The meeting was held as part of the project ‘Continuation of Bilateral Cooperation between Polish, Norwegian and Icelandic Municipalities as an Example of Establishing Lasting Relations after Local Development Programme and Expanding Cooperation in the Preparation of the Next Financial Perspective’, which has been implemented since this spring. The intention of the project is to facilitate the continuation of cooperation between all interested Norwegian/Icelandic cities/municipalities and the 53 Polish cities that participated in Phases II and III of Local Development Programme within the EEA and NMF 2014-2021, after the Local Development Programme has ended, as a bridge to the new financial perspective of the EEA and Norwegian Financial Mechanism.

One of the activities carried out during this one-year project is the meetings of the four EMPIRIE Experience Exchange Networks with experts from Norway and Iceland. And precisely such a meeting of the ‘Entrepreneurial City’ network took place at the end of June in Piła.

The meeting started with a study visit to the Signify Lighting Application Centre, where participants were able to learn about innovative lighting solutions for interior, as well as public spaces.

Presentations on intersectoral cooperation in Norwegian conditions were an important part of the programme. A delegation from the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities discussed the benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary approaches to community building using Morellbakken School as an example, as well as how cooperation between education and entrepreneurship occurs in Norway.

In the second part of the day, projects implemented by the city of Piła, such as ‘Starting with Piła’ [pol. Piła na Start] promoting entrepreneurship among young people and the ‘Piła Skills Academy’ [pol. Pilska Akademia Umiejętności], were discussed. A special highlight was a presentation by students from the Economic School Complex in Piła, who are the winners of the latest edition of the Piła Skills Academy.

The day culminated with a walk around Piła, during which the participants visited the Island Park and the Planty Boulevards, where the project ‘Revitalisation of Riverside Areas of the Gwda River’ was presented.

The second day started with the topic of intersectoral cooperation in the Polish context. Model solutions for the development of the local labour market were presented on the example of the Career Fair held in Nisko and the NASA Space Apps Challenge Hackathon, which was organised in Stalowa Wola as a non-standard tool for promoting the city and a space for cross-sectoral cooperation.

Participants at the meeting also learned about the experiences of Piła entrepreneurs in cooperating with the education sector. Representatives of the Piła Animal Shelter ‘Miluszków’ and MZK Sp. z o.o. [en. Municipal Transport Agency], shared the benefits of participating in the Piła Skills Academy project.

The meeting concluded with a discussion on the development of future competences among young people. The event demonstrated the importance of combining the forces of education, business and local government to support the development of local communities and promote entrepreneurship.

The coordinators of the ENTREPRENEURIAL CITY network are Kamil Niklewicz and Marek Gabzdyl, who, together with experts, Jarosław Górski and Adam Mikołajczyk, jointly animate the work of the network.