From today until Thursday, Brussels is the center of European regional policy through the OPEN DAYS 2009, the biggest event of the EU regional policy in the year, which will bring together more than 7,000 policy-makers, professionals and officials from academia, business and civil society at European, national and regional levels. The innovation and development as engines of growth will be a key point in the seminars and events being held in the Belgian capital.

From 5 to 8 October, the seventh annual OPEN DAYS 2009 European Week of Regions and Cities will be held in Brussels, organized by the European Commission and the Committee of the Regions of the EU. Participants will come not only from Europe but also from the United States, China and India.

The aim of the meeting is that regions and cities share ideas on a wide range of issues including the promotion of economic development, combating the current recession or long-term challenges posed by climate change.

One of the issues of the seminars and conferences of the Open Days is "Restoring growth: innovation in Europe's cities and regions". The European regions must become more innovative in order to cope with global challenges and the current economic crisis. The 54 seminars in this section will discuss strategies, programmes and projects implemented at the regional and local levels to help regions innovate in areas like health, tourism, transport, automotive industry, the creative economy and environment.

Euroalert.net crowd will attend several events within this topic. "Restoring growth through innovation", one of the seminars to be held in collaboration with the University, will examine the ways in which regions can create the conditions needed for an environment that encourages innovation. "Innovation awareness in the regions" will study the factors that lie behind innovation and the role of initiatives like the European Weeks of Innovation. "Be Creative: creative industry for restoring growth in European regions" will show the potential of activities such as music, design, art, fashion and architecture to economic recovery in Europe ... Additionally, this issue of the Open Days 2009 also will emphasize the role of ICT as an engine of growth.