Photo: Eivind Sætre/norden.org Green growth is an important enabler of growth and prosperity in the Nordic countries. The Nordic Business, Energy and Regional Ministers emphasise, therefore, that they are willing to assume responsibility for much of the future investments in green growth on which the Prime Ministers are expected make decisions in connection with the forthcoming Globalisation Forum and subsequent Prime Ministers' meeting.

A Nordic Innovation Fund could become a reality. The ministers will continue discussions on the establishment of the Nordic Innovation Fund, together with the European Investment Fund (EIF), which will contribute one third of the funding. The proposal is a major investment of 250 million Euros, which will include an investment of 50 million Euros in so-called business angels.

Project IceBlaster at Robotdalen in Sweden. Photo: robotdalen.seThe Robotdalen, located in Sweden, is a significant centre of robotics and control engineering in Europe; similar centres can only be found in the USA and Japan. A delegation of 22 Estonians visited the centre in the end of November in order to find out how the Swedes are putting the plan of creating 35 new undertakings and 35 new products by 2013 into action.

The purpose of the six-day study trip was to visit competence centres in Sweden and Denmark related to timber with the aim of creating a similar centre in the Võru County in the future which would service all of Estonia, Northern Latvia and North-western Russia.

Apart from the Robotdalen, Estonians visited the Tibro Crafts Centre and the Träcentrum in Sweden.

The Tibro Crafts Centre, which teaches adults to craft hand-made furniture, is unique in Northern Europe. Carpentry, restoration of furniture, upholstering, covering of wood with metal, carving of wood and décor painting are taught in the Centre. While the Crafts Centre focuses on teaching crafting of hand-made furniture, the Tibro Training Centre teaches industrial manufacturing of furniture. Both the centres are regularly co-operating with the employment office as well as undertakings to help people find a job and for undertakings to receive qualified workforce.

Maritime safety is of key importance for the Baltic Sea region. Photo: norden.orgThe Nordic countries and the Baltic States together show the rest of Europe how successful regional cooperation can be in helping to emerge from the crisis, Jose Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, said at the Baltic Sea States Summit held in Vilnius on 2 June.

"Maritime safety is of key importance for the entire Baltic Sea region, and we must engage in closer co-operation to ensure that safety," Matti Vanhanen, the Prime Minister of Finland, stressed. According to Vanhanen, the Baltic Sea countries lack the capacity to cope with disasters such as the one that currently plagues the Gulf of Mexico. "Most accidents happen due to human error," Vanhanen explained. "Thus, we need better control and information systems to map out exactly where ships are and where they are headed, just like we have at airports."

Nordic Council of Ministers' secretary-general Halldór Ásgrímsson (left) and Danish minister of foreign affairs Lene Espersen at the Baltic Development Forum 2010. Photo: Silje Bergum Kinsten/norden.orgThe Nordic model of joining forces in the fields of innovation and research could inspire other countries in the Baltic Sea region, said Lene Espersen, the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the Baltic Development Forum in Vilnius on 2 June.

The Top-Level Research Initiative is part of NCM's globalisation programme, which aims at jointly meeting the challenges of globalisation, especially within the areas of climate, energy, health and welfare.

The initiative consists of six sub-programmes:

Bioenergy could become the Estonian Nokia, says Rurik Holmberg, PhD, who is studying energy systems at Sweden’s Linköping University. It was in the midst of the recession of 1991 that the world’s first GSM call was made in Helsinki. The rest is history… Today Estonia finds itself deep in crisis. Could second-generation bioenergy become an Estonian success story rivalling that fateful call made in Finland 18 years ago?

Bioenergy is the industry of the future. The whole world is caught up in intensive research and development to boost the efficiency of existing technology and find new solutions, because it is this very technology which in all likelihood holds the key to independence from fossil fuels and saving the climate and environment.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen opened the international conference Nordic Climate Solutions 2009. Photo: Johannes Jansson/norden.orgIn 2010 Denmark would be channelling twice as much funding into studies of new energy technology than it currently was, promised Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen in his opening speech at the international Nordic Climate Solutions 2009 conference.

Rasmussen’s promise reflects the efforts being made and the concrete steps being taken by the Nordic countries in the battle against climate change and in the contribution to renewable sources of energy. But governments and policies alone will not be enough to reduce the amount of waste gases being pumped into the atmosphere or the warming of the climate, or to develop and introduce environmentally-friendly technology.

A very important part in the development of new technology and solutions would be played by entrepreneurs, emphasised both Rasmussen and Halldór Ásgrímsson, Secretary-General of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Põhjamaade Innovatsioonikeskus jagab 10 miljoni Norra krooni ulatuses projektirahasid ettevõtmistele, mis on suunatud regionaalse innovatsiooni ning järgmise põlvkonna innovatsiooni keskuste toetamiseks. Tähtaeg on 31. jaanuar 2007.

Raha plaanitakse eraldada kokku 5-10 projektile, mille kestuseks eeldatakse 6-36 kuud.

Taotlema oodatakse omavalitsuse ja riiklike institutsioone, tööstusettevõtteid, tööstuste liite, innovatsiooniga tegelevaid asutusi ja kõiki teisi asjasse puutuvaid organisatsioone.
Taotluse esitamise tähtaeg on 31. jaanuar 2007.
Täpsem info: www.nordicinnovation.net

Nordic Innovation Centre (NICe) is coordinating the next call for proposal with EUs MNT ERA-Net, the network of European funding programmes for micro- and nanotechnologies (MNT). Through coordination of the Nordic MINT II call with the MNT ERA-Net call, NICe offers any Nordic applicant the possibility to add European partners into the consortium. The joint ambition is to commercialise existing research and boost the number of market-oriented and industry-relevant innovations.

Think global, not tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, but immediately when you start off your business - that is, if you really want to succeed in business in Estonia.

This is one of the main messages delivered by Nordic as well as Estonian speakers to participants in a Nordic-Baltic Innovation Seminar in Tallinn on May 8th. The fully booked seminar gathered more than one hundred participants in the Museum of Estonian Architecture by the passenger harbour.

Halldór Ásgrímsson, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, points at Nordic strengths in the context of globalisation. The Secretary General has presented a joint Nordic perspective on the challenges of globalisation. The presumption is that many of the challenges posed by globalisation cannot be solved by one country or a region on its own, but that a multilateral approach is required.

The Nordic region has good potential because the same values are shared, the region has a well-developed knowledge infrastructure, competitiveness and a creative potential beyond comparison.