International Newsletter 01/17 Contents 1. OUR PARTNER REGIONS .......................................................................................................................... 3 2. COOPERATION THROUGH EUROPEAN AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS ........ 7 3. PROJECTS ....................................................................................................................................................... 9 4. YOUTH AND INTERNATIONALISATION ........................................................................................... 13 5. WEST NORWAY OFFICE IN BRUSSELS ........................................................................................... 22 6. OTHER INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES .............................................................................................. 23 Hordaland County Council is responsible for county policies within the following fields: Higher secondary education, cultural affairs, public transport, dental health, economic development and regional planning, including the development of the road system. Hordaland County Council is involved in many international projects and activities. Our region has signed coop- eration agreements with several partner regions abroad. The «Hordaland class» programme gives an oppor- tunity for Upper secondary school students in Hordaland, to study in several of these partner regions for one school year. We also cooperate with other countries through membership in European organisations. Hordaland has been an active member of the North Sea Commission. We are also a member of the West Norway Office, one of six Norwegian regional offices in Brussels. EU-programmes such as Interreg and Erasmus+ are among the most important tools for internationalisation in Hordaland. Hordaland County Council publishes an International Newsletter twice a year, giving a short introduction to the county’s international activities over the previous six months. The overview is not extensive, but nevertheless we hope it gives an idea of the breadth of international activities that take place within our region. All photos are produced by Hordaland County Council, unless otherwise stated. For more information: www.hordaland.no/internasjonalt Editor: [email protected] Front page: VET Staff mobility in South Tyrol, view of the apple fields around Terlano Photographer: Heidi Bjønnes Larsen, Hordaland County Council 2 International Newsletter 1|17 1. OUR PARTNER REGIONS ORKNEY ISLANDS, SCOTLAND The management team from the Department of Culture and Sport visited the St. Magnus International festival in Kirkwall on the Orkney Islands in June. Hordaland County Council and Orkney County Council has had a friendship agreement since 1983. This has led to a broad cooperation when it comes to cultural events and projects. In 2017, it is 900 years since St. Magnus’s martyrdom. Magnus Erlendsson was one of the Norse earls of Orkney who became its patron saint. Therefore, the focus on Norway was em- phasised more than usual. His Royal Highness crown prince Haakon Magnus opened the festival and many other artists and ensembles from Norway were part of the program. Skara Brae is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site from the Neolithic period. Due to its small population and challenging geography, the Orkney Islands Council has developed interesting solutions within areas such as sport, promotion of art and culture and preservation of cultural heritage. KAUNAS, LITHUANIA The Orkney Islands is an interesting place in regards to cultur- Final conference on “Good models for public al heritage. Several of the Neolithic heritage sites are on the administration and services” UNESCO World Heritage list. The Orkney Islands has devel- oped a relatively large scale of cultural tourism, partly based on these historic sites. Hordaland and the Orkney Islands will continue their coopera- tion. Next year the Orkney Islands Council is planning a visit to Hordaland. Participants from Fjell municipality, Hardanger Council Contact: [email protected] (Hardangerrådet) and Hordaland County Council (HCC) attended the fi nal conference of the project “Good models for public administration and services” from the 20th to the 21st of April 2017 in Kaunas. The Lithuanian Regional Research Institute led the conference. The focus was on presenting good practices from municipalities in Norway, and to enhance project cooperation between the regions. The fi rst day of the conference was devoted to present good practice from Norway to a wide range of Lithuanian politicians and professionals, at local and national level. Fjell municipali- ty gave two presentations on digitalisation of services. When visiting Hordaland in 2016 the Lithuanian partners were impressed by the level of municipal cooperation. Trude Rinaldo from the Hardanger Council gave an example of this in her presentation “How to make cooperation between municipali- ties a tool for regional development”. Finally, Marit Einen from the International Section in Horda- land County Council (HCC) had a presentation about how HCC The delegation visited UNESCO World Heritage Site Maes Howe, a Neolithic is using international cooperation as a tool for regional devel- chambered cairn and passage grave, probably built around 2800 BC. The grass opment. E-health and tourism development was the focus of mound hides passages and chambers built of carefully crafted slabs of sandstone Sogn og Fjordane County Council and the Western Norway that in scale and accomplishment has few equals in prehistoric Europe. Research Institute. 3 International Newsletter 1|17 On the second day of the conference the participants dis- cussed models for cooperation by using different EU pro- CARDIFF, WALES grammes, like the EEA-Grants, Erasmus+ and Nordplus. They also exchanged current needs and relevant areas for Food and Drink festival in Cardiff cooperation, and had discussions in smaller groups on specific subjects. The most interesting topics for project cooperation A delegation from Hordaland County Council and the Univer- were tourism, culture, entrepreneurship, youth participation in sity of Bergen went to the Food and Drink festival in Cardiff in local development and youth and sports. the middle of July. During the festival the 25-year anniversary of the restoration of the Norwegian church as a cultural centre For many of the participants this was the first time they in Cardiff Bay, was marked. The festival was attended by attended an international project. In this respect, it was an 80 000 people and the Norwegian Church Art Centre provid- experience just to be in an international forum and to discuss ed the locality for the seminars and concerts celebrating the shared challenges in local and regional development. official links. The Norwegian delegation also visited a successful EEA-Grant project. The Vilkija Gymnasiusn Children’s Day Centre is a centre for children and youth with a library, IT-room, equip- ment for creative activities and possibilities for homework assistance. The municipalities on both sides are staying in contact and hoping for project cooperation in the years to come. A spinoff of this project is also a cooperation within health between Kvam and Jonava municipality. In June 2017, a delegation from Jonava visited Kvam municipality to learn about good models for public health and healthcare services. Some of the institutions they visited was the Centre for Youth, the Family Centre and the community voluntary service “Grannehjelpa”. The Norwegian Church Art Centre Contact: [email protected] Students and teachers from Sandsli catering school in Horda- land contributed at a stall outside the church where they served a variety of seafood, seaweed and algae to the public. The universities in both Bergen and Cardiff are spearheading research in new food products from the sea. The popular findings from the EU funded research program Food from the Ocean (FFO) were presented. Terje Inderhaug, a member of the Norwegian committee, which raised NOK 1 million for the rebuilding of the church in 1992, attended the festival and anniversary. The Cardiff event was partly funded through the Erasmus + program, the FFO program by SAM-Scientific Advisory Mechanism, as a collaboration between the Norwegian-Welsh friendship- association, Cardiff County Council, the Norwegian Embassy, Hordaland County Council and the AE-Academia Europaea hubs at the Universities of Bergen and Cardiff. Contact: [email protected] A visit to the Vilkija Gymnasiusn Children’s Day Centre. From the left: Butjera Steponaitiene (Librarian at the Centre), Rimantas Dapkus (Project leader, Lithuanian Regional Research Institute), Trude. L. Rinaldo (The Hardanger Council) and Andreas Nordeide (Fjell municipality). Hordaland County Council and Sandsli Catering School had a stall outside the church. 4 International Newsletter 2|17 The Cardiff students 2016-17 After the serious part of the evening, there was time for a buf- HORDALAND CLASSES fet. An enthusiastic group of students was saying good-bye to each other and enjoyed being among their families, friends and Farewell Event in Cardiff host families in the café section of the church. It is a great honour for me to visit Cardiff, and it is a pleasure Contact: [email protected] to be attending the end of year celebrations for our students here. I am very pleased that we, in cooperation with the City of Cardiff Council, are able to offer students from Hordaland a full school year in Wales, and I am proud that so many of our students