Excursions, Workshops, Personal Discussions, Special Recognition of 14 REGIONALE 2025 Projects and More — 250 Participants as Guests
The Südwestfalen Forum is a meeting place for all stakeholders from politics, business, and organizations who are committed to the region and implement forward-looking projects. The Südwestfalen Agentur GmbH invited participants together with its six shareholders: the five districts of Südwestfalen as well as the association “Wirtschaft für Südwestfalen” (Economy for Südwestfalen) with its over 400 member companies. About 250 participants came to the conference and congress center in Bad Sassendorf. They once again demonstrated how creative, appreciative, and trusting the cooperation in Südwestfalen is — and built on this to discuss the direction the region will take starting in 2027. That is when current structural and funding programs, through which Südwestfalen is currently implementing, for example, urban development, digital education, and economic projects, will come to an end.
What will cooperation look like on key issues after 2027? How can Südwestfalen be and remain a smart region? How do we shape towns and villages? What does the region’s strong economy need? Which projects align with Südwestfalen’s mobility strategy? Which organizations will be needed for this?
These topics were discussed in workshops lasting just under an hour as part of the forum. The participants’ suggestions will be incorporated into the process to strategically align the region for 2027 in the coming year. A podcast episode was recorded for each workshop. Those interested in insights can listen free of charge on the Südwestfalen Agentur GmbH website.
14 REGIONALE 2025 Projects Recognized — Excursions Provided Insights
The forum once again made it clear that a lot is happening in Südwestfalen. As many as 14 projects of REGIONALE 2025 have received funding since the Südwestfalen Festival one year ago and can now be implemented. The project managers were specially honored on stage, as they are the ones driving projects that shape the future of the region. In four excursions, interested parties had the opportunity to get to know some forward-looking initiatives in the Soest district: the Southern Old Town Quarter in Lippstadt, the Digital Care Center in Bad Sassendorf, the Nature Talents Lippe project in the Lippe floodplains, the Soest Smart City urban lab, and the planned Digital Learning and Working Center Soest (Dilas).
The forum also included the general meeting of the association “Wirtschaft für Südwestfalen.” The association is the largest shareholder of Südwestfalen Agentur GmbH and significantly supports regional marketing. More than 400 companies are now members. Johannes Huxol, board member of the innovative lighting solutions provider TRILUX from Arnsberg, was elected as the new chairman. At the same time, the so-called “Duck Race” was launched. Like a relay baton, the “duck” — a Südwestfalen logo to take with you shaped like a duck — travels from member company to member company. The goal: to strengthen networking among companies.
That representatives from companies come together at the forum with actors from municipalities, city and community councils, tourism, universities, politics, chambers, associations, and clubs shows how large and diverse the “Team Südwestfalen” has become. In this respect, the keynote by Marcus Merheim from hooman EMPLOYER MARKETING had exactly the right title: “Cooperation Matters.”
“The cooperative spirit characterizes Südwestfalen,” emphasized Eva Irrgang, district administrator of Soest and current chairwoman of the supervisory board of Südwestfalen Agentur GmbH, at the start of the forum. Already over 60 million euros in funding have been secured for Südwestfalen as part of REGIONALE 2025. In view of the many challenges for municipalities and companies, the future work in Südwestfalen is clear: “It only works together.”
Podcasts and photo galleries from the Südwestfalen Forum 2024 can be found here: www.suedwestfalen-agentur.com/forum24