Newsletter by the Stockholm Region Office in St. Petersburg Issue 105, 2008, week 40

Europe Day in St Petersburg

On 27 September for the first time ever St. Petersburg celebrated Europe Day. The Delegation of the European Commission to Russia in collaboration with Consulates General and Culture Centres of EU Member States had prepared a most diverse programme. The opening ceremony, which was followed by the interactive debates “Borders of Europe and the European Identity”, took place at the Grand Hotel Europe. Some Consulates and Culture Centres invited to the Open Doors events at their premises, offering information on cultural and educational programmes, tourism, quizzes and free language lessons. Five films by European directors were shown at Rodina cinema, including the first performance in Russia of “The Edge of Heaven” by Fatih Akin. More than 20 restaurants were serving European cuisine at affordable price. Sweden was represented by the famous DJ Tiger Stripes. Contact person: Alia Khalikova, Consulate General of Sweden in St. Petersburg, alia.khalikova@foreign.ministry.se

Ports of Stockholm in St. Petersburg

On 24-26 September delegation of Ports of Stockholm Group, managing 6 ports in Stockholm as well as the ports of Nynдshamn and Kapellskдr, visited St. Petersburg. The programme included meetings with representatives of the Consulate General of Sweden in St. Petersburg, the First Container Terminal of St. Petersburg, the Sea Port of St. Petersburg, the Passenger Sea Port Marine Facade, Ust-Luga Company and the St. Petersburg Committee on Transport and Transit Policy. The visit was arranged by the Consulate General of Sweden in St. Petersburg.

Contact herson: Ekaterina Krestovskaya, Consulate General of Sweden in St. Petersburg, katja.krestovskaja@foreign.ministry.se

Visa-Free Regime for Ferry Passengers

On 19 September the State Duma of Russia passed in first reading a draft law providing visa-free regime for ferry passengers coming to the country for a period of up to 72 hours. So far only cruiser passengers have had this right. New regulations would be most beneficial for St. Petersburg. Two weeks ago the city put into operation the first stage of a new sea port Marine Facade with a passenger capacity of 2.5-5 thousand people. Last year St. Petersburg accepted over 300 cruisers with over 350 thousand tourists. This year the plans are to accept 320 cruise ships and 400 thousand tourists accordingly. Whereas the regular ferry connection between St. Petersburg and other Baltic cities was interrupted in 2004-2005 due to existing visa regulations. If the new law on visa-free regime is adopted, the city can hope for some extra 1 million tourists in 2009-2010, bringing EUR 100-150 million to the city budget.

Source: Russian Union of Travel Industry, www.ratanews.ru

Photo: www.interpress.ru

Day of St. Petersburg in Jyvдskylд, 9 October

On 9 October the Day of St. Petersburg in Jyvдskylд will gather representatives of companies, cultural, tourism and educational institutions from Russia and Finland. The aim of the Day is to boost cooperation between the two cities. The programme of the Day includes seminars, face-to-face meetings and visits to local companies and cultural, educational and tourism organisations. The seminars will be held with the following topics: “Events, Tourism and Culture”, “Economic and Business Possibilities in St. Petersburg” and “Presentation of Companies from St. Petersburg”.

Over 50 Russian representatives are expected to take part in the event. The Day, being part of the “Central Finland to St. Petersburg II” project, is organised by the Jyvдskylд Regional Development Company Jykes Ltd, the St. Petersburg Business Contact Centre BIZKON, and the cities of St. Petersburg and Jyvдskylд. Contact Person: Suvi Kaikkonen, Jyvдskylд Regional Develoment Company Jykes Ltd., suvi.kaikkonen@jykes.fi

IX Russian-Finnish Cultural Forum in Jyvдskylд, 9-10 October

On 9-10 October 2008 the IX Russian-Finnish Cultural Forum “Future Today and Now: Culture, Youth and Education” takes place in Jyvaskylд, Finland. Annually up to 300 representatives from Finnish and Russian cultural organizations attend the Forum to meet their colleagues and discuss joint projects in the sphere of culture. The aim of Russian-Finnish Cultural Forum is to set up and support international networking on cultural projects between Finland and Russia and, as a result, to promote the development of both countries.

The IX Russian-Finnish Cultural Forum opens with a plenary session with the participation of Stefan Wallin, Finland’s Minister of Culture and Sport and of Alexander Avdeev, Russia’s Minister of Culture.

25 representatives from St. Petersburg were invited by their Finnish partners to join the Forum. St. Petersburg delegates will participate in theme sessions, bilateral partnership negotiations and seminars.

Contact person: Irina Kizilova, Institute for Cultural Programs, Deputy Director, e-mail: irina@icp.sp.ru

Training Programme “Creative Management of Music Festivals”

Northwest Russia has an active, versatile and internationally potential music festival field. To promote local culture and develop music festival networking a two-year educational programme “Creative management of Music Festivals” for music festival organizers of North-western Russia has started. The program supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and the St. Petersburg Committee for Culture develops ways to exchange best practices between Russian and Finnish music festivals. The immediate objective of the “Creative management of Music Festivals” programme is to improve leadership and management skills of local festival managers. In the long term the project’s aim is to promote sustainable growth and internationalization of Russian festivals.

Currently the application process is in progress. Detailed description of the program and the application form are available on www.spbculture.ru

Contact persons: Irina Kizilova, St. Petersburg Institute for Cultural Programs e-mail: pr@icp.sp.ru and Sanna Takala, Sibelius

Academy Continuing Education of Helsinki e-mail: sanna.takala@siba.fi

Northwest Russia: Facts and Events, Issue 105, 2008, week 40

VII All-Russia Forum on Strategic Planning in the Regions and Cities of Russia

On 20-21 October the VII All-Russia Forum on Strategic Planning in the Regions and Cities of Russia will be held in St Petersburg at LENEXPO exhibition centre. The overall goal of the Forum is to strengthen cooperation networks and to share experience between regions and cities - strategic planning leaders with discussion of best international and Russian practice, achieved practical results, and key-factors constraining sustainable development and implementation of strategic plans. The State Duma of the Russian Federation and the RF Ministry for Regional Development consider Strategic Planning Leaders Forum as an official platform for discussion of territorial planning problems and strategic visions of the Russian Federation.

This year the Forum aims to support the development of common vision on the system of strategic planning in Russia, to share international best practice experiences and strategic planning tools, to improve the coordination of sectoral and territorial priorities of state regional policies in the context of long-term Concept of Development in Russia till 2020.

Representatives of federal and regional authorities, local self-government, donor organizations, business communities, NGOs, socially responsible investors, infrastructural companies and experts are invited to attend.

The Forum is organised by the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Ministry for Regional Development of the Russian Federation, Ministry for Economic Development of the Russian Federation, City of St. Petersburg, Center of Strategic Research and Leontief Center.

For more information and practical details please visit the Forum website http://www.forumstrategov.ru.

Contact person: Elena Belova, Leontief Centre, e-mail: belova@leontief.spb.su.

Northwest Russia: Facts and Events, Issue 105, 2008, week 40

International Security and Fire Exhibition Sfitex 2008, 15-18 October

In 2008, Primexpo, part of ITE Group, has purchased Sfitex international w exhibition focusing on road safety will take place within security and fire exhibition which is already well known among industry professionals. In 2008 Sfitex will be held at LENEXPO exhibition centre on 15-18 October. This year, a ne Sfitex. The later is organised in association with the Government of St. Petersburg. In addition, the ‘General Directorate for Traffic’ will construct a miniature city inside the exhibition, which will include streets, crossroads, road markings, traffic lights, road signs and information displays. The co-located forum will comprise a comprehensive programme of over 40 events, including round tables and seminars dedicated to the problems of promoting road safety. In 2007, over 20 thousand people from 33 countries, attracted by 300 domestic and international exhibitors, attended the exhibition. The latest products and recent developments within the industry were presented on a total exhibition area of 8 thousand sq. metres.

In 2008, approximately 350 companies from 20 countries will participate in Sfitex and the total exhibition area will grow to over 9 thousand sq. metres. Well-known domestic and international companies, such as Abloy, Axis, CBC, EffEff, Fujinon, Honeywell, GeuteBruck, Siemens, Sony, Ravelin, Pentacon and PERCo will present their products, latest achievements and recent developments. Contact person: Elena Zhuykova, Primexpo Ltd; e-mail: elenaj@primexpo.ru; web: www.primexpo.ru

The archive of the newsletters can be found at http://www.stockholmregion.org/website1/sd_page/16/1/index.php

STOCKHOLM REGION OFFICE in ST PETERSBURG

Visiting address: Nevsky 1, St. Petersburg Postal address: BOX 1005, 190000, St. Petersburg tel.: +7-812-314 68 18, fax: +7-812-314 68 53

e-mail: stockholm.office@stockholm.spb.ru