Periodic Reporting for period 1 - T2gE (Transition to the Green Economy) Reporting period: 2016-06-01 to 2017-02-28 Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project Green growth is a key tool for countries that are seeking to promote economic growth, to create new economic opportunities and jobs while ensuring high protection of environment and quality of life.In the framework of the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU, the Slovak Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic organized an international conference 'T2gE – Transition to the Green Economy'. T2gE aimed to attract the attention of all relevant stakeholders and create a space for informed discussion of the key questions on the transition to a green economy. The focus of the discussions was on actions of key stakeholders, including financial and investments ones. One of the main discussion sessions was aimed at the role of research and innovation in accelerating such a transition, the issues of a demand to the community of researchers and innovators, the obstacles that researchers and innovators meet when developing and deploying innovative solutions, including their implementation in a real life. A part of the conference was devoted to present examples of innovative solutions and approaches from Slovakia and EU countries. With this conference the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic intended to create a space for open discussion and a wide exchange of views and experiences on how to initiate a new era of economic transformation to one that respects the environment and social aspects of development. With the choice of the main theme of the conference Slovakia naturally reacts to the current global crisis, which is related to rapid population growth, scarcity of natural resources, a rise in prices, the loss of biodiversity and climate change. It is time to start to respect the capacity of the planet and to act more responsible. The transition to a green economy will require courageous and visionary decisions. We have to change our way of thinking and decision making.As a result of the discussions, final conclusions and recommendations on how the transition to the green economy should be accelerated have been produced and published.As a follow up event to the T2gE, the national workshop „Transition to the Green Economy – Challenges and opportunities for business“ was organized. Participants from business sector, policy makers and NGOs discussed conclusions of the international conference and presented concrete examples and experiences from activities supporting the practice implementation of green growth principles in Slovakia and made recommendations and proposals aimed at streamlining and speeding up the transition. Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far The progress has been in-line with the initial planning as described in the Description of the Action. More specifically, the following main activities have been carried out:- The program board of the conference was established- The T2gE conference logistics were planned and properly executed. This includes:o Travel arrangements for selected speakerso Preparation, production and distribution of conference materialso Communication with participantso Communication towards press o Securing adequate number of venues and meeting roomso Handling catering aspects o Technical equipment including interpretation booths - The recommendations on how the economic policy and all sectoral policies should be shaped in order to achieve optimal conditions for development of the low carbon, resource-efficient, green and socially inclusive economy, was produced and largely disseminated.- The side event “Green World” was successfully implemented.- The framework for the deployment of the project dissemination and communication activities, namely:o A dissemination and communication plan was elaborated and updated to serve as a useful guide for the partners to ensure an effective and satisfactory dissemination and communication of the project activities and results;o The identity and stationery material to be used for formal communication and promotional purposes of the project was prepared (logo, brochure, poster, roll-up, etc.);o The project web portal and social media pages were launched acting as the main communication channels for the project’s activities and results.o Various dissemination activities were carried out to increase the visibility of the project.o The comprehensive report on press relations and media coverage was produced.- The national workshop on “Green Economy” was successfully organised.- A Data Management Plan, covering the data management life cycle for all datasets to be collected, processed or generated by the project was developed.- The partners participated and organised various activities within the context of international events to promote the project activities.- Collaboration with similar initiatives has been established in order to increase the impact of the partners’ efforts.Finally, over the whole duration of the project no critical problems have been encountered: all deliverables have been submitted as planned and all milestones have been achieved. Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far) Bratislava Green Economy ProcessProject partners also prepared summaries of all sessions of the Conference which provide an extract of the most substantial views and ideas that have been presented by various speakers and participants. The summaries were prepared on the base of rapporteurs´ remarks from all sessions and processed by the MoE staff responsible for the content of the Conference. Finally, the most relevant ideas have been picked up and processed in a form of the Final summary, which will further serve as a working material for other relevant fora. Following this conference, the Slovak Ministry of the Environment plans to establish a so-called “Bratislava Green Economy Process”, which will create a space for open discussion and a wide exchange of views and experiences on how to initiate a new era of transformation to an economy that respects the environment and the social aspects of development. Conference participants Mr. Solymos, Minister of the MoE, Slovakia Coffee Break, Informal Discussions Breakout Parallel Sessions Exhibition Stands, Project Partners Conference Prize Winner Press Conference Participants Mr. Kurilla, State Secrecatory of the MoE, Slovakia Electric Vehicle, Made in Slovakia Media Meeting venue and participants Plenary Session 1 Paralell Session Discussions, Use of SLIDO
