The Forum is regarded as the main platform for discussion and analysis of methods and tools of strategic planning and project implementation in urban development of the Russian Federation.
Every autumn since 2002, the Forum has brought together over 1000 participants including representatives of federal authorities of Russia, regional administrations and legislative assemblies, municipalities, business, academic and expert communities, institutions of education and research, NGOs, foreign experts and organizations.
On the first day of the Forum, we attended the information seminar-dialogue “The Baltic Sea Region: Russia-EU Transnational Cooperation Results and Perspectives”, devoted to ongoing projects of The Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme 2014-2020. Partners from Russia are currently involved in 43 out of the programme’s 88 projects, including our Baltic Industrial Symbiosis project. In this regard, Nina Alkærsig Jensen, the Senior Project Manager of the project at Symbiosis Center Denmark, gave a brief presentation of the BIS project together Tyreman Group LLC, one of the Russian BIS partners (Read the article about the Russian partners).
On the second day of the forum, when St Petersburg presented itself from its most idyllic side by being covered with snow, we took part in the foresight session “Strategies and Best Cluster Practices for Transition to a Circular Economy for Sustainable Urban Development”. This session focused on the implementation of global and regional strategies for sustainable development. Under the session, Nina Alkærsig Jensen presented the Kalundborg Symbiosis as a unique example of a successful collaboration model with a circular economic approach which creates sustainable development in the member companies through joint projects. The presentation raised much interest among the session’s participants and prompted further questions. Joining the discussion, project partner Alexander Belykh from Tyreman Group highlighted the project’s value for Russian enterprises and how they benefit from it.
During the Forum we had meetings with our Russian BIS partners, and some of the companies they are planning to screen for possible uses of secondary resource during the project. It was our first participation in the forum, and it was a great opportunity to present the concept of industrial symbiosis to Russian and international participants, and to build networks.
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