On 29 March 2023, HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation organized a regional hybrid event, with the goal to officially announce the start of the new implementation phase of RECONOMY in the Eastern Partnership and the Western Balkan countries.

RECONOMY is a regional inclusive and green economic development program of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), implemented by HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation in the Western Balkan and the Eastern Partnership regions. The main goal of RECONOMY is to contribute to inclusive and green economic development for women and youth, including the most disadvantaged and excluded, in the two regions.
The regional event brought together government officials, entrepreneurs, representatives of non-profit organizations and civil society, as well as social innovators from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership countries.

Opening remarks from the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden in the Republic of Albania, HE Elsa Håstad, and the Senior Advisor from the Department for Europe and Latin America at Sida, Anne-Charlotte Malm, were followed by a well-received keynote speech by the Director of Operations at the International Council of Swedish Industry, Henrik Hallgren.
A unique panel followed, focusing on what regional inclusive and green economic development means in practice: Anne-Charlotte Malm from Sida; HE Rafayel Gevorgyan, Deputy Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia; Zenebe Uraguchi, Program Manager of RECONOMY; Petrica Dulgheru, Chair of the Board at the Roma Entrepreneurship Development Initiative (REDI); and Frosina Denkova Zafirovska, Chief People and Talent Officer at IT Labs.

Eduard Musayelyan, Executive Director and Lusine Tangyan, Business Development Manager of UEICT also participated in this event.
In the scope of RECONOMY, UEICT implemented the “Skill Boost: Tech Upskilling Initiative” pilot program, due to which 354 SME representatives obtained skills for using smart solutions in their businesses and organized trainings for NPUA lecturers. As well as, in the scope of this project, the Upstart educational platform was created.
The regional hybrid event of RECONOMY was rounded off by Matthias Herr, Regional Director of Eastern and Southeastern Europe at HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation, with closing remarks.
The event was live-streamed. Watch the video here.