Fehmarn Belt Days 26 September to 28 September

The organisers are looking forward to presenting a wide range of activities and summits which focus on discussing the opportunities of the Fehmarnbelt region. As many as 1,000 people are expected to join this event. The Fehmarnbelt Days website www.fehmarnbeltdays.com is now open for registration for all events.

“We are very proud to present a large range of events: student summits, high level talks for leaders, conferences on political, economic, social and cultural perspectives. The Fehmarnbelt Days are an opportunity for hundreds of key decision-makers to set out the future for the West Baltic Area from Northern Germany across Denmark and into Southern Sweden”, says Leo Larsen, CEO of Femern A/S, one of the organisers of the Fehmarnbelt Days.

The summit will start on 26 September in Lübeck with the student networking event, “Tomorrow’s Playground”. In workshops, students from universities in Sweden, Germany and Denmark will identify the relevant options and obstacles for the future Fehmarnbelt region. Different groups will come up with ideas related to one of the themes: Transport and Logistics, Labour market, Climate, Culture and Events, Knowledge and Innovation. The students will present their ideas in front of a jury consisting of members of the Fehmarnbelt Committee, among others.

On the evening of 26 September, the political and economic leaders of the region will meet to talk about the perspectives of the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link and the region on the invitation of Olaf Scholz, the mayor of Hamburg. At the same time, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Lübeck (IHK zu Lübeck) invites all participants of the Fehmarnbelt Days to a Welcome Party at “Dat Hoghehus”.

A highlight of the Fehmarnbelt Days will be the “Idea Factory” on 27 September at the Musik- und Kongresshalle in Lübeck hosted by Femern A/S. Up to 1,000 participants are invited to an intense competition for the best ideas on how to promote integration and cooperation in northern Germany, Denmarkand southern Sweden.

Divided into cross-organisational and international teams, the participants will compete for ideas in a number of categories related to regional development. Based on different criteria such as originality, practicability and effectiveness, these ideas will be scored on the spot by a high-level jury while the competition is on-going. At the end of the competition, the team with the highest overall score wins.

On the evening of 27 September, a “Rotes Sofa” panel discussion will open a cultural and social perspective. The “Rotes Sofa” format is a well-perceived series of events set up by the IHK zu Lübeck to discuss socio-political issues. It is hosted by the former Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein, Björn Engholm. The purpose of this event is to discuss the benefits of cross-border cultural regions and the financing of cross-border projects and, in this context, the importance of foundations. The first outcome of the “Idea Factory” will be discussed as well. Per Poulsen-Hansen, the Danish Ambassador to Germany, and Michael Zenner, the German Ambassador to Denmark, have already confirmed their participation.

The “Rotes Sofa” will be opened by the first Award Show of the Fehmarnbelt Business Council. The FBBC Award highlights the importance of cross-border cooperation in the Fehmarnbelt region by rewarding a company or an organisation that has contributed to promoting integration between Denmark, Germanyand Sweden. FBBC Chairman and IHK zu Lübeck CEO Matthias Schulz-Kleinfeldt: “The regional economy is fully aware of its responsibility to shape the future. We have to cooperate at all levels. Mental bridges strengthen the trade exchange earnings.”

The Fehmarnbelt Days Conference “Regions toward a common future” will be the major event on 28 September in Lübeck. The summit, which is organised by the Fehmarnbelt Business Council (FBBC) and STRING, demonstrates the will of representatives of the business, science and political communities to create a strong cross-border corridor between Sweden,Denmark and Germany.

Fehmarnbelt Days will also host meetings for task forces of Fehmarnbelt networks such as the Fehmarnbelt Committee, kulturLINK and STRING, as well as cultural activities inlcuding exhibitions, a Drum Circle as a common interactive instrumental event, and a sculptor summit with German, Danish and Swedish artists. More activities are to come and will be updated on www.fehmarnbeltdays.com.

Press contacts for the Fehmarnbelt Days:

Ajs Dam | Femern A/S | Tel. +45 3341 6329 | E-mail: ajs@femern.dk

Thomas Waldner | IHK Lübeck | Tel. +49 451 6006160 | E-mail: waldner@ihk-luebeck.de

Jacob Vestergaard | STRING | Tel. +45 5787 5851 | E-mail: jves@regionsjaelland.dk

Mette Vindbæk Tost | FBBC | Tel. +45 3283 0081 | E-mail: mvt@fbbc.eu

Torben Aaberg  | BDF | Tel. +45 6021 8574 | E-mail: ta@bdforum.org

Horst Weppler | Fehmarnbelt-Committee | Tel. +49 4521 788 380 | E-mail: h.weppler@kreis-oh.de

Marjun Dalsgaard | Femern Belt Development | Tel. +45 5467 6148 | E-mail: marjun@femern.info