A cause for celebration: 25 years of the North Sea Programme

The programme has gradually evolved in line with Europe's ever developing agendas and has gone from strength to strength with a growing budget and number of projects. Today the North Sea Programme stands proud. And with good reason. Let us find out why.

Before sharing the successes of the programme, let's start with a history lesson. In 1997 the first North Sea Region Programme was adopted and the idea to start fostering cooperation between the countries of the North Sea was realised. Below you can see a visual overview of each programme period.  Each period has always reflected the most current European Agenda as well as overall economic, socio and geopolitical landscape. The backdrops of the programme; transnational cooperation, regional development and spatial planning have remained throughout its history.

Head of Secretariat, Christian Byrith has been with programme almost since its inception and has been hands on in its progression over the years; 

"The North Sea programme embarked on its journey in 1997 and I have had the good fortune to be part of this journey almost all of the way, first by being partner in a North Sea project and subsequently as part of the secretariat. It has been a joy to see the programme take shape and become an important tool for the stakeholders in the North Sea region. "

Interreg and the North Sea programme has assisted stakeholders in turning their project ideas into action, cooperating and help making our region a better place to work and live in. Ultimately this is what Interreg is all about and bearing in mind our common challenges e.g. within innovation, green transition and the preservation of nature, cooperation programmes such as the North Sea programme are needed more than ever!

This takes us to the present day Interreg VIB North Sea programme 2021-2027 which warmly welcomed France as a new member country and new regions in both the Netherlands and Flanders - giving a total of nine new regions.  The programme is still going strong and with their inclusive, bottom-up and non-competitive focus, our projects continue to contribute to build cohesion, thus strengthening the sociopolitical landscape of the region. 

The idea to set up an Interreg programme in Viborg, Denmark was driven by the then President of the North Sea Commission Bent Hansen, who wanted to enable organisations in different North Sea countries to work together and find solutions to problems which were common to those living in the Region. It so happened that the President was also the Mayor of Viborg County Council, Denmark. Since its inception, the secretariat has remained in Viborg and hosted five Interreg programmes. 

The programme and North Sea Commission have continued to work closely together over the past twenty five years. Amongst other activities, the two organisations have held yearly joint conferences together since 1997. During the conferences, the North Sea Commission members participate in joint workshops alongside project developers and stakeholders from the North Sea Programme. The workshops provide a crucial meeting point for both organisations and enable them to align on joint priorities and focus points. 

The programme logo 'the starfish' has been with us for many years. A glass starfish is occasionally given as a gift to projects and programme stakeholders who have made an exceptional contribution to the programme. This initiative is known as the 'Order of the Starfish'.

Programmes like ours don’t become what they are without the help of dedicated and committed colleagues. Politicians, committee members, national contact points, programme management and staff are all part of the ingredients to the programme's success. The 'let's make it happen' attitude shared by all has ensured that programme after programme has ensued. 

Despite each and every programme period bringing its own set of challenges, the programme has provided a reliable and stable platform for organisations around the North Sea region to come together and work on joint projects together.  It is remarkable that on both the programme and project side each trial and tribulation has been embraced and seen as an opportunity to develop new solutions amid difficult times.

This extraordinary resilience and creativity become evident during the COVID-19 crisis when so many of our projects immediately started to look for new solutions.

GOING HYBRID

The daring team of SURFLOGH organised a hybrid event so that the City of Mechelen could sign a zero emissions convenant with their logistics stakeholders whilst another 170 people joined online. With a small professional team to support the live-streaming, SURFLOGH pulled it off.

The COM³ project gathered its team to discuss how the Covid-19 crisis affected its pilots. The project team used MURAL boards to visualise the concerns and opportunities of their project. By voting on the most pressing issues, they created a starting point to adapt the pilots.

We saw this workshop as a good opportunity to not ignore the effect of covid-19 on the pilot activities, but to also pay attention to smart and creative approaches that can inspire and motivate other partners.

More than a decade has passed since this project ended, yet the results keep snowballing. The Interreg Water City International projects were a very important catalyst of this capitalisation process.

In close cooperation with its stakeholders, the programme has managed to navigate through turbulent times and stay focused on its core goal - supporting and facilitating transnational cooperation projects. 25 years have passed. 

Head of the German delegation to the North Sea Monitoring Committee, Carsten Westerholt has worked with the programme closely for years; 

"Since its inception 25 years ago, the North Sea programme has come a long way. It started as a community initiative and is now part of the European Union’s own Interreg regulation. As a programme under shared management it has since connected Lower-Saxony with stakeholders all around the North Sea to find solutions for joint challenges. These solutions have always been an inspiration to do things differently and to enable adaptation."

The challenges when it comes to climate change, natural resources, energy transition, and not to forget a war in the middle of Europe have not become smaller and so the demand for joint solutions to keep the North Sea region a place where people are at the heart of its future development is crucial.

Our projects continue to innovate and share their findings, increasing the pace at which knowledge advances. Their hard work and achievements have been time and time again been recognised though various awards and prizes. For example, when the VB project Lean Landing project was presented with the Grand Jury Prize in the 12th edition of the European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA) run by the European Commission.  This is a special prize awarded to the entrepreneurial initiative considered the most creative and inspiring in Europe.

We very much look forward to the coming years; promoting integrated solutions, continuing to break down mental barriers and bringing the citizens of Europe closer together. The future looks bright: 17 projects were approved in Call 1 and these are now kicking off their activities and networks. The programme continues to pick up steam with 59 applications received during Call 2 which closed on the 14 November.  It is all go.

Top image: North Sea Conference 2016, Billund, Denmark.