First regional platform meeting in Strumica, North Macedonia

The kick-off meeting for the regional platform in Strumica was organized on the 7th February, 2023 in the municipal premises. Eight representatives from the Municipality of Strumica, NGO Planetum and SDEWES-Skopje were participating this meeting. The event consisted of two parts: kick-off meeting and official start of the regional platform and participation in a workshop on the topic "From digital transformation to innovation" organized by the Fund for innovation and technology development based on synergetic points related to the development of innovative business ideas in the field of agriculture sector.
Participants were introduced more in details about SCALE-UP project, its activities, regions and conceptual framework. Furthermore, an overview of the regional platform concept was given. By introducing the Terms of Refence, the stakeholders were closely familiarized with the activities as members in the Strumica region. The regional platform will be focused at: Maintaining a constant dialogue between different groups of stakeholders; Harmonization of policies and measures in strategic and planning documents at the regional and national level; Assistance in applying to relevant financial mechanisms; Organization of seminars, educational events or other events related to a specific supply chain; Organization of fairs and other promotional events; Cooperation with the traditional Strumica festival and establishment of a corner for the promotion of the bioeconomy and Identification of good bioeconomy examples and linkage in other regions in North Macedonia.
Additionally, a mapping of existing documents and projects for bio-based value chains (composting) and identification of next activities were conducted, a step which is crucial for further research in the regional bioeconomy development.

The minutes of the meeting is available now.