30 historic pictures of cooperation

According to one saying, time passes quickly when you are having fun. We at Interreg Europe can say that time just flies by! We have had a lot of fun since the start of the cooperation among regions from all corners of Europe all those years ago.

Let's celebrate 30 years of Interreg. Take a journey with us through 30 photographs capturing the work and fun behind interregional cooperation.

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	2003: The life in the programme secretariat in Lille was just beginning. The programme supported regions in the Western part of Europe at that time. Coordination meetings were organised between the offices of four zones.		2007: 'Ages' ago, applications came in paper. Now applicants submit applications online and later on approved project partners continue to report online. It saves time, money and trees!
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	2007: Joint Secretariat is on a tour, this time in the Netherlands. The programme always aimed to be as close as possible to the relevant target groups.		2011: Good old networking with an innovative tool during a partner search event in Hungary. Now we have networking available to you at any time through our community at 'My Interreg Europe'.
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	2012: We turned our projects' achievements into an interactive exhibition and sent it around Europe. Its stands presented videos on demand, electronic publications, and objects to touch, such as seeds and grains, illustrating the projects.		2012: Our events have always attracted large numbers of participants. We have been often pleased by the presence of our Commissioners at the events.
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	2012: At Interreg Europe events is always challenging as we are creative and try various interactive methods.		2012: Our project GRaBS wins the RegioStars Award for outstanding regional policy projects. The award confirmed that interregional cooperation leads excellent results for the participating regions, not only to those working on green and
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	2013: #Europecooperates in Bologna. It was our largest networking event so far. Close to 800 participants came. And the tradition of 'Europe, let's cooperate!' events has started.		2013: The first time we went hybrid! Not with a car engine, but with the Bologna networking event - first time online as well as in person. Over 1,300 people joined online.
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	2014: One programming period turns into another. With more achievements to present, what better way to do it than in an aggregate infografic at #EURegionsWeek!		2014: Presenting capitalisation results. Now we have the Policy Learning Platform. A team of experts dive into the projects' work and good practices in our four topics in order to provide tailor-made advice and services to any public authority looking for inspiring solutions.
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	2014: We are closely cooperating with other pan-European cooperation programmes - ESPON, Interact and URBACT. Every year we offer a joint workshop at the #EURegionsWeek.		2014: Starting to build our online community. Now more than 19.000 people are members and benefited from our services in the last years.
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	2014: We enter social media and create accounts @InterregEurope. The buzz gets ever louder on all the channels where we have been present since.		2015: Networking is at the core of all our events and activities. Being part of our online community, everyone can look for relevant contacts.
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	2015: Erwin Siweris becomes the new director of the programme, replacing retiring Michel Lamblin. The programme goes through a smooth transition.		2016: A truly European team in the secretariat takes care that all projects deliver on their objectives. People with 13 nationalities work in Lille.
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	2016: Interregional cooperation projects attract people from all corners of Europe in their search for inspiration and regional policy solutions. They come to our events from all Partner States. Great place to exchange!		2016: Our support to lead applicants, lead partners, and points of contact extends beyond in-person meetings. We organise and record our first webinars. And leave their content online, available to all 24/7.
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	2017: We provide access to our good practices through a searchable database. Identified by our cooperation projects and validated by the Platform experts, the practices are for all to use. There are over 2.000 now.		2017: Our Monitoring Committee members represent 27 EU states, Norway, Switzerland and the UK. They are taking decisions on the management of the programme and meet several times each year.
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	2018: The Platform team is picking up steam and developing new formats of policy learning at matchmaking sessions. A 2-hour session digs deep into a regional challenge to come up with relevant solutions and recommendations.		2018: Green thinking and environmental sustainability have always been on our agenda. Our events have become paperless, we use recycled furniture, order slow food and encourage participants to make their trip as environmentally friendly.
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	2018: Briefing at the Committee of the Regions on the core #policylearning services: expert support, community, knowledge hub and good practice database.		2019: We turn our first results into videos and invite people to go with us through a web documentary which shows how regions find solutions when people work together. Films from our four topics can inspire all.
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	2019: We took a nice spot in the #EURegionsWeek Agora exhibition. Our stand became a place for discussions about the benefits of interregional cooperation, as every year.		2020: COVID-19 takes everyone by surprise. Our team switches to work from home. Yet all services continue to be provided to our projects in high quality.
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	2020: COVID-19 restrictions influence the organisation of our monitoring and programming committees. Thanks to the flexible committee members, transition to online formats happens smoothly.		2020: Despite coronavirus, it was time to bring the programme's results to light and celebrate 30 years of Interreg. We did it with a publication presenting 30 projects' success stories.