Description
Event Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic and now the war in Ukraine have made it clear that understanding how to maximise supply and value chain efficiency, while mitigating potential disruptions, is a fundamental part of ensuring resilient growth in any region.
The European Cluster Collaboration Platform, in collaboration with the Lithuanian Ministry of Economy and Innovation, AgriFood Lithuania DIH, Lithuanian Food Exporters Association and the European Commission, organised the second "Clusters meet Regions" workshop, entitled: “Baltic region clusters: eliminating risks, creating resilience, and strengthening local and European value chains in the face of geopolitical challenges”.
The event took place on 26 & 27 April 2022, in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The Clusters meet Regions series has two primary objectives:
1. to identify what European regions require to optimise innovation and economic development;
2. to address these requirements by creating links with clusters that can provide solutions to them.
This second workshop focused on the value of supply chains for regional development and growth, as well as the contributions clusters can make to shaping and implementing the Smart Specialization Strategy within the Baltic and Scandinavian regions. The agenda included interventions and debates on policies and other instruments by both policymakers and private sector representatives alike.
Following the workshop on 26 April, a hybrid matchmaking event was held on 27 April. This event was designed to strengthen networks and promote businesses, clusters and institutions from Lithuania and the Baltic Region to cooperate with other European organisations. The matchmaking event included participant pitches (5'-10' minutes), which consisted of presentations of cooperation proposals and general profiles by relevant organisations.
The matchmaking event focused on priority industrial ecosystems for the Baltic Region as follows: Agri-food, Automotive, Chemicals (mainly plastics), Engineering (mainly lasers and photonics), Health technologies (mainly biotechnologies), Industrial Information and Communication Technologies, Wood (incl. furniture).
The event was hybrid (both in-person and online), with the hybrid element taking place on Zoom.
If you would like any further information about this event in Vilnius, or to promote your city to host a future Clusters meet Regions event, please get in touch with us at clustersmeetregions [at] clustercollaboration.eu.
Background and post-event material:
Event Agenda
The latest event agenda can be found at the bottom of this page.
Event Presentation Slides
Please find the presentation slides from the Clusters meet Regions workshop at the bottom of this page.
Preparatory Webinar
The preparatory webinar outlined useful background information on the topics that the main event will address, such as responses to supply chain disruptions, cluster activities, and the challenges posed to these activities by the current geopolitical situation.
More information and the recording can be found here.
Technical Webinar
This technical webinar for the Matchmaking Event was held on 21 April. This event was an opportunity to hear how to successfully navigate the matchmaking platform.
More information and the recording can be found here.
Previous "Clusters meet Regions"
The successful “Clusters meet Regions” pilot event was recently held in Andalusia, Spain. If you’d like to learn about boosting your entity's network and supply chain connections, or your region’s economic development, click here and access a range of useful resources and highlights