Presidential programme final conference

On 28 January 2022 the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities organised the final conference of the Presidential programme, one of the programmes that is studied in the RE:Barents project. Due to Covid restrictions the event was organised in a digital fashion. About 70 participants, mostly previous participants in the programme, could listen to presentations about the history of the programme and personal accounts of experiences during internships in Norway and Russia. Elita Cakule (photo) and Christian Larsen (KS/RE:Barents participants) gave a presentation of the Presidential programme, and Aadne Aasland (OsloMet/RE:Barents project leader) presented the plans for the final assessment of the programme.

RE:Barents presented at Nordområdekonferansen

At Nordområdekonferansen, organised by the Norwegian Health and Care Ministry 6-7 December in Oslo (Radisson Nydalen), Aadne Aasland presented the RE:Barents project to those who have received funding for health collaboration with Russia from the Ministry’s grant scheme. Aasland also used the opportunity to present the plans for the evaluation of this grant scheme which NIBR will undertake in collaboration with RE:Barents partners NORCE and Luzin during the next few months.

Photo: Colourbox.no

Re:Barents kick-off workshop

The Re:Barents project had its kick-off workshop on 28 May 2021. Team members from all partner institutions were present. Participants were welcomed by NIBR Institute Director Geir Heierstad, Research Director Kristian Rose Tronstad and Project leader Aadne Aasland. Both project researchers and non-academic partner institutions expressed great commitment to the project and emphasised the importance of policy relevance, both for the partner institutions involved, but also for further development of the future collaboration between Norway and Russia on health and social welfare. The participants discussed theory, methodology and dissemination, division of tasks and responsibilities, and administrative procedures, including ethics. An important discussion concerned the selection of cases for in-depth study; a preliminary selection of cases has now been made. Team members expressed the wish to keep in close contact with key stakeholders both in Norway and Russia during the implementation of the project.

9 out of 12 team members captured at the end of the workshop: