Everyone who wants to participate in OPEN DAYS 2009 European Week of Regions and Cities is now able to get registered online. The event will take place in Brussels from 5 to 8 October 2009, and it is expected that milliards of people will participate in the 300 events that are expected to be held across the participating countries.

Participation in OPEN DAYS 2009 is free, with 124 specialist seminars to choose from 5-8 October. Registering for an event is very simple: the registration page includes details of all the seminars and workshops, speakers, dates and venues, as well as a step-by-step guide on how to apply.

As in previous years, the OPEN DAYS European Week of Regions and Cities is designed to bring together political representatives, decision-makers, experts and practitioners of regional policy as well as stakeholders from the banking and business sectors, civil society organisations, academia, EU institutions and the media to discuss the common challenges facing European regions and cities, and to discuss possible solutions.  The event also provides a platform for capacity-building for those involved in implementing EU cohesion policy and in managing EU funds, as well as facilitating cooperation and networking among regions and cities on best practice in regional development. Finally, it offers participants the opportunity to discuss the European cohesion policy of tomorrow in a wider context, involving views from third countries and international organisations. With this in mind, for the first time this year the event will feature the OPEN DAYS University, providing a platform for academic debates.

In addition to the flagship events in Brussels, local events will be organised by each OPEN DAYS partner throughout the month of October under the label "Europe in our Region/City". In addition, other local institutions and organisations have been invited to participate, and a total of 300 events are expected to be held across the participating countries.

In 2008, more than 7500 people participated in the seminars and activities in Brussels among the 6th and 9th of October. The title of OPEN DAYS 2008 was Regions and cities in a challenging world, and,  in addition to the 145 seminars held in Brussels, some 230 took place simultaneously in other parts of Europe.

The seventh annual OPEN DAYS - European Week of Regions and Cities is set to be the biggest yet. This year, the event will feature more than 100 seminars, workshops, debates, exhibitions and meetings with 7,000 participants, expected in Brussels alone, most of them experts in regional and urban development from ministries and other bodies. In addition, another 300 local events in countries all over Europe will reach out to a wider public increasing the number of potential visitors to more than 30,000.