The first SURE expert group meeting took place on 1 February 2019 hosted by Metropolregion Rheinland.
Dr. Peter M.J. Pol, Urban Strategist at the City of The Hague, welcomed representatives from Metropolregion Rheinland, Aachen, Düsseldoft, Brussels, Amsterdam, Eindhoven and The Hague (representing Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag (MRDH)).
The meeting commenced with presentations regarding the main drivers and challenges within some of the participating cities and regions, including the context within which they participate in the wider SURE region:
- Dr Ernst Grigat, Managing Director of Metropolregion Rheinland
- Dr Cecilia Braun, Metropolregion Rheinland
- Paul Grretsen, Association Deltametropool
- Robert Broesi, Must
The SURE Eurodelta expert group emerged around a year ago among METREX members that are seeking to improve and enhance cooperation between the cities and regions within the designated area. They first met at the METREX conference in San Sebastian, holding a follow-up meeting at the 2018 Autumn conference in Brussels. The main driver behind the creation of the group is to improve and enhance cooperation between the cities and regions within the Eurodelta area.
This area includes around 50 million people who by and large have access to a high quality of life, excellent centres of knowledge and culture, employment and political stability. However, it was recognised that with the unstoppable growth of urban areas across the glove, it is important that the this mega region works together to compete at a global level and maintain the quality of life that its citizens enjoy.
There was a desire that the group continues to meet during METREX conferences, which take place twice a year. The next conference will be in Birmingham, UK, on 15-17 May 2019. This will be followed by Stuttgart, Germany, on September 12-13.
