Szentgotthárd-Monošter Initiative – The first seminar
The first seminar of the Szentgotthárd-Monošter Initiative, “New Impetus for Cross-border Collaboration”, took place in Szentgotthárd on 21-22 April 2015. During the two-day event, more than 60 Hungarian and Slovene participants representing either public or private sector had the chance to present their project ideas, meet potential partners, and search for financial resources necessary for the project’s realisation.
The Szentgotthárd-Monošter Initiative is the joint initiative of the Central European Service for Cross-border Initiatives and the Slovene Ambassadors in Budapest and the Hungarian Ambassador in Ljubljana: H. E. Ksenija Škrilec and H. E. Edit Szilágyiné Bátorfi, Gábor Huszár, the mayor of Szentgotthárd, and Jože Gričar, Professor Emeritus of the University of Maribor and coordinator of the ALADIN Initiative.
The professional meeting in Szentgotthárd was not a unique occasion. It is planned to be held regularly in the future with the aim to ensure the networking of Hungarian and Slovene project developers, the launch of joint projects and programme in order to strengthen cross-border cooperation.
During the two-day programme, the initiators of projects presented their project ideas, and they also had the chance to find partners from beyond the border and to identify those resources that could assist the realisation of the projects. In the „Money to Go” section, Antal Kiss, Ministerial Commissioner of the Ministry of National Development, provided information on EU funds of Brussels. It was followed by Jazmina Litrop, Head of the Secretariat of the Hungary-Slovenia Cross-border Cooperation Programme, who spoke about cooperation possibilities in the period of 2014-2020. Richárd Gönczi, colleague of the Széchenyi Programoffice, introduced the Central Europe Transnational Programme, while Enikő Nyerges, Project Manager of CESCI presented the non-EU funds eligible for Slovene-Hungarian cooperation.
At the end of the event, ambassadors Ksenija Škrilec and Edit Szilágyiné Bátorfi announced the launch of the initiative, and issued a call for the invigoration of Hungarian-Slovene relations. The call is available at CESCI’s website in Hungarian and Slovene.
The initiators are planning to involve Croatian and Austrian local actors as well.
Watch the Slovenski Utrinki TV programme’s broadcast on the Szentgotthárd – Monošter Initiative’s first seminar:
