On 27 November 2025, the German-Polish conference “Neighbourhood as an Economic Engine” took place at the Collegium Polonicum in Słubice. The conference was organised by the East Brandenburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce, which hosted it within the framework of the East Brandenburg alliance “Pro Wirtschaft” together with the European University Viadrina and the Western Chamber of Industry and Commerce Gorzów (ZIPH). The European University Alliance ERUA was also involved in organising the event.
The aim of the conference was to strengthen economic cooperation in the border region, to discuss infrastructure issues, and to shed light on future challenges. In this context, our colleague Magdalena Nowicka took the floor to present to the participants, on the basis of our short ethnographic film, the perspectives and experiences of cross-border commuters. In addition to opportunities for networking with civil society actors for the purpose of future research, particular focus was placed on the issue of border controls and possible border closures, whose potential effects on regional economic interdependencies were critically discussed.