“Pandemic has put a stop to development of activities in 2020,” says Gunnar Anderzon, investigator at the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR), which leads the flagship School to Work (S2W). “But in spite of everything, the transition to digital meetings has been successful”, he added.
School to Work (S2W), a Flagship under Policy Area Education, aims to strengthen transnational cooperation between stakeholders in the Baltic Sea Region in the field of education and work in order to prevent early school leaving and develop support for vulnerable groups of students/youth, specifically NEETs, early school leavers and newly arrived refugees.
During the spring, SALAR had plans to recruit and appoint an Advisory Board for the flagship with members who are closely linked to the governments of each member country. The members must have an ear for activities and planning on the national level. “We have so far lacked a sufficiently clear connection to governing bodies at national levels, where we need partners to talk to,” says Gunnar Anderzon.
The plan was to visit the member countries during the spring of 2020 and to speed up the process through direct meetings. The intention is to, with the help of proximity to decision-makers in high positions, more effectively anchor the work done within the framework of the Baltic Sea Strategy.
That plan had to be postponed. “The transition to digital meetings has led to difficulties in exchange between countries. Everything has become a bit more inward-looking,” says Gunnar Anderzon. “However, the disturbances are not irreversible even if we have lost some pace. Of course, it must not continue for any length of time. Digital meeting can be developed to a certain limit, but in the long run it becomes a bit flat.”
Macro-regional strategies are important parts of cohesion policy in that the working method is inclusive, flexible and long-term. Embedding macro-regional strategies in the provisions of the EU Structural Funds, ESF and ERDF, is an important task in which SALAR is an active participant. The changes that have been made mean that it will be easier for stakeholders to participate in the work of the Strategy.
Regarding the flagship’s work so far, it has built three Knowledge Platforms of understanding and learning, and dissemination of different successful methods to address and to work with issues related to prevention of early school leaving, and integration of NEETs and newly arrived refugees. Knowledge platforms arrange study visits and workshops, and supports cooperation and creation of new joint projects.
Find more information about the project, its activities and events on the S2W website https://www.s2wflagship.eu/.