International Conference - Opportunities and Challenges on the Coast
21/22 June 2011

The conference focussed on major challenges and opportunities facing coastal communities and some of the issues covered were:

• sharing experiences and working together to find solutions,
• coastal town deprivation,
• lifelong learning and skills,
• ports and renewable energy,
• ways of tapping into European Union funding streams.

The event was also an opportunity to highlight Tendring on both a national and international level.

International Conference Full Agenda (pdf)

The conference was hosted by Tendring District Council (TDC), Essex County Council (ECC) and The Council of Europe and attended by top level officials from Russia, France, Turkey, Malta and the UK.

Bob Neill MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government was the keynote speaker.

Conference updates were available via Twitter

After a successful conference, Neil Stock, Leader of Tendring District Council, said that he was very proud that the Council has hosted its first international conference.

"It is also the first time that the Council of Europe, one of our hosting partners, have been involved in a conference in the UK," he said.

"I am very impressed with the connections we have been able to make through the conference and I am looking forward to that continuing."

Cllr Stock said that those attending have had the opportunity to discover how others coastal communities have tackled the issues that many areas face and made the most of the opportunities that are available to them.

"It has been a fantastic learning experience for us all," he added.

Presentations:

Day 1

• Cllr Kevin Bentley, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Waste and Recycling, Essex County Council
• Patrick Lambert, Director General, Environment and Services, Dunkirk, France
• Evgeny Mamichev, Deputy Mayor of Azov, Russian Federation
• George Kieffer, Chairman, East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Thurrock and Southend Local Enterprise Partnership
• Sarah Murray, Team Leader, East of England Brussels Office
• Workshop Notes

Day 2

• Ian Davidson, Chief Executive, Tendring District Council
• Sylvia Ivanova, Programme Manager, Directorate of Democratic Institutions, Council of Europe and John Jackson, Council of Europe Consultant
• Massimo Balducci, Professor of Public Management, University of Florence, Italy
• Ken Davey, Council of Europe Consultant
• Pierre Schreiber, Head of the European Mission, National Institute for Territorial Studies, France
• Andrew Hughes, Senior Manager, Local Productivity Programme, Local Government Group

Image Gallery:

Below: Left: Neil Stock, Leader of TDC opens Day 2. Right: Ian Davidson, Chief Executive of TDC speaks about the UK Local Enterprise Partnership model

Below left: Sylvia Ivanova, Programme Manager, Directorate of Democratic Institutions, Council of Europe speaking about The Council of Europe's work in promoting inter-municipal co-operation.

Below right: Massimo Balducci, Professor of Public Management, University of Florence, Italy speaking about recent developments in intermunicipal co-operation in Italy.

Below left: Pierre Schreiber, Head of the European Mission, National Institute for Territorial Studies, France, speaking about how to achieve good governance.

Below right: Andrew Hughes, Senior Manager, Local Productivity Programme, Local Government Group speaking about innovation and good governance.

Below: Neil Stock, Leader of TDC with Evgeny Mamichev Deputy Mayor of Azov and receiving books from authors.

Below: Council Leader Neil Stock (left) and President of the Congress of the Council of Europe, Keith Whitmore (right) being interviewed by Anglia TV

Below: Delegates from the Council of Europe with TDC Chief Executive, Ian Davidson, on stage at the Princes Theatre at the start of the conference.

Above: Bob Neill MP Left: TDC Leader Neil Stock Below left: Keith Whitmore. Centre: Daniel Popescu. Right: Evgeny Mamichev speaking at the conference

Below left: Kevin Bentley. Centre: Douglas Carswell. Right: George Keiffer

Left: Delegates at the top table

The conference was covered on Anglia Tonight and BBC Look East. See also BBC News item.