New video series looks at how small enterprises cope with COVID-19 in the North Sea Region

19 May 2020 - Published by Harald Marencic

Linking sustainable growth with nature protection – this is the objective 14 partners from the Wadden Sea World Heritage, the English Wash/ North Norfolk Coast and the West Norwegian Fjords World Heritage set out to do, when the 3-year Interreg project PROWAD LINK kicked off in 2018. The current pandemic does not change the aim, but it does heavily impact the small and medium-sized business at the core of the project. How do entrepreneurs in our regions deal with the pandemic and the ever-changing restrictions affecting their daily work? How does nature protection fit into this? Might there be opportunities from the situation? Prowad Link wanted to know and set out to provide a voice and platform in the frame of an inspiring video series “How the North Sea deals with corona – Prowad Link asks. SMEs answer.”

In the coming weeks, PROWAD LINK will publish several videos, asking entrepreneurs in the project pilot regions to share their experiences, situations and hopes for the future. Jan Krüger, mudflat guide on the North Frisian island of Sylt in the middle of the Wadden Sea World Heritage and National Park Partner for three years, kicks off the series by talking about his situation. Jan became very creative in facing the COVID-19 crisis and filmed virtual mudflat walks (Link https://www.sylt-wattwanderungen.de/bildergalerie.html) to experience at home.

As the situation changes almost daily, please note that the protagonists can only evaluate their situations based on the particular setting in the moment of filming. We plan to revisit people from time to time to get a picture of how their situations have changed.

The Interreg VB North Sea Region Programme project PROWAD LINK aims to unlock the potential of natural areas as a driver for jobs and sustainable development. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are approached to develop nature as a brand to create benefits for both, SMEs and the environment. 14 project partners in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom working with interested SMEs will use the “nature-business-benefit-cycle” concept to develop new, sustainable products and offers in the pilot regions of the Wadden Sea (DK, D, NL), Geiranger Fjord (NO), Wash & North Norfolk Coast (UK). The 3-year project is co-funded by and carried out in the framework of the Interreg North Sea Region Programme under the Programme Priority 1 “Thinking Growth”. The programme is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the European Union.