European Dialogue on Future I nterregional Co-operation

1. European Dialogue on Future Interregional Co-operation The main outcomes of the CENTURIO project within the partnership co-ordinated by Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County Strasbourg, 2nd October, 2006 Anita Galó International Officer, project co-ordinator European Integration Office Self-Government of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County (H)

2. JÁSZ-NAGYKUN-SZOLNOK COUNTY Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county Hungary • Territory: 5,582 km2 • Population: 410,000 • County seat: Szolnok (80,000 inhabitants) • Distance from Budapest: 100 km • No of settlements: 78 (18 towns &59 villages)

3. OUR CENTURIO PARTNERSHIP 1. - The way to this Partnership • Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County has an extended international relation (16 twinned areas) • Previous joint programmes were implemented before launching the CENTURIO • Common aims in development strategies

4. Specific objectives by achieving the project aims & objectives we would like: to contribute to the economic & social development of our small regions and municipalities to improve the human resources of the self-governments (professional knowledge and foreign language skills) to learn best practices & identify potential joint projects to enhance and develop the county’s especially rich & fruitful international relations Beneficiaries & target groups Direct beneficiaries: Civil servants of self-governments Target groups: professionals working in the field of regional development, tourism, environment protection & EU project management OUR CENTURIO PARTNERSHIP 2. • Eight of our partner regions take part - Asti (I),Brandenburg (D),Durham (UK), Harghita (RO),Häme (FIN), Pas-de-Calais (F), Somme (F), Teltow-Fläming (D) • Sustainable quality tourism as thematic component • Total budget for Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county: 92.170 euros.

5. SPECIAL ATTENTION WAS PAID TO: Creating a multinational environment for the trainees Public application process for recruiting trainees Tailor-made programmes & flexibility in traineeships Evaluation, monitoring & follow-up (e.g. Evaluation Seminar in Szolnok, 2006) Disseminating events & activities (Dissemination Seminar, quiz in the local newspaper, etc.) SPECIFIC PROJECT MANAGEMENT

6. MAIN OUTCOMES 1. Exchange activities by numbers • Host traineeships: 16 x 2 weeks • Guest traineeships: 25 x 2 weeks • Dissemination events& activities: 88 • Identified new project ideas: 45 • Identified best practises: 25

7. MAIN OUTCOMES 2. 2.Identification of new innovative regional development strategies 3. Elaborated tourism development projects 4. Extended co-operation among participating regions 5. Upgraded project management skills 6. Disseminated experiences 7. Improved foreign language skills

8. Main Events & meetings Regular participation in Centurio conferences organised by the AER (3) Dissemination Conference with foreign partners in 2005 organised by the Self-Government of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County Evaluation Seminar for trainees, managers and employers in 2006 organised by the Self-Government of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County Tools &methods Regional, local media Press conferences, discussions Workshops for presenting the experiences Web-sites Presentation of the results in training courses, etc DISSEMINATIONAS KEY ELEMENT OF THE PROJECT

9. PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED • Later launching than originally planned • Lack of 3rd countries funding • Late re-funding of the costs • Administrational workload due to the different working methods of the national auditing authorities ( lack of information, late issue of certification of expenditures, etc.)

10. THE FUTURE OF CENTURIO 1. - First steps toward a new CENTURIO Modified conditions have been pre-announced by the AER project co-ordinators: • new specific topics were identified in accordance with the Lisbon and Guthenburg Strategies& the new priorities of interregional co-operations defined by the EC • less but more active Partnerships are demanded • focus to be addressed not only on exchange of experiences but also on added value

11. In accordance with the EU regulation referring to European Territorial Co-operation & AER priorities for 2007 and 2012 the new project should promote the modernisation and internationalisation of regional governance promote innovation, growth and employment (R&TD, innovation capacitites, entrepreneurship) reinforce the effectiveness of regional policy ensure sustainable development and combating environmental degradation THE FUTURE OF CENTURIO 2. - Why to launch a new CENTURIO?

12. THE FUTURE OF CENTURIO 3.- Why does Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county support the new project? • EU regulation and AER draft priorities are in accordance with the objectives stated in the county/regional development documents with special respect to the development of competitive economy • Common priorities have been identified in the development strategies of foreign partners with special respect to the strenghtening of entrepreneurship & protection of natural heritage • Identification & implementation of new concrete projects & extended networking are needed

13. THE FUTURE OF CENTURIO 4. - What should we change?”What can we develop? We should • strenghten the networking activities (provide better use of Bridge Activites with allocated financial resources) • focus on concrete project proposals and concrete products as project outcomes • pay special attention to making use of total partnerhsip besides sub-pertnerships • need a stable project co-ordination team for the participating regions provided by the AER

14. Thank you for your attention! Contact: Dr.Ildikó Ürmössy, project manager - urmossy@jnszm.hu Anita Galo, project co-ordinator - galo.anita@jnszm.hu Web: http://www.jnszm.hu