The European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) Annual Forum

In 2024, the Annual Forum takes place over two days on 30 and 31 October, with an optional side event on 29 October. © Karl Melander

Engagement: The side event on 29 October was an opportunity for not yet engaged stakeholders to get acquainted with the Strategy and learn how the Strategy can support their strategic objectives. Participants were welcome to present their initiatives and to discuss them with 12 of the 14 policy area coordinators. The target groups for this day are civil society, youth organisations, the business sector, local authorities and Ukrainian stakeholders.

Co-creation: Interactive workshops, panel discussions, and seminars invited participants to discuss challenges and to elaborate on solutions. These sessions emphasised cross-sectorial, transnational, and multilevel collaboration, designed to generate practical outcomes, and foster ongoing cooperation. All activities were related to the Action Plan of the Strategy and ongoing processes or projects in the 14 Policy Areas.

Policy Dialogues: Central to the Forum were policy dialogues addressing the strategic objectives of the EUSBSR. These discussions ranged from large plenary sessions to focused panels, each tackling key aspects of the Strategy and exploring solutions to enhance the Baltic Sea Region’s development.

Networking Village: The Networking Village served as a social hub for informal exchanges and spontaneous connections. Located at the heart of the Forum, it was a place for participants to meet between sessions, start new conversations, and spark collaborations. The 14 Policy Areas, Pan-Baltic organisations, the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme, the Swedish Institute, and other financial programmes were represented.

The Forum continued building relations with Ukraine following the initiative taken by the Swedish EUSBSR Presidency.