Events

The 18th Baltic Development Forum Summit will take place on 8 November at The Brewery Conference Centre in Stockholm, Sweden, in conjunction with the 7th Strategy Forum of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. Taking stock of the current state of the Baltic Sea Region, the 18h BDF Summit will explore how we can find common ground in…

The Security Advisor to the Latvian President, Janis Kazocins, visited BDF on 25 February to hold a presentation at a roundtable in the BDF offices. Kazocins shared his view on the political situation in the Baltic region and Russia relations in the light of the developments in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. Kazocins advocated for long-term cooperation with Russia and the…

BDF and “Top of Digital Europe” was the co-organiser of an ICT Business Round Table in Helsinki on 12 Jan 2016, organized and hosted by Microsoft Finland. Participants were specially invited Finnish parliamentarians, policy makers and ICT industry. The topic for discussion was the potential for a digital single market of the Baltic Sea region: Could this region develop a…

Pharmaceutical residues in the Baltic Sea are causing concern, as the full effect on the marine environment is still unknown. Human and livestock excretion of drugs and metabolites following consumption, as well as disposal of unused pharmaceuticals, are pathways to the environment. Many pharmaceutical substances cannot be effectively removed by conventional waste water treatment. The topic of hazardous substances is…

On 1 December Baltic Development Forum together with SIWI Swedish Water House and Race for the Baltic organized a round table with the title “Identifying the wins, addressing the barriers, and navigating the concept jungle – The why and how of corporate water stewardship”. Participating were representatives of a number of organisations providing tools and certifications for water stewardship. CEO…

The 17th Baltic Development Forum Summit was held in Copenhagen on 23rd November under the heading “Europe-wide challenges, regional solutions”. The Summit gathered decision makers from business, government and academia across the Baltic Sea region for a one-day compact Summit with a focus on competitiveness and business and investment opportunities in the Baltic Sea Region. In her opening speech Lene…

Two new studies of the digital economy in the Baltic Sea Region were published under the wings of the regional ICT Think Tank “Top of Digital Europe” established by BDF and Microsoft: The first edition of the “State of the Digital Region” report, an annual updated overview of the region´s achievements and position as a global ICT hub. The second…

The session “Business as usual or need for a new thinking” explored the business attraction and business-making models in the Baltic Sea Region. Four messages were stressed by the panelists: Firstly, we need to consider new thinking and more focused approach. Our focus should be on entrepreneurship and start-ups. There is a need for robust start-ups systems and more long-standing…

The discussions in the session “The Baltic Sea Region: Challenges and Game Changers” was based around a paper by Tobias Etzold and Christian Opitz, Stiftung Wissenshaft und Politik. The paper suggests that a meaningful cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region involving Russia is still possible and recommends a step-by-step approach as a possible way forward. This approach would entail stabilizing…

Join us in Copenhagen on 23 November for a full day of inspiring presentations and discussion at the 17th Baltic Development Forum Summit. The 2015 edition of the State of the Region Report will provide a comprehensive review of the latest economic trends and developments. We will also discuss how the Juncker Plan might boost investment in the Baltic Sea…