1. European Dialogue on Future Interregional Co-operation The main outcomes of the CENTURIO project within the partnership co-ordinated by Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County Strasbourg, 2nd October, 2006 Anita Galó International Officer, project co-ordinator European Integration Office Self-Government of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County (H)

2. JÁSZ-NAGYKUN-SZOLNOK COUNTY JÁSZ-NAGYKUN-SZOLNOK COUNTY  Territory: 5,582 km 2  Population: 410,000  County seat: Szolnok (80,000 inhabitants)  Distance from Budapest: 100 km  N o of settlements: 78 (18 towns & 59 villages) Hungary Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county

3. OUR CENTURIO PARTNERSHIP 1. - The way to this Partnership  Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County has an extended international relation (16 twinned areas)  Previous joint programmes were implemented before launching the CENTURIO  Common aims in development strategies

4. Specific objectives by achieving the project aims & objectives we would like: to contribute to the economic & social development of our small regions and municipalities to improve the human resources of the self-governments (professional knowledge and foreign language skills) to learn best practices & identify potential joint projects to enhance and develop the county’s especially rich & fruitful international relations Beneficiaries & target groups Direct beneficiaries: Civil servants of self-governments Target groups:   professionals working in the field of regional development, tourism, environment protection & EU project management OUR CENTURIO PARTNERSHIP 2. Eight of our partner regions take part - Asti (I),Brandenburg (D),Durham (UK), Harghita (RO),Häme (FIN), Pas-de-Calais (F), Somme (F), Teltow-Fläming (D) Sustainable quality tourism as thematic component Total budget for Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county: 92.170 euros.

5. SPECIFIC PROJECT MANAGEMENT SPECIAL ATTENTION WAS PAID TO: Creating a multinational environment for the trainees Public application process for recruiting trainees Tailor-made programmes & flexibility in traineeships Evaluation, monitoring & follow-up (e.g. Evaluation Seminar in Szolnok, 2006) Disseminating events & activities (Dissemination Seminar, quiz in the local newspaper, etc.)

6. Exchange activities by numbers Host traineeships : 16 x 2 weeks Guest traineeships: 25 x 2 weeks Dissemination events & activities: 88 Identified new project ideas:45 Identified best practises: 25 MAIN OUTCOMES 1.

7. MAIN OUTCOMES 2. 2. Identification of new innovative regional development strategies 3. Elaborated tourism development projects 4. Extended co-operation among participating regions 5.Upgraded project management skills 6.Disseminated experiences 7.Improved foreign language skills

8. DISSEMINATION AS KEY ELEMENT OF THE PROJECT Main Events & meetings   Regular participation in Centurio conferences organised by the AER (3)   Dissemination Conference with foreign partners in 2005 organised by the Self- Government of Jász-Nagykun- Szolnok County   Evaluation Seminar for trainees, managers and employers in 2006 organised by the Self- Government of Jász-Nagykun- Szolnok County Tools & methods Regional, local media Regional, local media Press conferences, discussions Press conferences, discussions Workshops for presenting the experiences Workshops for presenting the experiences Web-sites Web-sites Presentation of the results in training courses, etc Presentation of the results in training courses, etc

9. PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED   Later launching than originally planned   Lack of 3 rd countries funding   Late re-funding of the costs   Administrational workload due to the different working methods of the national auditing authorities ( lack of information, late issue of certification of expenditures, etc.)

10. THE FUTURE OF CENTURIO 1. - First steps toward a new CENTURIO Modified conditions have been pre-announced by the AER project co-ordinators:   new specific topics were identified in accordance with the Lisbon and Guthenburg Strategies & the new priorities of interregional co-operations defined by the EC   less but more active Partnerships are demanded   focus to be addressed not only on exchange of experiences but also on added value

11. THE FUTURE OF CENTURIO 2. - Why to launch a new CENTURIO? In accordance with the EU regulation referring to European Territorial Co-operation & AER priorities for 2007 and 2012 the new project should   promote the modernisation and internationalisation of regional governance   promote innovation, growth and employment (R&TD, innovation capacitites, entrepreneurship)   reinforce the effectiveness of regional policy   ensure sustainable development and combating environmental degradation

12. THE FUTURE OF CENTURIO 3. - Why does Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county support the new project? EU regulation and AER draft priorities are in accordance with the objectives stated in the county/regional development documents with special respect to the development of competitive economy Common priorities have been identified in the development strategies of foreign partners with special respect to the strenghtening of entrepreneurship & protection of natural heritage Identification & implementation of new concrete projects & extended networking are needed

13. THE FUTURE OF CENTURIO 4. - What should we change?”What can we develop? We should strenghten the networking activities (provide better use of Bridge Activites with allocated financial resources) focus on concrete project proposals and concrete products as project outcomes pay special attention to making use of total partnerhsip besides sub-pertnerships need a stable project co-ordination team for the participating regions provided by the AER

14. Contact: Dr.Ildikó Ürmössy, project manager - urmossy@jnszm.hu Dr.Ildikó Ürmössy, project manager - urmossy@jnszm.hu urmossy@jnszm.hu Anita Galo, project co-ordinator - galo.anita@jnszm.hu galo.anita@jnszm.hu Web: http://www.jnszm.hu Thank you for your attention!