XVII UBC General Conference in Palanga
XVII UBC General Conference “Baltic Sea cities supporting Ukraine” will be held on 24-26 October 2023 in Palanga, Lithuania.
Despite the 30 years’ experience the UBC has, these past years have tested us as an organization, with first the global pandemic and then Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine and its people.
The conference in Palanga will bring us together to discuss how to integrate the Ukrainian and other refugees from war-torn countries. We hope to come up with ideas on how to support Ukrainian cities and their eventual reconstruction. Also, renewable energy, decarbonization, youth involvement and digital transformation will be on the conference agenda.
The conference presentations and discussions, as well as workshops prepared by the UBC Commissions will provide us with new ideas and solutions and inspire the UBC and its member cities to cooperate with a new impetus.
24 October 16.30-17.30: Sustainable Cities Commission meet & greet
Our Commission warmly invites everyone to join the networking meet&greet session on 24 October! We will present our current activities and projects we are involved in (particularly, EMPEREST and BALTIPLAST), offering opportunities for cities to follow and participate. We would also love to hear from you and exchange on your cities' current topic and interests!
25 October 10.00-12.00: EU Cities Mission as a source of inspiration and expertise
Within the conference programme, on 25 October UBC SCC will organise an interactive workshop "EU Cities Mission as a source of inspiration and expertise for cities towards climate-neutrality". In the Mission for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, 100 selected European cities are jointly working towards ambitious goals to become climate-neutral by 2030, and 12 UBC cities are among this 100 group. During the workshop, we will look into the Cities Mission and best practices from the Mission Cities that can act as innovation hubs and inspiration for other cities – also Ukrainian cities in the restoration process.
The workshop will be opened by the Deputy Director General Patrick Child, from the European Commission, DG Environment. Several Mission cities will pitch their ideas: Turku, Gävle, Liepaja and Taurage. The NetZeroCities platform will also join the discussion.