24.10.2023

Interreg Atlantic Area & Blue Synergies events: creating synergies for the Atlantic stakeholders

The 2-day events, which took place last week, brought together around 180 participants.

The annual gathering of the Interreg Atlantic Area Programme, held last week at Porto Leixões Cruise Terminal, had the participation of around 180 attendees, meaning one more milestone in fostering transnational collaboration and regional development. The event drew together representatives from diverse sectors, including academia, public authorities, government, and international organisations, Atlantic Area beneficiaries, among others.

It served as a dynamic platform for knowledge exchange, discussions focused on the importance of culture and heritage for economic and social development and the enhancement of the blue and green environment while encouraging cooperation across borders. Our keynote speaker, Joaquim Oliveira Martins,  Member of the Group of High-Level Specialists on the Future of Cohesion Policy, shared relevant perspectives within the scope of Cohesion Policy, thus gaving an excellent contribution to the success of this event. Also the Secretary of State of the Sea, José Maria Costa, closed this event by highlighting the importance of our Programme, which due to its nature and alignment with the Atlantic Strategy, can and should be seen as a funding instrument of reference for the Atlantic regions.

 

On the following day, the Blue Synergies event aiming at maximing funding impact at the Atlantic Sea basin gathered the Atlantic stakeholders, funding authorities, the business community, and project owners. This event was a forum for dialogues and exchange of innovative ideas, by leveraging concrete regional project illustrations and the possibilities presented by the Atlantic Strategy to foster a sustainable blue economy within the Atlantic Area. We highlight the presence of António Cunha, President of CCDR-Norte and Managing Authority of Interreg Atlantic Area, Marisa Lameiras da Silva, Chairperson of the Atlantic Strategy Committee, Iglika Yakova, Deputy Head of Unit from DG Mare and Slawomir Tokarski, Director, European Territorial Cooperation, Macro-regions, Interreg and Programmes Implementation from DG Regio, European Commission.

The Blue Synergies event was a co-organisation of the Interreg Atlantic Area, DG Regio, DG Mare, the Atlantic Assistance Mechanism, and Interact.

We thank everyone who was present and made this event a success.

You can see here some photos of these events:

Interreg Atlantic Area annual event 18.10.2023

Blue Synergies event 19.10.2023

Published on: 2023-10-24