BorderLabs CE

27/05/2026

🌍 The Double Cities Dialogue Forum enters its second round!

After the successful first edition in 2025, the “BorderLabs” project returns with a new and urgent question:

👉 How can we move beyond simply dealing with differences — and start having constructive conversations about disagreements?

This year’s Forum brings together citizens from European double cities including Frankfurt–Słubice, Esztergom–Štúrovo, and Gorizia–Nova Gorica to explore how dialogue can help bridge growing social, political, and cultural divides across Europe.

Participants will experience:
✔️ Guided dialogue sessions
✔️ Small group discussions
✔️ Interactive formats & reflection exercises
✔️ Cross-border networking and cultural exchange

📍 Venue: Kleist Forum, Frankfurt (Oder) / Słubice
📅 28–29 May 2026

In a time of hardening borders and worldviews, creating spaces for meaningful dialogue matters more than ever.

18/05/2026

🌉 What makes a cross-border region truly work?
On 12-13 May, the partners of the BorderLabs CE project travelled to Copenhagen and Malmö to explore one of Europe’s most well-known cross-border metropolitan regions: the Öresund region. 🇩🇰🇸🇪
The study visit showed that successful cross-border integration is not built by infrastructure alone. The Öresund Bridge is a powerful symbol but everyday cross-border life also depends on:
🤝 long-term political cooperation
🧭 reliable information services for citizens and businesses
⚖️ continuous management of legal and administrative obstacles
🚆 integrated labour markets and mobility
🌱 shared strategies for resilience, innovation and green transition

💡 For BorderLabs CE, the key message is clear: cross-border cooperation works best when institutions, services and people are connected. Read more:

13/05/2026

🌍 BorderLabs CE on the road!
This week, the BorderLabs CE partnership is visiting the Øresund Region – Copenhagen and Malmö 🇩🇰🇸🇪
🔍 What are we exploring?
• 🤝 Cross-border governance in practice
• 🌐 Freedom of movement in the Nordic context
• 🏙️ The Greater Copenhagen cooperation model
• 🚆 Citizen-oriented cross-border services
• 💬 Lessons learned for Central Europe

A great opportunity to exchange experiences, collect inspiration and strengthen cooperation for more integrated cross-border regions.

23/04/2026

🌍 Join Us in Brussels!
On behalf of the Lead Partner, the Saxon State Ministry for Infrastructure and Regional Development, together with the partners of the BorderLabs CE project, we are pleased to invite you to the closing conference:

✨ “Towards a Central European Territorial Agenda?”
📅 10 June 2026
📍 Brussels – Committee of the Regions (Building Jacques Delors)
💼 Side event of the European Cross-Border Platform (ECBP)

🔍 What to expect?
• 🎤 Inspiring keynote speeches
• 📜 Launch of a Charter for a new spatial vision in Central Europe
• 🗣️ Engaging round-table discussions on:
▫️ 🌐 Cross-border spatial planning
▫️ 🤝 Participatory governance
▫️ ⚖️ Removing legal & administrative barriers

🚀 Be part of the dialogue shaping the future of territorial integration in Central Europe!

📝 Register now to confirm your participation:
https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSfrPuGP8zjnm1.../viewform

📢 Check the detailed programme:
https://www.interreg-central.eu/.../closing-conference.../

16/04/2026

The BorderLabs CE partnership took part in an inspiring study visit (13–16 April) to the Euregio Meuse-Rhine EGTC - one of Europe’s most integrated cross-border regions 🤝🇪🇺

🏢 The delegation was hosted in Maastricht by Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross border cooperation and Mobility (ITEM) and Kerkrade at Eurode Business Center, gaining valuable first-hand insights into cross-border cooperation in practice.

🌟 What makes this region truly special?
It brings together three countries, multiple languages, and different systems into one functional living space - where people can live 🏡, work 💼, and study 🎓 across borders every day.

💡 Key topics explored during the visit included:
🏥 Obstacles and solutions in cross-border healthcare in Dutch-Belgian-German regions
👮 Police cooperation across borders
🎓 Cross-border cooperation in education
🌱 The role of the EGTC in promoting, facilitating, and strengthening collaboration
🚆 Public transport systems (including the Euregio ticket and cross-border connections)

✨ Real insights. Real cooperation. Real impact.

16/04/2026

📍 Brussels | 10 June 2026

Join us for the final event of BorderLabs CE:
“Towards a Central European Territorial Agenda?”

Held as a side event of the ECBP Annual Meeting 2026, the conference will bring together experts and practitioners to discuss:

🔹 strategic cross-border planning
🔹 participatory governance
🔹 removing legal and administrative obstacles

📢 The event will also mark the launch of the Charter for a more integrated Central Europe and a new cooperation network.

For registration and detailed agenda visit: https://budapest.cesci-net.eu/en/ecbp-2026/

07/04/2026

Join us for the BorderLabs CE Closing Conference, “Towards a Central European Territorial Agenda?”, organised as a side event of the European Cross-Border Platform Annual Meeting 2026.
🗣️ Keynote speeches
🤝 Round-table discussions
🧭 Launch of a Charter for a new spatial vision for Central Europe
The event will explore the future of territorial integration in Central Europe, with a special focus on cross-border spatial planning, participatory governance, and the removal of legal and administrative barriers.
Register here:

On behalf of the Lead Partner, the Saxon State Ministry for Infrastructure and Regional Development, and the partners of the BorderLabs CE project supported by Interreg Central Europe, we are pleased to invite you to register for the closing conference of the project, called “Towards a Central Eur...

20/03/2026

🌍🤝 BorderLabs CE study tour in Basel highlights cross-border cooperation in practice

📅 On 17-18 March 2026, participants of the BorderLabs CE project took part in a transnational study tour in Basel, Lörrach and Saint-Louis to explore how cross-border cooperation works in one of Europe’s most integrated trinational border regions. Over the two days, the programme included visits and presentations in Lörrach, Saint-Louis and Basel, as well as a tour of the 3Land area.

💡 The study tour focused on key dimensions of cross-border governance and territorial development, with contributions on the work of the Trinational Eurodistrict Basel, the Swiss perspective on cross-border cooperation, Alsatian cross-border strategies, INFOBEST services, spatial planning in the Upper Rhine, and the 3Land project.

🧭 Participants exchanged experiences and learned more about:
• 🚉 cross-border mobility solutions, including regional rail, bus and fare integration
• 🏙️ spatial planning tools supporting functional cross-border regions
• 👥 practical support services for cross-border commuters and residents through INFOBEST
• 🌿 flagship regeneration projects such as Parc des Carrières
• 🌉 long-term trinational urban development through the 3Land initiative

📊 The visit offered valuable insights into how cross-border institutions, joint planning frameworks and concrete local projects can help address shared challenges in mobility, governance, public services and territorial development. The Basel region showed how long-term cooperation can translate into practical solutions and a shared vision across borders.

📚 The experiences gathered during the study tour will feed into the ongoing work of the BorderLabs CE project and support further reflection on how border regions can better manage cross-border obstacles and build stronger cooperation frameworks. Stay tuned for a more detailed report!

16/03/2026

🌍🤝 BorderLabs CE partners meet in Wrocław to tackle cross-border obstacles

📅 On 2–3 March 2026, partners of the BorderLabs CE project gathered in Wrocław, Poland 🇵🇱, hosted by the Institute for Territorial Development (IRT), to discuss the final steps of the project and exchange experiences on the management of cross-border legal obstacles ⚖️📑.

💡 The thematic workshop focused on one of the project’s key topics: identifying and overcoming cross-border legal and administrative barriers that affect everyday cooperation between neighbouring regions 🌐🤝. Experts and project partners shared experiences on:

• 🇪🇺 EU tools supporting cross-border integration
• 🧭 Practical initiatives helping border citizens solve everyday cross-border issues
• 🛠️ Pilot activities addressing obstacles in areas such as labour mobility 👷♂️, public services 🏥, procurement 📄, VAT rules 💶, and local product trade 🧺

📊 Participants also discussed real-life examples from different European border regions 🗺️, showing how effective obstacle management can improve public services, economic cooperation, and regional integration 📈🤝.

📚 The insights from the workshop will contribute to the final knowledge outputs of the BorderLabs CE project, helping policymakers and practitioners better understand and address cross-border barriers 🚧➡️🌉.

More info about the event: https://www.interreg-central.eu/news/partner-meeting-and-thematic-workshop-of-the-borderlabs-ce-project-in-wroclaw/

13/03/2026

🌍✨ Looking back at our Wrocław conference!

On 4 March 2026, the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences hosted the international event “Cross-border cooperation in the era of challenges and transformation – space, energy, climate, culture.”

📚 Researchers, ⚖️ policymakers, and 🌱 practitioners discussed:

• Energy transition ⚡
• Climate adaptation 🌡️
• Sustainable regional development 🏞️
• New European Spatial Vision 🗺️
• Culture, landscape & local identity 🎭

The conference, organized within the BorderLabsCE project (Interreg Central Europe), highlighted practical solutions, innovation, and ways to strengthen cross-border cooperation in European border regions.

More details: https://www.interreg-central.eu/news/cross-border-cooperation-in-the-era-of-challenges-and-transformation-space-energy-climate-culture/

03/03/2026

Great progress at the latest Partner Meeting!

The BorderLabs CE partnership on its partner meeting (2 March,2026) focused on the final phase of implementation of pilots. A key discussion point was: What concrete solutions have our pilots delivered, how will they continue beyond the project, and how can they be transferred to other regions? We also identified remaining risks and how to tackle them.

📜 Charter & Governance Framework
CESCI introduced the important milestone in the final phase of the project, the Charter for participatory cross-border cooperation governance in Central Europe, which will formalise cooperation structures and ensure sustainability of results beyond the project lifetime.

🎓 💻 Multimedia Learning Platform
The draft structure of the multimedia learning platform was introduced, which will make our pilot experiences, tools and governance models accessible and transferable for other regions across Central Europe.

Stay tuned for our study trips to the Trinational Eurodistrict of Basel 🇨🇭🇫🇷🇩🇪, the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion 🇧🇪🇩🇪🇳🇱, Greater Copenhagen 🇩🇰🇸🇪 and the Nordic Council of Ministers Secretariat 🇩🇰🇫🇮🇮🇸🇳🇴🇸🇪!

Next highlight: our Final Event in Brussels on 10 June 2026, back-to-back with the annual conference of the Association of European Border Regions 🇪🇺.

More inspiration. More exchange. More impact.

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