Workshops

On June 15, 2023, a workshop on net zero land consumption was held at the University of Luxembourg in Esch-Belval under the direction of Tom Becker (University of Luxembourg). The event was organized by the University of the Greater Region in cooperation with the Coordination Committee for Spatial Development, the Luxembourg Ministry of Energy and Spatial Development and the University of Luxembourg. The aim of the workshop was to discuss key challenges and possible solutions for achieving the goal of net zero land take. In the process, not only were existing strategies and instruments analyzed and approaches to defining and monitoring land use discussed, but the different views in the individual sub-regions of the Greater Region regarding the understanding of the problem and possible solutions were highlighted as well. The focus was also on the cross-border effects of measures. The cross-border effects of measures were another focus. The results of the workshop are to be incorporated into future scientific and political work and promote the exchange between politics, science and practice, e.g. within the framework of the INTERREG VI Greater Region project "Laboratory for Territorial Intelligence (LATI).

On November 22, 2022, the WG organized a workshop at the University of Luxembourg to exchange ideas with the WG Cross-border Employment and Education (WGEE) of the UniGR-CBS. The aim of the workshop was to exchange ideas in the field of cross-border education and training. The members of the WGEE Ines Funk and Peter Dörrenbächer (both UdS) reported, for example, on their research projects in the field of cross-border vocational training and findings such as how the need for cross-border training was identified, how framework agreements are drawn up to establish such cross-border cooperation in training and what challenges the cross-border labor market and training are currently facing in times of crisis. Claudia Polzin-Haumann and Christina Reissner (both UdS) also reported on their research projects on the importance of language(s) in education and on the labor market. Among other things, they emphasized that multilingualism is a key competence and a clear advantage for trainees and employees in the border region and that access to language education is therefore essential for the cross-border labour market to function successfully. Agreements are needed to coordinate the different education systems of neighboring countries regarding language. The members of the WGEE also reported on their research methods and publications. Tom Becker (University of Luxembourg) and Beate Caesar (RPTU) then reported on the WGSP's interest in focusing more on the topic of vocational training in the field of spatial planning in the future and shared their ideas on how the working group would like to get involved in this area in practice. They also outlined ideas on how existing training courses in the field of (cross-border) spatial planning could be examined and what objectives should be achieved within the framework of the INTERREG VI Greater Region project "Laboratory for Territorial Intelligence” (LATI). Following this, the topics raised were discussed further by the members of the two working groups and suggestions were collected on how the objectives could be implemented in the LATI project.

Between 2017 and 2019 the Working Group Spatial Planning (WGSP) of the UniGR - Center for Border Studies organised two planning games with planning practitioners from each of the five parts of the Greater Region with the aim to analyse cross-border planning cultures. To strengthen their methodological knowledge and enhance the analysis of the planning games carried out so far, the WGSP under the direction of Tom Becker (University of Luxembourg), Hélène Rouchet (University of Liège), Julia Lenz (University of Saarland) and Dr. Beate Caesar (Technische Universität Kaiserslautern) organised a workshop on focus groups and planning games on 18 November 2020. During the half-day workshop, the invited expert, Mrs. Christine Henseling, research associate from the Institut für Zukunftsstudien und Technologiebewertung in Berlin, gave a short overview of focus groups. An exchange of views with the planning game methodology presented by the members of the WGSP highlighted the similarities and potential differences between the focus group and planning game methodologies.

On April 9, 2019, as part of the UniGR-CBS visiting professorship of Beate Caesar (University of Kaiserslautern) at the University of Luxembourg, she and Estelle Evrard (University of Luxembourg) organized a workshop with planning practitioners, scientists, students and other stakeholders from public institutions at the House of the Greater Region. In the process, the possibilities and limits of spatial planning in a cross-border context were discussed. Live surveys were used in an experimental way to explore the planning culture characteristics of France, Luxembourg, Wallonia and Germany - for example, to what extent the tasks of spatial planning differ in the various countries of the Greater Region or what influence politicians, private investors and planners have on the management of spatial development. This was followed by a lively discussion with the guests about the relevance of planning cultures in cross-border spatial planning practice. It became clear that spatial planning is sometimes defined very differently in the countries of the Greater Region, which makes cross-border cooperation in this area more difficult. The different legal and administrative requirements were also a dominant theme of the event. Despite all the differences and challenges, the participants emphasized the value and importance of cross-border cooperation in spatial planning for the further rapprochement of the countries of the Greater Region.