Development Association Sepra – Local development with strong international connections
Sepra is a local action group operating in Southern Kymenlaakso, covering the municipalities of Pyhtää, Miehikkälä, and Virolahti, as well as the cities of Hamina and Kotka.
Thanks to its geographical location, Sepra’s international cooperation has naturally focused on Estonia, especially the northern regions situated just across the Gulf of Finland. Collaboration began in the early 2000s with the Estonian Village Movement Kodukant and has since expanded to include multiple LEADER groups and other organizations across southern and western Estonia. Sepra also has well-established partnerships in central Estonia, including the Tartu region.
As part of the Interreg IVA programme, Sepra contributed to the development of COMCOT, a sustainable, community-based tourism planning tool. This was achieved in collaboration with Tartu Rural University and the Seinäjoki Ruralia Institute. These partnerships continue today through a broader cooperation project focusing on participatory development and business growth, running from 2024 to 2027.
Sepra's international network has grown to include Latvia, especially through cooperation with the Võrtsjärv region Fishery Local Action Group (FLAG), and more recently also Sweden. These diverse collaborations reflect Sepra’s strong and expanding international presence in the Baltic Sea region.
Given its border with Russia, Sepra had previously shown interest in cross-border cooperation with nearby Vyborg and St. Petersburg. Although this was initially challenging, Sepra successfully piloted LEADER-style cooperation in the Lake Ladoga region of Russian Karelia, acting as an expert partner in a project led by the Ruralia Institute. Three local initiative groups (LIGs) were established there. One of these partnered with Sepra and two Estonian LEADER groups on a youth project in the mid-2000s.
More recently, Sepra participated in the Green Belt – Connecting People cross-border project (2019–2021). However, all cooperation with Russia ceased in 2022 due to the geopolitical situation. Currently, Sepra focuses its international efforts on strengthening collaboration within the EU.
Area description
Area is situated 120km east of capital Helsinki reaching the Finnish- Russian border in the east, following the coast of Baltic Sea.Population of the area is 87000 out of whom half live on rural areas. Sepra is one of the 54 Finnish Leader Local Action Groups, LAGs and one of the nine Fishery Local Action Groups, FLAGs. Sepra also operates in the city center of Kotka and is therefore also an ‘urban LAG’.
Strategic objective & vision
Strategic Objective of is to by respecting environment and increasing business-like thinking to create small scale livelihood and to find new ways of employment and thus secure services and create new ones. The aspect of inter-regional and transnational cooperation attracts young people to join to development workand to return into the area and helps immigrants to integrate into the communities.
Area is developed based on local needs, so that the history, the location and the natural environment is utilized in an innovative and wide-ranging source of vitality. Vision 2020 for TN cooperation is that through international cooperation a group of active young people have been involved in development activities who have networks of different countries. Tourism and service industries have benefitted of cooperation that has created new services and products linked to border areas history through Baltic Sea.
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COMCOT- An innovative tool for improving the competitiveness of community based
tourism (Central Baltic Interreg IV A 2007-2013) -
FinEstRus – a youth cooperation project between Leader LAGs in Finland and Estonia with
a NGO in Russia (2012-2013) -
Ladoga Initiative – consultant in University of Helsinki, Ruralia institute Leader piloting
project in Russian Ladoga Area -
Member in EC Focus Group 4 – the design and implementation of the local development
strategy) 2011-2012 -
Finnish representative of ELARD (European Leader Association for Rural Development) since 2016
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Finnish representative in Commission Leader/CLLD subgroup
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SEIC – sustainable entrepreneurship in countryside TN project with Estonian and Latvian LAGs since 2016