Conference chair: Udo Biss, Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR)

Tuesday, 15 November 2011
Time	Programme
8.00 am	Registration / Best Agers project fair
8.30 am	Discussion on resolution amendments (brought in written form before conference begin)
9.00 am	Opening of the Best Agers project fair
9.15 am	Opening of the conference - Mr Detlef Scheele, Senator of Employment and Social Affairs, Hamburg - Dr. Thomas Klischan, General Manager of Nordmetall - Mr Uwe Polkaehn, president of DGB North, Germany Baltic Youth Philharmonic Brass Quintet
10.00 am	Opening Speeches - Dr. Werner Hoyer, State Minister, Federal Foreign Office, Germany (tbc) - Mr Armindo Silva, Director for Employment and Social Legislation, Social Dialogue, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
10.30 am	Coffee break
10.45 am	First session (plenary): Key note speeches Social Dialogue and the challenges of the development of sustainable labour markets - Mr Anders Lindholm, European Commission, Directorate General for Regional Policy - Ms Bernadette Ségol, Secretary General of the European Trade Union Confederation ETUC - Ms Renate Hornung-Draus, Managing Director, European and Internat. Affairs, Confederation of German Employers (BDA) - Mr Franz Thönnes, MP, German Parliament, former Parliamentary State Secretary, Member of the Standing Committee of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference
12.30 pm	Lunch / actions at the Best Agers project fair
1.00 pm	Presentations at the Best Agers project fair
3.00 pm	Second session: Parallel working sessions
	Development and strengthening social dialogue – base for regional, social and economic development
	Cooperation and networking in the BSR – Forum for Social Dialogue and the role of information centres
	Migration and mobility for sustainable labour markets in the BSR
4.30 pm	Coffee break / actions at the Best Agers project fair
5.00 pm	Third session (plenary): Summaries of the working sessions – discussion
5.30 pm	Panel discussion: How to develop social dialogue in the Baltic Sea region? The way ahead Participants: - Speakers of the 1st session - Chairs of the working groups - Mr Michael Smyth, President Section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion (ECO), European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
7.00 pm - 8.30 pm	Get together (Music, finger food, …)

Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Time	Programme
8.30 am	Best Agers project fair
9.30 am	Fourth session (plenary): Labour market strategies in the BSR - Challenges of demographic and labour market development for urban-rural cohesion in BSR, Dr. Wilfried Görmar, Chairman of Committee on Spatial Planning and Development in the Baltic Sea Region (VASAB) - Transnational study on labour market strategies (BSLN) - Examples from partner studies
10.30 am	Coffee break / actions at the Best Agers project fair
11.00 am	Fifth session (workshop rooms): Parallel working sessions on future agenda of the Forum
	Challenges of demographic and labour market development for urban-rural cohesion in BSR (organized by VASAB)
	Education and training and competitiveness
	Migration and mobility of labour
12.30 pm	Lunch / actions at the Best Agers project fair
1.30 pm	Sixth session (plenary): Summaries of the working sessions – discussion - Mr Kurt Bodewig, Baltic Sea Forum
2.30 pm	Seventh session (plenary): Conclusion of the conference - Agreement on resolution - Closing of the conference (Mr Franz Thönnes, MP, Germany and Mr Jan Lundin, Director of the  Council of the Baltic Sea States Secretariat)
Conference cooperation partners: