The first virtual European Cluster Conference, fully booked for 1000 people, was organised by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs in partnership with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, under the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and delivered by the European Cluster Collaboration Platform. The Cluster Conference was followed by a Matchmaking event, and two side events on 16 November and 17 November.
Highlights of the event
82 speakers presented to participants from 52 countries how they are strengthening the economy, moving towards a greener, digital and resilient Europe, through the 14 ecosystems. In 136 World Cafés people were able to discuss in small groups. 122 individual 1-on-1 appointments were held, 105 organisations had a virtual exhibition booth and there were not two but three awards.
You may watch again a summary of the event including:
- Excerpts from the speeches of European Union Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, and Peter Altmaier, German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy.
- Footage from the plenary sessions, quizzes, pitches, and breakout sessions.
- Extracts from the Award Ceremony, presented by Ulla Engelmann, Head of Social Economy Unit at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs:
- Award for the Cluster Partnership of the Year: IOT4Industry – Marielle Campanella
- Award for the Cluster Manager of the Year: Uwe Pfeil – E-Mobility & IT-Logistics Cluster
- Special award for EU Cluster Mobilisation: Antonio Novo - IDiA & European Clusters Alliance for setting up the European Alliance against Corona with its daily webinars