The international ES+U event, taking place at the Litexpo Exhibition and Congress Centre in Vilnius, will bring together 35 speakers from Europe, with the unifying theme of immunity to future challenges. The Baltic Ministers of Finance and the representatives of the European Commission will start the event with a discussion about what EU policies the Baltic States will need to pursue beyond the 2021–2027 funding period.
Insights into future trends and scenarios in technology, labour market and other areas will be shared by futurists and professionals from across Europe and beyond. ES+U will also touch upon a major topic for the future, i.e. green investment. Paulius Petrauskas, Head of the Breakthrough Department of the Innovation Agency, will talk about it in the Investment Hall. He will give a presentation on “Green Cities in Lithuania: When?”.
“At first glance, green cities may seem like a future that belongs to distant futuristic technologies, but they are already becoming reality. All the innovations needed for green cities are already in place and in the near future we will see them in everyone’s homes. Conference participants will be able to learn more about these technologies on Tuesday,” said Mr Petrauskas.
The event will also cover other important topics, including the potential to attract skilled professionals to the Baltic States, as well as a panel discussion on “Investing in Lithuanian Business: What’s in Focus”. Gintarė Kuncaitytė, Head of the Investment Management Department of the Innovation Agency, will also talk about investing in Lithuanian business during this discussion.
Opportunities for business
EU investment is also making an important contribution to Lithuania’s efforts to promote green investment and technology in its cities. Ms Kuncaitytė pointed out that Lithuanian businesses can already benefit from the “Green Experiment” measure, which is designed to develop technologies that reduce pollution.
“Technologies to help tackle the challenges of global warming have been in focus of countries and businesses for some time. The “Green Experiment” measure will allow the companies of our country not only to develop innovative products, but also to tackle long-standing industrial pollution issues, while fostering partnerships between business and science,” commented Ms Kuncaitytė.
The “Green Experiment” call has a budget of EUR 8 million, with the minimum amount of funding available for a project being EUR 50 000 and the maximum amount being EUR 500 000. Funded activities include the development of innovative technologies that promote the production of environmentally friendly and sustainable products. The funding will be available for businesses to invest in research and experimental development (R&D) as well as patenting activities.
This call is funded by the new funding period of the Programme for the EU Funds’ Investments 2021–2027.
