The European Week of Regions and Cities (formerly Open Days) will take place in Brussels between 10th and 13th October 2016. The theme this year is Regions and Cities for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth. The full programme includes some 130 sessions.

One debate is arranged by the Regional Partnership on Sustainable Innovation in Less Urban Areas in the North; the partnership consists of northern Sweden, Finland and Norway in the Northern Sparsely Populated Areas, NSPA, and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

The debate, titled Renaissance for Remote Rurban Regions through Research - the Case of Less Urban Areas in the North, is hosted by Scotland Europa at Scotland House, Rond-Point Schuman 6, 1040 Brussels, on 11th October 2016 at 14:30-17:00, with a reception afterwards.

The main topic will be the publication of the Regional Outlook conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD. The OECD Regional Outlook focuses this time on the development of less densely populated areas. Main speaker is Dr José Enrique Garcilazo, Head of Unit, Rural and Regional Development at the OECD, and also in charge of the ongoing OECD study on the 14 regions in the NSPA.

The debate will be chaired by Dr Erik Bergkvist, Chairman of Region Västerbotten, Sweden, and will provide opportunities for invited speakers and from the floor for comments and discussion on best practices and research as a tool for creating relevant "rurban" regional strategies.

There will be a short keynote from Mrs Elisabeth Vik Aspaker, Norwegian Minister of EEA and EU Affairs, and Nordic Cooperation. Mrs Aspaker will discuss northern European regional development, and the NSPA in the wake of the new EU Arctic communication.


The invited guests to deliver comments for this debate include:
- Mr Jens Nilsson, MEP and member of the European Parliament's Committee on Regional Development.
- Mr Harri Malinen, University of Lapland and Project Manager of Arctic Smartness.
- Professor Birgitta Bergvall-Kåreborn, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Luleå University of Technology.
- Ms Tove Sorensen, Norwegian Centre for e-Health Research, and Head of the WHO Collaboration Centre for Telemedicine and e-Health.
- Ms Donna Chisholm, Head of Business Innovation and Growth Sectors, Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Registration for the event will be open from 8th July onwards. You are cordially invited to register at: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/regions-and-cities/2016/register.cfm
The event code for this workshop is: 11A35.

The program is available here.

For further information, please contact Tony Scully at North Sweden European Office, lead partner for the event:
Anthony (Tony) Scully
North Sweden European Office
Tel.: +32 2 282 18 24 / +46 70 282 16 57
e-mail: anthony.scully@northsweden.eu