VII UBC General Conference in Klaipeda, 17-19.10.2003

Union of the Baltic Cities invites all its member cities and other interested parties to the 7th General Conference of the UBC. This year the theme is "The Baltic Sea Wave - Business Development in the New Europe".

The aim of the conference is to:

• inspire BSR Local Authority Actors to promote business and to utilise the positive economic development
• discuss fruitful connections between municipal and business community actors
• present the Baltic Sea Region as a showcase on how municipalities can co
  operate with the business community

The General Conference will take place in Klaipeda, Lithuania, on 17-19 October 2003. The first day will be fully devoted to the conference theme. Among invited speakers are:

• Mr Rolandas Paksas, President of Lithuania
• Mr Albert Bore, President of the Committee of the Regions
• Mr Erkki Liikanen, EU Commissioner for Enterprise and Information Society
• Mr Leif Pagrotsky, Minister of Industry, Employment and Communication, Sweden
• high-ranked representatives of the business community in the Baltic Sea Region
• and others.

We will also carry out workshops that should trigger your interest in business development. The workshops will discuss inter alia the city role in business development and business opportunities in the new Europe.

The second day will be devoted to UBC internal matters such as reports, elections, finances, meetings of all UBC Commissions and networks.

We will arrange some post-conference tours around Klaipeda and in Lithuania on Sunday, 19 October.
A final invitation will come soon, but please reserve these days in your calendars.

Looking forward to meeting you in Klaipeda !

On the occasion of the VII UBC General Conference, UBC has the honour of inviting its member cities to

The Baltic Cities Environmental Award 2003

Baltic Cities Environmental Award is arranged every second year on the occasion of the UBC General Conference. The intention with the Award is to encourage the cities in the Baltic Sea Region to develop their administration and services in an innovative way for the benefit of the whole municipality and its citizens.

Since the theme of the General conference is "Business development in the new Europe" we would be delighted to get applications covering local businesses in some way. The Baltic Cities Environmental Award will also put special emphasis on the following themes: Air Quality, Bio-diversity, Energy, Environmental health, Information & Education.

The Best Environmental Practice in Baltic Cities Award 2003 will be given as honorary award (diploma and grant of 5000 Euro) to one of the UBC member cities. The grant is kindly donated by the Danish company, Per Aarsleff A/S.

Cities wanting to participate should follow the guidelines in the Award leaflet that will be granted in May. The applications should reach the UBC Commission on Environment Secretariat at the latest 1 September.