The virtual WCEFonline event is part of the World Circular Economy Forum and will bring together circular change-makers from around the world to show practical circular economy examples that will help us to seize this unique opportunity to rebuild our economies stronger, greener and better. Covering six separate sessions, WCEFonline will enable the circular community from all over the world to participate in the discussions. The sessions will provide different lenses through which business leaders and policy makers can assess the risks and opportunities associated with their resource dependence. The key questions answered include how the circular economy helps in building more resilient businesses, why sustainable finance is key, and what governments need to focus on now to scale up the circular economy. We are proud to invite you to this fully virtual event with high level keynotes from around the world. WCEFonline will present some of the world’s top business leaders, policy makers and thinkers as speakers. These include Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations’ Environment Programme; Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission; Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change of Canada; and Jyrki Katainen, President of Sitra, among others. Sitra is a future fund that collaborates with partners from different sectors to research, trial and implement bold new ideas that shape the future. The Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra is organising WCEFonline together with the African Circular Economy Alliance, Circular Economy Leadership Coalition, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the European Commission, Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, in collaboration with the Governments of Canada, Finland and the Netherlands, and WCEF2021 partners including International Chamber of Commerce, Nordic Innovation, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and UN Environment

Co-organised by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and RSA Europe, the third "Conference on Smart Specialisation and Territorial Development: Connecting grand societal challenges with local goals in place-based innovation policy" will take place from the 30th of September to the 2d of October 2020 in Seville, Spain. The conference will provide a comprehensive picture of the Smart Specialisation policy experience, including an evaluation of its results and an account of its recent developments both conceptually and empirically. The conference also offers an opportunity to discuss and compare different territorial development approaches, exploring how they engage with the European Commission's priorities for 2019-2014 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Submission of complete special session and paper proposals should be sent through the Regional Studies Association online portal by the 15th of May 2020.

Despite the difficulties generated by the COVID 19 pandemic, the #EURegionsWeek 2020 will offer to participants more than 500 digital working sessions to discover over three consecutive weeks in October, from 5-22 October, covering various topics along the thematic priorities Empowering Citizens; Cohesion and Cooperation; and Green Europe. Due to the security measures and sanitary situation caused by the pandemic, this year will be the first ever fully digital EURegionsWeek: all working sessions will be organised virtually with no physical audience the Key sessions of the EURegionsWeek 2020 – Political Opening, Political Closing, Citizens dialogues and High level debates will be streamed and broadcasted live exhibitions will be replaced by virtual interactive exhibitions with virtual pitchs EURegionstalks will be organised as a virtual session or will be pre-recorded and accessible online The registration is open from 27 August to 27 September 2020. See you online in October!

The Farm to Fork 2020 Conference - Building sustainable food systems together, held on the occasion of the World Food Day, is the first in what will be an annual gathering of European stakeholders interested in helping to shape the EU’s path towards sustainable food systems. Stakeholders across the food value chain, public authorities, international and civil society organisations, as well as other citizens and the interested public are invited to join the debate and contribute to the implementation of the recently adopted Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system. The event will also provide a forum for discussion on the challenges and opportunities linked to the transition to sustainable food systems, as well as on possible further areas of intervention.