KBBECONFERENCE2010 · Knowledge Based Bio-Economy towards 2020 – conference: turning challenges into opportunities

The Knowledge Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) focuses on sustainable management, production and use of renewable biological resources, through life sciences and biotechnology and convergence with other technologies, to address the great societal challenges, to enhance the EU overall competitiveness and to meet high consumer demands.The twofold aim of the KBBE towards 2020-conference is completely in line with the WP 2010’s main objective:1. Taking stock of the progress made since 2005 (launch of KBBE by the European Commission (EC))2. Contributing to the new vision and action plan of the European Commission for a Sustainable Bio-Economy. Although the knowledge base in Europe is outstanding, we have to ensure that Europe keeps this comparative advantage and grows even more competitive and innovative. Therefore the Commission and the Member States need to find a holistic strategy for the bio-economy. This new KBBE-strategy is an integral part of the new EU 2020 Strategy .During the conference, there will be room for interactive discussions with all the involved stakeholders (industry, policy makers, researchers, consumers and civil society organisations) in three parallel sessions each addressing an important aspect of the bio-economy: availability of feedstocks for the bio-economy, innovative biobased products in greening the industry and innovative food production and eco-innovation in the food industry.While organising this conference, we have taken into account the need to focus on socio-economic research, the participation by women and gender aspects, the need for promotion of effective communication and dissemination, as will be shown in part B of this document.