Entrepreneurship Support Measures in Vidzeme Planning Region (Entrepreneurship in Vidzeme)

On 24 February, the Vidzeme Entrepreneurship Centre of Vidzeme Planning Region invites you to the conference "Symbiosis: Solution in Resource-Tight Circumstances" during Vidzeme Innovation Week, where we will look at the meaning of symbiosis in promoting development and innovation.

Four years ago, Vidzeme Planning Region started the tradition of Vidzeme Innovation Week as a set of events aimed at developing the culture of innovation, growing innovation capacity and encouraging people to be more open to experiments and new development opportunities. This year Vidzeme Planning region offers the largest number of events thus far (35) of which the central occurrence of the week, which explains the topicality and importance of the chosen theme of VIN2022 week, is the conference "Symbiosis: Solution in Resource-Tight Circumstances" organised by Vidzeme Planning Region.

Symbiosis for development and innovation. Cooperation and circulation of resources

Every year, a thematic emphasis is chosen for Vidzeme Innovation Week, and this year the theme of symbiosis or symbiotic relations has been selected as a direction in which both society and the economy are developing. The availability of resources is an essential condition for innovation and growth, but nowadays we are increasingly experiencing scarcity of resources, so the available resources must be managed wisely and in a forward-looking manner.  Resources in this context are not only raw materials, but also information, data, energy, technological, financial, and human resources.

Vidzeme Planning Region foresees that applying the principles of symbiosis could be one of the ways to achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal for a modern, resource-efficient, and competitive economy. In symbiotic relationships, different but complementary areas, sectors and knowledge intersect, and these points of contact can provide a fertile ground for innovation.

"At the conference, we would like to highlight the aspect of cooperation and circulation of resources, invite entrepreneurs, representatives of public administrations, non-governmental organisations and other interested parties to think about more unusual opportunities for development and creation of new products, looking into the application of the principles of symbiosis in production, education, communities and culture. The invited experts will talk about the industrial symbiosis that allows to make fuller use of the potential of local resources, about the exchange of knowledge between the education and business sectors, about the factors that force community members to cooperate and become improvers and creators of their own lives, as well as about the fundamental role of cultural processes in the contexts of innovation and sustainable development. I am glad that an example of the industrial symbiosis of the Norwegian Våler Municipality will also be presented at the conference within the framework of the cooperation project because the experience of other countries always gives a new perspective on their situation," says Ineta Tauriņa, Head of the Vidzeme Entrepreneurship Centre.

The conference "Symbiosis: Solution in Resource-Tight Circumstances" is organised by the Vidzeme Entrepreneurship Centre of Vidzeme Planning Region within the project “Entrepreneurship Support Measures in Vidzeme Planning Region", which is co-financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway using EEA grants.

For questions: Ineta Tauriņa, Head of Vidzeme Entrepreneurship Centre, ineta.taurina@vidzeme.lv  

Information prepared by: Māra Sproģe, Public Relations Specialist, Vidzeme Entrepreneurship Centre, mara.sproge@vidzeme.lv