"Since what's lacking is forward-thinking and bold planning, we're looking at the three foundations of comprehensive planning: smart administration that's open to cooperation; the use of resources; and social changes," explained Madis Tilga from the Nordic Council of Ministers' Office in Estonia. "With the help of collaboration, we're hoping to boost a new strategic way of thinking that will help us avoid waste and help stop undesirable trends from arising like people moving from the countryside to the city and areas becoming marginalised."
This year's Nordic-Baltic partnership forum, entitled 'Planning resilient and liveable regions', will bring experts to the Estonian city of Tartu from six different countries.
Sharing his knowledge among others will be Danish architect David Goehring, whose experience extends beyond Europe to the Middle East, Asia and the United States. Goehring takes cultural quirks into account and adopts a sustainable 'cradle to cradle' philosophy when creating physical living environments. The things he creates must last a long time, but equally be easy to implement in the same or a new form so that energy transformation and reprocessing of materials are reduced to a minimum.
Local experts who will be sharing their knowledge at the forum include University of Tartu professors Rein Ahas and Tiit Tammaru, Kristina Reinsalu from the e-Governance Academy and Mari Jüssi from the Stockholm Environment Institute in Tallinn.
In addition to the Nordic Council of Ministers' Office in Estonia and Nordregio, the forum is being organised by the PLEEC project (Planning for Energy Efficient Cities), the City of Tartu, the Estonian University of Life Sciences, the Association of Local Authorities of Tartu County, the Tartu Regional Energy Agency and the University of Tartu.
Information on the speakers making presentations at the forum and the forum programme are available online at www.rohevik.ee.
For further information please contact
Madis Tilga
Adviser with the Nordic Council of Ministers' Office in Estonia
Telephone: +372 627 3103
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.