Description
As part of the 22nd European Week of Regions and Cities, held in Brussels from 7 to 10 October, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reform Elisa Ferreira, together with Committee of the Regions President Vasco Alves Cordeiro, presided over the REGIOSTARS 2024 awards ceremony.
The REGIOSTARS awards, an annual competition organised by the European Commission since 2008, recognise cohesion policy-funded projects across Europe that encapsulate the impact and inclusiveness of regional development and have found solutions to common challenges facing Europe's regions and cities. These projects demonstrate how the EU, through cohesion policy, brings about change on the ground and strengthens economic and social progress in the EU.
The 2024 edition received a record number of entries, with 262 applications to compete for the top prize in five different categories. These categories reflect the policy objectives, including the political priorities of the 2021-2027 cohesion policy programming period. An audience prize was also awarded, for which 25 finalists were selected.
The winners of the REGIOSTARS 2024 Prize are:
Category 1 - A Competitive and Smart Europe: an Interreg Italy-Malta project called 'Bythos' was awarded in this category. The project recycles and reuses by-products or waste materials from the fish processing industry to create new ingredients for animal and human consumption. These ingredients are also used in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and cosmetics.
Category 2 - A Green Europe: The Spanish 'Biogreenfinery' project was recognised as an innovative platform detailing the technical and economic feasibility of producing alternative fuels such as green hydrogen and other synthetic fuels. The fuels produced will contribute overall to the energy transition in the Canary Islands.
Category 3 - A Connected Europe: Interreg project for the North Sea region, 'BITS: Bikes and Intelligent Transport Systems', uses intelligent transport systems (ITS) with more than thirty innovative pilot projects aimed at improving the safety and comfort of cyclists in the North Sea region.
Category 4 - A Social and Inclusive Europe: a project in Hungary, 'Health Development Programme - Telemedicine for the Most Deprived Settlements', won the award for its technological and software solutions to ensure the introduction of telemedicine in emerging settlements. The service uses mobile clinics to provide access to appropriate modern medical treatment and preventive care close to patients' homes.
Category 5 - Bringing Europe closer to its citizens: the 'Gdynia OdNowa' revitalisation project in Poland won the award in this category. The project covers three run-down districts and actively involves residents in decision-making processes and overall includes civic participation.
As every year, the public was invited to vote for their favourite project among the selected finalists. The public's favourite that received the highest number of online votes this year (3,274 out of more than 20,000 total votes), winning the Public Choice Award, was the Interreg Italy-Malta project 'Bythos'.
Source: European Commission DG Regio
Image owner: European Commission DG Regio