Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference will discuss sustainable innovation
The 22nd Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference will start today in Pärnu, with the participation of delegations from 11 Baltic Sea countries and 26 parliamentary organisations, including representatives of the European Parliament, the European Commission, and many international associations. The topic for this year is Sustainable Innovation for a Competitive Economy in the Region.
The conference counts over 200 participants who will spend two days discussing economic growth, innovation and competitive sustainable development of the Baltic Sea countries. They will discuss how to speed up innovative health and wind energy projects, which space technologies are used in everyday life, issues of climate change, and examples of opportunities for creative economy in the Baltic Sea region. Overviews will also be given of the maritime policy and human trafficking reports.
This year, Estonia is the leader of parliamentary cooperation in the Baltic Sea region. The Conference will be opened by the President of the Republic of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves and the President of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma. A summary of the presidency year of Estonia will be given by the President of the BSPC Standing Committee, Vice-President of the Riigikogu Laine Randjärv.
“During Estonia’s presidency, the Standing Committee has entered many innovative topics on its agenda, such as issues of personalised medical care which is one of the most important and current fields of our near future next to environmental conservation,” said Vice-President of the Riigikogu Laine Randjärv. “This year’s conference tries to break down some stereotypes about the traditional forms of parliamentary conferences. An important achievement of Estonia’s presidency is the agreement, reached at the Tartu pre-seminar of the Standing Committee, to present a new multiannual working group to the Conference for approval. The objective of the working group is to deal with issues of innovation in medical and health care.”
At the proposal of the Standing Committee of the BSPC, working groups may be formed to analyse important issues for the region and will regularly present their work reports. In 2011, the Working Group on Green Growth was established for two years; it will present its final report at the Conference this year.
BSPC takes place once a year and unites members of national and regional parliaments of the Baltic Sea region. The organisation of the conference is the responsibility of its Standing Committee which is formed of representatives of national and regional parliaments of the Baltic Sea countries as well as of representatives of parliamentary organisations of the region. Read more about the Conference at: www.bspc.net
Additional information:
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