The anniversary was celebrated during the Preuvenemint Meeting 2024, which took place in the stately Feestzaal of the UM Faculty of Law. Vice president of UM’s Executive Board, Jan-Tjitte Meindersma and Regional Minister of the Province of Limburg, Elianne Demollin expressed their appreciation for the considerable efforts made over the past decade, benefiting both sides of the border. On the occasion of this milestone, co-founder Prof Dr Hildegard Schneider presented the ‘Collectors’ ITEM’ to Mr Meindersma and Regional Minister Demollin containing the result of ten years of Cross Border Impact Assessments.
Prof. Dr. Anouk Bollen ( ITEM director) proudly looked back at the establishment of the institute in 2015 and discussed the impact of research on territorial border effects in border regions in an interview with the ITEM researchers. Among other things, they discussed the results achieved such as the ‘’Guideline on Border Effects‘’ (Leidraad Grenseffecten) and ITEM’s tried-and-tested methodology, as well as new projects such as the recognition of professional qualifications and the Schakelpunt Vlaanderen-Nederland, which strengthens cooperation between authorities and knowledge institutions to tackle border obstacles in Flemish-Dutch regions.
“A huge amount of border work has been done since the establishment of ITEM. This benefits both sides of the border enormously. For this reason, I am extremely grateful to the colleagues of ITEM for their efforts over the past ten years,’ Meindersma said. Deputy Demollin also spoke in praise: “Ten years after its establishment, it can be concluded that ITEM has ensured that the obstacles to exploiting border opportunities are constantly brought to the attention of policymakers and politicians.”
We also asked some of our cooperation partners to write a testimonial in honour of our anniversary. This resulted in many enthusiastic and laudatory words of which we are very proud.
