EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Pawel Zaboklicki
EDITING & LAYOUT
Anna Dargiewicz
EDITORIAL BOARD
Viktors Buls
Ewa Kurjata
Anna Dargiewicz
Pawel Zaboklicki
PUBLISHER
Union of the Baltic Cities
Secretariat
Waly Jagiellonskie 1
PL-80853 Gdansk
POLAND
tel. +48 58 3010917
tel. +48 58 3019123 fax +48 58 3017637
e-mail: info@ubc.net
www.ubc.net
ISSN 1506-6266
PROOF-READING
Ewa Kurjata
COVER PICTURE
The city of Pärnu
Estonia
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Dear UBC Friends!
The
IX General Conference of the Union of the Baltic Cities
is approaching. This time we will meet in Pärnu,
Estonia, on 27-28 September 2007 to discuss the most
burning questions of our times. The main three themes
of the Conference will be: climate change - cities'
response, culture as a driving force for municipal
development and involvement of youth in democracy
and in the life of society.
In recent years the question
of how to prevent the climate change and all consequences
it implicates has been one of the most often asked
on the governmental and the international level. However,
setting the ambitious targets and creating special
policies on energy or climate protection is not enough.
It is time for local authorities to consider their
role in this process, as their commitment seems to
be essential for success. What exactly can they do
to prevent or reduce the consequences of the climate
change? The participants of our Conference will be
discussing the effectiveness of different tools and
actions such as reduction of CO2 emissions,
use of friendly renewable energy, more efficient use
of energy, etc. Moreover, the conference will provide
a forum for exchanging ideas on how to prepare the
cities for negative effects of climate change, like
the raise of sea level.
The UBC is also going to
attract the participants' attention to the youth problems.
Involvement of youth in democracy and in the life
of society will focus on the question how the economy
and society can benefit from the interaction with
young people. The Union is of the opinion that the
youth is a valuable resource for the development of
cities and the whole Baltic Sea Region. The participation
of young people brings new dimensions, perspectives
and expertise in the municipal work. I have no doubt
that the increased dialogue and improved communication
with this group of citizens should be one of the main
tasks of the local authorities. The Youth Conference
organised at the same time as the UBC General Conference
will hopefully let the young meet and discuss with
the decision-makers.
The next theme, culture
as a driving force for municipal development, will
provide the opportunity to present the new dimension
of the urban development policies. This issue of the
Bulletin devoted to this topic shall be a great basis
for further discussion on how the inclusion of the
cultural perspective into the local strategies influences
the city's growth. Interesting articles clearly show
that the cultural climate of the city, its tolerant,
vibrant atmosphere, diversity of lifestyles and variety
of art-scenes are crucial to attract people and businesses.
Welcome to the IX UBC General
Conference!
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Per Bodker Andersen
President of UBC
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Kolding, May 2007
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