The Øresund agenda in Almedalen

Posted: July 13, 2010

The traditional political week in Almedalen, Gottland in Sweden, this year had a vast focus on the Øresund Region. Danish and Swedish politicians and public servants planned, discussed and networked during the first week of July. Micael Gustafsson, CEO of Øresund IT, participated to cover the ICT industry.

- Øresund IT has some challenging tasks ahead in bringing the ICT cluster into people's mind, and Almedalen is a very good place for telling the good story to the political environment and different stakeholders, says Micael Gustafsson.

Malmö Stad and the Øresund Committee hosted a popular seminar about joint labor market called "Two countries and one labor market - barriers, challenges and opportunities for the largest Nordic labor market". With these key topics for discussion, the ambitions of the seminar were high.

Amongst others, Senior Advisor with the Øresund Committee, Claes Håkansson presented a new survey concerning "33 barriers, challenges and opportunities". This review is based on interviews with employers in Sweden and Denmark, and has been conducted by the Øresund Committee and Nordic Co-operation.

The seminar ended with a panel discussion where Mayor of Malmö, Ilmar Reepalu; Danish Secretary of the Interior, Bertel Haarder; and Secretary of Nordic Co-operation Johan Tiedemann participated. Reepalu pointed out several continuous areas for development in the Øresund Region such as a card for public transportation that would be eligible in the entire region despite the crossing of borders.

The week offered great networking opportunities and openings for Micael Gustafsson to place ICT in the minds of politicians from both sides of the Sound.

- During the week we have met a number of politicians, interest groups and other people with influence. I also had the opportunity to speak with one of the senior advisors within infrastructure questions for the swedish government and he was very interested in our opinions about digital infrastructure, Micael Gustafsson concludes.

Director of the Øresund Committee, Mikael Stamming was keen to describe the Øresund Region in the new context of the Almedal Week:

- The Almedal Week has become an important arena for Swedish decision makers, which is especially evident in an election year such as 2010. The fact that our region is collectively present at the Almedal Week for the first time is an effort to increase the awareness about our region and to demonstrate how much we contribute to both Denmark and Sweden. What is good for the Øresund Region is good for both Denmark and Sweden, says Mikael Stamming.

The regional perspective, however, is also part of the ambition:

- We do not just intend to bring the Øresund Region to Almedalen without also bringing home some of Almedalen to the Øresund Region. Not least in Denmark the phenomenon The Almedal Week is fairly unknown, which is something we hope to change through this effort, Mikael Stamming finishes.

Source: Malmö Stad, Øresundskomiteen and Øresund IT