Success stories

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

The experience exchange project between Latvia's Court Administration and its Icelandic and Finnish counterparts has crucially advanced the modernization of Latvia's judicial system. Gaining insights into digital court systems and e-service platforms from these countries, Latvia is now better equipped to enhance its digital capabilities, leading to more efficient case management, improved public access, and streamlined processes. The project also underscored the benefits of centralizing administrative functions, particularly in justice system accounting and IT, suggesting paths towards improved operational efficiency and service quality.
Additionally, the project offered a comparative perspective on judge selection processes, providing ideas to improve Latvia's selection criteria to continue ensuring competent judiciary. Learning from the challenges and successes of Iceland and Finland prepares Latvia to effectively manage similar situations, fostering a more resilient Court Administration.
The initiative has opened avenues for ongoing international collaboration and knowledge exchange, essential for keeping up with global judicial trends and innovations. These interactions, combined with the gained insights, are vital for shaping Latvia's judicial policies and strategic planning, aiming to enhance the system's effectiveness and responsiveness.
Participation in this project has also positively impacted team morale and professional development, fostering innovative thinking and contributing to the team’s growth. Overall, this project has provided Latvia's Court Administration with invaluable strategies and knowledge, paving the way for a more efficient, transparent, and modern judicial system, integrating operational improvements with strategic planning and policy development.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

The project between Latvia's Court Administration and its Nordic-Baltic counterparts in Iceland and Finland significantly benefited Nordic-Baltic cooperation. It enhanced regional collaboration by demonstrating the effectiveness of shared judicial initiatives. Through high-level exchanges and discussions, the project showcased a strong commitment to intergovernmental cooperation, setting a precedent for future collaborative efforts in the region. The exchange of best practices, particularly in digitalization, judicial processes, and administrative functions, provided valuable insights and strategies. These interactions not only enriched the participating nations but also set a model for how cross-border collaboration can lead to the advancement of public administration standards. The project's focus on harmonizing operational standards and procedures across the Nordic-Baltic region has been instrumental in creating more consistent and efficient judicial systems. Additionally, the initiative fostered cross-sectoral cooperation, bringing together a diverse group of experts and stakeholders. This multidisciplinary approach ensured a comprehensive understanding of various judicial practices, thereby enhancing the overall impact of the project. Overall, the initiative strengthened Nordic-Baltic ties, contributing significantly to the region's collaborative efforts and the continuous improvement of its judicial systems.

References in the media

With in the project Court Administration published a press release on Administrations of the official website of Court Administration of Republic of Latvia that details collaborative project between Latvia and its Nordic-Baltic counterparts, in Iceland and Finland. This article highlighted the project's achievements and its alignment with the key success indicators, showcasing the strength and benefits of regional cooperation in the judicial domain.
https://www.ta.gov.lv/lv/jaunums/tiesu-administracijas-ekspertu-pieredzes-apmainas-vizite-islande-un-somija

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

The mobility project involving the Court Administration of Latvia with counterparts in Iceland and Finland offered crucial insights, particularly in the area of digitalization of judicial systems. The Latvian delegation gained practical knowledge by observing the advanced digital court systems in both countries. In Iceland, the focus was on how their judicial system efficiently integrates technology, enhancing case processing and information accessibility. Meanwhile, in Finland, the delegation explored e-services platforms that enable online legal processes, thereby improving public access to justice.
The project highlighted the efficiency and consistency benefits of centralizing IT services, a strategy successfully implemented in both Iceland and Finland. This approach enhances operational efficiency and ensures uniform quality in service delivery. The experience emphasized the importance of transparency, efficiency, and accessibility in judicial systems and the critical role of technology in supporting these values. Moreover, it underlined the significance of international collaboration and knowledge sharing.
In essence, the learnings from Iceland and Finland in digitalizing their judicial systems provide a valuable roadmap for the future development of Latvia's judicial administration, showcasing effective practices in integrating technology in the justice sector.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Public Administration fully met our expectations. It facilitated valuable knowledge exchange and fostered significant regional cooperation. The insights gained from the visits to Iceland and Finland's judicial systems were particularly enlightening, offering practical models for digitalization and judicial process improvement. The program also encouraged cross-border collaboration and understanding, enhancing our administrative capabilities. It was an exemplary platform for learning, sharing experiences, and adapting best practices, significantly contributing to the development of our public administration. Overall, the program's impact was profound, exceeding our initial expectations in both scope and depth of learning.

Contact: Ralfs Rusins , project manager of the project " Centralization of judicial administration procedures in the Nordic countries"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

Our organisation received practical information from Reykjavik and Copenhagen relating to communication, different infrastructure solutions, and confirmation that similar problems have similar solutions in general. Even though Tallinn has not invested into sustainable mobility that much before, we also were happy to know that our ideas for new solutions are mainly the same as other participant organisations. Our delegation got to try out different modes of transport on different infrastructure and so they are more knowledgeable of different possible solutions in our local projects. Lessons in communication has given our organisation understanding that the process is longer and needs more thought throughout to overcome misunderstandings and confrontation.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

The participant organisations have created new connection between each other. Also, we looked for an additional organisation to have a meeting with (Copenhagen municipality). During the project we have agreed that we can contact other participants when we have additional questions, or we need an additional look at the project. Therefore, we are able to implement international point of view onto our infrastructure.
Furthermore, we are going to share the e-scooter pilot project results. We are more than happy to help Reykjavik with implementing similar projects of e-scooter’s parking area regulations and process.

References in the media

Movia representatives posted information regarding our meeting in LinkedIn and gained some attention among local colleagues. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jens-toudal-0635457_in-tallinn-fare-free-public-transport-changed-activity-7122953544327909376-vdXl?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop )

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

1) Experience on proper bicycle paths and junctions
2) Contacts for consulting in the future
3) Additional public transport planning principles
4) Communication value and importance in different processes
5) Implementing experiences in Tallinn

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

Programme enables to make study trips that are not always possible in your own organisation due to financial capabilities. Nordic mobility and traffic safety solutions have been an example for Baltic region a long time and it is a good measure to organise the study trips and inspect the solutions there.

Contact: Erki-Henri Meerbach, project manager of the project "Experience exchange on best practices in traffic management, transport development and adopting intelligent transport systems to support public transport"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

Increased knowledge transfer for mutual benefit on all administrative levels and increased network cooperation in politically prioritized areas should be mentioned. Our experts were able to gain important skills and experience that can be applied in the future. Also, it should be noted that international cooperation allows our organization to grow. Apart from that, our experts shared Lithuanian experience with the colleagues in Norway and Sweden, thus also boosting the international cooperation between the institutions allowing to share the good practices and thus to discuss them and probably to apply some developments in the future. One also have to consider that particularly UAVs regulations is still a new topic with the developing agenda, consequently, the visit enables share of experience and good practices for both sides.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

With this cooperation, participating institutions expanded involvement in the Nord-Baltic cooperation and also provided a platform for further cooperation between experts and initiatives for spin-off projects and mutual bilateral work. It gained a practical dimension: for example, following our experts' visit to Sweden, together with Swedish colleagues, it was decided to cooperate in the future as well as Swedish colleagues currently are interested in a visit to Lithuania.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

It was useful for both my personal skills and the home organization. Concerning my personal skills, since I am quite new at the organization, it was a great opportunity to boost the project, to coordinate the study agenda and to represent my own institution. Also, learning how the administration runs in the institutions in Norway and Sweden allows me to consider what developments could be applied to our institutions as well. Concerning the home organization, it was valuable to learn and share the experience from the colleagues in Nordic countries, to boost cooperation with the representatives of Norway and Sweden, also to consider them in our future initiatives as very likely partners.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

Overall, it is a great platform to make contacts with the colleagues from Nordic countries, to learn their good practices and also share our experience with them. The combination of these factors result in fruitful cooperation allowing to improve the knowledge and to consider the application of good practices into our system and improve the standards of administrative level and apply some practical developments as well.

Contact: Šarūnas Rinkevičius, project manager of the project "Strengthening skills and knowledge in the field of civil aviation: implementation of European legislation in the context of UAVs, market surveillance, ensuring safety in aviation and protection of passengers' rights"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

Our institution is a regulatory body responsible for ensuring patient safety and quality of healthcare services through regulatory mechanisms. The project made it possible to visit the National supervisory institutions of the three Nordic countries and learn about their functions, mandates, and methods they use to ensure patient safety and the quality of healthcare services provided. The functions of the three institutions are rather similar though slightly differs because of differences in the healthcare systems we were shortly introduced into too.
Especially useful was the possibility of learning about the preventive supervisory work experience of these institutions and the development of new methods of supervision improving their effectiveness and efficiency. Preventive supervisory work in our country is rather slight and we will introduce their best practice to proactively supervise healthcare providers to assure safe and quality healthcare services.
As the healthcare supervisory institutions of the Nordic countries gather various and detailed data related to care quality and safety the analysis of the previously gathered data serves as a base of their planned supervisory activities. This analytic work is new to us and we intend to introduce it as one of our institution's functions.
During the visits, we have the possibility to share our experience with the host institutions on the issues that are important for all countries - ensuring the safety and quality of healthcare and discussing how to further develop the framework for quality improvement and patient safety.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

We have made new contacts in the countries visited and agreed to share our problems and achievments when needed in the future. The further collaboration of healthcare supervisory institutions of the Nordic countries might be through EPSO: European Partnership for Supervisory Organisations in Health Services and Social Care which members are some of our host institutions.

References in the media

The project was shortly presented on the website of the State Accreditation Authority for Health Care
Naujienos - Valstybinė akreditavimo sveikatos priežiūros veiklai tarnyba prie Sveikatos apsaugos ministerijos (lrv.lt)

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

Especially valuable was the experience of the countries in analysis of data gathered enabling to foresee the planned supervision as a preventive supervisory work and their continuous efforts to improve effectiveness and efficiency of supervision methods. We intend to use their best practice in our institution.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

It was easy to submit the project due to very clear and understandable guidelines. All questions were answered by the programme manager without delay. The programme met all our expectations. The host institutions kindly suggested to discuss the planned agenda of the visit and thus the most important issues for us were included into agenda and were discussed during the visit. The knowledge acquired during the project will help us to improve activities of our institution.

Contact: Palmira Morkuniene, project manager of the project "Study visit to exchange experiences on surveillance of quality and safety of health care."

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

Project increased knowledge of participants about good management principles and good practices in the field of tourism and project management.
It improved the development of the tourism industry and the generation of new ideas in connection
with the cultural-historical and industrial heritage, as well as management of such projects as improving the energy efficiency of cultural and historical buildings, development of tourism infrastructure, development of natural and sustainable tourism. Excange included good and bad experiences, problem situations and possible solvings what created great place for common ideas for solving them.
As a result of the project, successful experience was gained for improving the organization's work with tourism entrepreneurs. In both countries of mobility, tourism organizations shared their experience on the co-payments of tourism entrepreneurs for the development of the industry in general in the given region. This example has development potential in Gulbene district and Latvian municipalities in general.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

Cooperation with Denmark and Norway municipality employees will be continued in other EU projects about common topics - industrial and cultural heritage, green railways, help and developement of small local tourism business, for examples the necessity of creating tourism clusters, as well as sharing real experience about the administration of the system of co-payments by tourism entrepreneurs, positive activities and problems at the stage of system implementation.

References in the media

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02Z8AbNrSM3J3ku4A7JmqzGiCR54aaJoq5j7uVqfQyjUJ6XB2njjSDARyVQEaBts4cl&id=100063776071092

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02yi1jGtFsqKbPiGjpG6Q9WLepVVZeyp74WgmmJxghM9j6QNLjLb9xHCg9rtDBtRBAl&id=100063776071092

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0FP5cgLUCSyfcwcmhWp7sCTHCTRdXnLPdUVvXLBdzUbkEDyEXsfgashbi3GyVP8kAl&id=100063776071092

https://www.visitgulbene.lv/lv/jaunumi/dalas-pieredze-un-zinasanas-ar-ziemelvalstu-kolegiem

https://www.gulbene.lv/lv/jaunums/dalas-pieredze-un-zinasanas-ar-ziemelvalstu-kolegiem

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

The mobility project provided professional experience in the development of the tourism industry, examples of cooperation with tourism entrepreneurs and project management related to cultural-historical, industrial heritage, energy efficiency, tourism infrastructure and sustainable tourism. The experience gained in the development of rural areas can be transferred to the promotion of the overall economic development of the Gulbene region, since the chosen project partners had a similar geographical location compared to the distance from the capital. One of the most important values ​​gained during mobility is the established new contacts with industry specialists, which allows to plan new joint projects in the future, both in the exchange of experience and in the development of the industry.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The mobility program fully met the planned results. Specialists of the municipality of Gulbene region from the fields of tourism and project management took part in the mobilities. Each participant gained useful professional experience and valuable personal impressions.

Contact: Egita Podniece, project manager of the project "Cooperation and knowledge transfer for good cultural, industrial heritage and project management development"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

The project benefited the Estonian Prosecutor's Office in the form of an opportunity to learn about organizations in the Nordic countries that deal with intimate partner violence, crimes against minors and victim assistance and procedures.
Participation in conferences made it possible to learn about modern practice and research directions, which have been carried out mainly in the Nordic countries, but also in Great Britain and other countries.
The project was definitely useful, as it was possible to get a so-called two-in-one package. Meetings of institutions and sharing of experiences in a small circle enabled direct communication and getting to know the topics and questions that interested the participants. But also the conference, where you could listen to a lot of different presentations and see the work and research of other countries. In a short time, it is not possible to get so much up to date information about special countries in a compact way.
Cooperation with other institutions and a point of comparison, how we can learn from other countries' experiences and mistakes, are definitely beneficial factors. Estonia is still in its infancy in many areas, which is why the experience of other countries is useful and the opportunity to move even faster if you know where not to go wrong or what to observe in order to avoid mistakes. Once again, Estonia has the privilege of being a small country, which is why we can transfer the experience among our own countries that much faster.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

The project improved the connections between the Nordic countries and Estonia and created direct contacts between specialists who deal with priority areas such as sexual crime against minors, victim protection and intimate partner violence.
During the project, we also raised awareness of the Baltic countries by sharing the Estonian experience at meetings. At the meetings, we exchanged information in the investigation of criminal proceedings against children and intimate partner violence and shared the best practices that the representatives of the countries that participated in the meeting had to offer.
The cooperation of the North Baltic countries can always benefit if the countries share experiences, are more efficient together and think of better opportunities together. It is important that countries cooperate with each other, share knowledge, experience and ideas. Gaining common experiences and getting to know each other increases the sense of unity and awareness of progress, and thus the development of the entire region. It also means that there are so-called contact persons through whom cooperation can be continued and development can be done together, if necessary.

References in the media

There are no knowledge of media attention.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

The project made possible to establish new contacts with institutions that deal with important activities for the prosecutor's office, such as supporting victims, collecting evidence for criminal proceedings. The up-to-date information and experience gained from the conferences and everything that can bring new practice and way of thinking to your work was very valuable.
Each participant definitely gained personal valuable experience from the activities that took place during the program, but also as a whole, the opportunity to meet organizations from other countries and hear their experiences and work organization brought new thoughts.
The value that was experienced and to take away from the meeting is the attitude towards children and their care. It is realized that dealing with problems early on with less invasive methods helps to prevent bigger problems in the future. This is definitely a value worth adopting, strong prevention will prevent irreversible problems later.
In cases of intimate partner violence, in addition to punishing the perpetrator, it is also necessary to ensure that he is able to cope without using violence in the future. We need to be aware of the wider impact of intimate partner violence, not only on the victim and other relatives, but also on the wider circle, find ways to provide support and provide knowledge so that they can ask for and seek help if necessary.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The program met expectations, as it allowed eight employees of the organization to gain experience in a foreign country and get acquainted with new knowledge in the field. The goals of the project, which were to promote the exchange of experience on best practices, crosssectoral cooperation and capacity building and also exchange of specialist contacts, were achieved. Direct meetings and discussions provide a better foundation for future cooperation. The conference programs were very comprehensive and exciting. There were many topics and everyone was able to choose interesting topics to listen to. Without such a program, the development of cooperation in this way would certainly be difficult.

Contact: Kristine Tamm, project manager of the project "Study visit to Norway and Iceland in the field of domestic violence, sexual abuse, crimes by and against minors"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

This project was very much needed, as it provided us inspiration and new ideas how to advance equality in Estonia. It will have direct impact on Commissioner's office 2024 work plan. For example, we have taken inspiration from Finland on their work to advance equality in schools and from Iceland on their work with social media campaign.

After the study visits, we have invited the representative from Iceland to Commissioner's annual conference on gender equality, equal treatment and green transition, which they accepted.

Additionally, we invited the Finnish representatives from ombudspersons, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Social Affairs to Estonia for a study visit. All of the above-mentioned organisations took the idea on board.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

As mentioned above, there have been direct impacts, such as:
1. Invitation of Jafnrettisstofa representative to Commissioner's conference on 24 October 2023 to present the project "Gender Equality in the Arctic Region";
2. Sharing of contacts and good practices on AI and equality (one of the key topics for Estonia for coming years);
3. Finland's representatives have agreed to come for study visit to Estonia in 2024;
4. University of Iceland equality officer is now in direct contact with Tallinn University equality ombudsperson (a contact that we facilitated in order to enhance cooperation between universities);
5. We will use much of the information from Helsinki City meeting at our Gender Equality, Equal Treatment in Green Deal conference to encourage City of Tallinn to adopt equality plans

References in the media

We posted about the study visit to Iceland on our Facebook site.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

We discussed extensively on the issue of women's rights vs trans rights. I believe this solidified our approach to the topic.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

It did. It really helped us to build networks and cooperation.

Contact: Christian Veske, project manager of the project "Enhancing cooperation between Nordic and Baltic public sector on gender equality and equal treatment“"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

From the meetings with Swedish and Finnish colleagues, Lithuanian researchers brought home a wide spectrum of experiences about the methods and models of parliamentary research. Both research units of Riksdag and Eduskunta proved to have very strong pillars of legal and economic analysis, the practices of which were discussed in a very detailed manner with Lithuanian researchers. These discussions clearly revealed spheres where the Research Unit of the Lithuanian Seimas could improve. For example, both Swedish and Finnish colleagues have very important contributions in the sphere of economic analysis, including the functions of the Parliamentary Budget Office, shadow budget modeling, and taxation simulations. To improve its economic analysis capabilities, parliamentary research in Lithuania should create a strategy for attracting more highly qualified professionals in economics. Another sphere with a space for improvement is communication with a client. We learned that Lithuanian parliamentary research should move from a more request-answer-oriented culture to more client-researcher-oriented communication, with an emphasis on improved dialogue with an MP or other person requesting an analytical product. Lithuanian researchers also learned of the importance of more focused analyses, which emphasize specific issues rather than general matters. Finally, we brought home a strong understanding that we live in a constantly evolving world in which parliamentary research has to constantly adapt to new technologies, such as AI, which creates both new challenges and opportunities.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

During the project implementation, Lithuanian parliamentary researchers visited their counterparts at the Swedish and Finnish parliaments and, as a result, exchanged contacts and verbally agreed to continue communication on any relevant professional questions. Thus, informal Lithuanian-Swedish and Lithuanian-Finnish parliamentary communication channels were created. These channels could be used in the future to exchange experiences and improve parliamentary research services in the Lithuanian, Swedish, and Finnish parliaments.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for personal skills

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

Mobility program allowed us to improve communication skills, organizational skills, analytical skills, networking.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

Yes it has. We brought home a wide spectrum of useful experiences, which we shared with our colleagues .

Contact: Selija Levin , project manager of the project "Knowledge transfer and experience exchange between national parliamentary research services "

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

The representatives of the Communication department got acquainted with the theoretical and practical aspects of solving various communication issues. It was especially valuable to visit Ukrainian refugee accommodation centers, to see their work organization in practice with refugees - people who need a special approach.

According to gained knowledge and shared presentations, experts from the Ministry of the Interior of Latvia are going to implement practically new mid-term communication strategy.
The project experience also will improve professional skills and capacity.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

In 2023 Latvia started cooperation coordination between the Baltic states and the Nordic countries (Nordic–Baltic Eight, NB8) – Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden. The close cooperation between the Baltic states and the Nordic countries, which was established in the early 1990s, is based on common values ​​and political and economic interests. Russia's brutal war in Ukraine has shaken the foundations of the European security architecture and directly affects the security of the region. Therefore, the coordination of cooperation between the NB8 countries has become even more important than ever before.
As communication experts from Latvia who participated in the project are directly acting in home affairs sector and internal security is one of the priorities of Latvia and the whole Europe, the benefit from the project is based on new established partnership among Nordic countries and Latvia.
The improvement and fulfilment of professional skills, as well as, knowledge of the communication experts from Latvia also could be considered as benefit to Nordic-Baltic cooperation, because in future this knowledge and improved professional skills will be applied in other Nordic – Baltic cooperation projects.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

Accommodation of Ukrainian refugees, best practices, crisis communication algorithm, joint understanding of communication.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Public Administration exceeded our expectations.

Contact: Gunita Kogane, project manager of the project "Exchange of knowledge, experience and practice in the field of communication from institutions related to the field of home affairs in Denmark and Norway, taking into account the geopolitical challenges of the world today"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

The recieved experience will make mutual trust betwen involwed professionals for the future
cooperation. The judges of both countries showed interest in the possibilities to visit Latvia to get acquainted with the organization of court work in order to develop mutual cooperation.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

During the visit judges of Riga Regional Court have been introduced with the tools used by their Icelandic and Norwegian counterparts to improve the quality and efficiency of the work of judges, as well as the resources available, in order to speed up proceedings of complex civil and economic crimes, which are also relevant in Latvia.

References in the media

Yes, there was a press releases about both of the visit in Norway and Iceland:
1) https://tiesas.lv/aktualitates/rigas-apgabaltiesas-tiesnesi-darba-vizite-norvegija-iepazinusies-ar-tiesu-digitalizacijas-risinajumi-12052

2) https://twitter.com/rigastiesa/status/1653368954532896770?s=20

3) https://tiesas.lv/aktualitates/rigas-apgabaltiesas-tiesneses-darba-vizite-islande-iepazinusas-ar-tiesu-darba-efektivizacijas-risina-12077

4) https://twitter.com/rigastiesa/status/1662081024707231747?s=20

5) https://www.haestirettur.is/haestirettur/frettir/frett/2023/05/17/Heimsokn-fra-Afryjunardomstol-Riga/

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

There is valuable example in Norwegian courts, where the possibility for the appellate instance to refer the case to the court of first instance, if violations have been committed, incl. not all evidence has been evaluated and also the possibility to create a working version of the electronic case file for the judge.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

It is very important to cooperate with another courts in Nordic countries, because Latvia now is
in process of digitalisation of cases and improving the e-case and experience of collegues in neighbouring countries helps make the right decisions, for example to establish guidelines in Latvia about writing language in the judgements e.c.

Contact: Raimonds Ločmelis, project manager of the project "People-centred justice solutions"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

The Association of Local Authorities of Pärnumaa with the Union of Harju County, together with the heads and specialists of the municipalities were the target group for the study visit as they are responsible for the preparation of community resilience, safety and emergency preparedness, including planning of civil protection issues. This is a new challenge for municipalities and county. The local governments benefitted from the project, as their community resilience, safety and emergency preparedness are highly actual on changing world. How public health and safety councils and crisis committees work in municipalities is the key factor on preparedness. This projects gave the possibility to see the best practice about above mentioned issues and use it now in municipalities. We got better management skills and more efficient working methods.
The first meeting about above mentioned themes and co-operation in Pärnu County took place already on 19th of September. The Association invited police and rescue service etc to start to make new plans for the crisis management.
Additional to international and cross-border cooperation, the study tour will also enhanced cooperation between institutions in Estonia, created networks, and provided exchange of information.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

Nordic experience and the best practise is used to have the better crisis management skills with the public health and safety system in Pärnumaa. Local governments are responsible for community resilience, safety (volunteer fire brigades, sea SAR) and emergency preparedness, which are highly actual on changing world. How public health and safety councils and crisis committees work in municipalities is the key factor on preparedness. Therefore the knowledge on all levels and increased cross-sectoral cooperation is the guarantee of the project's positive outcome. Also, to facilitate the harmonisation of more efficient working methods of the public sector afterwards is needed.

References in the media

https://parnukobar.ee/uudised/parnumaa-ja-harjumaa-omavalitsuste-esindajad-kulas-islandil-ja-faari-saartel/ (the same information in FB as well).

https://www.eysturkommuna.fo/vitjan-ur-estlandi/

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0355Sj4EFKPLLfrL8qom4TnECzimLgzk5qMMePKvy7v84uUxzqKsosrxVeo6LHe4SKl&id=100055188827195&mibextid=CHbtyg

Presentations (access sent/allowed to Mr Madis Kanarbik)
https://pmak-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/kersti_parnumaa_ee/Er2YShohWPlCn2Vv23agflcB4rdcmPty77_lF0q0GWdHrQ?e=0GAiGd

There are also going to be articles in 2 local newspapers in Harju county.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

The first meeting about crisis management in Pärnu County took place already on 19th of September. The Association invited police and rescue service etc to start to make new plans and strategies for the crisis management. The knowledge gained through the mobility project is used as the bases.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

Yes, a lot. Especially due to practical visits to the actual places.

Contact: Kersti Liiva, project manager of the project "The crisis management’s best practice from Nordic – study trip for Harju and Pärnu county’s local municipalities"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

The main objectives of the project was to establish new contacts and create a collaboration between Jönköping Municipality, Sweden and Kaunas City Municipality, Lithuania as well as deepen the collaboration with our current partner Lääne-Viru County, Estonia. Another aim was to look at best practice in the field of sustainability at the local level in order to exchange knowledge and experiences about the implementation of the SDG's from various aspect of the work in a municipality.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

As a result of our planned visit in Estonia, our partner Lääne-Viru also applied for a NB8 project and came to visit Jönköping municipality in March. They had a different focus of interest and we organised a 3 day schedule including several meetings and visits for them. They could meet many new contacts and we hope to find some common interest to apply for joint projects in the future.

The project has reached the objectives of the program in terms of promoting knowledge transfer for mutual benefit within different sector areas on all administrative levels. It has allowed us to exchange on best practices in respect of public administration and facilitation of harmonisation of standards
facilitation of joint Nordic-Baltic utilisation of different EU funds and project financing.

References in the media

The project was mentionned in the municipality newsletter for international relations and the participants had to present their experience and study visits to their departments. Participants also used their personal social media to share their experience. This internal promotion created an increased interest for the NB8 program but also for the exchange with our close neighbours of the Baltics.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

Examples of good practices in several areas we also work with. Contacts and network for further follow-up in certain areas we were interested into cooperating further. Inspiration and sustainable solutions to some challenges we also have in common. We were also able to visit several public authorities from various level of administration which was also very beneficial.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The Program has met our expectations and we have strengthen our cooperation in Estonia and we have established new contacts in Lithuania thanks to the program and visits conducted. It has also contributed to increase our professional competences for the participants. We have also shared this new gained knowledge within our organisations at meetings or other internal events. The program was a great opportunity for deepening exchanges with partners in the Baltics.

Contact: Chantal Coté, project manager of the project "Quality and exchange in sustainability"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

This project was first of a kind in our municipality and it gave us a huge insight of how the processes regarding entrepreneurship are managed in Iceland and Norway. From each of our visits, we got ideas what we would like to try to develop in our municipality for the development.
The knowledge, experience and discussions gained were and are relevant also in the development spectrum of our county, as the Icelandic and Norwegian municipalities and business promoting organisations we visited not only gave us an insight into business activities, but also gave us an insight into the tools used to tackle regional challenges and strengthen the business environment - outflow of young people to cities, unequal territorial development, lack of skilled labour, ageing population and employment rate, mobility, etc., These challenges are also present in our municipality, so it was important to see the solutions available: integrated development, fostering cooperation and setting priorities, vision and attracting investors, willingness to do, development and working together, going green and adapting the workforce to the professions of the future, as well as being aware of our strengths. These and other solutions can be applied in our municipalities, thus contributing to our common well-being and involvement in development processes.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

During the project networking and partnership was established with Icelands and Norways organizations, like Icelandic Association of Local Authorities, Reykjavik city hall and innovation department, SSNE, Akureyri and Husavik municipalities, Stéttin Cultural Centre, Agder county, Bygland, Evje and Hornnes, Vennesla municipalities etc., strengthening the Baltic-Nordic cooperation and exchanging new ideas regarding projects to implement in future. This project brought closer new partners from Latvia, Iceland and Norway, that will use opportunities in future as well for good practice exchange activities and learning each from others best solutions, methods etc.

References in the media

Iceland:
https://www.balvi.lv/lv/projekts/pasaules-mala-islandes-piezimes
https://www.balvi.lv/lv/media/17808/download?attachment (6-8 page)

Norway:
the media information about Norway experience will be put in the web page next week, and the local newspaper in August. As well There was an article about the visit of Balvi municipality in Norway"s news paper, this link will be sent as soon as Norways representative will be back from vacation (start of August).

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

This project gave us a possibility to see what are the differences and similarities between Balvi municipality and municipalities and their organizations in Iceland and Norway, trough meeting colleges, we had an opportunity to discuss the regional aspects and risks that impact entrepreneurship and the tools that our colleges are using to increase the business environment and living conditions of the inhabitants. They key words for the success of the municipality and strengthening the entrepreneurial environment are: innovations, cooperation, vision and priorities, involvement of the locals in different processes, education and complex look at the development and future perspectives, as well as cross sector cooperation (municipalities, NGO'S, entrepreneurs, schools etc.).

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

Yes, it really met the expectations, because for our municipality this was the first project like this and we did not know in the end what to expect after this experience but we had amazing partners that reached all our expectations and gave us an inside look of what are the tools used of strengthening the entrepreneurial field, what are the cooperation, the work environment, the challenges and the future, where they are heading now, what directions and how to get there, how to be a place, a municipality, where people want to stay and build their businesses!

Contact: Santa Šmite, project manager of the project "Strengthening the entrepreneurial environment of the Balvi municipality"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

Both the new Strategy of the Nature Conservation Agency and the "Nature Education Development Concept" envisage significantly strengthening nature education in Latvia, developing it at all possible levels - nature education classes, nature centers with educational expositions, outdoor stands, nature tourism infrastructure, thematic events, work with for volunteers, etc.
Therefore, all the study trips gave a good opportunity to talk about and see not only the positive examples that we could adopt in our practice and implement in our daily work with the public but also the mistakes that should be avoided when developing our range of services.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

The Nature Conservation Agency is an active member of the the Europark Federation, also participating in the Nordic-Baltic section. The section's work is mostly carried out remotely, and it rarely touches on the topics of communication and nature education.
This exchange of experience made it possible to get to know each other in person, thus improving remote cooperation. It also gave inspiration for new joint projects, as well as inspired representatives of the Nordic countries to visit Latvia to learn about our experience.

References in the media

https://www.daba.gov.lv/lv/jaunums/pieredzes-apmaina-ziemelvalstis
https://www.facebook.com/elina.ezerina.3/posts/pfbid0kBiAPJFqWde6CZtsZHKeSVijZkVNCkfbP8qbbxwyK6sNRQWeY7RgRGhHAhzXpPt1l
https://www.facebook.com/elina.ezerina.3/posts/pfbid028JpYPgH2mVzGVvby8og7b9PCS3heiT3qfyZoBBQcacVqwPNa3MDVULLkRwn5jeKml
https://www.facebook.com/elina.ezerina.3/posts/pfbid02Vag9tBdfeMzCLnU8uRjnypwayH3d8bUKnqtK4m2YpLqvJ2kvzag1v32o2tbg2bSTl

Post about visit in Sweden was shared also on https://www.facebook.com/EuroparcNordicBalticSection

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

The most valuable experience gained was for nature education and communication using different client-oriented channels and forms:
1) Visitor centers equipped with new technologies, that help to involve all 5 senses to explore nature topics
2) outdoor activities, raising self-confidence and skills being in nature
3) outdoor stands and signs to avoid of nature unfriendly behavior
4) various volunteering programs to involve society in nature protection and conservation work
etc.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The program fully met my expectations. In the beginning, it was very difficult to find host organizations. It seemed that similar organizations were not interested in spending time with us. However, when meeting on the spot, everyone appreciated how valuable such visits are, as the exchange of experience and sharing of knowledge was mutual. The hosting organizations also learned a lot from us and expressed their desire to visit Latvia to see our performance with their own eyes.

Contact: Elina Ezerina, project manager of the project "Nature education and communication practices in Nordic countries, Exchange of experiences"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments associates more than a half of all types of local governments in Latvia (41 local government of Latvia are the members of the LALRG). Our organization contributes to the development of municipal policies, solve common problems and defend interests of Latvian local governments. Main aim of the study visits to Finland, Iceland and Norway was to get acquainted with Nordic experience on active ageing and good examples exchange of how best to promote active and healthy ageing. As we know, Nordic region is the most sustainable and integrated region in the world, speaking of active ageing and a positive view of senior citizens, especially in remote areas. Thanks to the project, Latvian municipalities acquired best Nordic experience in this field, and insight into the scope and duration of home healthcare services allocated by Nordic municipalities.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

Thanks to the project, Nordic-Baltic cooperation, as well as cooperation between the Latvian
Association of Local and Regional Governments (LALRG), Icelandic Association of Local Authorities (SAMBAND), Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities (AFLRA) and the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS) was strengthened. Participants of the study tours and representatives of the associations stressed the need for innovative, flexible cooperation between Nordic and Baltic countries. No country is immune from global threats, and no one country — however powerful — could respond alone to different problems like human population ageing. Societal ageing can affect economic growth, patterns of work and retirement, the way that families function, the ability of governments and communities to provide adequate resources for older adults, and the prevalence of chronic disease and disability. An ageing population can often present a complex challenge at regional and local level. It is also difficult to influence demographic processes in the short term, as they develop over the long term. Adaptation measures require going beyond a sectoral approach and involve a complex system of interactions, including economic, social, political and environmental aspects. This requires cooperation between all levels of government, business entities and non-governmental organizations.

References in the media

https://www.lps.lv/lv/zinas/eiropa-un-pasaule/7853-braucot-norvegijas-pieredzi-lukoties

https://www.lps.lv/lv/zinas/eiropa-un-pasaule/7852-pieredzes-apmainas-vizite-islande

https://www.lps.lv/lv/zinas/eiropa-un-pasaule/7851-somijas-pieredze-aktivas-novecosanas-joma

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

Keeping older citizens physically and socially active is of crucial importance for a society that is greying fast. Municipalities need to find ways to offer effective online and home-based healthcare and other services for old people living at home. For example, Norwegian municipalities are obligated to provide healthcare services for older people, including home healthcare, practical assistance with daily tasks, and, if needed, nursing homes. Anyone living in Norway has the legal right to access necessary healthcare services. The ability for older people to stay in their own homes, also known as ageing in place, presents many advantages compared to moving to residential care facilities. Therefore new solutions are needed that allow older people to remain at home. Welfare technologies can contribute to facilitating sustainable healthcare for older people.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

Society is ageing rapidly in Latvia, as is the case throughout Europe. Although the total population in Latvia is decreasing, the number of the elderly population is increasing. Municipalities must take measures to improve the quality of the home care services. Improvements are mainly related to the modernization of the service, the purchase of new equipment for the provision of the service, in the case of a home care service - the purchase of equipment and cars to ensure faster and more convenient access to the customer, while improving the availability of the service in the most remote. During the study trip, the Latvian municipalities had the opportunity to get acquainted with the experience of the Nordic countries in solving this issue and to understand first-hand how municipalities cope with these challenges.

Contact: Elita Kresse, project manager of the project "Active and healthy ageing for resilient and socially sustainable communities"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

This project benefited our organisation in many ways.
First of all, the theme of the project was to share and learn from the best practises of migrant integration in all partners countries. This aim was clearly fullfilled. Our team have brought home several succesfull practises which we will use in our future works. Several examples: medicine check of newly arrivals, language learning courses together with neccesary work skills, application for future EU funding for future integration projects and etc.
It has improved our strategic thinking in migrant integration and improved our daily works in integration process because we have learned a lot from our nordic partners who are working much longer in this field.
It helped to check how we are working in Lithuania in integration process and learn how Scandinavian partners are doing similar things in many different sectors (Employement, Health Protection, Education, Social Affairs).
Our organisation managed to establishe new contacts with many different nordic partners from local NGO members, community leaders to public representatives. We believe this may help to create new succesfull partnerships in the future.
Visit improved english language skills of our project participants.
It have changed and also improved our virtues in human rights sphere and gender equality theme, because we have learned many useful things from Nordic perspective.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

Because of media interest in the project (2 articles in newspaper, 3 posts in internet pages, 1 tv report and many social media posts) the better visibility of Nordic-Baltic cooperation have been achieved.
It helped to increase cooperation, share the knowledge of administrative work in integration field and transfer it to project partners better. It also significantly increased our nettworks for future cooperation possibilities. It has encouraged members of the project to better utilise other EU funded projects. It increased cross-sectoral cooperation, showed the neccesity of cooperation of public sector and NGO in integration process.

References in the media

https://www.pietarsaarensanomat.fi/artikkeli/pietarsaaresta-kotoutusvinkkeja-liettuaan-me-tunnemme-ukrainalaisten-tuskan
https://www.youtube.com/@SiauliuApskritiesTelevizija
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ijQNpYT0iXfLQN10Q8Ev37tGmMT3huR7/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PixxrPZyValIDh_RwoYFqsCnKbsiAfEY/view?usp=sharing

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

We gain knowledge of new methods in work of migrant integration (First time medical check).
We gain knowledge how to achieve better integration (Language courses together with job skills).
We have learned about extra financial possibilities from EU in migrant integartion process (ESF funds and etc.).

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

It fullfilled my expectation not only helped to increase our quality work of migrant integartion but have also helped us to create new partnerships for future cooperation.

Contact: TOMAS MARTINAITIS, project manager of the project "Stronger Together"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

First of all, the project benefited the Lithuanian Ministry by raising the knowledge level on the topics of communications and transport innovations policy, sustainable mobility, alternative fuel development, and others. In addition, the project resulted in the establishment of a wider contact network, which will enable future cooperation in the mentioned areas. Furthermore, it makes a direct positive impact on the quality of new policy instruments that are developed by the Ministry to foster mobility innovations in Lithuania, as well as green transport development.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

The project benefited from the establishment of a wider contact network, which will enable future cooperation in the areas of interest to us mentioned in the project.
It was agreed with the representatives of the countries visited that we would share useful information on sustainable mobility and the development of electromobility in the future.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

We will use Sweden’s good practices to develop low-emission zone recommendations for Lithuanian cities.
The development of a sustainable mobility strategy for Lithuania is being considered, taking advantage of Swedish good practice.
Use will be made of Iceland’s good practices to increase cooperation with communities before making decisions on climate change or sustainable mobility.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

The supervisors of our study visit put strong efforts into our visit with extensive agenda, the right persons to meet with, and good timing. We may state that this project has been achieved and even surpassed our expectations.

Contact: Jurgita Rimkuviene, project manager of the project "A Study Visit of Civil Servants of Lithuanian Ministry of Transport and Communications"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

Learned best practices of our Nordic neighbors on internationalization of higher education, work of universities and how open is state policy on recruitment of international students. It was beneficial to learn how our Nordic colleagues have come to the instruments and approach they use in their extensive experience. We hope we can present to the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science the focus on attraction of talents. It was practical to see how the division of labor is organized within Study in Finland and Study in Sweden teams. The universities we visited gave us real insights on promotion work they do.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

Our colleagues in Sweden and Finland remained open to our further practical questions and inquiries. We do continue networking together in Study in Europe project's activities and learn from each other. Some considered doing study visits themselves, possibly to Latvia. We have now direct contacts to share our cooperation proposals and scholarship opportunities as well as specific Nordic language programs launched in Latvia.

References in the media

We informed about the visits in our social media (Study in Latvia instagram Stories and State Education Development Agency facebook account-
https://www.facebook.com/VIAA.LV/posts/pfbid02Uj13EagGwVs5VwPSf6y5qha61bdkRKTBTbMGEVEx8zuaNgg9XprHXnJ6J6Mf2xSdl ;
https://www.facebook.com/VIAA.LV/posts/pfbid0NBpnAuVqEKb8A4kibCoiQgDsWShCeHXYwXw575S1widhtv8gLEZwG5FLZW2HbFwbl
Embassy of Latvia in Sweden web page - https://www2.mfa.gov.lv/stockholm/aktualitates/69559-tiksanas-ar-study-in-latvia-parstavjiem

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

Learned about coherently and well-planned policy planning on internationalization, clients based approach organizations are working with through a unified application platform, for example. Diversity in Study in Sweden's team provided a new perspective that the best experts in the area are the ones who have gone through the same studies abroad experience.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

It did, fully and we are very grateful that Study in Finland and Study in Sweden were ready to host us and organize the visits.

Contact: Marika Pīra, project manager of the project "Capacity building in international student mobility - Study in Latvia, Nordic experience "

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

These study visits have an inestimable value because they offer an opportunity to broaden your horizons in a way that cannot be found in Estonia. Thanks to these visits, the advisors of the Chancellor of Justice have been able to visit places where they probably would not have been able to go on their own (such as psychiatric hospitals with acute patients in Denmark and Finland). These visits have been a good example of how other countries have found solutions to problems that Estonia is also struggling with. Undoubtedly, they also give the Chancellor of Justice the opportunity to better substantiate her recommendations to Estonian authorities. Besides, open conversations with Nordic colleagues who perform similar tasks in their own countries have been the best ways to learn and consult.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

The Chancellor of Justice has had good relations with her Nordic colleagues for a long time, and now we are focused on maintaining those relationships. Study visits have provided an excellent opportunity for work-related conversations and the exchange of experiences. As our Nordic colleagues have confirmed multiple times, these are not only one-sided learning opportunities but have also provided many benefits for themselves.

References in the media

Information about completed projects can be found on the website of the Chancellor of Justice: https://www.oiguskantsler.ee/en/projects (in English) and https://www.oiguskantsler.ee/et/projektid (in Estonian).

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

In fact, all three choices beginning with "yes" are true. The Mobility Programme provides an excellent opportunity to openly discuss the topics that are the focus of the study visits, providing an opportunity to develop both personal skills and the skills of the institution and the host organization. No other organization controls psychiatric hospitals in Estonia, Finland, or Denmark in a way an institution for the prevention of ill-treatment does, which is why such a study visit is a good opportunity to learn something new for all parties involved.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

Completely. Without the help of the Mobility Programme and our Nordic colleagues, we probably would not have been able to visit closed hospitals with severe psychiatric patients in Denmark and Finland.

Contact: Kertti Pilvik, project manager of the project "Study visits of the advisers to the Chancellor of Justice on the supervision of psychiatric hospitals to Finland and Denmark"

Please describe how the project benefited your organisation

The project helped the staff of the Committee of Economic Affairs of the Parliament of Estonia(Riigikogu) to familiarize themselves with the economic committees of two different parliaments. The committee received an overview of the preparation of draft legislation on economic issues in the parliament and the organization of work during the Covid-19 crisis. In the Finnish and Danish parliaments, we gained experience and practices from our professional committees, which we can apply in our daily work, should relevant situations arise. The overall aim of the project was to improve the functioning of the Commission and its role in legislation. It was also important to establish new contacts with parliaments and ministries in order to continue cooperation in the future. Commission officials liked the project very much. A former official of the Economic Committee, who currently works in the Foreign Affairs Committee, was also able to participate in the visit to Denmark. He started the implementation of the project. Our meetings in Finland and Denmark were very interesting and useful in our work. We gained a lot of new knowledge on different topics and met with several different committees whose work is similar to the work of our economic committee. They simply have more specialized committees in the parliament, and economic topics are distributed among them. We also really liked that we had the opportunity to meet with the ministries and to discuss the topics concerning our committee in depth. In Denmark, we had several meetings on energy.

Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation

First, the North Baltic cooperation was the biggest benefit of the networks we created. It was very useful to meet different institutions and share experiences and work practices. Many institutions cooperate with other Estonian private sector companies, for example Eesti Energia. We were able to expand our acquaintances and received many contacts from the meetings to promote cooperation even after the end of the project. The meetings were useful for all parties, as an overview of various activities was given. We gained knowledge that can later be used and practiced in our daily work. The meetings were useful for Estonian, Finnish and Danish officials, because everyone got a new insight into how things are done differently in different parliaments.

References in the media

The project did not attract media attention, but we promoted the project in the parliaments of both countries. The officials of the committees of the parliaments of both countries must have been very interested in the project. The Department of Foreign Relations of the Danish Parliament had also visited Estonia this year and cooperated with the Department of Foreign Relations of the Riigikog. We have also talked about our experiences with the project to various committees of the Riigikogu Office. Several other Riigikogu committees have also gone on study tours within the framework of this project and have also given very positive and versatile feedback.

Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?

Yes, for my home organisation

Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project

Our committee learned a lot from the legislation and work organization of the Finnish and Danish parliaments in the Covid-19 crisis. The study trip was informative and we got new ideas on how to improve our work. above all, we gained new contacts with whom we can share our knowledge and ask for information in the future. From Denmark, we were given a very good overview of renewable energy, which we are currently dealing with very often in the Economic Committee.

Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations

Our committee was very satisfied with the outcome of the project. We received many different and new solutions about the daily work of the Nordic parliaments, which we can learn from and apply to our practice. The Nordic and Baltic public administration mobility program gave us a great opportunity to meet people in our field and get new contacts for the future.

Contact: Epp-Sandra Satsmann, project manager of the project "Study visit to the Parliaments of Finland and Denmark "