Province of Limburg with Brightlands at Expo Milano 2015

At the Expo Milano 2015 the internationally oriented Province of Limburg will be one of the participants in the Dutch pavilion. The province will showcase the Brightlands campuses as an economic hub in Europe in the field of materials, nutrition and health.

Expo 2015, the 34th world exhibition, will be held from 1 May to 31 October and is expected to draw 30 million visitors to Milan. More than 140 countries will participate, including the Netherlands.
The Province of Limburg was recently invited to present itself in the Dutch pavilion. The World Expo thus offers a unique opportunity to showcase the Brightlands campuses in Sittard-Geleen, Maastricht and Venlo to an international audience. In addition, this will highlight Limburg’s special geographical position, bordering on Germany and Belgium.
Moreover, thinking and acting internationally, as well as playing with borders, is embedded in the Limburg DNA. The province forms the Dutch frontline with Europe. That makes Limburgers powerful partners in cross-border cooperation.

Twan Beurskens, provincial executive member for Economic Affairs, comments: “We are seizing the opportunity to present Limburg at the World Expo. It is important that the world knows what we have to offer. When it comes to knowledge and manufacturing industries we are among the most innovative regions in Western Europe. Entrepreneurs, scientists and investors everywhere in the world should be aware of what is happening in Limburg.”

International reputation
Bert Kip, CEO Brightlands Chemelot Campus, comments: “We have been working together under the Brightlands banner for over six months now and we have gained significant name recognition regionally. However, as campuses we have chosen this name to enhance our international profile. The World Expo is a great opportunity to present Brightlands to an international audience as a place to be for knowledge and business in the fields of materials, health and nutrition.”

Jan Kees Dunning, CEO Brightlands Maastricht Health Campus, comments: “We will show Brightlands in different ways to the World Expo visitors. Our stand symbolizes our motto ‘Knowledge Crossing Borders’ and features a classic school bus, converted to an attractive information and meeting point in no time.”

Frans van Leijden, quartermaster for Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo: “We also offer a program called Brightlands Dialogues in which various themes will be discussed. We further help Limburg-based parties find ways to use the Expo as a stage for their activities, for instance by organizing congresses in Milan during the Expo. This will generate more attention than they could ever get elsewhere. And finally the Expo is a good opportunity to tap into new target groups and provide these with targeted information about what is happening at the Brightlands campuses.”

Brightlands Dialogues
The program for Milan is currently being developed. The campuses will stage a number of Brightlands Dialogues, meetings between international scientists and companies at which different subjects are discussed that are related to theme of the World Expo, Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.

In more concrete terms the discussions will be about sustainable packaging & recycling, the influence of nutrition on cardiovascular health, the development of cultured meat, and clinical validation, innovation and taste experience of healthy nutrition.

The parties that have taken the initiative for the Limburg stand are the Province of Limburg, Connect Limburg, the Brightlands campuses and NV Industriebank LIOF.

Brightlands
Chemelot Campus, Maastricht Health Campus and Campus Greenport Venlo collaborate under the name Brightlands; the three campuses are located in Limburg, the Dutch province bordering on Germany and Belgium. Brightlands also relates to the research program of Maastricht University, Zuyd University of Applied Science and the Province of Limburg. At Chemelot Campus the focus is on materials and chemistry, while Maastricht Health Campus focuses on health and Campus Greenport Venlo on nutrition. Industry, education and knowledge institutes and the government work closely together at the campuses.
For more information please see: www.brightlands.com.

Connect Limburg
Connect Limburg is the branding organization of the Province of Limburg. For more information about Limburg please visit our portal:www.limburgcrossborders.com.

Note to editors (not meant for publication)

For more information:

• Marcel Abrahams, Strategic Communications Advisor, Connect Limburg, m.abrahams@connectlimburg.eu, +31 6 11873046

•     Klaas Bos, Communications Manager, Brightlands Chemelot Campus, klaas.bos@brightlands.com, +31 6 10918196