Hamburg, Germany

Highlights of the first year of EMMA. Short overview and illustrations :-)

The project partners from five BSR countries met in Helsinki at the 3rd all-partner meeting, which marked one year of tight co-operation within the project EMMA.

From Hamburg to Helsinki – highlights of the first year of EMMA

The first year of the EMMA project has been full of fruitful discussions, interesting conferences, informative seminars, productive partner meetings and of course some cruises on inland waterways – but most of all hard work and continuous co-operation in order to enhance inland navigation in the Baltic Sea Region. This week the project partners from five BSR countries met in Helsinki at the 3rd all-partner meeting, which marked one year of tight co-operation within the project EMMA.

To celebrate the first anniversary of the EMMA project, we put together some pictures that were taken during the first project year.
Please have a look!

In Gothenburg, partners discussed for instance the lessons learned from the Rhine success story.

EMMA was approved as flagship project for the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region in the Policy Area Transport.

In September project partners took part in the partner meeting and a cruise in Klaipeda, Lithuania (Klaipeda).

A transnational boat trip from Schwedt/Oder to Szczecin offered participants a chance to get in touch with each other and to build up one strong voice for inland navigation.

Around hundred participants including local and state government officials, researchers, administrators, entrepreneurs and ecologists took part in the workshop that was held on the on the Lower Vistula River. The cruise on MS Wanda started from Grudziądz in the morning and ended by the Baltic Sea at dusk.

In Stockholm, EMMA organized a panel that debated the future of inland navigation in Sweden as part of the 7th Strategy Forum for the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region.

EMMA annual conference in Warsaw gathered around 130 participants from Poland, Germany, Sweden, Lithuania, Finland, Belgium and Czech Republic to discuss the enhancement of inland navigation in Europe. In the picture the participants of the EMMA panel.

In February, the fifty-fifth session of the Commission for Social Development took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Project EMMA had a session there as it is an example of how sustainable transport solutions support social development and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Also some members of the Swedish parliament attended a seminar on inland waterways that was arranged by the Swedish cluster platform Lighthouse together with EMMA, NÖKS-Project and Lindholmen Science Park. Per-Erik Holmberg presented EMMA for the participants of the seminar.

In Helsinki, the project partners visited the Port of Vuosaari, listened to a presentation of underwater surveys and modern navigation buoys and got information on testing of ice-breakers while visiting Aker Arctic.

We are looking forward to the next two years of active working on "Enhancing Inland Navigation in the Baltic Sea Region"!

One year EMMA!
Press contact: 
Mr. Stefan Breitenbach, Head of Project Development, Port of Hamburg Marketing

Email: breitenbach@hafen-hamburg.de    Tel: +49 40 37709 121