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How do we foster a European identity among young people? This was the question posed by Tina Hocevar, Vice President of the European Youth Forum at the EU Regions Week 2019. On Tuesday, Tina introduced the assembled attendees to the European Youth Capital (EYC) initiative that has shown a positive impact in achieving this aim. With Tina on the panel were representatives of the current award-winning EYC city and two upcoming winners. The EYC title, awarded annually by the European Youth Forum, is...

In recent years, governments at all levels have involved citizens more frequently in participatory processes: in a number of EU countries, regions and cities, various approaches towards participatory democracy have even become a matter of routine, complementing the work of representative parliaments, assemblies and councils. At EU level, citizens’ dialogues on Europe and its future have also become a tool used by EU institutions to listen to citizens' ideas. After the European elections, and...

On Tuesday 8 October, at SQUARE, the Megalizzi-Niedzielski prize for aspiring journalists was awarded to Karolína Šimková from Czechia and Tea Mihanović from Croatia. The two were selected from among the participants in the #Youth4Regions programme for aspiring journalists based on their commitment and potential as journalists. The Megalizzi –Niedzielski prize honours the memory of Antonio Megalizzi and Barto Pedro Orent-Niedzielski, young European journalists with a strong attachment to the EU...

A surge in global population and a sense of imminent environmental confrontation have spurred a search for the ultimate techno-eco-utopia, a city fit to face the challenges of the 21st century. The need for a new metropolitan model is clear. The United Nations predicts that by 2020, 2.5 billion more people will live in urban areas. This rapid urbanization is putting pressure on cities’ energy systems, transportation, housing and infrastructure. Along with the impending challenges of climate...

In a time when nationalistic policies have been thriving, the value to be a Union may appear antiquated. The session “Let’s unite! Reconciling Europe with its citizens to build a more democratic and closer Europe”, that took place on 8th October from 11.30 to 13.30, proves this belief to be wrong. During this session, stakeholders from the academia and civil society explained the beneficial impact of the creation of new synergies within the European Union; these connections involved universities...

This Tuesday’s EU Region Week session on “Delivering disaster resilience at the local level” was about how cities and regions are increasingly taking action to reduce the risk of disasters. Also, about the adaptation to climate extremes, such as floods or storms. This is demonstrated by three regions’ specific interventions which may be seen as examples to follow. The presentations by Janet Edwards, Arno Kompatscher and Piots Calbecki show how digital tools, cross-border cooperation and systems...

All the islands in the Mediterranean area share the same difficulties but also many goals. For this reason policies has to focus on the concept of mediterranean insularity in order to defend the peculiarities of these vulnerable territories. “We are little but very resilient. We are peripheric but we are part of the European Union. The EU has to be a real Union”, said Justine Caruana, minister for Gozo, in discussion with Francesca Lluch Armengol Socias, President of the Balearic Islands, Giles...

Armando Cardoso, from the European Commission, talked about the past and future of Portugal. Challenges like innovation and climate change were some of the subjects of this presentation. Although it is a beautiful country with so much to offer, Portugal always looks like a big challenge to Europe. It depends mainly on the European funds, it contributes less than the other countries for the European funds and, above it all, it doesn´t grow that much. Along with the big economic crisis in 2010...

Behind the curtains of East Europe, Poland’s communist past and grey architecture aren’t part of it anymore. Today, its developed infrastructure, competitive markets, and innovative technologies are well sustained. Statistically, 82 % of Polish citizens are informed of the EU cohesion policy, making Poland the most aware EU country. So, how are the regional policy and EU funds active in the country? The sectors the most supported by the EU funds in Poland are research and environment, in...

If there was a dictionary for the European Union tools and features you would find the following definition for “Cohesion Policy”: “The implementation of EU funded policies aiming to reduce regional disparities in the European Union affecting overall economic growth” and when looking on the same glossary for a concrete example of the aforesaid territorial differences, I’m confident you would bump into the Italian Mezzogiorno’s issue. Indeed, the striking social, economical and cultural...