Strong Commitment by Nordic and Baltic Partners

Governmental representatives from the Nordic and Baltic countries expressed their strong commitment to strengthen their successful partnership by supporting the work of the Congress Organising Committee and the Congress Secretariat at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). The participants stated that hosting the IUFRO World Congress offers a lifetime-opportunity to showcase the Nordic region and highlight the unique Nordic and Baltic partnership.

High-level meeting with Nordic and Baltic partners

Vice-Chancellor Maria Knutson Wedel invited the co-organising partner countries to a high-level meeting at SLU in Uppsala to discuss possible contributions to the IUFRO World Congress 2024 and comment on the expected impact and legacy of the congress. The Director Fredrik Ingemarson presented the model for a shared contribution. The country delegates shared their views on the expected outcome and discussed in which way they could assist to ensure that the congress and associated excursions to all the partner countries would be a great success.

Representatives from governmental offices and the Congress Organising Committee

All the Nordic and Baltic co-hosting partner countries are represented by delegates from IUFRO member organisations in the Congress Organising Committee (COC). For the first time, the COC, representatives from the governmental offices met with IUFRO president John Parrotta and members from IUFRO Head Quarters and IUFRO 2024 secretariat. High-level participants included representatives from the Ministry of Environment in Estonia, Lithuania and Denmark; the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food; the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Finland; and the Swedish Ministry of Rural Affairs and Infrastructure. The Nordic Council of Ministers was represented as well and expressed a strong support for the IUFRO World Congress 2024. Governments from Latvia and Iceland could not participate at the meeting, but they have invited SLU to bilateral discussions regarding possible contributions and support for the IUFRO World Congress. Both countries are already represented in the COC.

Key messages

The IUFRO World Congress provides an important opportunity to present the rich and diverse forest landscapes of the Nordic and Baltic countries, including world leading research, and a vast variety of cultures, stakeholders and industries. Organising the World Congress together with several different partner countries is a unique and special situation, as stated by the IUFRO president. The main message from the meeting was that the Nordic and Baltic partners are ready to use this opportunity to co-create the most successful IUFRO World Congress ever.