Building sustainability in the Baltics
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have all joined the EU relatively recently, and could benefit strongly from the experience of older Member States in the area of sustainability. The EU-funded project Sharing aimed to strengthen knowledge exchange for the Baltic Sea region on internal, European and global levels. The project underlined the necessity of hosting powerful conferences in new Baltic EU states in order to train young researchers and enable them to participate in European research projects. In this light it organised a global conference in line with the EU's 'Global change and ecosystems' research priority, promoting sustainability more effectively. The event, called 'Integrative approaches towards sustainability', was set to nurture these young EU countries' scientific capabilities and groom their young scientists in sustainable development. The scientists, trained by older, more experienced ones from the rest of Europe, would bear the exciting challenge to further sustainable development in the Baltic region and increase the research potential at a European level as well. Three conferences were eventually organised in this direction, supported by an international project board. The project team organised participation in the conferences, invited key speakers and prepared the conference agenda, covering the technical aspects of the event as well. It also published the proceedings and outcomes of the conferences to ensure long-term effectiveness and encourage networking beyond the event. In all, the conferences were very successful, attracting numerous representatives from the EU and from third countries. They also featured poster presentations and achieved a high scientific level of discussion through sessions and workshops. Dissemination of project results and findings continued through several publications and online, ensuring that sustainability in the Baltic states would eventually become a solid priority for the region.