Regional champions

CoR president Luc Van den Brande waxes lyrical on this year’s Regional Champions awards

The awards, now in their second year, recognise the achievements of regions from across Europe in 10 different policy areas, from transport to the environment via communication and innovation.

There were 250 entries from 26 different countries in total, and Van den Brande said that this was a clear indication that “regions are motivated to show and share in Europe what has proven successful at home”.

“The challenges we face do not respect administrative, cultural, political, geographical or any other borders,” he stressed. “They need to be solved at the local level, which rightly expects Europe to be there to help in the most concrete way. Not necessarily by money, but also by communicating its best ideas.

“The Regional Champions were established in this spirit, to highlight best practice and showcase some of the fantastic initiatives and successful projects from all over Europe. The Committee of the Regions is delighted to be an active partner of this award.”


The winners:

Communication Champion
EU-Villages
Smedjebacken, Sweden

Cultural Champion
Network for the commercialisation of local products and rural tourism
Calabria, Italy

Employment Champion
Announcements for agricultural workers
Puglia, Italy

Energy Champion
Eco-efficient city energy from cogeneration
Helsinki, Finland

Environment Champion
INAWARE
Bauska, Latvia & Biržai, Lithuania

Innovation Champion
JINNOVE
Nord-Pas de Calais, France

Intercultural Dialogue Champion
Knowing each other better through diversity
Isla, Malta

Maritime Champion
LIFE project
North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Social Policy Champion
Taste of Europe
Pärnu, Estonia

Transport Champion
Rapid-transit railway
Styria, Austria