Success stories

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

We enriched the understanding of the origins regarding the importance of equal opportunities and gender equality topics, also, took good practices in policy-making processes in the field of equal opportunities and gender equality policies in national and local levels. Moreover, we exchanged of good practices on implementation in the field of equal opportunities and gender equality policies at a local level. These experiences encouraged to adopt good practices in cooperation with the NGO sector (in national and local levels), also, search for the possible solutions and suggestions on innovative actions for equal opportunities and gender equality policies implementation. In addition, we believe, that we've got better understanding and clearer justification of the added value of gender budgeting.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

First of all, the visibility of Nordic-Baltic cooperation was increased. Also, we believe that these study visits were a good start of cooperation and networking, as we agreed on guidance regarding the topic if needed. Moreover, we exchanged contacts for future events and expertise.

References in the media

https://www.ukmerge.lt/naujienos/apie-projekta-mokomieji-vizitai-efektyvesniems-lygiu-galimybiu-ir-lyciu-lygybes-politikos-formavimo-procesams/
https://www.ukmerge.lt/naujienos/mokomuosiuose-vizituose-suomijoje-aptartos-lyciu-lygybes-ir-lygiu-galimybiu-temos/
https://www.facebook.com/vilkaviskiosavivaldybe/posts/pfbid02tjgxXaTz7AMBk92KRo3SSRQN2y6qxeVb8KuGAX6MZLZ1aXk8UyJdTd61exGztN7Tl
https://www.raseiniai.lt/naujienos/lyciu-lygybe-suomijos-respublikoje/

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for personal skills

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

Main highlights, opinions, challenges that need to be paid attention to when planning activities:
- It is necessary to strengthen the cooperation with the education sector, strengthening the theme of gender equality in general education programs in the field of gender equality and equal opportunities;
- Greater involvement of civil servants in raising competences on the topic of gender equality, for example as a mandatory annual task;
- Toxic, radical non-governmental organizations and systematical work with them;
- A gender-balanced budget and its possibilities, especially at the local level.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The Nordic-Baltic Mobility Program for Public Administration gives an opportunity to enrich your knowledge by implementing any function. The program provides space to gain experience from experts in their fields in the Nordic countries. Every civil servant, regardless of the field in which he works, can enrich his experience, raise motivation, and help him perform his functions more efficiently.

Contact: Valda Karnickaitė, project manager of the project "Study visits for better policy making processes in the field of equal opportunities and equal rights"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

During this project cooperation between local municipalities and developmental organizations has increased and improved. The connection in local and international level is more stronger in this field. Project was successful finding new approaches for Võru county in local cultural heritage sustainability topic. All partner organizations got well informed overview about the practices in local level. For Võru county the result was so successful that the concept and quality of the planned common agreement between municipalities and Seto and Võru Institutes was changed and in updated process now. Also some changes were made due to this project to strategical development plan of Võru County.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

During the study visit, various new ideas for regional cooperation emerged. There were ideas about science and research as well as cooperation between schools. Understanding the nature of the work of the involved regions provided a very good basis for moving forward. A very important place on this study trip was the understanding of the space of values, and that in terms of the cooperation of different cultural spaces. Also, a very strong connection was the recognition that people from South-Estonia understand a kveeni language spoken in Northern Norway. This discovery had a powerful connection for the participants.

References in the media

We published the article:
https://lounapostimees.postimees.ee/7636719/kultuuriparandi-kasvulava-otsingutel
Also our participant gave the interview to radio:
https://vikerraadio.err.ee/1608725941
There were also posts in applicant Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/v6rumaa.arenduskeskus

And also Inari munivipality Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/CjU9FNtscoC/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D&fbclid=IwAR3aEn6wVtAg2T7rIaaK2wmtMMyXm0iaddWV1oaeBv7BKIpUesLDHkXewmU

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

This is an excellent example of how different organizations participate in the preparation of the project, how the different roles are distributed during the activities and very effectively. It is also valuable how constant reflection was central during the study visit, as well as the sharing of experiences with various related parties as follow-up activities. Such implementation made it possible to multiply the benefits of the project.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The value of the program lies in its specific regional focus. The positivity of the program in the eyes of the applicant is the clear comprehensibility of its objectives, the supported application process, and quick advice on issues that arise.
The program provides an opportunity to involve representatives of different municipalities and bring them together with municipalities of other countries. This is very valuable, as a common understanding also ensures the implementation of common policies.

Contact: Kerli Kõiv, project manager of the project "Public governance and cultural heritage"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

We can use the knowledge gained during the study visits to develop new policies and measures
at regional, local and school level, as the project had participants from all levels. More importantly, participants can use the knowledge gained to discuss and develop the most appropriate and effective educational and well-being model for children with special needs in Rapla County.
The municipalities of Rapla County are currently shaping decisions regarding the future of regional and local inclusive education, education and welfare services. A model of intersectoral and cross-level cooperation needs to be developed to enable networks to become operational. Accordingly, the project was very timely and very useful for discussions and decision-making, giving
broader perspectives and useful tips.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

The project made it possible to launch Nordic-Baltic cooperation in the field of education and to offer
input into possible mutually beneficial cooperation projects in the future. The project allowed the exchange of experience and knowledge between the Nordic countries and Estonia
between institutions, as well as between Estonian institutions themselves, at different levels and in different sectors. This exchange was beneficial to all parties, as it increased knowledge, gave
a more complex view of problems and solutions, launched multilateral cooperation.
Both Nurmijärvi and Tranås municipalities are our long-standing friendship areas. Following our study visit, representatives from both regions were very interested in further communication and cooperation, and our contacts will certainly continue.

References in the media

An article about study trips appeared in Rapla county newspaper "Raplamaa Sõnumid" on October 19. https://sonumid.ee/2022/10/19/maakonna-esindus-oppis-pohjanaabritelt-kaasava-hariduse-kohta/

The project was also written about on the website of the Association of Local Authorities Of Rapla County
https://qsicgnbm.sendsmaily.net/browser/4j1RnJVZf1V1vS6h0Ejm5PWgYkn8y6XNDqc0USMLozLnpR0Fxj1LP_GMvTq3EGnk7Nbj4YeZJCYSclPPrh0ykb8WrwfajGYTWLVwSBq-Q_RXf9_y0uTcSACpHDU-pP76/

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

We learned that in Sweden, children with greater special needs were included in the list of ordinary schools. On a daily basis, they delivered to a regular school in a specially adapted house, but from time to time for some classes they also joined regular classes. Thus, a child with special needs knew that he was a member of a regular class, and the students of the regular class learned to account and notice people who were different from themselves. The point was socialization, and it was the best example of inclusive education.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

With the support of the program, we were able to see and experience the good practices of the Nordic countries in organizing the education of children with special needs and they have something to learn. Yes, the program met our expectations.

Contact: Tavo Kikas, project manager of the project "Educating children with special needs – the best Nordic practices"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

The project's goal was to acquire the best knowledge and shared experience amongst the
professionals of the Royal Danish Library, the H.C. Andersen’s House, the Denmark’s National
Gallery, The National Library of Sweden, Kulturhuset Stadsteatern and Moderna Museet - Museum
of the contemporary art to improve the quality of: events and premises management, work with
cultural heritage in contemporary exhibition contexts; innovative strategies for the promotion of
collections and services at the NLL.
After meetings with colleagues from Denmark and Sweden, NLL's projects goals were fully completed, gaining not only important knowledge, but also contacts for future collaborations. This exchange has widened the view on the role the library might have in the cultural sector and also has showed that experience of NLL can be valuable to foreign partners.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

The project has given opportunity to share professional experiences amongst cultural management, arts marketing and exhibition design professionals from all involved countries. It has also given opportunity to share contacts, establishing basis for future connections and collaborations.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for personal skills

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

Experiences gained are valuable for both - personal skills and home organisation, hopefully - also for host organizations. From personal point of view this project has helped to further improve managerial skills. From organizations point of view, gained experiences have given new contacts, inspiration for further projects and verified that professional skills and experiences af NLL team are vorthy to share also on international projects.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

NLL has previously participated in Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme with different teams thus as organization we have been confident of high value of this programme. This particular project has fully reached it's goals and been valuable for all included members.

Contact: Ieva Andzane, project manager of the project "Experience exchange between cultural institutions"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

The project benefited us in a way that we were able to share experience and best practices with the parliaments in the preparation of draft. It was interesting to learn how the parliamentary committees of Finland and Norway involve people and stakeholders in the legislative process. Also, meetings with the ministries, SITRA and VTT Bioruukki broadened our minds and we can pass on the gained knowledge to others in our work field. We learned how efficiently Sitra has involved people in the sustainable everyday life projects and what practical suggestions they propose in order to reduce our carbon footprint.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

New networks were created and new cooperation initiatives were started - for example, the staff of parliamentary committees from both parliaments were invited to acquaint with our job management in Estonia. Also, it was pointed out that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, this was one of the first physical meetings at the level of officials.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

We would have liked to select all options.
Through the project we learned that the Norwegian Parliament has developed a handbook for committees. The handbook explains the committee's rules of procedure and it was explained that this is very helpful for the officials and committee members (to solve various issues).

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The programme met our expectations. We got a comprehensive overview of how draft legislation works in Finland and Norway.

Contact: Kiia Väli, project manager of the project "Draft legislation in the field of environment and rural affairs to exchange of experience in Finland and Norway"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

Both study trips were very useful for all the participants. The knowledge we gained through our various meetings will help our organisation to better prepare and deal with different climate related work tasks. It was especially interesting to compare EU climate policy approaches in Denmark, Sweden and Estonia. These exchanges gave us a better understanding about different tools that contribute to better implementation of EU legislation on a Member State level. Parliamentary level meetings were especially useful in order to get to know our colleagues and exchange best practices. Both Sweden and Denmark have similar solutions to do follow-up on their climate policy measures – Danish Council on Climate Change and Swedish Climate Policy Council. It was inspiring to exchange with both organisations and to get a better idea on how we could develop similar approaches in Estonia. Our meetings with local government officials were of practical nature. We realised how essential it is to implement EU´s climate policy at local level in order to achieve climate neutrality goals. The meetings in the European Environment Agency were fruitful and helped us better understand the co-operation possibilities between the Agency and its members. Overall, these visits contributed to making the functioning of our parliament´s public service more effective and strengthened the Nordic-Baltic cooperation.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

The project was very beneficial in various ways. It helped to create different level contacts between the participating parties. All these fruitful exchanges will facilitate our future cooperation. The exchange of best practices allows us to analyse and re-evaluate some of our current working methods. We realised that Estonia and its Nordic counterparts share many common values that strengthen our future cooperation. This will help all of us to move towards common policy goals, which is especially important as many of these goals are reached more effectively through either cross border cooperation or intensive knowledge sharing.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for personal skills

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

All of the participants from our side were highly impressed by the fact that both Denmark and Sweden have already adopted their Cliamte Laws which are vital part of public debate. Furthermore, both Folketing and Riksdag are closely involved in the annual follow-up and re-valuation of the climate goals. We understood how important it is to have a climate law in order to realise short and long term goals in reaching climate neutrality. This serves as a very good example for how we could advance parliamentary debate in Riigikogu and in public sphere in climate related issues.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

Yes, the programme met our expectations. Firstly, it allowed us to meet our Danish and Swedish colleagues, to share best practices and talk about challenges we all face in our daily work. Secondly, it enabled us to learn how those two countries deal with environmental challenges both in state and local level. All of the objectives that we set when applying to the programme were fulfilled during our two study visits.

Contact: Teele Vares, project manager of the project "Study visits of the Estonian Parliament officials to Denmark and Sweden on climate policy related best practises"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

The project broadened our knowledge about other countries aquaculture sector, how is is environmentally regulated, what are the main issues in the sector, how is the setup of data systems holding environmental data and data about applications, permits and reports. Also we got the comparison with our aquaculture sector and regulation so now we know of from what volume aquaculture producer has to apply for a permit, what are the requirements for fish farmers, how is the monitoring done, how is the supervision carried out, what fees has to be paid, how are differents EU regulations, directives, reccommendations considered, what is the strategic view of developing aquaculture etc.
It was very useful and besides all that we could make personal contacts with different persons so if we would like to discuss or elaborate some aquaculture related issues in the future then this is easier.
Also in the longer perspective if we are planning to modify our aquaculture legislation then it would be good to integrate some findings from the other countries practice that we visited. Because our aquaculture sector is so small but predicted to grow, but the countries we visited the aquaculture production is at least 10 times higher.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

We made good connections with people dealing with the same issues in Finland, Sweden and Iceland, from now on we can have more straightforward communication through e-mails, teams or via other communication tools with other countries representatives. Also there was a thought from finnish representative that we sould mabye held a regular meetings so we could have up to date information and know where aquaculture sector in each country is heading to. In addition University of Gothenburg is actively dealing with devaluation of small mussles, this is the issue for us too, blue mussels grow in Estonia and could be farmed but the size of the mussles is not of restaurant quality. This is the place where I can see cooperation opportunity in the future.

References in the media

Ministry of the Environment of Estonia made posts in its facebook page briefly introducing study visits to each country:
1. Sweden:
https://www.facebook.com/keskkonnaministeerium/posts/pfbid021tEyFFM7e4Bqsy7JjgFpQvxEQ4SqiaBZ7TCJtikq7UuqRbiJYysmi7q6V4fFcXGQl
2. Finland:
https://www.facebook.com/keskkonnaministeerium/posts/pfbid02z6VQgFoxR8e1TkxAeuHC4T1jtZU1u2a1UFg1QpFW51VkWreW4ovzLpyo3EvwtCc5l
3. Iceland: https://www.facebook.com/keskkonnaministeerium/posts/pfbid02mMQS5phi6BuK41ATygTpaH2P9x2PGGVb2LBTAj5XzuumPcYfvzX2KPNYJyt1ZvNl

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

We learned about other countries quaculture sector and how it is environmentally regulated. As aquaculture sector in Estonia is currently really small but there is growing interest to increase production volume, especially in polluted Baltic sea then it is crucial to learn from other countries who have ten times higher aquaculture volume. It is necessary that aquaculture is developed in a way that it does not deteriogate the status of Baltic sea even further therefore it is good to know what are the reqirements for aquaculture producers in other countries. As we are planning to open our aquaculture regulation next year then the timing for the study visits was good so we can integrate new ideas from other countries practice. To give more detailed example then at the moment supervision over aquaculture producers in Estonia is not specific at the moment, the Environmental Board does it when someone complains or if other authority for example Ministry of the Environment sets it as a priority. But in Finland there is specific frequency based on production volume and in Iceland there is scoring system that takes into account the production volume, farm location, species and the higher the score is the higher the risk and supervision frequency. That is something we should consider in Estonia to make supervision system more understandable and transparent.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Public Administration met my expectations because we with authorities from other countries put together good agendas for each of the meeting based on the countries context and sent each other points to discuss for the meeting so our focus could be on the environmental aspects of aquaculture.

Contact: Katrina Lang, project manager of the project "Estonian officials mobility for broadening aquaculture competence"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

It is important to mention that participant libraries share understanding of libraries role in digital world, its transformation and development practices presented by colleagues ones we use practices in the National Library of Latvia. That means that the National Libraries in researched countries are working at the same pace with the internationally recognized practices, as we have developed in-house digital platforms for storing digital material, have experience in sizable digitization projects and we are working in the Digital Humanities field. In some fields like academic repositories and national consortiums for licensing of academic resources was valuable to discuss established practices as we are looking for the most appropriate and sustainable collaboration model between academic institutions and the Ministry of Culture of Latvia and the Ministry of Education and Science of Latvia.

Discussions with colleagues from the Nordic countries gave an insight into prioritizing different new
tasks, provided examples on how much time and effort is being used in carrying out a similar
activities thus helping to better plan workload of the NLL's staff, encouraged us to form new ideas and evaluate development directions based on approved practices of Nordic colleagues. Project will influence further strategic planning and reorganization of NLL.

Acquired knowledge and ideas were discussed and presented to colleagues, team leaders and experts of NLL.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

Exchange helped make new international contacts and invite foreign colleagues to visit the National Library of Latvia and Riga. For example, colleagues of the National Library of Finland appreciated the architecture of the Latvian digital cultural heritage platform and expressed their desire to get to know its components in depth visiting the NLL in Riga.

References in the media

The NLL webpage currently is under development therefore published project information can be viewed: https://web.archive.org/web/20220619231001/https://www.lnb.lv/lv/projekti/profesionala-zinasanu-un-pieredzes-apmaina-ilgtspejigai-digitala-kulturas-mantojuma

We are planning to publish a description of gained experience and valuable conclusions by the end of October in the Latvian Library portal www.biblioteka.lv.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

Similarly to Nordic colleagues we are working at the same pace with the internationally recognized practices. We had the opportunity to talk with experts in digitization, repositories, Digital Humanities, E-resouces and licencing. Discussions with field professionals encouraged us to form new ideas and, in some fields, give directions based on practice.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

Yes, definitely. It is very advisable to look how international colleagues are working and what
examples of theirs you can integrate into your own institution and society. In addition, this was an
opportunity to visit other libraries and cultural institutions in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki on our own, to talk about repositories and Open Science in Helsinki University library. When we went to Helsinki central library Oodi it was nice to see that new technologies are important part of librarie and society is fully using it.

Contact: Karina Bandere, project manager of the project "Professional Exchange of Knowledge and Experience For Sustainable Digital Culture Heritage Development and Transformation"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

Eight persons from six Lithuanian municipalities visited both countries. All persons belong to the board of Lithuanian Association of the Heads of Municipalities Sport Divisions. They were shared good practices regarding the management models of sport infrastructure for better accessibility of sport services and management systems of high level sport at the local level will be generated at national level.
Institutional benefits. Sport divisions of six Lithuanian municipalities were getting acquainted with the
study visit outcomes. New contacts, ideas and activities will be realized in the future. Further cooperation with hosting municipalities in Denmark and in Finland will be promoted in the future. Municipalities are ready to welcome colleagues from Finland and Denmark in Lithuania.
Personal benefits. Trainees were able to develop and increase social and cognitive skills and
managerial competences.
During the project, project participants recognized the fact that both Lithuania and the visited countries face with the same challenge - the lack of sports facilities, especially in a big cities due to a physical space. Finland is rapidly renovating sports halls and stadiums, followed by the installation of numerous sports halls and arenas.
In Finland and Denmark, education in the universities is free for athletes, so they have much greater and more favorable conditions to maintain athletes until their transition from youth to adult competitions.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

Increased visibility of Nordic-Baltic knowledge transfer for mutual benefit on all administrative levels. Increased experience exchange on best practices in respect of public administration and facilitation of harmonization of standards. The project was useful for the cooperation of the Nordic and Baltic countries, because the Baltic countries constantly seek to adopt good practices from the Scandinavians, but the visited countries also have certain shortcomings, which they were asked about. They had to recognize and rethink this, and our project participants also invited the visiting representatives of the countries to visit Lithuania, get to know more our systems, strengths and weaknesses, maybe adopt something and apply good practices also. A warm communication was established, the group shared their experiences and observations regarding the management models of sport infrastructure and
management systems of high-level sport at the local level.

References in the media

After the first part of the project - a visit to Denmark, the project was promoted in the magazine "Panorama" published by the Lithuanian National Olympic Committee:
https://www.ltok.lt/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/OP_2002_07.pdf

In the end of each day of the visit, posts were published on the Facebook account of the Association of Heads of Sports Departments of Lithuanian Municipalities.
https://www.facebook.com/762428440584722/posts/pfbid0ZJX4iJdu8YWuytFfJ31TNwcpJG3EEFsyXsEFEUiBCpnpofh4p47tcPyomPS9np8Tl/?sfnsn=mo
https://www.facebook.com/762428440584722/posts/pfbid02dFK8DfuadgGfdgCNdQFBPXa3hyHKJvVPApBgoxeH5PkqdLqsGXp92ZTWztHeQnjfl/?sfnsn=mo
https://www.facebook.com/762428440584722/posts/pfbid0x5xk5pZzEsyp2hXpVBfCBC7apMDrSxzpc7ijfxYWnQWv3qY64MKQuAaZgcdNhKuBl/?sfnsn=mo
https://www.facebook.com/762428440584722/posts/pfbid02VH2VNYUV1AWpr2cHg7CPAbQee8oHZhYohXqoFDNwLL2bB4GipNJ3EbD5EkQ59n7fl/?sfnsn=mo
https://www.facebook.com/762428440584722/posts/pfbid05y1M9yPs4Z3q1jc8caXwNCPYRTt5UYxzTNHCwPGCi4wUPRptmEpY7Chot228joXXl/?sfnsn=mo
https://www.facebook.com/762428440584722/posts/pfbid0dffi467V6FKrAzeavtgBVZuU9JDFp4Y3rtEEaJBVxU6W1E37LcuWLEhCSebMUb2yl/?sfnsn=mo
https://www.facebook.com/762428440584722/posts/pfbid023Jh7DchFgXfRhMVAMAEogW2g5iC887xfTxSY4814PB7SqBES8hJS4FidkhqKiF2Al/?sfnsn=mo

Each municipality announced this project on their websites:
https://sirvintusportas.lt/2022/08/25/kvalifikacijos-kelimo-projektas/?fbclid=IwAR1lbshqkWdrMtVHQCf17QGC2H4UHYXgKMGyoSipBdoh2gDvromxuB_SdeM
https://www.siauliai.lt/news/view/siauliai-laimejo-siaures-ministru-tarybos-biuro-finansavima-projekto-igyvendinimui
https://www.plunge.lt/naujienos/sporto-vadovu-delegacija-lankesi-suomijoje/?fbclid=IwAR1gxmcYgFPzujODIbQuH8QDhge2FLHHCKvZ9ZxPQiob3WJS_dI1JDl7kYE
https://www.klaipeda.lt/lt/gyventojams/sportas/2116/
https://www.facebook.com/KaisiadoriuSSCSportas/

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

The program is a great opportunity to get to know and learn good practices from the Nordic countries, to share their experiences, expectations and threats, to achieve better sporting achievements through cooperation and to activate society. The group of this project believe that this project is really valuable, it helped them to rediscover their values, to see where they are ahead of Denmark and Finland, where Lithuania are lagging behind, where they should reconsider the current situation, take certain measures. The group also have no doubt that continuity is necessary for this project, because the countries they visited should also come to Lithuania and see everything with their own eyes. Lithuanian delegation have seen that there are similar problems both here and in Denmark and Finland. Only all countries deal with them differently. For example, in Denmark, physical activity and youth clubs, children's day care centers have been established in an old train station, gyms have been installed only by building sports equipment, and the surfaces are not even changed - they play football and basketball on the asphalt. In Finland, a private basketball sports club was established in an old paper factory and conducts various activities and camps there. In Lithuania, there is very little such practice, it is known that sports institutions often take advantage of unused school buildings and set up premises suitable for sports and day care centers there and carry out various activities.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The program exceeded the expectations of the project participants, because they had formed a certain opinion about Scandinavian culture, but during the project some stereotypes were disproved. Certainly in visited countries the strong role of communities is evident and the activity of various sport clubs and helpful volunteers was amazing. People live much more actively, even in old age of respectable age. Lithuania has a long and difficult road ahead of it.

Contact: Gintaras Jasiunas, project manager of the project "Regional development through strengthening a public sport and physical activity sector at local level"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

Vänersborg Municipality gained valuable experience and information from our Baltic partners in terms of exploring in which ways they have been working to develop digitalization in the public sector. The benefits are multiple – the delegation got an insight into the Baltic partners’ organizational structure and how they overcome obstacles they often face. Further on, after this study visit, the delegation feels inspired and more motivated to cooperate within our own organization, as they have realized the added value of cooperation between various departments at the Municipality leads to if coherent and well-planned projects are carried out. The IT department is for instance very positively inspired in working and cooperating with transnational partners in the nearby future,
This project is worth mentioning as the first transnational project within the digitalization sector that Vänersborg Municipality has carried out, and functions as a start-off for future similar projects with concrete goals and outcomes.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

The project enabled us to establish a new partnership with Tartu City from Estonia. At the seminar, there were talks about ways to cooperate with them in the future, both within the public sector between our delegations and in the private sector by connecting relevant parts from both countries. Some contacts between private companies from Estonia and our Municipality have already been initiated. At our Municipality, there are already talks regarding how a project-based partnership with them could be established in the field of digitalization. Overall, the impression is that they possess extensive knowledge of the area and could benefit our digitalization work. The visit to our already established partner City of Daugavpils was also generative since it enabled us to discuss future joint projects besides the current ones. One example that was brought from their side that we prioritize, is the development of the tourism sector.

References in the media

https://www.daugavpils.lv/en/city/news/city-council-news/projekta-ietvaros-daugavpils-pasvaldibu-apmekleja-delegacija-no-zviedrijas

https://www.daugavpils.lv/en/city/news/city-news/daugavpils-pilsetas-pasvaldiba-piedalas-starptautiskajos-projektos

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/stefankonjevic_digital-digitaltransformation-project-activity-6970654978805764096-YLvc?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

https://www.vanersborg.se/kommun--politik/nyhetsarkiv-kommunstyrelseforv./nyheter-kommunstyrelseforvaltningen/2021-05-18-internationellt-projekt-kring-digitalisering.html

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for the host organisations

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

Considering Vänersborg Municipality is at an early stage in digitalizing its public services, the aim of the study visit was to gain practical experience and knowledge from others that at some steps have come further in this. Thereby, the core aim of the study was to explore the work our partners in the Baltics have done to drive issues such as digitalization and the infrastructure in place that enables them to implement certain practical methods. Although the preconditions differ considering the local Baltic authorities are centralized and steered from the government level, compared to Swedish ones are more independent and decentralized, there was much to learn from an organizational point of view. Their sharing of experiences of cooperating between their departments, Universities, and private actors, as well as having the mindset “dare to fail” is something our delegation will remember from this study and bear in mind for their future work. All these components are important for a local authority to develop and grow in their everyday work.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The overall reflections the delegation had after the study was very positive and inspiring. Couldn’t have been better! It truly fulfilled the aim of the project to show us the reason why some countries are a couple of steps in front of us in digitalizing their services, where for instance our Estonian partner Tartu showed how they have worked that eventually led to them being in the forefront in the digitalizing of the public sector. At a seminar one of our delegation members participated in a seminar that the Swedish Association of Local Authorities arranged and showed an index where Estonia scored the highest in the EU. That is what got our attention and eventually led to an application to the NB8 programme to conduct a study visit to see ourselves.

Contact: Anders Fridén, project manager of the project "Intelligent Nordic-Baltic Ecosystems "

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

The project outcome helps our organizations to understand and see the possibilities of harmonizing variety registration system and VCU trials in the Northern Region, how to choose standard varieties, what are the best data processing programs for analyzing data. Also, what criteria to use to make National List decisions, including decision-making process and basis, how training system of Field Inspectors is structured.
As a result of the project, we can better consider the implementation of the work processes of our own organizational station, how it is possible to improve cooperation with other institutions, how conflicts of interest can be avoided, what are the possible solutions.
Among other things, we got a good overview of the databases of the varieties, their structures – we learned that the databases were well structured in a way that they are user friendly from both official and customer side. We received the necessary tips on how to quickly find the information about a variety registered in another country.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

The project made it possible to visit our colleagues in Finland and Denmark over many years, the networking and exchanging the information on specific issues was useful for both sides. The visits were necessary both for strengthening existing contacts and for establishing new ones. This will give a good foundation for a cooperation with the neighboring countries and on EU level as well.
Among other things, the project has helped us expand our network and create new contacts for cooperation in variety registration, variety listing and variety protection, field trials and other administrative issues.

References in the media

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

The biggest asset we gained from the Nordic-Baltic Mobility project is new contacts from the visited organizations in Finland and Denmark.
Also direct value came up from variety registration, variety listing, field trials and training of field inspectors systems, where we see some opportunities to harmonize our systems as well.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The programme meets fully our expectations. It gave us the opportunity to work closer with colleagues and institutions from Finland and Denmark.

Contact: Laima Puur, project manager of the project "Cooperations between designated authorities of Estonia, Finland and Denmark"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

Lithuania law for seconday use of health data, is based on Finish similar law, and we had possibility to get overview of how process works in Finland and to plan similar activities in Lithuania. Other similar develompents for new servcices were important, for example in Lithuania this year started electronice sales for prescibed drugs, and we had chance compare with Swedish situation.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

We have received new contacts in visited countries, this allow to get in contact when needed, specialky when it is easy to have online meetings.

References in the media

-

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

Very valuable is to see projects already implemented, and see results. This allows to evaluate local projects better. Also good practice is valuable to raed how we implement pojects in local country.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The programme meets our expectations. But situation is changed now and at least in covid time it was not easy to organise visits with full list of meetings. Also during covid people like more virtual meetings, so we should find reorganised models how to plan meetings in the future.

Contact: Linas Kavolius, project manager of the project "Best practices in Nordic countries for telemedicine, community and hospital pharmacy, eHealth systems "

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

The knowledge and experience gained by the project team members, employees of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania, during their study visit in Denmark and Finland on 6–11 July 2022, have been used already, although very little time has passed since the end of the visit. Having considered the experience of Denmark and Finland in the sharing of functions and responsibilities among governmental and non-governmental organizations in the field of sport, the National Sports Agency with a center of excellence to provide methodological assistance to sports federations and implement good governance principles in the field of sport has been established by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport. The National Sports Agency started operating on 1 July 2022 (https://smsm.lrv.lt/lt/naujienos/darba-pradeda-nacionaline-sporto-agentura). The new knowledge and knowhow acquired by our project team members during their visit will be used in the long term as well, to develop an effective and sustainable sports management structure in Lithuania further. For example, the report of the visit was presented to the members of the working group established by the Minister of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania on 16 June 2022 to prepare high-level sport funding procedures and criteria for the selection of strategic sports, which could enter into force from 2023. Co-operation between national sport governing bodies in Denmark, Finland and Lithuania has been strengthened and knowledge between these bodies have been exchanged during the implementation of the projects, too.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

The project has continued the tradition of the Nordic-Baltic co-operation in the field of sport. The project has also been an opportunity to reveal and discuss future plans for the exchange of information and cooperation between the participating institutions. The cooperation in politically prioritised areas between the Danish, Finnish and Lithuanian sport policy making institutions has been strengthened as well (the most recent example of such cooperation could be the Second statement on Russia's war on Ukraine and international sport signed by the sport ministers https://www.gov.uk/government/news/second-statement-on-russias-war-on-ukraine-and-international-sport). The project has also contributed to the increased knowledge of sport management among the participating institutions and organisations for the benefit of their sport administration at national levels. The visibility of the Baltic-Nordic cooperation has been increased during the project, too.

References in the media

News on the website of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania): https://smsm.lrv.lt/lt/naujienos/danijoje-ir-suomijoje-viceministras-susipazins-su-siu-saliu-sporto-valdymo-geraja-patirtimi
Post on the facebook account of the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to Finland:
https://www.facebook.com/lrambasadasuomijoje/posts/pfbid0P3wCuS7hQciCnKUeig3RCGdTFR9Fkg4JeD9UvecFL6T5H3sENnQXfSwmjpwuqueJl
News on the website of the National Olympic Training Centre in Helsinki:
https://urhea.fi/artikkelit/yleinen/liettualaisia-vieraita-urheassa/

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

- Information on the best practices of policy-making in the field of physical education and sport among the participating organisations has been shared;
- Cooperation among participating institutions and organisations in the field of the project Implementation has been strengthened;
- Participating organisations have been provided with the possibility to acquaint with the trends of the sport development and management solutions in the participating countries and in the Nordic region, which will help them improve national sport management systems;
- New contacts among administration staff have been established for further mutual consultations, exchange of information and possible joint activities in the future;
- The competence of the project participants has been increased.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The programme has met all our expectations. The program supports the exchange of knowledge and experience that is necessary for the improvement of public administration in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Besides, the programme management body has been very efficient and helpful, indeed, and the program online account has been very convenient to use.

Contact: Sigitas Stasiulis, project manager of the project "Sharing best practices for effective and sustainable management of the national sports system for physical activity, inclusion and high performance."

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

In Denmark, we learned that the Estonian and Danish education systems are fairly similar. Learning about how a similar system is developed and hearing about the Danish views on what works and what does not work in their context gave lots of inspiration to the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research. Especially, in the field of school and school owner self-evaluation. We plan to continue the co-operation online and use their good experiences to improve our education.

In Sweden we learned how school owner systematically works with weaker schools. The experience helps us to compile the new initiative in terms of schools’ quality and support weaker schools. We have a plan to ask Uppsala colleagues to introduce own project to our team. Their experience is very valuable because we are preparing a EU project at the same area.

In Finland we learned about the importance of trust in the education system, but also about the importance of looking at the context before applying any foreign practices. We learned how Finland has reached the level of trust that they have in their system and about how it has shaped their entire society. We found many good practices that could maybe also work in Estonia, but we also learned that every good practice actually works only if applied in a correct way in a suitable context.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

As we mentioned above, we found several common problems and challenges in education. The first meetings are planned where we can exchange our solutions and best practice in terms of supporting weaker schools. Working together we can more effectively solve challenges. Providing quality in education, data-driven management is one of the hottest topic. We saw numerous similarities that area in Denmark and Sweden. We are absolutely sure that we are working with the topic of data-driven management on the state and local level with the Nordic countries and working together Furthermore, based on the relationships established, we can more widely direct technological innovation in education.
Provided decentralized and autonomous education system in Estonia and the Nordic countries, the availability and consistency of data and evidence for schools and stakeholders, as well as increased capacity of end-users to use data and evidence for decision-making, self-assessment, evaluation, are crucial factors for the achievement of the education goals. Our study trip showed us that we have common challenges and we should work more closely together. Created relationships support that process.

References in the media

Not yet.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

1. The project supports our 7-years EU project (ERF programme).
2. We refreshed our relationships with colleagues of the Nordic countries.
3. We created useful relationships with colleagues of the local authority level (Uppsala, Rovanieme).

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The Nordic-Baltic Mobility Program for Public Administration met our expectations. The pandemic disrupted our initial plans. In the end, everything went well. We met several colleagues who gave an input to reforms and upcoming initiatives. The Nordic countries solutions in terms of educational problems gave us ideas how we could solve our challenges (education license, low-performing schools, boys' reading, etc.).

Contact: Maie Kitsing, project manager of the project "State and local authorities’ support to schools"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

We studied the State policies and
recently taken national knowledge transfer measures at different institutions we visited.
From the visits to state agencies (Swedish Research Council, Vinnova) and research institutions (KTH, RISE) which are partners in knowledge transfer activities - we learned from their best knowledge on how they were established and funded, how the cooperation with stakeholders is organised and how to build trustful relations in between academia and entrepreneurs.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

We shared our knowledge of the recent practises and different solutions in the research- and
knowledge transfer policies.
We got better understanding of the most recent and effective knowledge transfer practicies
from both, research institutions and enterpreneurs sides - we agreed to make overview of technological infrastructure to see what already exists (both in VTT and in Estonia and other countries) and (Scandinavian) neighbours could cooperate and build their own infrastructure, which is not available elsewhere - could be cross-used with less investment! Cooperation is very much needed in this regard !!
We had fruitful discussions on improving the mutual cooperation within international organisations (EU, OECD) through the prisma of the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDG) in research and higher education sector.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

Direct value came up from VTT, FIN as they pointed out the need for closer cooperation in field of technical infrastructure in entire Baltic Region - when we have information about existing facilities and services, there will be smaller need to invest in the same kind of very expensive equipment. We could offer our services around the Nordic area!

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

It was very useful and gave us the opportunity to work closer with colleagues and institutions from Nordic countries.

Contact: Toomas Murulo, project manager of the project "Development of Research Policy Making in Knowledge Transfer"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

The activities helped to educate the participants in the field of the patient injury compensation system in Sweden and Norway.
Since the patient injury compensation system in Latvia has been developed taking inspiration from the Scandinavian experience, better knowledge of the Swedish and Norwegian system helped to realize all the differences and similarities in legal regulation. It made possible for administrative courts to take over the Nordic experience in issues that are regulated similarly. Although the idea that causality should be established by probability preponderance has already been stated in the jurisprudence of the Latvian Supreme Court some years ago, there are a lot more knowledge that is relevant to take over, for instance, regarding the interpretation of the term “experienced specialist”.
However, there are also some aspects that would require legislative changes; for example, regarding statutory limitation periods. In Latvia, the law stipulate that a patient may request compensation for the harm caused to his or her life or health, as well as compensation for medical expenses not later than within two years from the date when the harm has was detected but not later than within three years from the date when it was caused. In Sweden and Norway the statutory limitation periods are longer. The amendments that in Sweden came into force on January 1, 2015, demonstrate that such a statutory limitation period as in Latvia is too short and, therefore, not entirely effective. The amendments to the law could prevent disputes regarding statutory limitation periods.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

Since the exchange of experience was mutual, the participants of the project believe it was beneficial not only for Latvians, but also for Swedes and Norwegians.
The participants of the project agreed that there has been close and enlightening cooperation between the Nordic patient insurance (Löf, the Finnish Patient Insurance Center, the Danish Patient Compensation Association, and NPE). During the meetings, the institutions discuss insurance law issues and how to best and most effectively organize claims adjustment activities. It would be great if a competent institution in Latvia would show interest in taking part in this network. However, the court could only suggest and encourage the institution to do so.
The experience of exchange visits is highly valuable and participants of the present project expressed the idea that it would further be worth visiting the competent institutions in Finland and Denmark. So it is possible to say the project is an inspiration for further Nordic-Baltic cooperation activities.

References in the media

With regard to the visit to Sweden information was provided in the following media sources:
https://www.tiesas.lv/aktualitates/latvijas-delegacija-iepazistas-ar-zviedru-pieredzi-pacientiem-nodarita-kaitejuma-kompensesanai-11285
https://www.ta.gov.lv/lv/jaunums/latvijas-delegacija-iepazistas-ar-zviedru-pieredzi-pacientiem-nodarita-kaitejuma-kompensesanai
https://twitter.com/tiesuadm/status/1511266383736320001?t=I-8Y8BVRjoqkvdx5AqQ4_w&s=19

With regard to the visit to Norway information was provided in the following media sources:
https://www.tiesas.lv/aktualitates/latvijas-delegacija-iepazistas-ar-norvegu-pieredzi-pacientiem-nodarita-kaitejuma-kompensesanai-11343
https://www.ta.gov.lv/lv/jaunums/latvijas-delegacija-iepazistas-ar-norvegu-pieredzi-pacientiem-nodarita-kaitejuma-kompensesanai
https://twitter.com/RGJorstad/status/1519643474240356353?t=5WR3bx99VQEl9WMw_Le1qw&s=19
https://www.facebook.com/tiesuadm/posts/pfbid023ZUaDzVdZn6wpk4EzAqJycRYKxHSD2iP4vxxwKcd6NjqqaRLqshpsB5LP7vxuMCLl?__cft__[0]=AZXI9NaTm3L4mQZ6pvSrC7C_jI1q6dqYBQMWXEgaJo340Plqf1aRtLauOqjSg3vP68FvdZZXQOuTuOdkZJSRLL-xreatjC0WOHMiYBFx-9eyFSz9r7mMIF5Kh1MtqcXy_7Dz91hj1ffKdfHO1679tGzpTVVS4vZrl8iqGlESm0oNrw&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

The participants of the project deepened their knowledge in the field of patient injury compensation and also learned about the best resources, where to find relevant decisions and case law of the Swedish and Norvegian courts and institutions active in the field. This type of information is very useful, in case a comparative analysis is needed, when working with this category of cases. It was also a great way to meet and connect with fellow legal professionals.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Public Administration met our expectations. The participants gained better understanding about the programme and thanks to the very welcoming host organisations in Sweden and Norway also acquired very valuable experience and were able to exchange ideas and practices regarding patient injury compensation.

Contact: Ilze Butkus, project manager of the project "Patient Injury Compensation"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

The project was very successful. There were two main outcomes. First, we were able to create direct contacts between our organisation and host institutions, as well as several other institutions in both Finland and Norway. In several cases, we were welcomed by high-ranking officials (for example, in Finland, the Head of the EU Secretariat, or in Norway, the Head of the International Department at the Prime Minister's Office and the Secretary General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). This shows that there was keen interest towards our visit and boosting cooperation with Estonia. Thanks to having longer seminars (2-3 hours) at both our host institutions, all our team members were able to meet their counterparts and discuss future cooperation. Second, both visits gave us a very comprehensive overview of Finnish and Norwegian policy positions. In Finland, this mainly focused on climate, energy and digital policies, whereas in Norway, it also included security policy. Getting to know policy positions is also possible via emails or meetings in Brussels, but learning the reasons and background of how policy is made and designed requires time and meetings in the capital, which were delivered by this project. This helped to create a better understanding of our partner countries and share best practices on our policy-making processes and government institutions.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

The basis of successful cooperation is understanding the reasons behind your partner's positions. This usually takes time to learn and therefore having the chance to visit capitals and meet with relevant policy actors is very important. Our visit helped demonstrate the similarities between Estonian policy and the policies of our partners. It also helped to embed the similar understanding of European and global issues that our countries share. Given the similarities of Nordic-Baltic countries and the shared challenges in this region, it makes sense to work together. But in order to do that, we need to share our positions and meet on a regular basis, because this helps to make other Nordic-Baltic countries the first partner that comes to mind for every Nordic-Baltic country.

References in the media

https://twitter.com/LauriBambus/status/1524440601164496899?s=20&t=9HT8bQuXHC_ZQtNiA9gR_w

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

Writing a project application, designing a travel budget, reporting skills, increase in professional skills through meetings and sharing of best practices about working methods, networking, establishing a professional relationship between organisations.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

Yes, it met the expectations of our entire team. We were able to create direct contacts with various partner institutions, share policy positions and best practices of our daily work.

Contact: Gert Siniloo, project manager of the project "Stronger Nordic-Baltic cooperation to achieve the green and digital transition in Europe – Estonian EU Secretariat’s group visits to Finland and Norway"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

Through the study visits, the project promoted mutual collaboration, exchange of ideas and
methodological knowledge in territorial planning and international projects. Latvian participants got a lot of new knowledge (in planning, recycling, etc.) and new project ideas, which will be used in implementing new projects in future. The participants shared this information with their colleagues and others involved in municipal work so the knowledge can eventually become common practice.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

The project improved the cooperation between Arendal municipality (Norway), Torsby municipality
(Sweden) and Rezekne municipality. The project helped develop new cooperation possibilities with Norwegian, Swedish and Latvian municipality employees who are interested not only in gaining new knowledge about the territorial planning and international projects but also in developing new networks, exchanging best practices in municipality.

References in the media

After returning from the visits, the participants informed about the experience their colleagues. The information about the visits was published in homepage of Rezekne municipality and Facebook of Rezekne Municipality so reaching a wide audience and increasing the visibility of Nordic-Baltic cooperation between the involved municipalities.

Publications: https://rezeknesnovads.lv/pieredzes-apmainas-brauciens-uz-zviedriju-jeb-ka-es-braucu-zviedru-zemi-lukoties/

https://www.facebook.com/Rezeknesnovads

https://rezeknesnovads.lv/2022-gads-2/

Some more articles are still in process.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

The greatest value of the project was the possibility to develop new networks and cooperation ideas with Sweden and Norway. The project gave the possibility to experience the new concept "smart villages" in real life. During the study trips it was possible to see the new thinking concept that aims to help rural communities meet challenges and grasp the new opportunities of the 21st century. Smart villages are about people. They are about rural citizens taking the initiative to find practical solutions – both to the severe challenges they face and, importantly, to exciting new opportunities which are transforming rural areas.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The program is an excellent possibility for the municipality specialists to learn from the colleagues in the Scandinavian countries.
The communication with the program managers is excellent: all the questions are answered and problems solved immediately. The program does not demand extra documents, everything is arranged on-line and very effectively.
The program is an excellent example also for other EU programs.

Contact: Inta Rimsane, project manager of the project "Experience exchange of municipality specialists in exploring and developing new approaches for smart rural territories in Latvia, Norway and Sweden"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

Visiting Malmo Live Concert Hall and Sibelius Hall has been a worthful experience for us. The main benefit is the information and experience that we gained from two absolutely different cultural organizations. Each country (Sweden and Finland) have had quite different approach to Covid-19 pandemic regulations, therefore each concert hall had to deal with absoultely different situations. And our concert hall could identify itself somewhere in between these both partner organizations. Both partners were very forthcoming and opened about sharing their thoughts, knowledge and experiences. We could definately take over some of their knowledge to implement at GORS too, like communication with audience about postponed or cancelled events and ticked return, technical solutions to provide distancing and other preventive measures, program planning etc.
Another worthful benefit were the conversations about potential cooperation with both concert halls. In Malmo Live Concert hall we talked about possible collaboration with Malmo symphonic orchestra here at GORS concert hall, and our partners in Lahti claim that their team is already looking forward to coming to concert hall GORS in Rezekne. All partner organizations expressed strong willingness to keep in touch in the future too.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

During both visits we felt strong interest from the partner concert halls to find a way of cooperation in the future. In Malmo Live we discussed about possibility of bringing Malmo Symphony orchestra to Rezekne and giving performance at Concert Hall GORS, as well as we talked about various international projects of experience exchange (looking for opportunities for Malmo Live team to come to concert hall GORS).
At Sibelius hall we talked about our experience at GORS and Malmo Live, so there was a wider background for our discussions - we compared three different concert halls, their structures and challenges during pandemic period. Representative of Sibelius hall (Jussi Kortepuro) told us that their team visits one ore more Venues in Europe every year, and they are willing to put concert hall GORS in their Venue list too.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

Both experience exchange trips were very valuable for our organization in several ways:
1) New contacts were developed;
2) Visiting two great concert halls in two different countries and sharing experiences with each other;
3) Introducing each other with the structures and operating activities of the concert halls;
4) Sharing experiences about the concert halls during the pandemic period - challenges, operations, adaptations, restrictions. program development, finances, marketing, technical solutions, audience development and impact to further operation;
5) Negotiations about further collaboration projects and supporting each other in the future

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

We really appreaciate the given opportunity. The main aim of the project was to gain theoretical and practical knowledge about cultural organizations' and concert halls' operation during Covid-19 pandemic. The acquisitions met all our expectations and we can surely claim that we gained even more - we visited inspiring places, met real professionals of their sphere, attended wonderful events, analyzed common factors and differences in our organizations, cities and countries, which is a really inspiring experience for all of us.

Contact: Liga Vaicule-Kozlovska, project manager of the project "Successful management and operation of cultural institutions during Covid-19 pandemic"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

1. The staff of the Agency as well as Ministry, also the staff of host organisations from each other gained greater understanding of the problems and challenges in the project management, social security, and labour market. Topics in agenda were newest, most relevant to the needs of the parties e.g., even the newest aspects of situation due to the refugees from Ukraine were in the discussion.
2. After study visit new relations with Iceland foreign partners was established. It is first time of collaboration with Iceland in 20 years of activity of The Agency. Development of existing relations with Swedish partners became more valuable, because of live contact and possibility to clarify additional essential topics. Now it is explicit, that our cooperation will continue in future.
3. Study visit gave positive image of the Agency as well as Ministry at the international level. Both organizations could introduce its goods practice and achievements. The Agency had possibility to share information about its new international activities (ESF Social Inovation+, EaSI, CERV) where international partners could participate as organizations or individuals as experts.
4. Mutual sharing of the countries (with Iceland) on the implemented programs for refugees and migrants: providing services, promoting integration, teaching the national language, integrating into the labour market, motivating participation in projects etc. New insights were discovered on what can be done better and more simply to achieve better results.
5.Digitalisation of processes is the future of all organizations. E.g. Iceland presented very innovative digital solutions and tools for care of elder people.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

Project meets several purposes of the Nordic-Baltic program. Project increased visibility of the Nordic-Baltic cooperation program, increased quality and involvement in the Nordic-Baltic cooperation also increased knowledge transfer for mutual benefit on all administrative levels, increased cross-sectoral cooperation

During the visit in Sweden and Island visibility about Nordic-Baltic cooperation was spread internationally. Every time, meeting new organisations, we shared information about financing we gained from Nordic-Baltic Council and about possibility for Nordic countries to apply for financing and visit Baltic countries. During both visits about 10 organisations found out about Nordic-Baltic programme. Some of host organisations made posts in intranet pages about our visit. European Social Fund Agency have announced messages in the intranet for its employees about benefit of visits to Iceland and Sweden.

The project involves representatives of different organisations of public sector and NGO, also Ministries. The project involves decision makers, project administration bodies and project implementers. That ensures cross-sectoral and ministerial cooperation. The knowledge transfer gave mutual benefit and helped to maintain sustainable co-operation relations and increase their quality by involving related representatives. The joint discussion helped to identify common problems and good practices that could be shared. Diversity of cross-sectoral organisations made it more valuable and applicable.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for personal skills

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

Sweden case – during study visit in Sweden we acknowledged very innovative methods of the Change theory, the Problem tree. The Swedish ESF Agency uses these new methods in almost all its applications, which seek to identify the applicants' needs, solutions, and anticipate as accurately as possible the activities, outcomes, results and expected impacts. Those methods our Agency is planning to integrate to the new Social Innovation program to application forms. Also, we had a chance to gain more information and insights for the implementation of ALMA initiative from 2014-2020 period, digitalization of the processes increasing efficiency in daily workflows, full integrated system to the claim of payment process and digital signature. The Swedish Agency was interested in the possibilities provided by the State Aid Register (KOTIS), as an example of which they could set up a similar system in Sweden. The possibilities of integrating this system could be discussed in the following cooperation activities.
Island case – The most valuable good practises were shared at the Island meeting about the activities at the Directorate of Labour, the Vocational Rehabilitation Centre (VIRK), were discussed similarities and differences in the area of professional rehabilitation. VIRK is a vocational rehabilitation fund whose members include all major trade unions and employers. The main purpose of VIRK services is to help individuals return to the labour market. The services are free of charge, in cooperation with trade unions, employers, various service providers and welfare agencies. The services are provided to person who is unable to work due to a health problem and has a doctor's referral. Reykjavik Municipality introduced innovations for the disabled and the elderly. The following technological solutions are used: tablets for remote visits / meetings with service users (with user-friendly “software” installed), medicine dispensers, as well as smartphones, emergency buttons, robot pumps etc. These solutions help to increase the quality of life, security and independence. These solutions can be adapted in the measure "Integrated Assistance to Individuals" in Lithuania.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The project fully met the expectations, all Nordic partners were sincerely interested to share good practice, learn good and effective ways to reduce administrative burdens for both project promoters and public sector companies, to move as many services as possible to the digital space. It was established further ways of cooperation with the newly planned activities, during which we will continue active sharing of the best practices in the selective process of project payment claims, implementation of new digitization methods, findings of the new approach to use technological solutions in the provision of social services, cooperation at the social innovation activities, to promote active aspects of the gender equality at labour market. The Nordic partners especially have lots of experience implementing the Social Innovation projects, encourage the gender equality (those examples we saw during visits in Sweden and Island). The focus was on projects for development of administrative and technical infrastructure, empowerment/computer literacy training (especially for seniors), testing of various technological solutions-smart devices, tablets for remote visits, medicine dispensers. These solutions helped to increase the quality of life, security, independence of both the services themselves and the recipients of services, as well as create better working conditions for service providers, allow optimizing service provision processes. With the help of digitization more emphasis will be placed on communication with project promoters, and part of the technical tasks will be performed by robots or artificial intelligence.

Contact: Agne Naruseviciute, project manager of the project "SSocIAL "