Adriatic and Ionian Region Forum 2017 focus on Blue Growth, SMEs

The 2nd Forum of the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR), jointly organised by the European Commission and the Hellenic Republic will take place in Ioannina (Greece), 11-12 May 2017. The 2nd EUSAIR Forum will focus on Blue Growth i.e. the long term strategy to support sustainable growth in the marine and maritime sectors as a whole. Blue technologies, fisheries and aquaculture, seafood, food and drinks, maritime and marine governance and services, maritime transport, intermodal connections to the hinterland, energy networks, the marine environment, transnational terrestrial habitats and biodiversity, diversified tourism offer (products and services), sustainable and responsible tourism management (innovation and quality), tourism with cross-sectorial approach: ICT, mobility, energy efficiency and health are among the topics that will be discussed at the Forum. Read the draft programme here.

B2B @ EUSAIR Forum 2017

On the occasion of the Forum, a Business to Business (B2B) event will be organised between SMEs and organisations in the Adriatic and Ionian Region. The B2B meetings will provide the opportunity to SMEs to initiate promising contacts in pre-arranged meetings with other SMEs within EUSAIR, to identify and develop common actions and projects by reaching relevant partners.The B2B session will also offer to businesses the unique opportunity to meet with representatives of the European Commission, the EIB, the Network of Business Angels, Ministries and other institutions to discuss the possibility to submit specific project ideas to the upcoming calls, and learn first-hand what are the opportunities for financing.

The event is addressed to: SME’s (tourist operators, agencies, farmers, producer groups, leisure sports organizations, ship-owners, marinas, yacht skippers etc), Universities, Chambers, Clusters, Other institutions and stakeholders from the Adriatic Ionian Region. The half-day B2B event is organised by Enterprise Europe Network – Hellas acknowledged for its long standing experience to provide cross border and internationalisation services to SMEs and organisations, with the support of the Enterprise Europe Network Offices of the other EUSAIR countries (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia). B2B registration runs until May 5.

Enterprise Europe Network – Hellas

Enterprise Europe Network-Hellas provides services for international business partnerships, information on European policies, innovation and technology transfer and fosters the participation of SMEs in European Programmes for Research and Technology. Since its establishment in 2008, the team of Enterprise Europe Network – Hellas has achieved significant results aiming at the support of Greek SMEs to grow and innovate and has contributed to several Greek stories of international business success. The Enterprise Europe Network-Hellas shares the vision of its constituent partners, summarized in the following Mission statement:

To boost competitiveness in Greek enterprises (especially SMEs);
To support the development of the less-favoured regions in the country;
To promote and facilitate innovation in enterprises as well as entrepreneurship in RTOs;
To strengthen the links between research, business, finance;
To foster economic and environmentally sustainable growth and employment;
To enhance European interaction in business, technological, economic & political terms.

The Enterprise Europe Network-Hellas is a comprehensive business support network consisting of industry associations, research and technical institutes, chambers of commerce and industry, and renowned actors in the field of innovation and SMEs. The PRAXI Network, the Athens Chamber of Small and Medium Sized Industries (ACSMI), the Association of Industries in Thessaly and in Central Greece (AITCG) ,the Regional Development Agency of Western Macedonia ANKO SA , the Chamber of Arcadia (CHA), the Chamber of Ioannina (CCI) , the Chamber of Kavala (CHK) ,the National Documentation Centre (ΕΚΤ) ,the Federation of Industries of Northern Greece (FING) ,the Heraklion Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) , MIRTEC S.A. – Materials Industrial Research and Technology Development Centre and the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises SEV, have joined together to form the consortium of Enterprise Europe Network-Hellas. These organisations are spread throughout the Greek territory and are active in innovation, technology transfer and international cooperation.