Today in Eger, Hungary, took place the final conference of the project SURE (Socio Economic methods of Urban REhabilitation).
The project was designed to develop the partners cities’ capacity to work more effectively with resident and business communities on the development of integrated and locally sustainable solutions. SURE also supported the partner cities in the implementation of integrated socio-economic regeneration strategies, which build on local strengths and opportunities.
I asked Éva Urbán (and she’s got the perfect name for being an urban practitioner, right?), who works for the city of Eger – the project Lead Partner, to give us a sort overview of the conference. Before we get the results from organizers and participants, I’d like to share it with you.
What will happen during your final conference?
We have a great program!
In the morning, our Mayor, Mr László Habis, is going to introduce the day.
Then Olli Voutilainen, representing the Ministry of Employment and the Economy of Finland, which is the Managing Authority for the project in Finland, will give an overview of URBACT Programme. Attila Rátkai, the project manager will present SURE. And Hans Schlappa, the lead expert of SURE, will present the results of the project and assess their implications for policy and practice. Anna Demeter, external expert specialized in participative planning will present the toolkit produced by SURE.
We will also introduce three case studies from the network: Eger, Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve and Gyergyószentmiklós (Gheorgheni). And we will present the film of the project!
And then, we’ll move to work one more time, split up in parallel workshops based on the Local Action Plans of the project partner cities:
- Participative planning: with the cases of Gheorgheni and Albacete
- Place making: with the cases Ottiginies-Louvain-la-Neuve and Larnaca
- Partnership and community development: with Eger and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown
- And Land use planning with Pori and Komotini
Who will be attending the conference?
We have invited representatives from the partner cities (project managers, Local Support Group members, Managing Authorities, town leaders) and also, here in Eger: professional chambers,, university students, Non Governmental Organisations interested in social town rehabilitation. Representatives of other cities in Hungary will also join, such as people from the surrounding countries, who are involved in URBACT or interested in social town rehabilitation. We also invited the twin cities of Eger.
What do you expect the Final Conference to deliver in the short and the longer term?
In the short term, we would like people to get familiar with the result of our project and its conclusions. We also want our Local Action Plan to receive some publicity, because it deserves it!
In the long term we hope European funds will help us and our partner cities to solve the problems identified during the course SURE, based on our learning and the ideas, best practices and experiences we exchanged!
Thanks a lot Eva!
Ségolène Pruvot
