International Newsletter 2/15 2 | International Newsletter 2/2015 Contents 1. Our partner regions 3 2. Cooperation through European organisations 9 3. Projects 11 4. Youth and internationalisation 14 5. West Norway Office in Brussels 20 6. Other activities 21 Hordaland County Council is responsible for county policies within the follow- ing 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 activi- ties. Our region has signed cooperation agreements with several partner regions abroad. The «Hordaland class» programme gives an opportunity 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 as a member of European organisations. The County Mayor of Hordaland has been elected as president of the North Sea Commission and the NSC secretariat has been set up in Hordaland. We are also member of 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 you a short introduction to the county’s international activities over the previous six months. The list 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: Finnish pupils visited Hordaland in November 2015, in connection with the Erasmus+ strategic partnership project “The City Rings“, coordinated by Laksevåg Upper Secondary School. More about the project on page 14. Photographer: Helge Jellestad. International Newsletter 2/2015 | 3 1. Our partner regions Basse-Normandie, France Thank you to Basse-Normandie for years of good partnership Normandy circus group touring Hordaland From 1st January 2016 our cooperation region Basse-Normandie will merge with Haute-Nomandie How can one find his own place in a continuously into one big region “Normandie”. New possibilities moving world? This autumn a French circus group will rise for further bilateral collaboration. visited schools in Hordaland with their performance “Who am I?” and the pupils liked what they saw. Based on the cooperation agreement between Hord- aland County Council and Region Basse-Normandie, French artists visit schools in Hordaland every year. This is part of the regular art and culture programme in the schools. This school year the circus group El Nucleo was sent on tour. They had a lot of acrobatic workshops and showed the performance Quien Soy – Who am I? Questions make us alive Who am I when everything is changing? How can one find his or her own place in a maze of information, data, signs? These questions might be too big. The artists Wilmer Marquez and Edward Aleman pose the questions, and are not looking for answers: –The questions are what make us alive, it gets us totally committed, body and mind. From the left, President of Basse-Normandie Laurent Beauvais and Vice County Mayor of Hordaland Pål Kårbø. Pupils from lower secondary schools in Os, Stord and Fusa municipalities saw this performance and partici- True to the tradition, a delegation from Hordaland pated in the workshops with wild enthusiasm. County Council headed by Vice County Mayor Pål Kårbø, visited our cooperation region Basse-Nor- Contact: [email protected] mandie during the Boréales Festival in Caen 12th–15th November. This visit was characterised by the fact that from 1st January 2016, Basse-Normandie merges with Haute-Normandie into one region: Normandie. This means a new political and administrative regime. The main focus of the visit was therefor to sum up, reaffirm the achievements so far and look into possibilities within the new region. Arena for dialogue The Department of European Affairs and International Relations in Basse-Normandie, headed by Vice Mayor Annie Anne, facilitated several arenas for fruitful and informative dialogue meetings. The meetings confirmed a strong conviction that our trans-regional activities will continue and develop in the years to Normandy circus group El Nucleo in action. come. Photographer: Os og Fusaposten/ Benjamin Søgnen Olsen. 4 | International Newsletter 2/2015 The cooperation has until now been especially suc- cessful within the cultural and educational field, e.g. exchange of artists in residence and the foundation of the “Hordaland class” (see also page 6). To broaden the cooperation, both regions focused on the possibility for extended use of different European programmes as instruments for exchange of best practice and sustainable regional development. Successful partnership Conseil Régional de Basse-Normandie and Hordaland County Council signed a cooperation agreement in 1993. To show our appreciation for the strong partnership, Hordaland County Council hosted a dinner Surrounded by two guards in Kirkwall, Convener of Orkney Islands Steven for politicians and professionals in Basse-Normandie. Heddle and Beate Husa, Chairman of the Committee for Culture, Sports Vice County Mayor Pål Kårbø especially underlined the and Regional Development in Hordaland. important role of President Laurent Beauvais and Vice Mayor for International Relations, Annie Anne. nied by Convener of Orkney Islands, Steven Heddle. Their engagement and the ongoing trans-regional During the ceremony there were Christmas carols, cooperation have made a solid foundation for success- music and speeches. Convener Steven Heddle and ful partnership. This also includes several visits they Chair Beate Husa both emphasized the importance have made to Hordaland over the years. Hordaland is of the friendship and collaboration between the two now looking forward to see what the cooperation with regions. A common theme was the difficult times in the new Normandie region will bring. parts of the world, especially the refugee crisis in the Middle East. Contact: [email protected] Artistic gift Orkney Islands, Scotland A trio of musicians from Hordaland with Edward Mjanger, Harald Kvasnes and Gjermund Fredheim A delegation from Hordaland County Council visited visited several primary schools and performed Orkney Islands for the Christmas Tree Lighting concerts for the pupils. The annual school concerts Ceremony in December. The annual visit to Orkney are a much appreciated artistic gift from Hordaland to is always a special event, celebrating the close rela- the people of Orkney. The musicians also performed a tions and the historic ties between the two regions. medley during the Saturday church service, and they had a concert with the Mayfield Singers in the Common history St. Magnus Cathedral on Sunday. Orkney and Norway have a long-lasting common In 2017 Orkney Islands will celebrate the 900 year history, all the way back to when the Vikings settled Anniversary of St. Magnus with a whole range of on the islands in the 8th Century. The Norwegian earls events throughout the year. governed Orkney for several centuries. The most visible trace of the Viking presence is the grand St. Contact: [email protected] Magnus Cathedral. The cathedral was raised to honour the saint Magnus Erlendsson, Norwegian Earl of Orkney at the start of the 12th Century. The St. Mag- nus Cathedral was the venue for most of the events during the Christmas Tree Lighting week. Christmas tree lighting On 5th December the Christmas tree, which is a gift from Hordaland County Council, was lit outside the Cathedral. This year it was Beate Husa, Chairman of the Committee for Culture, Sports and Regional Beate Husa and Norwegian Consul Leslie Burgher at ”The Ring of Brodgar”, Development in Hordaland who lit the tree, accompa- part of the UNESCO heritage site Heart of Neolithic Orkney. International Newsletter 2/2015 | 5 Kaunas, Lithuania Cardiff, Wales Capacity building in management and efficient public services This autumn, Lithuanian Regional Research institute in Kaunas received EEA grants for a project between Norwegian and Lithuanian partners. Activities will start spring 2016. The EEA project “Development of the Capacities of Local Authorities Employees in the Field of Manage- ment and Efficiency of Public Service Processes” has been approved. The key objectives of the project are: – to strengthen cooperation among Lithuanian and Norwegian local authorities in the field of managing the processes of public services and enhancing their efficiency, – to combate corruption in order to improve the level of administrative capacities of local authority employees by promoting higher transparency of the management and efficiency of the activities and of local authorities. Among the partners are Hordaland County Council, Kaunas City Municipality, and other local municipalities in Hordaland and Kaunas. Contact: [email protected] The Hordaland Class in Wales, in front of Baskerville Hall in Hay-on-Wye. Contact: [email protected] The EEA and Norway Grants Thüringen, Germany The EEA Grants and Norway Grants represent the The Hordaland class in Thüringen contribution of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to reducing economic and social disparities and to Askøy Upper Secondary School has coordinated strengthening