Event report

The Consulate General of Hungary in Stuttgart in cooperation with the Priority Area 8 of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism of Baden-Württemberg organised a sustainability conference for the Danube Region and a pop-up fair with product demonstrations on 16 November 2021 at the Haus der Wirtschaft in Stuttgart. At the English-language hybrid event "Sustainable Value Creation in the Danube Region", we wanted to jointly contribute to the sustainability turnaround by presenting innovative approaches, good practices, new perspectives and further networking. In his welcoming speech, Dr András Izsák introduced the message of this year's international conference Planet Budapest. In the keynote speeches, Attila Steiner, State Secretary for Circular Economy, Energy and Climate Policy at the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, and Johannes Jung, Head of Department for Strategy, Law, Foreign Trade and Europe at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism Baden-Württemberg, gave an insight into the contribution of Hungary and Baden-Württemberg to the sustainability turnaround. In the first panel discussion, joint programmes in the Danube region with a sustainability principle were presented, which could become "best practice" and which have implemented or are implementing a Hungarian or Baden-Württemberg project idea. Sebastian Rihm, Head of the Danube Office in Ulm, spoke about the Danube Network for Sustainable Mobility, the development of a sustainable transport system between different destinations and brought examples of sustainable tourism perspectives. Edit Lakó-Tóth, President of the CédrusNet association, presented the practical experiences of the Kecskemét pilot programme on the sustainability of an ageing society. BioLago, the largest cross-border health network in the four-country region of Lake Constance, is a partner of the Danube Region in the Social Innovation Programme. Sergi Costa, project manager of BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg, a competence centre for companies, research institutions and networks in the health and bioeconomy, presented the GoDanuBio Danube Region project on the bioeconomy and biobased value chains with further cooperation opportunities. In the second panel discussion, sustainability-oriented projects were presented that have either emerged from cooperation in Baden-Württemberg and/or the Danube Region or are looking for cooperation opportunities in Baden-Württemberg and/or the Danube Region. Balázs Barta, Director of the Pannon Business Network, which has been working to increase the competitiveness of businesses for a decade and a half, and coordinator of the Danube Region Artificial Intelligence Working Group, presented the programme for the sustainable development of the ecosystem of the city of Szombathely, which was developed in cooperation with Eötvös Lóránd University, Óbuda University, the University of Pécs, the city administration and the Chamber of Commerce. Ádám Csiky-Mészáros, lead expert of the Digital Wellbeing Programme, presented the Digital Support Project, which aims to improve the quality of life and sustainability of small villages while helping businesses develop smart city solutions. Tihamér Tóth, Director of Strategic Development of the Circular Economy Science and Innovation Park at the University of MOL-Pannon, presented the Hungarian green economy innovation park model (circular economy, hydrogen economy, battery recycling, sustainable water management) and pointed out potential areas of cooperation to foster closer collaboration between universities and industry. Professor János Tamás, Head of the Institute of Water and Environmental Management at the University of Debrecen, summarised in a video message one of the successful projects of the Joint Governmental Commission Hungary-Baden-Württemberg "Urban Hydrology", which was completed last year as a research programme on the efficient operation of municipal wastewater treatment plants in cooperation with the University of Stuttgart and the co-organising ministries, and called for the continuation of the project with bilateral or Danube regional stakeholders.