Minister Klara Geywitz Presents Funding Notice for the RAZV Project “STARAC” in Berlin
From the hands of Klara Geywitz, Federal Minister for Housing, Urban Development and Building, Ulla Thönnissen, Managing Director of the Region Aachen Zweckverband (RAZV), received the certificate and funding notice for the project “STARAC – Strategic Regional Development Concept Region AaChen.” Region Aachen is the only region in NRW to have successfully participated in the funding call for the development of a “Strategic Regional Development Concept” (RegioStrat) issued by the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building (BMWSB).
“I am pleased that our project was evaluated so positively and that we are one of just 13 projects selected nationwide,” Thönnissen said, expressing her excitement over the success. “The application period was short and intense. Nevertheless, with the support of our network partners, we managed to develop an idea that convinced the expert jury.”
Focus on Skilled Labor, Workforce Retention, and Digitalization
RegioStrat, the first funding program for spatial planning and regional development, supports regions across Germany in achieving sustainable, resilient, and livable transformations to improve the quality of life for local citizens. In its application, RAZV concentrated primarily on the topics of “skilled labor and workforce retention” and “digitalization.” Thönnissen noted, “These issues will accompany us for a long time and address all decision-makers, the economy, science, and citizens alike. We must develop measures to present ourselves as an attractive place to live and work, both internally and externally.” The measures to be developed now offer outstanding opportunities. The ministry particularly emphasized that RAZV can rely on a large network during implementation, ensuring regional acceptance across politics, administration, business, and science. The Euregio cross-border approach was also praised in the application.
“Mother of All Planning”
“Regional planning and development is one of the most crucial processes for progress in our country. As the mother of all planning, it lays the foundation for successful and sound decisions. These directly impact all aspects of people’s lives in a region,” emphasized Minister Klara Geywitz during the certificate presentation. “This new, very practical funding program for spatial planning and regional development supports regions in setting up their projects as well and as farsightedly as possible. Lessons learned from all successes and mistakes will also inform future initiatives.”
RAZV will launch the project on July 1 this year. “I am confident that STARAC will provide convincing answers to the diverse changes and their far-reaching social, economic, and spatial impacts,” said Thönnissen. “This project gives us the chance to jointly and successfully further develop our region together with our partners.”