First Stakeholder Meeting in Lazdijai District Municipality
In February 2025, the first EDIN stakeholders meeting organized by Lazdijai District Municipality Administration took place.
The meeting, held on February 4, 2025, was attended by four main stakeholders, including representatives of the public institution "Lazdijai Tourism Information Center", Alytus Regional Development Council Administration, Alytus STEAM Open Access Center and the public institution Lazdijai Cultural Center.
Gediminas Giedraitis, a representative of the Lazdijai District Municipality Administration, informed the participants about the purpose and benefits of participating in the Interreg Europe project "European digital nomads" (project abbreviation - EDIN): The municipality will have the opportunity, together with its partners, to use the international experiences of the partners to create a model and utilize instruments and new social policies to attract digital nomads to the region. Attracting such specialists is a new opportunity to implement the local government development strategy, partially counteracting the trend of decreasing entrepreneurial, intellectual, and creative workforce, which is a challenge for rural and peripheral areas, thus reducing the growing regional disparities.
The project's latest news and activities were also presented. Gediminas shared information about a study visit to Norway and the business co-working spaces that were visited, which are well-suited for digital nomads to work in.
Vita Petkevičiūtė-Siliūnienė, the expert from the Alytus Regional Development Council Administration, presented five business co-working space installation projects being prepared and launched in each municipality of the Alytus region, as part of the implementation of the 2024–2029 Alytus Region Functional Zone Strategy.
Eglė Kubilienė, Director of the public institution "Lazdijai Tourism Information Center," emphasized the importance of highlighting the appeal of the tourist-friendly, eco-regional aspects in order to attract digital nomads to come and work in the region.
Valė Zdanavičienė, Head of Alytus STEAM Open Access Center, informed about the planned investments by her institution, which involve creating a business hub in the city of Alytus.
Alina Norkūnienė, the cultural project manager of the Lazdijai Cultural Center, shared observations about the need and benefits of creating an artist residency model.
This stakeholder meeting was an important step in promoting regional collaboration among participants, with the shared goal of attracting more digital nomads to the region. The next meetings are planned for March-April.