LOTTI Interregional Meeting

The first LOTTI interregional meeting took place on the 6th & 7th of June, 2023 in Lahti, Finland. The event was open to all partners and their stakeholders. 

The Lead Partner opened the session by refreshing the attendee's minds on LOTTI's key concepts and purpose, namely that LOTTI aims to to enhance capacity of public authorities to design and implement policies that foster an innovative, sustainable and citizen-led transition driven by industrial tradition and identity. Project partners then heard local stories from Päijät-Häme regarding their identity and how this has evolved due to industrial change. Partners then broke into smaller groups for a learning café experience. Each partner had a regional introduction table and discussed the facts, figures and industrial characteristics which makes up their regional identity. Partners compared and contrasted with their own respective regional identities. 

A study visit was also organised, partners and stakeholders visited the sites of industrial production in the Food and Beverage industry and met with producers to understand how the sector and its role in the local community has changed. Partners also visited the Malva Lahti Museum of Visual Arts and received a guided tour to “Juuret” (“Roots”) exhibition. 

On the second day, partners tested their memories on what they had learned the day before about the consortium's regions in an engaging regional quiz based on partner stand rounds. They then discussed the workshop in 3 themes: what are the elements of

1. Local identity
2. Industrial transition
3. High-road competitiveness approach

The first steering committee meeting also took place. 

Overall, the event was highly successful, and partners looked forward to working together in the future to collaboratively engage citizens proactively to enhance industrial transition, re-create local identities that can encourage effective and attractive technological and non-technological innovation of traditional industrial contexts and connect local identity with the possibility for new jobs, businesses and entrepreneurial opportunities.