New Econmoy, Old Borders

5 June 2015

ISOCARP, the International Society of City and Regional Planners, is organising its annual conference in October 2015 in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. On 19 and 20 October 2015, a satellite part of this conference takes place in Maastricht. It is organised by Bureau Europa in collaboration with a number of creative entrepreneurs, and is commissioned by the municipality of Maastricht and the Province of Limburg under the name of "New Economy, Old Borders', which aims to promote Euroregional knowledge and cross-border collaborations.

Although a political invention, the Euroregion has no political body and has neither a capital nor a centre. The ambition of the Euroregions is to improve the performance of the European Union. National borders should not restrict axes of knowledge and cultural cooperation. Therefore, it is no longer a question of 'why' but 'how' are we going to connect the Euroregion.

In preparation for the congress, we want to partner with workshops in Flanders, Wallonia, and Germany to discuss the (im)possibilities of a transnational urban unit. Each workshop will be in a central region and asked to formulate a contextual vision on the issue of cross-border agglomeration from a spatial-economic perspective. The collected results are shared with international experts to be reflected upon during the ISOCARP Congress in October.

The first workshop takes place in Maastricht. During the workshop, urban planner Simon Dona comments on the study ‘grensoverschrijdend perspectief South Limburg’ (Cross-Border Perspective, Zuid-Limburg). This presentation is followed by reflections on the study from a German, Flemish, and Walloonian perspective. The workshops in Germany and Belgium follow similar lines. The ambition for the workshops is to create a toolbox, consisting of Euroregional cases, to construct the basis for the congress's agenda.

The workshop also provides an excellent opportunity to strengthen the network through the themes of connecting cross-border knowledge hubs and cities with joint energy. Therefore, we are asking you to please inform interested parties from your network about this invitation.

Language
Language of instruction during the workshop will be English.

More information?
If you need more information, please contact Martijn van Bussel, via email: m.vanbussel@bureau-europa.nl or phone: 0031 6 146 596 37.

Cooperation partners
Municipality of Maastricht
Province of Limburg
Bureua Europa in collaboration with a number of creative entrepreneurs

New Econmoy, Old Borders

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