Cross-border cooperation in the era of challenges and transformation – space, energy, climate, culture
BorderLabs + Knowledge sharing | 2026. March 30.
Cross-border cooperation in the era of challenges and transformation – space, energy, climate, culture
BorderLabs + Knowledge sharing | 2026. March 30.
On 4 March 2026, within the framework of the BorderLabsCE project implemented under the Interreg Central Europe programme, the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences organised an international conference titled “Cross-border cooperation in the era of challenges and transformation – space, energy, climate, culture” at the Wrocław-Pawłowice Education and Development Center. The event brought together researchers, experts, representatives of public administration, and practitioners engaged in cross-border cooperation and regional development.
Prof. Szymon Szewrański, Vice-Rector for Socio-Economic Relations at the university, in his welcoming address, highlighted that border regions, once perceived mainly as areas of division, are increasingly becoming spaces of cooperation, innovation, and development. The participants were also greeted by the chief organiser, Dr Maciej Zathey, PhD, Director of the Institute for Territorial Development of Lower Silesian Voivodeship.
The conference addressed various dimensions of cross-border cooperation in Europe, including economic, social, cultural, and spatial aspects. Particular attention was given to the challenges faced by border regions in the context of the European Union’s cohesion policy, energy transition, climate protection, and sustainable regional development.
The plenary session included four keynote speeches. Gyula Ocskay, secretary general of CESCI, talked about the urgency of a new European Spatial Development Perspective, facilitating the integration of the prospective new EU members. Sylwia Dołzbłasz, Associate Professor at the University of Wrocław, gave a comprehensive overview of the contemporary agenda and major topics of cross-border cooperation, with a particular focus on Polish Interreg programmes. Dirk Gebhardt, urban geographer and expert of the BBSR, summarised the evolution, achievements and challenges of cross-border planning across the Polish-German border. Maciej Zathey spoke about diverse factors influencing successful cross-border planning and the role vision-making can play therein.
The conference program included poster sessions through which university and PhD students could present their research results, and scientific lectures discussing the spatial dynamics and cooperation between Poland and Germany, the effects of (instrumentalised) migration on the Polish-Belorussian and the Polish-German borders, the shift from a project-based logic to a solution-based one in cross-border cooperation, the management of cross-border legal obstacles, the role of technology, innovation and climate policies in cross-border cooperation, among others.
The organisers have shot a short movie on the conference which is available here:
