Regions for Economic Change

21.5.2010

16.2.2010

10.2.2010

13.1.2010

17.6.2009

February 2009

CityStar themes

1. Innovative use of brownfield sites in an urban context
2. The integration of migrants or marginalised groups in urban areas

ICT Themes

3. ICT applications for e-inclusion
4. ICT applications by or for SMEs
5. Broadband coverage in less developed regions or rural areas

Information and Communication category

6. Websites offering quality information and showing the European added-value

Award criteria for thematic Categories 1-5

a. Innovative character of the project

b. Impact or expected impact of the project in terms of initial objectives

c. Expected sustainability of the project

d. Project’s results in enhancing local, regional and interregional partnerships

Award Criteria for thematic Category 6 - Information and Communication

a. User-friendly, attractive web design involving use of available technologies

b. Presenting in an informative, efficient and creative way the role of the Community and showing the EU added value through the programme.

c. Reliability and quality of the web site contents.

Chairperson: Dr Jan OLBRYCHT, Member of the European Parliament, PL.

Members:

• Mr Guido ALBERTINI, Head of the directorate of International Projects of CSI Piemonte, IT.
• Professor Rob ATKINSON, University of the West of England, UK.
• Mr Gareth HUGHES, Chief Executive of eris@ - the European Regional Information Society Association, UK.
• Ms Olga PIETRUCHOVA, Dipl. Ing., M.A., consultant and member of the Council for Gender Equality, SL. 
• Professor Luc SOETE,  Director of UNU-MERIT, Maastricht, NL.  
• Mr. Iván TOSICS, consultant and a principal of the Metropolitan Research Institute, HU. 
• Mr Massimo VELLA is currently Management Information Systems (MIS) Officer within the Ministry for Social Policy, MT.

More detail on the Jury:

RegioStars 2010 has seen a record 87 applications from project promoters and regions from all 27 Member States.

The 24 project promoters presented their projects in Brussels on 27 January 2010
(Agenda )

The RegioStars Jury, under the chairmanship of Dr Jan OLBRYCHT MEP, chose 24 finalists across the six categories:

CATEGORY 1: CityStars category - Innovative use of brownfield sites in an urban context

• BE - Project Center for creative business innovation and entrepreneurship - within the C-Mine development, Flanders / Limburg
• BE - Pieper Site, Wallonia
• ES - Almaden Mining Park - Environment and heritage in Castilla La Mancha
• NL - RDM - Innovation Dock, Landsdeel West

CATEGORY 2: CityStars category - The integration of migrants or marginalised groups in urban areas

• DE - German-Türkish Economic Center, Baden Württemberg
• IT - Casa del quotidiano - Daily Home, Piedmont part1 - part2
• LT - Social Integration of Individuals suffering from dependency on psychoactive substances, Vilnius
• SE - Micro-finance Institute for Increased employment, economic and social integration, East Mid Sweden
• SI - Successful integration of Roma children, Ljubljana
• UK - Access to Lifelong Learning (ALL), Wales

CATEGORY 3: ICT applications for e-inclusion

• LT/PL - Establishing Multicentres, Olsztyn and Marijampole, Warminsko-Mazurskie (PL) and Marijampole County (LT)
• LT - Computer Literacy Basics for a Lithuanian e-Citizen, Lithuania
• NL - Digital Meting Places, Arnhem

CATEGORY 4: ICT applications by or for SMEs

• DE - New business model for ambulatory monitoring of patients suffering from congestive heart failure, Brandenburg
• SI - One Stop Shop for Companies, Slovenia
• UK - E-Crime, Wales

CATEGORY 5: Broadband coverage in less developed regions or rural areas

• FI - eRegio, North Karelia
• FR - High Speed Broadband and white areas in Auvergne: Towards a 100% coverage, Auvergne
• IE/UK - Kelvin, North West Ireland

CATEGORY 6: Information and Communication (Web sites)

• DE - www.entdecke-efre.de, Brandenburg
• ETC - http://eu.baltic.net, Baltic Sea Region
• EU - www.interact-eu.net, EU
• LT - www.esparama.lt, Lithuania
• UK - www.erdfnw.co.uk, Northwest of England

The Regiostars 2010 projects are presented in this brochure.

Category 1: CityStars category - Innovative use of brownfield sites in an urban context

C-Mine Centre, Genk, Belgium (€3.2 million in EU funding from the ERDF)

Building upon the legacy of Genk's mining foundations, the multi-purpose C-Mine centre has transformed a former industrial site into a hub for entrepreneurs and visitors alike. Its two concert halls, exhibition space and design centre are scheduled for opening in September 2010.

VIDEO

 

Category 2: CityStars category - Integration of migrants or marginalised groups in urban areas

Micro-Finance Institute, East-Mid-Sweden (€340,000 in EU funding from the ERDF)

Set up in 2008, this project focuses on improving access to finance for migrant women who often face difficulties in trying to secure capital to start-up or develop their own business. The main aim of the project was to establish a permanent micro-finance institute to help overcome these barriers. So far the project has supported 80 new female entrepreneurs and contributed to the start-up of 15 micro-enterprises, creating 20 jobs.

VIDEO

 

Category 3: ICT applications for e-inclusion

Computer literacy basics for a Lithuanian e-citizen, Lithuania (€2 million in EU funding from the ESF)

In 2002, a group of companies, banks, and telecommunications and IT businesses formed the Langas j Ateitj alliance. The aim was to provide training, establish public internet access points and stimulate growth in e-services, to enhance computer literacy skills. The main target groups were the elderly, disabled and people living in remote areas with little access to digital services. 50,400 adults completed courses over the two years.

VIDEO

 

Category 4: ICT applications by or for SMEs

New business model for ambulatory monitoring of patients, Brandenburg, Germany (€86,000 in EU funding from the ERDF)

The first of its kind in Brandenburg, this project combined the expertise of various regional partners in using tele-medecine to monitor and treat people, outside a traditional medical environment, who have suffered from a heart attack. Its overall aim was to reduce the number of hospital admissions per patient. Over 100 patients have benefited.

VIDEO

 

Category 5: Broadband coverage in less developed regions or rural areas

High-speed broadband in Auvergne, France (€10 million in EU funding from ERDF)

High-speed broadband is an essential ingredient in ensuring competitiveness in today's world. But in sparsely populated areas, private telecommunication operators are frequently reluctant to take on all the risks of investing in these so called "white areas". Faced with this challenge, Auvergne established a public/private partnership (PPP) in 2005 to extend high-speed broadband coverage to 100% of households, which was achieved by early 2009.

VIDEO

 

Category 6: Information and Communication (Web sites)

www.esparama.lt, Lithuania (€110,000 in EU funding)

"Esparama" in Lithuanian means EU assistance - this official website provides information on all EU structural funding in the country from data supplied by content administrators in 15 government institutions. The site's easily navigable homepage clearly presents separate sections for funding applicants, beneficiaries, media and general public, institutions and news.

http://www.esparama.lt/2007-2013/en

 

Four other projects received special mentions from the 2010 jury:

Pieper Site, Wallonia, Belgium
Part of a wider urban business renovation process, this project took an innovative approach in re-developing a former industrial brownfield site into a business park. The main aim of the site has been to attract companies compatible with the surrounding urban residential area.

Successful integration of Roma children, Ljubljana, Slovenia
The Roma constitute the largest ethnic minority in central and eastern European countries, and often struggle with discrimination and social exclusion. This project seeks to address some of these problems with the help of Roma teaching assistants, aiming to strengthen the links between Roma children, their schools and their parents.

eREGIO, North Karelia, Finland
This project aimed at extending high-speed broadband coverage in rural and very remote areas of Finland. Despite the challenge, eRegio achieved excellent results, with almost 99% of the region having broadband access by 2008.

entdecke-efre website, Brandenburg, Germany
The website "entdecke-efre" – "discover ERDF" – sets out, in an easily navigable format, lots of information on EU-funded projects and processes involved to benefit from the funds.