Sea Region.

Thus the project leader decided to invite German actors in order to find a solution for this problem, to plan the next steps and to distribute the tasks. But there is a certain reluctance to participate in these actions because they lack financial support.

Without any reliable financial support it will be difficult to proceed.

In order to develop more than a website, money will be needed e.g. for initiating meetings of the schools involved and for sponsoring activities that they plan.

A meeting of the German actors was scheduled for April 2011. After having agreed on the scope of our activities, the project leader will try to find schools in this limited area that are interested in a school partnership with another school within the Baltic Sea Region.

A website with the relevant data will then be created.

Counselling and support will be offered to the schools that look for a suitable partner school.

12.5. Education: "Baltic Training Programme" (BTP). The project BTP supports the internationalisation of vocational education and training (VET) as well as cross-border entrepreneurship. It is divided into two parts: 1) a testing model, where students at VET and their cooperation project ideas are matched with host companies in another country; and 2) seven stakeholder seminars for target groups such as providers of VET, companies, politicians and civil servants involved in VET. The seminars discuss relevant topics in order to identify actions needed to support internationalisation of VET and cross-border entrepreneurship in the BSR. The area of operations is Estonia, Latvia and the Eastern part of Sweden. (Lead: Norden Association, Sweden; Deadline for finalisation: May 2012).

Report: The project was launched in October 2009 with the main financing from INTERREG IVA Central Baltic. The partnership consists of four partners in Estonia, Latvia and Sweden with the Norden Association in Sweden as Lead Partner.

The method applied is built on matchmaking of viable business projects formulated by final year students at VET with host companies in a neighbouring country. Afterwards, the students participate in a combined educational and internship programme over one month. Project coaching by business consultants is offered to the participants, both students and companies. At the end of the programme, the projects are presented at seminars with stakeholders such as representatives from the industry, educational providers, politicians, etc. So far, two groups have been finalised from a total of 23 business projects.

The main challenge identified during the implementation of the project was the limited number of potential participants, namely students with an entrepreneurial mind and good command of English. Secondly, the educational providers have not proved to be very flexible as regards letting their students participate in the BTP outside the planned periods for internships. The challenges are being met with more direct information to the educational providers, building up a net of antennas supporting the project locally at the schools.

The next steps are three more groups, four seminars with stakeholders and finally a conference in Riga in April 2012. The BTP will be finalised in May 2012.

12.6. Education and Youth: “Establish a youth resource centre”. The Youth Resource Centre in the Baltic States is to be built on the model of Youth Centers in Budapest and Strasbourg, but having a stronger focus on building competences within the field of organisational work and being built for and with young people. The target group of users will be the Baltic Sea Youth Councils and other youth organisations, then extending to include Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Russia and potentially the Caucasus. The activities of the centre should be coordinated with the Youth Resource Centre for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, based in Warsaw, Poland. The centre is to represent a focal point for national and international cooperation between – and development of – different NGOs, and it should provide a venue with good working conditions and possible accommodation. (Lead: Lithuanian Youth Council (LiJOT), in cooperation with the national youth councils of Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia and Belarus; Deadline for progress review: to be determined)

Report: No report has been delivered.

12.7. Tourism: “Attract tourists to rural areas especially the coastal ones” by promoting joint sustainable rural and coastal tourism packages (e.g. farm, food tourism, hiking, winter sports, nature-based tourism) and by creating a tourism network made up of actors from the tourism sector, research and education, and local and the public sector, in order to share and disseminate best practices and know-how with regard to products, services and their accessibility. (Lead: Regional Council of Southwest Finland (in cooperation with Turku Touring); Deadline for progress review: 31 May 2012)

Report: About 40 people participated in the first kick-off meeting in Turku in September 2010 where different aspects of rural and coastal tourism were discussed, accompanied by some networking activity. During autumn, other national networking events were organised. Furthermore, the FPL participated in many Baltic Sea tourism related events and promoted the FP. The mapping of the regional tourism actors of the Baltic Sea Region has started and the formation of a Baltic Sea coastal and rural tourism network has been initiated. About 50 participants have signed up for the network.

Because of its limited resources, the lead partner is seeking new funds for the implementation. The lead partner has had to cover many of the costs of the Flagship from its own sources, namely the annual budget of the organisation. The involvement of the network members and stakeholders is challenging in terms of the lack of funding. The FPL (here: Centre of Expertise for Tourism and Experience Management at Turku Touring) prepared a project application for the 4th Call under the INTERREG IV B Baltic Sea Region Programme that closed at the end of March 2011. The application was coordinated by Turku Science Park. The objective of the proposed project is to set up an Innovation network for the BSR area, piloting tourism, which will strongly support the goals of the FP. The approval of the project would greatly support and speed up the implementation of the FP. The decision will be taken in October 2011.

Many workshops and seminars will be organised throughout the year. During autumn, a national rural tourism seminar will be organised together with the Finnish rural tourism theme group. The FPL will also be involved in a series of meetings around the BSR planned by the PAC. Exchange with the stakeholders in the coastal and rural tourism network will be further deepened with the aim of setting up a draft agenda for development needs and ideas for the promotion of joint tourism packages, though a lot will depend on the outcome of the project application in the INTERREG IV B BSR Programme. A progress review was submitted in June 2011 to the PAC.

12.8. Tourism: “Facilitate environmentally sustainable cruise vessels in the Baltic Sea” by developing programmes bringing together providers of maritime services to passengers (e.g. the cruise industry, maritime leisure activities, national/regional/local authorities…). (Lead: AIDA Cruises, Germany; Deadline for progress review: December 2012)

Report: Currently, no activities under this FP can be reported. AIDA CRUISES, a German cruise ship operator, is in contact with the PAC with regard to taking over the role of the FPL. One important point has been the question of resources that are needed to carry out this task which is apparently difficult for private company stakeholders. So far, no concrete activities have been undertaken in this FP.

12.9. Tourism and culture: “Promote the cultural and natural heritage” by mapping the main areas of interest in order to preserve and revitalise elements of cultural and natural heritage. Major directions in the further development of attractive and characteristic tourist offers in the Baltic Sea Region will be identified. (Lead: Office of the Marshal of the Pomorskie Voivodeship; Deadline for progress review: 31 December 2011) FAST TRACK

Report: A study on projects of initiatives and projects that relate to this FP finished in December 2010. This multilevel analysis identifies 82 projects that are being implemented within 12 INTERREG IV A programmes. Quite a lot of the projects analysed are concurrent with principles of the Strategy. The concurrence is, in many cases, "passive", because the projects are oriented in accordance with priorities of the programmes, not the Strategy. At the same time, in many cases a lack of a broader attitude to the strategy subject is visible, especially in the case of projects oriented towards investments.

The report will be given to the stakeholders/institutions responsible for tourist promotion and development as a source of current and reliable information about initiatives undertaken. Pursuant to the analysis conducted, conclusions and recommendations concerning directions of the Strategy implementation were prepared, and suggested directions for further cooperation between entities implementing particular projects were also indicated. The second step and challenge will be to establish cooperation structures with regard to cultural und natural heritage tourism in the BSR and to define the most suitable tools and methods for implementation.

So far, the FPL has not received any external funding for its activities. A project application in the INTERREG IV A South Baltic Programme has been re-submitted under the 5th call of this programme, with a decision expected in mid-April 2011.The prospect of obtaining funds within the INTERREG IV A South Baltic Programme will give real opportunities for cross-border cooperation with tourist product creations and implementations.

A progress review will be submitted at the end of 2011.

12.10. Tourism: “Develop strategies for sustainable tourism” by using available sources of information such as the YEPAT database^³⁵ or the Nordic Culture Point. In addition, within the project AGORA 2.0^³⁶, partners from the Baltic Sea Region (including Belarus) will start implementing pilot projects to improve accessibility to natural, cultural and historical heritage for tourism and to detect features of a common identity of the Baltic Sea Region. (Lead: University of Greifswald (Germany); Deadline for progress review: 31 December 2011)

Report: The project AGORA 2.0 held its 2nd project meeting in Minsk / Belarus (October 2010) and is preparing the 3rd meeting in Tallinn / Estonia where draft solutions will be introduced, including:

– BASTIS (web-based Baltic Sea Heritage Tourism Information System)

– Heritage Scout (web-based heritage panel)

– BSR-wide online questionnaire survey: What do we have in common across the Baltic Sea Region?

– BSR-wide online ranking: Six Baltic Sea Wonders and others.

Greifswald University continued the cooperation with other INTERREG IV A and B projects. During a workshop in Greifswald, 26-27 January 2011, leaders of seven ongoing tourism-related BSR projects decided on a work plan to develop a “Manual on sustainable tourism in the BSR” – also involving BSR-wide / European umbrella organisations. The Leader of FP 12.10 is a member of the CBSS Expert Group on Sustainable Development – Baltic 21. The content of this FP is also included in the new Baltic 21 strategy.

To act as a lead partner of an INTERREG IV B project and as an FP coordinator at the same time is a challenging task – but at present it is the only source for financing activities for the FP by projects. Unfortunately, these projects require lots of time for extensive administration tasks which could be better used for work on contents.

FP 12.10 gets financial support through the project AGORA 2.0 (INTERREG IV B Baltic Sea Region Programme 2007-13).

The project AGORA 2.0 will be finished in December 2012. FP 12.10 is expected to finish at the same time. A progress review will be submitted at the end of 2011.

12.11. Health: “Alcohol and drug prevention among youth” – project aimed at reducing hazardous and harmful alcohol use and alcohol and substance use in general among young people. (Lead: Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being (NDPHS) and its member countries; Deadline for progress review: to be determined) FAST TRACK

Report: The preparation of the project proposal for application for funding is ongoing. Three project planning meetings have been held so far. As of February 2011, 11 countries and organisations are involved in the project planning process: the Baltic Healthy Cities Association, the Baltic Sea States Sub-regional Cooperation, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, the Nordic Council of Ministers, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden.

Financing matters are among the main challenges. There are no financing programmes that would accept an application involving all partner countries and organisations. Therefore, it was decided to split the project into one project specifically for Russia and another – similar project – for the other partners.

The next step is to finalise the project proposal with the aim of submitting it for funding in 2011. A project planning meeting was scheduled for 6 June 2011 in Helsinki, Finland.

12.12. Health: “Improvement of public health by promotion of equitably distributed high quality primary health care systems” – project aimed helping increase cost-efficiency of the public health system and more efficiently counteracting communicable diseases as well as health problems related to social factors. (Lead: the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being (NDPHS) and the Blekinge County Council; Deadline for progress review: mid-2011) FAST TRACK

Report: The project includes 12 project partners from Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden, as well as Kaliningrad Region, Russia as an associated project partner. The project has now moved from the planning phase to the implementation phase. The project activities were affected by the decision to close down the Committee for International Health Care Collaboration (SEEC), the previous Lead Partner of the project. Fortunately, the Blekinge County Council has agreed to take over as a Lead Partner, although the time-frame for the planned activities, milestones and deliverables is lagging behind due to the above-mentioned difficulties.

So far, the following detailed activities and outputs have been realised:

(i) Country working papers, outlining existing remuneration/incentive payment schemes, have been prepared and are used to produce a transnational synthesis report. Based on this report, a transnationally valid incentive payment scheme will be developed and piloted in Latvia;

(ii) In parallel, a working group on quality indicators for primary health care performance has conducted research into indicators that are being used in the participating countries and Great Britain (which is an advanced country in the field) and how reporting systems are set up. The data collected is being used to create a joint basis and approach for the implementation of a new remuneration system which will foster efficiency and quality, through both financial incentives and benchmarking between the General Practitioners;

(iii) Two nurse training weeks have been held in Turku, Finland (October 2010) and Blekinge, Sweden (November 2010);

(iv) The ImPrim Project website (www.oek.se/imprim) is updated on a regular basis and is user-friendly. The website contains information about the project achievements and provides access to the relevant documentation. It also provides information about the upcoming ImPrim activities and the events organised by associated organisations.

As to the next steps, the following milestones and deliverables were expected by May 2011:

(i) Transnational workshop in Klaipeda, Lithuania, to present and discuss mid-term evaluation results of a pilot project on testing a jointly developed incentive payment scheme in Latvia;

(ii) Training instrument developed for the medical qualification and basic graduation of a physician;

(iii) Transnational workshop on motivational counselling in Turku, Finland;

(iv) Guidelines developed on the use of tools for quality improvement from a bottom-up perspective;

(v) Presentation of a multilingual ToT Programme containing BSR best practice for leaders in professional development;

(vi) 3rd Transnational Partner Meeting in Turku, Finland;

(vii) Pilot project in Gomel, Belarus: two rural practices equipped according to modern standards;

(viii) Kick-off pilot project: “Health Synergy”, Klaipeda, Lithuania;

(ix) ImPrim Newsletter on professional development issues.

12.13. Health: "ICT for Health" – Strengthening social capacities for the utilisation of eHealth technologies in the framework of the ageing population. The INTERREG IV B project "ICT for Health" is managed within the eHealth for Regions network and is aimed at contributing to better deployment of eHealth technologies through enhancing social capacity, acceptance and knowledge of citizens and medical professionals. It addresses some of the key challenges of the Baltic Sea Region, namely demographic changes and the large differences with regard to access to, and quality of, health services. (Lead: University of Applied Sciences, Flensburg; Deadline for finalisation: December 2012).

Report: The ICT for Health is running according to the planned timeframe and has encountered no serious problems so far. After 14 months of fundamental conceptual work, project partners are now starting the implementation work, e.g., the piloting of learning courses.

So far, the following detailed activities and outputs have been realised:

(i) To raise awareness about the project, key project messages were formulated;

(ii) Communication tools (website, SharePoint) were implemented (www.ictforhealth.net);

(iii) An eHealth-Acceptance-Index (EAI) measuring eHealth acceptance was developed;

(iv) The impact of demographic change on health care systems in the partner regions was compared;

(v) The first version of a web-based learning course for citizens with chronic heart failure (SALUDA) is ready and the recruitment of patients for the pilot started;

(vi) Practice of eHealth teaching for professionals as well as selected patient education being offered in five partner countries was surveyed. Possible teaching content for the target groups is described;

(vii) The special needs of people with chronic diseases travelling and the possible effects from the electronic health record on patient empowerment were analysed;

(viii) Exchange with other projects established (“Best Agers”, “epSOS”).

The ICT for Health runs from January 2010 to December 2012. The next steps are to:

(i) Hold an online debate on the topic of eHealth acceptance, planned for spring 2011;

(ii) Carry out a pilot run with 400 participants with chronic heart failure to test the SALUDA learning course in all partner countries and to measure the effectiveness of eHealth acceptance and self-monitoring, planned to run in summer and autumn 2011;

(iii) Formulate eHealth education standards and conceptualise an eHealth Master programme, planned from spring to winter 2011;

(iv) Launch the multilingual personal health portal, planned to run from summer 2011 until the evaluation at the end of 2012.