Cooperation Areas

The overall objective for the Information office of the Nordic Council of Ministers in Kaliningrad is to provide a significant contribution to a sustainable integration of the Kaliningrad Region into the Baltic Sea Region as a global growth region with the aim of contributing to the development of equal relations between the countries to mutual Nordic-Baltic/Russian advantage. Co-operation with Kaliningrad will strength this co-operation through the following cooperation areas:

·        Business
·        Civil society
·        Cross-Border and Regional Development
·        Culture
·        Education
·        Energy and Environment
·        Health and Social Well-being
·        Innovation and Research

Business, energy and regional policies

The Office places high priority on the integration of Kaliningrad into the Baltic Sea Region in co-operation related to business, energy and regional policies. The Office will actively contribute to this co-operation through participation in ongoing partnerships. This includes initiatives in co-operation with Nordic institutions such as NOPEF (Nordic Project Export Fund), NICe (Nordic Innovation Centre), and NER (Nordic Energy Research) but will also cover initiatives in co-operation with other international organisations such as CBSS (the Council of the Baltic Sea States), the EU and the regional authorities in the Nordic countries. The part of the co-operation regarding regional policies will take place in co-operation with CBSS and BDF (the Baltic Development Forum), as well as with BEN (Baltic Euroreginal Network) as far as it relates to sub-regional co-operation between regions in Denmark and Sweden and partners in Kaliningrad. 
At present the Office carries on a dialogue with the Kaliningrad Regional Government on development of cooperation in the field of energy.

The cooperation has the following objectives:
·        contribute to the Nordic-Russian energy dialogue within the framework of the Northern Dimension;
·        contribute to the development of an efficient and sustainable energy sector in North-West Russia;
·        to develop knowledge, capacity, contacts and proposals for further cooperation within the framework of technical, scientific and/or commercial projects involving partners from North-West Russia and the Nordic countries.

The subjects for collaboration are energy supply and energy distribution, energy supply in remote areas, energy saving/energy efficiency/energy audits, as well as alternative sources of energy, such as bioenergy, wind energy and hydropower.

The Office will actively contribute to this co-operation through participation in ongoing partnerships. This includes initiatives in co-operation with Nordic institutions such as NOPEF, NICe, and NER but will also cover initiatives in co-operation with other international organisations such as CBSS, the EU and the regional authorities in the Nordic countries.

Please see the Mobility and Networking Programme for North-West Russia for the possibilities of cooperation in the field of civil society and culture.


Environment

The purpose of environmental co-operation is to conserve and improve the quality of the environment and of life in the Nordic countries as well as to influence regional and international co-operation. At the same time, environmental co-operation must also contribute towards implementing the Nordic Strategy for Sustainable Development.

The Office supports Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) in their work on the project “Preparatory Work on Kaliningrad Waste Water Sector Action Programme”. This cooperation will be related to the implementation of activities within the framework of the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP) as well as the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol in the Kaliningrad region.

In addition to the above mentioned cooperation with NEFCO the office will support different seminars aimed at finding solutions to the problems related to pollution of the Baltic Sea as well as indicators of sustainable development of Kaliningrad as a part of the Baltic Sea Region and the Russian Federation.

The Office also cooperates with the local research institutions such as the Atlantic Branch of the P.P.Shirshov Institute of Oceanology and the Atlantic Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (AtlantNIRO), which are involved in research co-operation in relation to the environmental problems in the Baltic Sea. These institutions already participate in international co-operation. During 2007 we will discuss how this co-operation can be extended to the benefit of the Baltic Sea environment and the countries around the Baltic Sea.

Besides, the Office has arranged the translation of the brochure “Nutrients and Eutrophication in the Baltic Sea. Effects/ Causes/ Solutions” into Russian and published it in June 2007. The brochure contains results of the investigations, conducted by DHI Water & Environment by request of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference Working Group on Eutrophication.

Facts on the environmental co-operation

Please see the Mobility and Networking Programme for North-West Russia for the possibilities of cooperation in the field of environment.


Health and Social Well-being

Nordic co-operation in the social and health sector is designed to promote the basic principles of equal treatment for all, social solidarity and access to guaranteed safety and quality in essential services.

The office has established co-operation with relevant local authorities, i.e. the Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education of the Kaliningrad region. There was established a Work Group on social issues related to integration of handicapped children in social environment. The Work Group consists of two Nordic institutions - the Nordic cooperation on Disability (NSH) and the Nordic Education Program for Social Service Development (NOPUS) – supported by the Government of the Kaliningrad region, I. Kant Russian State University and the NGO uniting parents of handicapped children “Maria” and the Office.

In November last year the international conference “Social inclusion of children with disabilities” was organized by this Work Group. Upon results of the conference the brochure of the same name was published in English and in Russian in March-April this year. 

This cooperation will be continued within the framework of the new programme for Mobility and Networking for NW Russia as well as the Northern Dimension Partnership on Health and Social Wellbeing (NDPHSW) in cooperation with NSH (Nordic Cooperation on Disability). 

Another priority of international cooperation is combatting human trafficking. The Office also intends to develop cooperation in this field with local partners: authorities, NGO's, and other interested parties.

Please see the Mobility and Networking Programme for North-West Russia for the possibilities of cooperation in the field of health and social well-being.


Education and Research

The objective of the Office is the development of the cooperation between Nordic and local education and research institutions.

In the field of education the Office has established good cooperation with the Ministry of Education of the Kaliningrad region in the framework of the integration of the disabled in social life. This cooperation is continued in 2007 with the expectation of activities to be set up in the framework of the Mobility and Networking Programme for North-West Russia.

In connection with the introduction of “NordICT – the Information and Communication Technology Network in the Nordic and Baltic Countries” in Kaliningrad in December 2006, the cooperation with the IT departments of the I.Kant Russian State University and Kaliningrad State Technical University has been established. During the second visit of the representatives of the NordICT network in May 2007 the priorities for cooperation have been identified and a cooperation agreement between I. Kant Russian State University, Center for Information and Communication Technologies (CICT) of the Danish Technical University and the Information Office of the Nordic Council of Ministers will be signed. According to this document there will be a possibility for student-exchanges and publishing of joint scientific magazines.

Thus, in summer this year a group of post-graduate students went to the Ph.D. Summer School in Skagen, organized by CICT. The program consisted of lectures and discussions of the participants' Ph.D. project. The aim of the course was to refine the level of knowledge of the participating Ph.D. students on mechanisms affecting technology development as well as on the impact of implementation and application of information and communication technologies on the economy and broader social developments. The participation of Ph.D. students was co-financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers. 

Please see the Mobility and Networking Programme for North-West Russia for the possibilities of cooperation in the field of civil education and research.


Civil Society and Culture

Co-operation in the cultural field is important to promote diversity of cultural expression, knowledge of Nordic culture and Nordic values in themselves. In addition, the office will make use of culture as an instrument to promote other areas, for example, in relation to the development of the social situation in rural districts.

The Office will take advantage of the established strong local network in the cultural area. The network is supported by the project “Visions of the Cultural Policy in the Kaliningrad Region in the Current Geopolitical Context”. This project is co-financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers and the European Cultural Foundation. This network includes the authorities, institutions, NGOs and private operators related to culture and tourism.

The cooperation of the Office is aimed at:
1. The establishment of co-operation with the local photography club on photos for the office’s website and photo archives in a number of selected districts in the region.
2. Start up of cooperation with children’s libraries in the region.
3. Support for the establishment of network cooperation between local cultural institutions and Nordic institutions.

The office has already established good relationships with a local photographer Dmitry Vyshemirsky. The exhibition of his pictures will take place on 12-14 of September in the premises of the Nordic Council of Ministers Secretariat in Copenhagen, Denmark and is dedicated to the City of Kaliningrad.

The cooperation of the Office is also aimed at:
·        Media cooperation
·        Culture cooperation
·        Cooperation between Nordic and Northwest Russian parliamentarians
·        Capacity building for NGO’s.

Please see the Mobility and Networking Programme for North-West Russia for the possibilities of cooperation in the field of civil society and culture.






Edited October 4, 2007