NEWS

On October 28, the Forum hosted a round table “Republic of Karelia: Experience of Fund-Raising and Interactions with Foreign Partners – Science, Education, Business, Culture, Environment”. Organizers: Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences supported by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation.

The round table brought together over 30 representatives of the regions of North-West Russia, Finland, and international organizations. Round table participants showcased international projects implemented by organizations of the Republic of Karelia, Russian and European partners in the framework of Cross-Border Cooperation Programmes (CBC): Karelia CBC, Kolarctic CBC, South-East Finland – Russia CBC, Interreg Baltic Sea Region, Nordic Council of Ministers. Speakers and moderators of the working sessions emphasized the importance of implementing international projects and thereby raising extra-budgetary funds to the regions of Russia, in particular to the Republic of Karelia. They also emphasized the role of science in project activities – almost every project has a research component, which often shows the potential of implementing a project idea, its practical application and always acts, in a manner of speaking, as a bridge between scientific and people-to-people diplomacy. Besides, round table participants stressed the importance of involving the regions of the countries participating in the project activities, including border areas, in the process of forming the priorities of new EU-Russia Cross-Border Cooperation Programmes.

The round table was attended by Valentina Pivnenko, Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation from the Republic of Karelia.

Following the round table, a Cooperation Agreement was signed between Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Kolmas Karelia LLC (Ruskeala Mountain Park). The Agreement aims to use the Ruskeala Mountain Park as a pilot area to study safety issues when using the underground space for tourism, to develop a methodology for monitoring the stability of mine workings and clarify the environmental impacts of tourism.