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VII Baltic Sea NGO Forum, 26 February – 1 March 2009, Elsinore, Denmark

27 February 2009

27 February 2009, Minister of Foreign Affairs in Denmark and Chairman of the Council of the Baltic Sea States, Per Stig Møller opens the official part of the VII Baltic Sea NGO Forum in Denmark.

A substantial programme has been put together for the Regions. Various NGOs of the Region covering interesting subjects, as well as prominent speakers were present: Minister of Education and Nordic Co-operation, Bertel Haarder, Denmark; Member of the European Parliament and President of the Party of European Socialists and Former Danish Prime Minister, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen; President of the Baltic Sea Parliamentarians Conference, Christina Gestrin (Finland).

The thematic workshops include: Lifelong Learning; Environment and Climate Changes; Social Affairs; Civil dialogue; Cultural Diversity and Tolerance.

Director of Baltic Development Forum, Hans Brask is also invited to speak. NGOs of the Baltic Sea Region play an essential role in regional building by underlining shared values and the common historical background through people to people contacts. Hopefully the EU strategy for the Baltic Sea Region will be able to support NGOs’ and grassroots’ activities as they provide the basis for closer political and economic collaboration in the EU and beyond.