News Release -
Shannon Development assemble expert panel to help guide Regions to future success
An increased emphasis on regional action will speed Ireland’s economic recovery. This is the message that will be conveyed at a forthcoming national ‘Dynamic Regions’ conference being organised by Shannon Development.
An expert panel of national and international speakers, leaders in their fields, has been assembled by Shannon Development for their forthcoming conference entitled ‘Dynamic Regions – Future Directions in Regional Development’. The one day conference is being held on Friday 6th November ’09 at Thomond Park Stadium in Limerick City.
The Conference will be Chaired by Broadcaster John Bowman, and addressed by Mary Coughlan TD, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, and Dr. Vincent Cunnane, Chief Executive, Shannon Development, Ireland’s only regional development company.
“The Shannon Development Conference on “Dynamic Regions” marking our 50th anniversary will gather an outstanding panel of national and international experts. It will include international case studies from the Assembly of European Regions, London Development Agency and the Basque Region of Spain. We see it as a key opportunity to share and learn, and we have assembled some of the leading experts in the field of regional development to reflect its growing importance on the economic world stage. Our speakers will tackle a number of important topics that will provide the lead in new areas of regional action,” said Dr. Cunnane announcing the conference.
Conference speakers will include Christina Diegelmann, Senior Policy Coordinator on ‘Economy and Regional Development’ for the Assembly of European Regions. The Assembly is the largest independent network of European regions, bringing together 270 regions from 33 countries. Its role is to examine regional solutions to the current economic crisis.
Issues facing Irish regional development will be covered by an Irish panel of speakers including Jim Power, Chief Economist with Friends First who will focus on regional action and how it can help national recovery.
A number of case studies on the benefits of regional action will be presented by Rob Whitehead from the London Development Agency, and Mirari Zaldua from Labein Tecnalia, Spain, who will talk about the Basque area’s experience of embracing regional development.
‘Why regional action must be a tool for driving economic competitiveness’ will be discussed by Dr. Eoin O’ Leary from University College Cork.
Findings from a European wider special development research programme undertaken by the EU Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON) will be analysed by Professor Jim Walsh Deputy President and Vice-President for Innovation at NUI Maynooth, and Brendan Bartley Lecturer at NUI Maynooth and the University’s programme director for the international centre for local and regional development.
Niall Cussen from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government will give an update on the National Spatial Strategy. Conor Skehan, from the Futures Academy at the School of Spatial Planning in the Dublin Institute of Technology, will talk about their futures-orientated study investigating the likely territorial impacts of future economic challenges.
Kevin Terry, Director of Planning and Development & City Engineer with Cork City Council, will present a case study on the Cork Area Strategic Plan which provides a vision and strategy for the development of Cork City-Region up to 2020. Bernadette Connaughton from the University of Limerick will deliver a case study of regional action in the context of waste management. Ms. Connaughton is a lecturer in Public Administration at UL and is completing a PhD on the implementation of EU environmental policy in Ireland.
“There have been significant changes in the economic environment at global, national and regional levels. The economic landscape we now face requires planning of a different nature and scope to position ourselves for recovery. The aim of the conference is to demonstrate how Dynamic Regions can contribute to this recovery by highlighting how regional action can contribute to economic growth. We want to make our conference as interactive as possible and at the end of each session we have organised a panel discussion to allow delegates to exchange ideas with the speakers. We hope that this conference will provide the springboard for a wider national debate on the importance of regional action,” said Dr. Cunnane.
The conference will attract key decision makers and policy influencers who have an interest or involvement in regional development in Ireland and Europe. Private sector and industry leaders concerned with public private initiatives in regional development will also attend the conference.
For further details contact: Bernadette Kelly Tel: 061-710433 email: kellyb@shannondevelopment.ie or access the Conference website at www.ShannonDevelopment.ie/DynamicRegionsConference
Dynamic Regions – Future Directions in Regional Development’, a one day conference organised by regional development agency Shannon Development will take place on Friday 6th November ’09 at Thomond Park Stadium in Limerick City. (L-r) Pictured exploring the future path for regional development is Broadcaster John Bowman who will chair the conference and Dr. Vincent Cunnane, Chief Executive, Shannon Development.
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