Interregional Cooperation
Stronger Together
The Ruhr Regional Association (RVR) closely cooperates with Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia (Metropolis GZM) in southern Poland. In August 2019, GZM and RVR signed a partnership agreement. A common history in coal mining gave impetus to the partnership. Today, the partners regularly implement joint projects and formats. In particular, the partnership focuses on developing new approaches to current economic and ecological developments.
Good to Know
The Ruhr Regional Association (RVR) facilitates interregional cooperation. It aims to exchange knowledge, to initiate interregional projects and to find new solutions for common challenges.
Current Topics
Delegation Visit to GZM
The Ruhrgebiet and GZM share many similarities: a strong industrial history, the challenges of structural change, and many ideas for the future. All these topics were at the heart of a delegation visit to Katowice in October 2025 by RVR Regional Director Garrelt Duin, Business Metropole Ruhr Managing Director Jörg Kemna, and members of the RVR General Assembly. A particular focus was placed on young people as the driving force behind structural change. RVR and GZM will intensify their collaboration on this topic in 2026.
Delegation Visit to the Ruhrgebiet
In September 2025, a delegation from GZM, led by Deputy Chairman of the Board Maciej Biskupski, visited the Ruhrgebiet. The programme included an exchange on the tasks of the RVR and its subsidiaries, site visits to important transformation projects like Zollverein, and discussions on key future technologies. Managing structural change remains a recurring theme within the framework of the partnership.
Exchange between Youth Councils
How do youth councils work in Germany, Poland, and England? What similarities and differences exist, and what can we learn from each other? In June 2025, youth councillors aged 15 to 18 from the Ruhrgebiet, the Metropolis GZM in Poland, and District Durham in England discussed these questions. The youngsters and their mentors plan to continue the exchange through further digital meetings in the future, thus fostering a mutual understanding for their work.
Revitalisation of brownfields
At a conference in Brussels in January 2025, RVR and GZM – together with the EU Commission and the Georg Agricola University of Applied Sciences – discussed the specific challenges faced by regions when revitalising derelict mining and industrial sites. RVR and GZM joined forces to highlight the requirements and funding needs that are essential for a successful sustainable und just transformation. In doing so, they aroused the interest of other regions in Europe, facing similar challenges.
Festival „United by Bread“
For several years now, the festival “United by Bread” has been bringing together diverse contributions from the fields of culinary arts, culture, religion, and social discourse in Katowice every summer. At the invitation of GZM, RVR Ruhr Grün regularly presents sustainable products – most recently in June 2025 – from local forests which can be used directly in bread making or enjoyed as spreads on bread. True to the motto: food connects people!
Metropolitan Challenges
How do metropolitan areas meet current challenges like resilience and sustainability? Which approaches do they develop, which positive experiences do they make? Upon GZM’s invitation, RVR Regional Director Karola Geiß-Netthöfel discussed these questions with other European metropolitan areas at the European Metropolitan Authorities’ (EMA) forum in Katowice in June 2022.
Andrea Höber
Andrea Höber
Head of Department
Department for European Affairs
hoeber@rvr.ruhr
+49 (0) 201 2069 6362
Kronprinzenstr. 6 45128 Essen
Victoria Krebber
Victoria Krebber
Department for European Affairs
krebber@rvr.ruhr
+49 (0) 201 2069 248
Kronprinzenstr. 6 45128 Essen