RURITAGE Board of Regions 1st workshop

On November 4th, 2021, over a dozen representatives of Ruritage’s Board of Regions gathered at a virtual workshop to discuss Culture and Natural Heritage (CNH) integration in regional smart specialisation strategies. The aim of this workshop was to collect the Regions’ own experiences on the topic, particularly focusing on challenges they face(d) and tips for other regions seeking to integrate CNH in their Strategies. Participants also shared valuable feedback on a set of related Policy Recommendations, which will soon be released by ICLEI Europe.

Notably, participants emphasised the need to collaborate beyond sectoral silos when designing and implementing regional development strategies. CNH stakeholders especially should be brought into the economic regional policy-making spheres.

Thank you to the Board of Regions members for their insights, and to the workshop guest presenters for the overview of CNH-RIS3 integration (Prof. Christer Gustafsson, Uppsala University) and examples from their regions (Marcin Staniszewski, Opolski Centre for Economy Development; Emmanuelle Lejeune, Mission to the EU of Hauts-de-France Region; Dr. Hannes Slamanig, Office of the Carinthian State Government).