10 a.m. - Inaugural session

  • Mr Séamus Boland, President of the Civil Society Organisations' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
  • Ms Christa Schweng, President of the EESC
  • Ms Anna Hubáčková, Minister for the Environment of the Czech Republic
  • Mr Tomáš Macura, Mayor of Ostrava
  • Mr Petr Koudela, Head of Moravian-Silesian Tourism, From problem to opportunity: a local perspective.

11 a.m. - Session I – A region in transition towards a low-carbon economy

Moderator: Ms Jarmila Dubravská, member of the EESC's Civil Society Organisations' Group

  • Mr Ondřej Slach, PhD., Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Analysis and evaluation of the change of economic structures in the region through the lens of evolutionary economic geography
  • Mr Jiří Krist, Chairman of the Regional Network of the Moravian-Silesian Region and Manager of MAS Opavsko, LEADER programme and the energy and economic transformation of the region
  • Mr Jiří Stodůlka, CEO, co-founder of Farma Bezdínek, Largest Czech tomato greenhouse and first with pesticide-free certification
  • Mr Roman Haken, Broadband Competence Office – Ministry for Industry and Trade - High-speed internet available in the territory
  • Q&A

12.30 p.m. - Lunch

2 p.m. - Session II – Social implications of the regional transformation

Moderator: Mr Roman Haken, CCMI delegate at the EESC and former member of the EESC's Civil Society Organisations' Group

  • Ms Iva Kuchyňková, Manager for social advocacy activities at Caritas Czech Republic
  • Ms Soňa Kalenda, PhD., Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ostrava, Social work challenges in dealing with the regional transformation
  • Ms Eva Arnošt, Skrojek, z.s. in Skotnice, Creating civil society in a small village – an example of good practise
  • Mr Vladimír Špidla, Director of Masaryk Democratic Academy, Former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic and Former European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, The social dimension of the region's transformation
  • Q&A

3.30 p.m. - Concluding remarks

  • Mr Séamus Boland, president of the EESC's Civil Society Organisations' Group
  • Mr Lukáš Curylo, Deputy Governor of the Moravian-Silesian Region and member of the EESC's Civil Society Organisations' Group