How cohesion policy delivers the Lisbon strategy

In a Communication adopted on 11 December, Danuta Hübner and Vladimír Špidla make clear that the new cohesion policy programmes for the 2007-2013 period meet the main policy objective of "delivering the Lisbon strategy" in EU Member States and regions. The data now available for more than 400 national and regional programmes from all Member States, show for instance that more than € 85 million (25% of the total budget of cohesion policy) are planned to be invested in knowledge and innovation.

More information here.
Access the communication here.
Power point presentation here.

New issue of Regional Studies Volume: 41 Issue 9

The new issue of the journal 'Regional Studies' (Volume 41 Issue 9) is now available for paid subscribers at the Informaworld's website. This issue contains the following articles:

Editorial: Whither Regional Studies?
Regions and Regional Uneven Development Forever? Some Reflective Comments upon Theory and Practice
Beyond the Territorial Fix: Regional Assemblages, Politics and Power
Territorial, Scalar, Networked, Connected: In What Sense a 'Regional World'?
The Accident of the Region: A Strategic Relational Perspective on the Construction of the Region's Significance
Observational Equivalence? Regional Studies and Regional Science
Power in Firm Networks: What it Means for Regional Innovation Systems
The Polycentric State: New Spaces of Empowerment and Engagement?
What Kind of Local and Regional Development and for Whom?

Access this issue in Informaworld's website.

The Treaty of Lisbon to be signed today in Lisbon at 11h30

The ceremony of the signature of the Treaty of Lisbon, scheduled for 13 December, at the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, will be transmitted live through the site of the Portuguese presidency of the EU – www.eu2007.pt and the Euronews television network. The ceremony, where the 27 heads of state and government of the European Union will be present, starts at 11h30 and the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering and the president of the European Council, José Sócrates, will all deliver speeches. The signature of the Treaty of Lisbon is scheduled for 12h15 and approximately one hour later the European leaders will meet for the traditional family photo. The ceremony ends with a lunch at Museu dos Coches, offered by the Portuguese president of the republic.

Call open: Funding regional research

More than EUR 10 million of funding is available through two calls open until 14 of March 2008 as part of the European Union’s Seventh Research Framework Programme (FP7). The two recent calls concern "Facilitating the emergence of new regional research driven by clusters and mutual exchange of information" and "Providing evaluation facilities for research entities in the EU´s convergence regions and outermost regions"

More information on Regions of Knowledge here.
More information on Research Potential of Convergence Regions here.

The Africa-EU Strategic Partnership: Joint Africa-EU Strategy and Action Plan

The Lisbon Summit, which brought together the European Union and Africa in Lisbon during the past weekend, has offered a unique opportunity to address the common contemporary challenges for both continents, in the year that we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the European integration and the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the independence of Africa. The results of the summit come under a Joint Strategy and Action Plan. The purpose of this Joint Strategy is to take the Africa-EU relationship to a new, strategic level with a strengthened political partnership and enhanced cooperation at all levels.

Access the Joint Strategy and Action Plan here.

Waterfront Developments - Council for European Urbanism - Lisbon, December 7th, 2007

The Council for European Urbanism is organising a symposium on Waterfronts Developments to be held in Lisbon on December 7th. The symposium will address the urgent issues raised by the Lisbon waterfront projects in the context of the C.E.U. Charter. It will debate a wide range of strategies for developing waterfronts drawing on examples of notable European projects. After a morning of expert presentations and discussion with participants, the afternoon will comprise themed workshops in which participants will have an opportunity to explore the issues raised in depth. It will close the formal sessions with a short plenary to feed back the ideas from the workshops, as a basis for constructing a Declaration on Waterfront Developments according to the principles of the C.E.U. Charter. Participants are then invited to join the C.E.U. Board and the Academy of Urbanism for a drinks reception.

More information here.
Programme here.

Urban Land Institute European Student Urban Design Competition

The Urban Land Institute European Student Urban Design Competition is accepting applications for the 2008 Competition until December 17. This graduate-level competition is intended to provide an interdisciplinary learning experience for real estate and design students in Europe. Self-formed student teams are asked to provide an urban design and a financial feasibility strategy for a large-scale real life site that ULI has identified somewhere in Europe. Through the formation of multidisciplinary teams, the program encourages cooperation and teamwork among future real estate professionals and the many allied professions, such as architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, historic preservation, engineering, real estate development, finance, psychology, law, and others. The winning team receives €35,000 and the finalist teams receive €7,000 each.

More information here.

GAPMINDER

Gapminder is a non-profit venture for development and provision of free software that visualise human development. This is done in collaboration with universities, UN organisations, public agencies and non-governmental organisations. It was founded by Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund and Hans Rosling on 25 February 2005, in Stockholm. This is a amazing project, indeed. In its website you can access different powerful tools and resources which demonstrate the power of statistics and counter established dogmas:

• The Gapminder World 2006 enables you to explore the changing world from your own computer. Moving graphics show how the development of all countries by the indicators you choose;
• You can also watch videos from of lectures and Gapcasts;
• You can also choose to watch interactive presentations or download pdf-format world maps on different themes.

A must see and a truly meritorious endeavour.

Final text of the reform treaty

The final text of the European Union reform treaty, which will be signed in Lisbon on 13 December 2007, is now available on the website of the Council of the European Union.

Australia's new government ratifies Kyoto pact

Australia's new prime minister, Kevin Rudd, took the oath of office on Monday and immediately signed documents to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, ending his country's long-held opposition to the global climate agreement. The move isolates the United States, which will now be the only developed nation not to ratify the agreement which sets binding limits on developed countries to curb the carbon emissions blamed for global warming. The former conservative government refused to ratify Kyoto, saying it would unfairly hurt the Australian economy with its heavy reliance on coal for energy and export income, while countries like India and China were not bound by targets. The prime minister also said his government would do everything within its power to meet the Kyoto obligations, and had set a long-term target of cutting carbon emissions by 60 percent of 2000 levels by 2050.

Seminar on «Heritage and Society» - Lisbon, 5 and 6 December

The Portuguese Presidency of the European Union will be holding a seminar on "Heritage and Society" in Lisbon on the 5th and 6th December. Considering that all policies and interventions should contribute to an improvement in people's quality of life and that Cultural Heritage must be regarded in its social dimension, current political and economic constraints constitute new challenges in the process of building and reinforcing Identity, Education and sustainable Development through Cultural Heritage. The aim of this Seminar is to encourage debate and reflection on the social dimension of heritage today, as new responsibilities in managing and enhancing it may be regarded as contributions for social and economic sustainability.

More information and programme here.