On 19th February, the kick-off meeting of interested parties and stakeholders from different areas of bioeconomy in Slovakia was held to create National Bioeconomy Hub in Slovakia. Formation of Hub is organised under the BOOST4BIOEAST project, supported by CEE2ACT project. The meeting brought together representatives from the academic sector (research institutes and universities), policymakers (e.g., Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Economy), farmers’ associations, clusters.
The main goal of the National Bioeconomy Hub is to support cooperation in the development of a circular bioeconomy and policies in this area by connecting national stakeholders from different sectors and networks and connect them with macro-regional and EU networks, hubs, initiatives and projects. Concentrated and coordinated effort is needed related to bioeconomy development in Slovakia and the National HUB creates space for such cooperation.
Kick-off meeting focused on the key bioeconomy activities on the national level and also brought information about ongoing and planned activities on the macro-regional and EU levels, including specific activities connecting National Bioeconomy HUB, Initiative BIOEAST and BOOST4BIOEAST project.
Meeting built on previous activities, particularly a joint workshop with CEE2ACT in May 2024, “Bioeconomy in Slovakia – How to Proceed?”. This workshop had already introduced the concept of the National Bioeconomy HUB and included discussions on stakeholder expectations regarding collaboration within the HUB.
The most important point of the meeting agenda was the presentation of preliminary results in preparation of the Roadmap to circular bioeconomy, where activities of almost all stakeholders are connected. Presentation focused on bioeconomy in general, but also on specific sectors such as biomass, bioenergy, biofertilizers, biomaterials in building sector, etc. A significant contribution to the Roadmap for Circular Bioeconomy will come from a project under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, “Development and Support for the Production of Sustainable Biomethane, Organic Fertilizers, and Circular Bioeconomy”.
The importance of a participatory approach to the preparation of the Roadmap and the formation of the National HUB was emphasized by stakeholders.
This meeting was an important step towards creating a platform for an active collaboration and innovation, sharing knowledge and experience to ensure the sustainable development in bioeconomy.
For more information, please contact:
- MARD SK: Jana Hreňová, jana.hrenova[at]land.gov.sk
- NPPC: Francesco Vizzarri, francesco.vizzarri[at]nppc.sk
- NLC: Rastislav Raši, rastislav.rasi[at]nlcsk.org
- Bioeconomy Cluster: Katarína Blicklingová, director[at]bioeconomy.sk
