The Western Balkan Agenda advances efforts undertaken in the region and seeks to facilitate necessary socio-economic transformation processes, encouraging creative solutions to foster economic growth and stability across the region. It is fully aligned with President von der Leyen’s Commission priorities and its ambition for Europe to be a strong global actor, to lead the transition to a healthy planet and to a new digital world. The overall objectives of this Agenda are to: 1) Transform national research and innovation eco-systems in the region, 2) Stimulate a sustainable economy (post COVID-19), 3) Counteract climate change, 4) Nurture knowledge-based societies, 5) Enhance quality of education and training, 6) Boost human capital development and encourage citizens engagement, 7) Improve mobility, connectivity, and brain circulation; 8) Create prosperous Western Balkans inside Europe, 9) Foster regional cooperation. 

Smart Specialisation represents the approach that has the capacity to support reaching these objectives. Therefore, the panels will include reflections on the advancements and success stories from the Smart Specialisation processes of the Western Balkan economies that highlight the achievements that help meeting the goals of the Western Balkan Agenda. Particular emphasis will be given on promoting potential collaborations in innovation priorities across the Western Balkan region by enabling a discussion between the Smart Specialisation teams of all economies from the region. 

The event will be also used to showcase the progress made by North Macedonia in the Smart Specialisation process. North Macedonia is one of the countries that demonstrated strong recent advancement in the process of identifying priority areas for Smart Specialisation and is the host country of the conference.

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