- This event will be held to commemorate the 3rd anniversary of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and Japan on 17 July 2018.
- Panelists include experts on EU-Japan relations and innovative Japanese entrepreneurs.
- It will take place on Thursday 16 September 2021 at 10:00 (CEST)/17:00 (JST) on the occasion of EU Sustainable Energy Week 2021.
- It is specifically intended for institutions, entrepreneurs, start-ups, and students wishing to find out opportunities available thanks to the EU-Japan cooperation.
Brussels, 9 September 2021 – To commemorate the signature of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and Japan three years ago (17 July 2018), Finnova Foundation will hold a webinar on Thursday 16 September 2021 at 10:00 (CEST)/17:00 (JST) with representatives from both regions. The event will be held on the occasion of EU Sustainable Energy Week 2021 (#EUSEW2021). The webinar is broken down into four main panels: institutions, training opportunities for young people, entrepreneurship, and EU funds.
The EU and Japan make up almost a quarter of the world’s GDP, and the EU is Japan’s 3rd largest trading partner worldwide. Although trade is a key area in their relations, both regions are also committed to cooperating in other sectors like the environment, research, security, and defence, among others. This two-hour round table will provide a magnificent opportunity to reflect on these important achievements.
Since EU-Japan cooperation stretches to other fields like education, training, culture and sport through people-to-people exchanges, Alberto Navarro, Training and Human Resources Manager at Finnova, will discuss internships (Vulcanus, NextTalentGeneration and EU traineeships), job opportunities, and training programmes for young people.
Entrepreneurship is a key driver for innovation and social change. Both Japan and the EU have begun work in this area by establishing funding mechanisms and programmes to boost innovation. On behalf of Finnova, Juanma Revuelta, CEO, together with Juan Viesca, EU Funds Director, will provide a broad overview of EU funding opportunities for public and private sectors committed to innovation in waste management, climate change, energy, and digital transition in both regions.
From an institutional point of view, Sylwia Czerska, First Secretary at the Trade Section of the Delegation of the European Union to Japan, Noriko Mita, Manager in EEN Japan at the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, and Miguel A. Martínez Massa, President of the Spanish Japanese Chamber of Commerce, will offer an overview of how to establish solid business bridges and partnerships between the EU and Japan. Commenting on EU-Japan relations, Jean Aznar, Secretary General and Co-founder of Diplomatic World, will touch upon the important role of international media coverage to strengthen diplomatic ties.
Masashi Ueda, Incubation Manager at Keio Fujisawa Innovation Village, will discuss how entrepreneurship and disruptive ideas can take shape, while Koju Ito, CEO of AZUL Energy, will represent Japan’s business sector by introducing their innovative sustainable battery technology. From a European perspective, a representative of Punch will talk about a prototype hydrogen pick up that will be manufactured at the Nissan plant in Barcelona. Punch is fully committed to EU climate goals and it strives to contribute to the efforts undertaken by the EU to reach a sustainable transport and energy sector.
The webinar will be delivered in both Japanese and English (interpretation will be provided) since it is meant to become a benchmark in furthering EU-Japan relations. As Finnova CEO Juanma Revuelta points out, “through this webinar, Finnova wants to bring closer Japan to Europe and Europe to Japan by speeding up strategic common areas of cooperation like education, youth and entrepreneurship. Finnova puts at their disposal Startup Europe Awards, an open innovation initiative that promotes private-public partnerships and builds networks to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the European Green Deal objectives.” By holding this webinar, Finnova is launching a series of events aiming to strengthen the bonds of these two like-minded regions and to bring together European and Japanese actors to meet the challenges the 21st century poses through innovation.
If you represent a public or private institution, if you run a business, if you are a student or if you have innovative or disruptive ideas, do not hesitate to join us by registering here: http://japan.finnova.eu/.
About the Delegation of the European Union to Japan
The Delegation of the European Union to Japan’s mission is to represent, promote and advance the interests and values of the European Union in Japan; to develop and strengthen bilateral political, economic, cultural, educational, scientific and other sectoral cooperation between the European Union and Japan; and, where relevant, through cooperation with Japan also enable the EU to better promote and advance its interests and values at global and regional level.
For more information, click on
https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/japan/18689/node/18689_en.
About the Spanish Japanese Chamber of Commerce
The Spanish Japanese Chamber of Commerce seeks to build bridges between Spain and Japan as well as to assist its partners and clients. Being aware that cultural awareness is instrumental to achieving fruitful trade relations, the Spanish Japanese Chamber of Commerce provides its know-how and expertise on Japanese protocols and codes to make transactions successful.
For more information, click on https://camarajaponesa.com/.
About Finnova Foundation
Finnova Foundation is a Belgian-Spanish foundation which helps institutions and organisations getting funds for innovative projects. It aims to promote private-public cooperation through innovation in order to address social challenges, e.g. employment, training, entrepreneurship, SDGs, circular economy, etc. Finnova is in charge of organising Startup Europe Awards, a joint initiative by Finnova and the European Commission to reward the best European start-ups.
For more information, click on https://finnova.eu/en/home_eng/.
About Startup Europe Awards
Startup Europe Awards is an initiative by DG CONNECT and has been implemented by Finnova Foundation since 2016. Startup Europe Awards is an open innovation mechanism to identify disruptive start-ups and to promote private-public partnerships. They also seek to raise awareness on the importance of self-entrepreneurship as a driving force for job creation. In addition to promoting networks to meet the UN SDGs and the European Green Deal objectives, they also contribute to the circular economy, sustainable tourism and the fight against climate change.
For more information, click on https://startupeuropeawards.eu/seua/.