Fostering new synergies and partnerships on sustainable urbanisation

The Swedish Government has recently announced a new Sustainable Cities Council as well as a new support for municipalities’ work on urban ecosystem services. This is championed by the Swedish Environment Minister, Ms Karolina Skog. The Sustainable Cities Council will serve as a national forum aimed at strengthening urban conditions to develop into living, green, healthy and safe places where people meet. The overall task of the Council is to implement the city development policy. The mission extends to May 2022 and involves ten authorities. A funding package named the Greener Cities Initiative has also been established by the Swedish Government to support the aims of the Council. The Platform on Urban Ecosystem Services which has received funding from a Swedish Innovation Fund called Vinnova to identify opportunities for synergies and partnerships between the European Union and Sweden on Sustainable Urbanisation. As part of this project we plan to run a workshop in Brussels on the 5th of March between 1500 and 1730, (1445 registration) followed by a reception with the Minister from 1800 onwards. The overall aim of this workshop and reception is to identify synergies and partnerships between Sweden’s new Sustainable Cities Agenda and the EU’s Sustainable Urbanisation Agenda between 2018 and 2022. You are cordially invited to attend this event. The program can be viewed on the next page. Places at this event are limited. Please RSVP Harald Klein harald.klein@slu.se by the 26th February 2018. We look forward to seeing you at this event! Best wishes, The Platform on Urban Ecosystem Services Team