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AI: A Revolution in Heathcare

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During AER’s event on artificial intelligence (AI) attendees broke into five roundtable discussion groups, each addressing an area of AI important to stakeholders. The group titled the healthcare revolution was to discuss the disruption AI will bring to the delivery and organisation of healthcare. For an hour, issues such as the changing nature of medicine, relationships between physicians and patients in an era of AI, and the integration of AI into healthcare policy animated discussions.

To suit the large spectrum of issues this group was to discuss, group contributors drew from a broad cross-section of society, bringing with them diversity in knowledge and experience. Contributor Maria Merce Rovira Regas, a Member of the Board at the European Institute of Women’s Health brought experience dealing with gender related issues health care. Founded in 1996, the European Institute of Women’s Health (EIWH) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that promotes gender equity in public health, research and social policies across Europe.

Paul de Raeve the Secretary General of the European Federation of Nurses brought first-hand knowledge of future and current uses of AI in the healthcare system. Dating back to 1971, the European Federation of Nurses represents the nursing profession and its interests to the European Institutions.

Another valuable contributor was Iva Tasheva from Digital Europe. As Digital Europe’s Privacy and Security Policy Manager, Ms Tasheva oversees the EU Cybersecurity Strategy, ePrivacy Regulation, and Data Protection among other things. Robert Winroth the County Commissioner for Innovation in Västerbotten shared his expertise in the process of implementing AI in the healthcare system. The group was moderated by Tanya Znamenski a Public Health Analyst at PatientsTalk a popular blog on healthcare.

Changes Expected

According to contributors AI will be able to allow doctors to channel more energy into personalized patient care, rather than in general diagnosis and treatment of diseases. For example, having monitors which can watch the status of a diabetic at any time will make 24/7 care a reality. Moreover, advances made in genetic testing will make the identification of specific genes in patients possible, allowing for advanced interventions. To this end, contributors stated that final users, patients must be involved in the development of personalized healthcare approaches to ensure it suits their needs as recipients.

On an interpersonal level contributors asserted that the arrival of E-Health promises to fundamentally change the relationship between physicians and patients, by democratizing health care records. Traditionally, there has been a power imbalance in healthcare between physicians and patient due to exclusive access to patient information physicians hold. As society moves towards placing all healthcare records under one universal system which gives patients access to their own records, the authority of physicians will diminish.

Similarly, the arrival of AI will also alter the relationship between physicians and other healthcare providers such as nurses. As AI continues to expand into patient management and diagnosis, the authority of physicians will be further eroded. With data inputs provided by AI healthcare providers like nurses and lab technicians who have played an important, but more secondary role will be able to perform many of the same functions as doctors.

Relatedly, the arrival of big data across healthcare fields will improve the efficiency and speed of delivery of services to patients. Having data instantly available to all physicians involved in a patient’s care will expedite communication between healthcare professionals, rendering time consuming processes like referral letters obsolete.

Challenges Anticipated

Although AI holds the potential to vastly improve the delivery of healthcare, contributors expressed concerns about the ability for robots exist in humans’ highly social world. For many physicians, being a doctor is about more than just the treatments of ailments; it is an intensely social relationship reliant upon trust and mutual understanding built between physician and patient. Whether robots will ever possess the ability to understand human emotions and gain the trust of patients is still an open question, according to contributors.

Another concern involves the usage of patient data as systems like E-Health are deployed. With AI in medicine hinging upon the usage of sensitive personal data contained in healthcare records, contributors claimed that getting data to the right people in a safe and secure manner will be an obstacle industry must confront.

Despite these unsettled ethical questions, contributors said society must be aware that there are also consequences for not adopting these transformative technologies. For example, preventing the deployment of CRISPR due to various concerns will create other sets of questions about whether its moral to deprive someone with a genetic disease from a potentially curative technology. Contributors said that in cases such as this field research and clinical trials are vital to ensuring the healthcare system knows cutting-edge technologies are safe before deployment.

For contributors a challenge will be creating the networks required to bring innovative ideas which already exist to the EU level for implementation and review by policy makers. Having ground-breaking technology in data analysis is useless to the public as long as society do not have the infrastructure and processes to bring it to market. According to contributors, too few of these networks presently exist making their creation a priority for Europe.

Finally, contributors claimed that one challenge for the AI industry will be achieving better gender representation in AI development. Indeed, there is the potential for disconnect if technology developed in the male dominated AI industry is intended for the healthcare industry where over half of professionals are female.

Personal Experiences

Maria Merce Rovira Regas shared her experiences participating in projects with Women’s Health aimed at fighting breast cancer. These projects compiled information from different cases of breast cancer in Europe in a publicly available database to help give better breast cancer diagnoses.

Contrary to some beliefs, Paul de Raeve, from the European Federation of Nurses stressed that nurses are supportive of the deployment of AI into the healthcare system, understanding that it will bring them closer to patients. Based on their experience they believe that AI will enable nurses to work in a more cohesive manner and provide more efficient patient care.

Policy Recommendations

Robert Winroth recommended that AI implementation begin as soon as possible. He stated that to facilitate a smooth integration of AI into the healthcare system, transparent, close partnerships between various AI stakeholders, particularly the private and public sector, will have to be developed. Back home Västerbotten has devoted signficiant time, energy, and resources to this issue, stressing that it is a structural process which requires buy in from all parties.

To help gain public acceptance for AI technologies related to healthcare and to keep constituents informed, participants to the discussion suggested that regions raise awareness around the projects they are working on.

Paul de Raeve stated that a paradigm shift is required in the approach to European projects. For the European Federation of Nurses, too many European projects have a short lifespan with conclusions being ineffectively implemented. Increasing the sustainability of European projects must therefore be an immediate priority.

Finally, Maria Merce Rovira Regas strongly encouraged tech companies to make a more concerted to diversify their workplaces by making gender and racial equality a priority.

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Stimulating Innovation in AI

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Supporting innovation, Attracting Innovators

At AER’s event on artificial intelligence (AI) attendees broke into five roundtable discussion groups, each addressing an area of AI important to stakeholders. Contributors highlighted the changes they expect to see in their fields with the progression of AI and its implications for their work. The group titled supporting innovation, attracting innovators was to discuss how regions can support innovation in AI the purpose of doing so. For an hour, they engaged in lively debate over issues such as the financing of AI projects and investment stimulation in a market dominated by GAFA.

Accordingly, group contributors brought extensive expertise in public sector technology investment and included Jean-Luc Vanraes, the President of AER Committee 1 and Chair of AER’s Working Group SMEs and Investments, along with Marie-Josée Blais the Assistant Deputy Minister of Science and Innovation Sector in Québec. As the chair of AER’s Working Group on SMEs and Investments Mr. Vanraes helps to distribute knowledge on SMEs throughout AER and to its members. Ms. Blais’ primary responsibility is the development and implementation of Québec’s research and innovation strategy which has invested 2.8 billion dollars into stimulating innovation in digital technology in Quebec.

Other contributors brought first-hand knowledge of the financial and environmental needs of the AI industry with Pierre Cherelle of Spin-off Axiles Bionics a division of the Brussels Human Robotics Research Centers and Edwin Mermans from the New Mobility Services Initiative of the EIP-SCC Action Cluster Sustainable Urban Mobility working as contributors. The New Mobility Services Initiative is an outgrowth of the EIP-SCC which seeks to facilitate cooperation between cities and the private sector in order to integrate and manage urban transport, as well as contribute to the development of universal systems for “seamless multi-modal mobility”. Their work directly benefits cities and their citizens while offering apathy to growth for innovative enterprises. For those interested, more information about the New Mobility Services Initiative’s actions can be accessed through the embedded link here or at the bottom of the article.

Earlier this year, VUB Robotics won the Best Startup Award at the highly regarded conference IROS’17 in Vancouver, Canada. After ten years of research BHRRC have become industry leaders. developing a new technology which combines advanced robotics and human biomechanics to replicate the unique combination of flexibility and strength in the ankle. As they begin to bring the fruits of their labour to the market, the quality of life for amputees looks to be dramatically improved. Moderating the group was Jonathan Duplicy a scientific advisor from Innoviris who acted as AER’s event partner and who are implementing the Brussels Capital Region’s new 4 million Euro programme dedicated to producing innovation in AI.

Major Changes Expected

In the knowledge based economy of the 21st century, innovation in the technology sector acts as a primary driver of economic competitiveness and growth. Thus, many of the changes predicted by the discussion panel were around boosting the European digital economy. Chiefly, contributors claimed that people can expect a push in the coming years to create multiple Silicon Valleys in Europe to foster innovation in AI. To give life to Europe’s own Silicon Valleys contributors said that work will need to be done in building the support systems and infrastructure these entities need to establish themselves and thrive.

One area of improvement will be getting entrepreneurs the capital they need to finance their operations with co-funding of projects such as public-private partnerships expected to increase to allow cash-strapped regions to stimulate innovation. To avoid burying start-ups in fees and paperwork, legal frameworks in the field of AI will become more flexible. Helping to provide resources specific to innovators’ needs will be the emergence of AI hubs consisting of incubators which will supply things like co-working spaces and allow for the exchange of best practices. Additionally, they noted that the approach to stimulating innovation will require a two-pronged approach consisting of top-down national plans to regulate and fund innovation, and bottom-up demand driven creation of SMEs. Moreover, contributors expected continual integration of the latest AI technology from research hubs and academia into business and industry which will improve productivity.

Challenges Expected

Although the development of AI promises to improve the lives of many, the road to fostering innovation will be far from easy. Many of the challenges outlined by contributors centered around creating a business environment where companies can succeed. One test anticipated by contributors is the removal of administrative barriers which increase the amount of time and resources required for companies to get off the ground. Even when companies succeed in bring their product to the market, an obstacle will be breaking up monopolies on AI in the tech sector which stifle the growth of start-ups. For entrepreneurs to gain access to financing in the first place, contributors said that Europe must work towards further cultivating an entrepreneurial culture. They believe that regions will have to become far less risk adverse to investment in technology development and research, particularly in early stage ventures. Granting innovative projects early on will help compensate for high costs needed to develop AI, according to contributors.

When it comes to financing for projects, attracting partners for PPPs may prove to be a difficulty for regions who have historically experienced minimal growth in the tech sector. Moreover, to maximize efficiency regions contributors said regions must cooperate to avoid industry overlap and ensure that competitive advantages are being built. Finally, participants expected to encounter difficulties in articulating a positive vision about the benefits of such a complex technology to organisations and public bodies dealing with AI.

Personal experiences

Mr. Mermans talked about how the Smart Cities and Communities partnership has been making headway in using electronic data collection from citizens and different devices to come up with innovative solutions to some of the environmental, societal and health challenges facing European cities today. Some of the work done in co-funding projects and in coordinating existing city initiatives and projects through resource pooling have already contributed to lower pollution and congestion levels in cities.

Indeed, participants affirmed that regions have the financial and intellectual capacities to be at the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution, citing Innoviris as an example who have funded numerous scientific research projects based locally in Brussels. Particularly insightful was the experience of Quebec who created a national innovation strategy by developing the infrastructure to connect AI stakeholders such as corporations, academia, and investors. This policy has borne fruit in extensive investment in AI in Quebec, helping Montreal become one of the global leaders of AI and deep learning.

Regions as Leaders in Innovation

While the United States and Asia have produced hundreds of tech start-ups, Europe’s pace has not been nearly as prolific. Many European tech start-ups have been bought out by US companies while talented computer scientists have left for Silicon Valley. Events such as AER’s AI help provide a forum where participants can learn from each other’s expertise and experiences, giving a starting point for ideas which will once again make regions leaders in AI innovation.

 

171018 V1.1 New Mobility Services

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Regionalisation in Slovakia: Voice of regions on the rise #RoR2017

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Slovakia is a parliamentary representative democratic republic governed under the Constitution of 1992. In terms of territorial administration, the Slovak Republic is divided into 8 regions (corresponding to the EU’s NUTS 3 level) and 2,890 municipalities (as of Dec. 31, 2014). The public administration is organised on three levels: state – region – municipality. Every level has its own elected officials, distributed responsibilities and liabilities. Regions of Slovakia are statistically divided according to EU territorial classification into four NUTS 2 level regions – Bratislava region, Western Slovakia, Central Slovakia and Eastern Slovakia.

Slovak public administration is of a dual nature, with relatively separate lines of local government (local and regional) and state administration (regional general state administration, specialised state administration). There is a clear-cut distinction at the regional and local level between the responsibilities of the local government and those of state administration.

Municipalities

Until 2002 there was a one-tier system of local government comprising more than 2,800 municipalities of varying sizes with the vast majority of very small municipalities. The regional government was established as of January 1, 2002. The creation of a regional tier of self government should have addressed the problem of the large proportion of small municipalities with limited professional and financial capacity capabilities to manage some public services as well as the problem of services where economies of scale and scope exist and services with catchment area exceed municipal jurisdictions.

The municipalities and regions are endowed with rule-making power. Every level (region and municipality) has its own elected officials, defined responsibilities, and tasks. The Constitution depicts the higher territorial units (which is the technical name given to the regions) as legal persons ‘which manage their own property and their financial means independently, under the conditions laid down by a law’. The Constitution lays down the basic institutional organisation of the municipalities and regions.

Regional governments

Governments in the eight Slovak regions were given powers over regional roads, territorial/ physical planning, regional development, secondary schools, hospitals, some social service facilities (retirements homes, social services for children, crises centre, orphanages, etc.), cultural facilities (galleries, museums, theatres, some libraries, etc.), and participation at civil protection, licences for pharmacies and private physicians. Regions can develop a strong trans-frontier co-operation, by the subscription of appropriate agreements, and even become a part of international associations. As far as delegated competences are concerned, the regions execute some tasks transferred from the state administration (for example, a part of the competencies in education, health system, and road transportation).

Representatives of regional governments (councillors of regional assemblies and regional presidents) are elected in direct, free, and democratic elections, which are open to political party candidates as well as independent candidates. However, regional elections typically show lower voter turnout than national and municipal elections. The first regional elections in 2001 were considered a disappointment because they drew only 26 percent of the voters. But recent regional elections in 2013 lured just 20, 1 percent of the country’s eligible voters to the ballot box.

There are sharp regional differences across Slovak regions. Regional inequality is apparent in terms of GDP per capita, employment and income indicators. The eastern regions have a much higher incidence of poverty, as economic activity is heavily concentrated in the west, particularly around the capital, Bratislava. Regional GDP per capita ranges from 186 per cent of the EU average in Bratislava to only 53% in Eastern Slovakia (2014). Regional disparities are not only substantial, but they also tend to be persistent.

Despite regional governments being responsible for the comprehensive integrative development of the region, their direct impact on economic, social and environmental development of their territories is still relatively small. The transfer of executive competences from the state administration bodies to the municipalities and regional governments in 2002-2003 was accompanied by a significant devolution of expenditure responsibilities from the centre to sub-national governments in the areas of education, social services, roads and health care, etc. As a result, the regions became an important component of the public sector and the whole economy. However, a 16.1% share of subnational government expenditure in total public spending can be still considered to be low in light of common practices in Europe. On the other hand, institutions that strengthen the region’s “voice” are arising to deal with different issues of regional development.

by Sona Kapkova

The Report on the state of Regionalisation in Europe.

More than 40 experts contributed to this work, by delivering detailed reports about the state of regionalisation and multilevel governance in chosen European countries. The study covers 41 countries, and each country report is based on a similar structure, thereby allowing a comparative approach among all studied countries.

  • The first part of the report gives the political impetus from the main European stakeholders
  • The second part of this report entails a summarised version of the country reports. The objective is to provide interested readers with a short overview of the main features of regionalisation in various European countries. The complete versions of the country reports are available on the AER website, under LINK
  • The third part provides a thematic approach based on the main findings delivered by the country reports and the current state of regionalisation in Europe. The trends and outlooks lead to open questions on the future of the regions in the European landscape, and more broadly on the role of subnational authorities in the shaping of the continent.
  • The fourth part gives the floor to the actual regional decision-makers in Europe, across a series of interviews and statements by Presidents, Vice-Presidents and elected representatives of the European regions.

Over the next months, we will be focusing on a different European country’s approach to regionalisation. During these months, look out for #RoR2017 on Twitter and/or Facebook and follow us at @europeanregions.

Strong European regions are a pathway to a stronger Europe.

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The Future is Now: Innovation in AI

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Innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) is turning what was once science fiction into reality. With the exponential pace at which technology develops, barriers are being broken in AI faster than many have thought possible. On 30 November, AER’s event Artificial Intelligence: Are Regions Up to The Challenge? will bring together field experts, academics, and stakeholders giving attendees the opportunity to learn about the latest trends and innovations in AI.

A Tool of the Present and Future

Discussions around AI often involve looking far into the future where the world is inhabited by autonomous robots, sometimes minimising the large role that AI currently plays in our lives. While like Google’s Alpha Go beating Master Go player Ke Jie or Tesla’s self driving cars may attract the headlines, innovation in AI is ongoing and has produced many other inventions which are changing the nature of longstanding industries. Being attentive to these more subtle present day changes and continuous innovation in AI allows people to predict the direction each industry may take in the near future. Understanding the trends in each industry paints a more accurate picture of the roles AI will come to play in society, giving policy makers some of the knowledge needed to help integrate AI into society.

Smart Technology

While the abilities of smartphone assistants like Apple’s Siri, Facebook Messenger’s bots, and Google’s Assistant have long been chronicled, closely related home assistants are proving increasingly capable themselves. Amazon’s Echo and Google Home can already switch lights on and off, set timers while people cook, and play songs or answer questions on demand. Other tasks that each can do range from telling users about nearby restaurants, checking people’s calendars for them, and playing trivia games. For now little separates phone assistants from smart homes but tech giants future plans may change this. With landlines becoming obsolete, Amazon and Google are positioning their devices to take its place. Both companies are investing in voice-calling features for their devices, with their goal of making digital phone calls like Skype completely hands free. Additionally, to improve the functionality of their devices the companies are integrating their smart homes with more and more other smart devices. The ultimate vision of smart homes is to make everything from adjusting the thermostat, turning on and off lights, to locking doors all integrated under one system. Such a system would give people the power to not only do these things with a simple command but all the way from another continent as well. One of the most promising uses of smart technology is helping elderly citizens with active and healthy ageing, a topic with AER has been active on in the past. Smart homes are already being employed in ambient assisted living which utilises smart sensors and other wearable devices to capture data about patients’ daily activities and present state of health, making it easier for elderly citizens to live in their own homes as the age.

Predictive Shopping

Smartphone users are already familiar with machine learning using personal data to automatically add events to their calendar and planning the best route home based on current traffic conditions. Now, one of the next frontiers for machine learning will be integrating itself into the daily lives of consumers to provide personalized online shopping. One app, called Pinterest Lens, lets users take a photo of a desired object and finds the item online. Another image detection algorithm can identify an object and searches for similar ones online, making it easier for consumers to buy a desired product. These apps offer a glimpse into the future of predictive shopping where programs and smart devices will be able to mine massive amounts of data ranging from “consumers’ purchase histories, product preferences, and schedules; competitors’ pricing and inventory; and current and forecasted product demand” to give consumers a highly personalized shopping experience.

When people are running low on Tide laundry detergent they can already press Amazon’s wireless Dash Button for it to order more through Amazon Prime. As predictive shopping evolves it will be able to learn users’ behavioural and environmental habits to produce more personalized options. The more data that retail store’s programs collect the better they will become at determining customers’ specific needs. Certain stores are currently using smartphones to pick up on consumers’ behaviour and provide them with context-specific recommendations. Soon, it is very possible that an appliance such as a Samsung Smart Fridge will be able to calculate when users are running low on certain foods and notify them in the morning before they leave for work. Furthermore, in the not too distant future it is likely that retailers will be able to deliver personalized content according to what mood someone is in, the activity they just finished, how much time they have to shop, or the time of day it is. Going forward, beyond developing the right algorithms challenges for retailers will include the protection of consumer data and being subtle enough to avoid giving users the sense that their personal lives are being intruded upon.

Digital Media

One of the most rapidly progressing areas of AI is in multimedia. Right now, using AI people can already create 3D face models from a 2D image, generate sound effects for a silent video, and insert smiles onto any celebrity using Twitter bot Smile Vector. These are just some of the AI assisted multimedia tools people now have at their disposal and new technologies are developing at a breakneck pace. In just one year a program went from producing pictures such as this to this. While these advances in multimedia could be a boon to the creative arts industry, they will almost certainly have negative side effects  as well. With society already having problems combating the proliferation of misinformation online giving nearly anyone the ability to create believable images and videos could exacerbate the issue.

AI and Agriculture

Since humans shifted from a hunter gather lifestyle to a more sedentary agrarian lifestyle, farmers’ crops have been plagued by crop diseases. In the past, pathogens have destroyed everything from the world’s most popular coffee beans to people’s preferred variety of banana. Today, nearly 40 percent of crops are annually lost to diseases. Fortunately, the latest developments in AI may decrease that figure dramatically by improving the accuracy in diagnosis of crop disease. At the forefront of the industry is a team researchers from Pennsylvania State University in the U.S. and the Ecole Polytechique Federale in Switzerland who have created a program which will detect crop diseases before they spread. By giving the program massive datasets-over 50’000 photos-the researchers taught it to detect 26 diseases in 14 plant species with 99.35% accuracy. Unlike many other AI programs where a drawback is the program’s price point, the researchers’ program will enable anyone with a smartphone to take a picture of a crop and receive a diagnosis in seconds. As it moves past its trial phase, the next step for researchers will be improving the program’s ability to detect diseases in a wide range of settings.

Advances in the agricultural industry due to AI are not just limited to the diagnosis of crop disease, but can now play a role in the treatment of them as well. Another machine learning program, this time an automated tractor, can identify weeds in lettuce crops within 0.2 seconds and spray them with great precision. Project worker Ben Chostner claims that farmers can reduce their pesticide usage by 90 percent using his company’s robots. If rolled out successfully, the program could transform how farmers deal with threats to their crops. The current approach to using pesticides is akin to “carpet bombing fields”, causing chemicals to descend among the healthy crops as well. The precision used by the LettuceBot not only promises to make usage of pesticides more efficient but, could lead to less pesticides ingested by consumers while decreasing their environmentally damaging side effects such as chemical runoff.

Regions and Innovators

At AER’s event on AI, attendees will have the opportunity learn from innovators about where their work is taking them. While it can seem like big corporations hold a monopoly on technological development, stimulating innovation in AI will allow regions to be active players in the 4th industrial revolution and create new opportunities for employment. AER’s event will provide information on how regions and innovators can get funding for research and projects, with a presentation from DG Connect’s Cecile Huet. As illustrated above, the impact of AI is cross cutting and promises to transform the way many industries are run. With a study visit to VUB’s AI lab, attendees of AER’s event will have the opportunity to witness this innovation first hand.

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Regionalisation in The Netherlands: Regional reform discussed, but limited #RoR2017

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The current administrative structure of the Netherlands consists of three levels: central government, provinces and municipalities. The administrative set-up of the Dutch nation state has been rather stable since 1830 and changes to the territorial structure of the provinces have been marginal (as opposed to the municipal level where restructuring and merging has been a constant). Currently there are 12 provinces in the Netherlands.

The tasks and competencies of the provinces are laid down in the Dutch Constitution and in the law on provinces (the “Provinciewet”, which originates from 1850). Rules regarding provincial finances and the financial relations between the various levels of government are laid down in the “Financiële-verhoudingswet” (originating from 1897).

The Dutch provinces have tasks in many fields. Competencies in these fields are often shared with the central government and with the municipalities (and increasingly with the EU). The report analyses the fields where the provinces are considered to be a very important and in some cases the primary public actor: spatial planning, infrastructure and transport, nature conservation and environmental policies, regional economic development, regional culture and conservation of monuments, ( financial) supervision of municipalities and water boards, and rural development.

It is important to note that in the Netherlands in 2015 a large decentralization operation (“Decentralisaties social domein”) was put in motion, by which many tasks in the domain of health and social affairs, especially regarding youth care, have been shifted from the central government and provincial levels to the level of municipalities.

The members of the provincial assemblies (“Provinciale Staten”: Provincial Council) are directly elected every 4 years by the residents of their province. The parties that compete for their votes are mainly national parties, but over the last 15 years, we have seen an increase (both at the level of provinces and of municipalities) in participation by regional and local parties. The head of the province is the Commissioner of the King, who is nominated by the central government and appointed by the King. The Commissioner presides over both the Provincial Council and the Provincial Executive.

Although reform of the regional level is discussed on a regular basis, actual reform is rather limited. In 2012, the current government (Rutte-II, a liberal-socialist coalition) proposed to create 5-7 larger regions (“landsdelen”) to replace the current 12 provinces, starting with the merger of Noord-Holland, Utrecht and Flevoland into the “Noordvleugel”-province (the northern part of the Randstad). The provinces concerned were against this idea and mobilized support from the Dutch Senate. As a result, the legislative process to bring about the merger was shelved in 2014. Shortly after that, the government decided to abandon the idea of provincial mergers altogether.

by Nico Groenendijk

The Report on the state of Regionalisation in Europe.

More than 40 experts contributed to this work, by delivering detailed reports about the state of regionalisation and multilevel governance in chosen European countries. The study covers 41 countries, and each country report is based on a similar structure, thereby allowing a comparative approach among all studied countries.

  • The first part of the report gives the political impetus from the main European stakeholders
  • The second part of this report entails a summarised version of the country reports. The objective is to provide interested readers with a short overview of the main features of regionalisation in various European countries. The complete versions of the country reports are available on the AER website, under LINK
  • The third part provides a thematic approach based on the main findings delivered by the country reports and the current state of regionalisation in Europe. The trends and outlooks lead to open questions on the future of the regions in the European landscape, and more broadly on the role of subnational authorities in the shaping of the continent.
  • The fourth part gives the floor to the actual regional decision-makers in Europe, across a series of interviews and statements by Presidents, Vice-Presidents and elected representatives of the European regions.

Over the next months, we will be focusing on a different European country’s approach to regionalisation. During these months, look out for #RoR2017 on Twitter and/or Facebook and follow us at @europeanregions.

Strong European regions are a pathway to a stronger Europe.

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Highlights from the AER Youth Regional Network’s Autumn Plenary Meeting!

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On the 3-5 November in Brussels, the AER Youth Regional Network held its Autumn Plenary Meeting, with three days of discussions, experience exchange and decisions on some of the most topical issues regarding youth.

The meeting outlined debates and reactions to the integration of young migrants, youth mobility and youth participation in sustainability.

The Plenary kicked off with a workshop debate with Yoomi Renstrom, Member of the European Committee of the Regions and Mayor of the Municipality of Ovanåker, on the integration of migrant young people. YRN delegates stressed that regionally based policies and strategies can more effectively support young migrants to integrate and that a multi-level governance approach, with the engagement of youth, is fundamental to the social, economic and civic inclusion of migrant young people.

Céline Dawans, AER Coordinator Governance & Communications, also addressed the plenary, speaking about youth mobility and the AER exchange programme Eurodyssey. Followed a presentation by the President of YRN Economy Committee, Vahram Vardanyan, on the European Charter on Quality in Learning Mobility and its set of principles to deliver high quality mobility projects. Participants were keen to note that youth mobility is essential in promoting cultural awareness and intercultural understanding, developing skills and competences, boosting employability, exchanging good practices and embracing diversity.

The YRN also rebranded with a new visual identity and logo.

The three YRN Thematic Committees – Economy and Regional Development; Social Policy and Public Health; Culture and Education – also looked at its own priority issues and actions.

Read the minutes of the meeting here.

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Regionalisation in Armenia: improvements of local self-government needed

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The Republic of Armenia is part of the Eastern Partnership, which is an initiative that enables closer political, economic and cultural relations among the EU, its member states and 6 eastern European partners. Armenia gained independence from the Soviet Union on 21 September 1991. For seventy years Armenia had been under Soviet rule, which had imposed the Soviet system of governance based on “democratic centralism”. Since Armenia had been entrenched in the traditions of the highly centralised Soviet state, the introduction of a new territorial administrative division and the establishment of local self-governance proved to be rather difficult. The transition to a more decentralised model of governance was further impeded by a number of factors, including the war in Nagorno-Karabagh, the blockade and the economic crisis, which displaced the government’s attention from fundamental reforms for a new democratic state to the aforementioned factors.

implementation of a local self-government

A system of local self-government was finally established after the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia on 5 June 1995, by way of referendum. Following the adoption of the Constitution, there were three waves of reforms in local self-governance. The first wave marked the years 1995 – 1996 as a period in which the new territorial and administrative division was introduced and the Law on Local Self-Government was adopted, which allowed for the segregation of the local self-government from the state government for the first time in the history of the young Republic. The second wave was marked by the adoption of a new Law on Local Self-Government in 2002 and subsequent reforms reflected in the amended Constitution in 2005. Finally, the third wave was marked by the adoption of the Law on Local Self-Government in Yerevan in 2008, which allowed for changes in the entire system of local self-government.

The implementation of local self-government in Armenia is regulated by Articles 104-110 of Chapter 7 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, which is defined primarily by the Law on Local Self-Government. This law is based on the European Charter of Local Self- Government, which Armenia later ratified in 2002. In accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, the public administration bodies are divided into three groups: state administration, regional administration, and local self-government. However, it may be more accurate to say that the Armenian government has a two-tier structure, as administrative power is principally divided between the Central Government Ministry of Territorial Administration and the communities.

Marzes: Armenia’s administrative powers

In fact, the administrative power of the regions (marzes) is derived directly from the state, with marz governors implementing the territorial policy of the state government in the regions. Marzes are not a separate level of government since they do not have their own budgets nor elected officials, but are governed by marz governors, who are appointed and dismissed by government decrees, which are subject to ratification by the President of the Republic. The activities of the marz governor’s offices consist of implementing the territorial policies of the state government, supervising activities of the local governments, and ensuring the link between the state government and the local government authorities.

Within the bounds of the authority vested by the law, marz governors carry out the state’s regional policy in following areas: nance, urban development, housing and utilities, transport and road construction, agriculture and land use, education, healthcare, social security, culture and sports, nature and environmental protection, commerce, public catering, and services. Marz governors also coordinate the activities of regional services of the executive authority in the following areas: internal affairs and national security, defence, communication, energy, taxes, emergency situations, civil defence and others.

Communities play their part in local governance

Although most administrative power is held by the Central Government Ministry of Territorial Administration, some administrative power is exercised at the level of the communities, which can thus be considered a separate tier of government. This second tier of government exists in both rural and urban communities, which consists of one or more settlements. There are 1000 settlements in Armenia, which are unified into 926 communities, of which 48 are urban, 865 rural, and 12 considered as Yerevan district communities. Within the local government structure of the communities, the Community Council Elders (Avagani) and the Head of the Community (often referred to as a Mayor) play major roles, as they comprise the local decision-making bodies. They are elected for a four-year term by secret ballot on the basis of universal, equal, and direct suffrage in accordance to the law.

Together, they comprise the local administration and fulfill the following responsibilities: “to provide for the rights of citizens and the interests of local self-government; to provide local development planning; to manage financial matters and community property; to implement projects and achieve strategic goals; to define, calculate, and forecast citizen needs, and prepare the relevant draft resolutions; to assign resources for public services; and to supervise the implementation of the four-year development plans”.

The finances at the level of the communities are heavily dependent on state budget transfers, which often comprise over fifty percent of local budget revenues, and are regulated by the Law On Financial Equalization, which was promulgated in 1998.

Further developments

The reforms that were made in the Constitution in 2005 are a reaction to the provisions and proposals set out within the framework of cooperation between the Republic and the Council of Europe. These changes aim to foster the improvement of local self-government, democratisation and correspondence of the legislation according to the principles of European Charter of Local Self-Government.

by Susannah GO

The Report on the state of Regionalisation in Europe.

More than 40 experts contributed to this work, by delivering detailed reports about the state of regionalisation and multilevel governance in chosen European countries. The study covers 41 countries, and each country report is based on a similar structure, thereby allowing a comparative approach among all studied countries.

  • The first part of the report gives the political impetus from the main European stakeholders
  • The second part of this report entails a summarised version of the country reports. The objective is to provide interested readers with a short overview of the main features of regionalisation in various European countries. The complete versions of the country reports are available on the AER website, under LINK
  • The third part provides a thematic approach based on the main findings delivered by the country reports and the current state of regionalisation in Europe. The trends and outlooks lead to open questions on the future of the regions in the European landscape, and more broadly on the role of subnational authorities in the shaping of the continent.
  • The fourth part gives the floor to the actual regional decision-makers in Europe, across a series of interviews and statements by Presidents, Vice-Presidents and elected representatives of the European regions.

Over the next months, we will be focusing on a different European country’s approach to regionalisation. During these months, look out for #RoR2017 on Twitter and/or Facebook and follow us at @europeanregions.

Strong European regions are a pathway to a stronger Europe.

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Regionalisation in Italy: “components of the republic”

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In Italy, regions are grounded in the Constitution, which lists them in Article 131 and identifies them in Article 114: a region is a “component” of the republic, together with the state and other territorial entities. Regions and the state share legislative powers, all the territorial entities have autonomy in finance and expenditure.

Regions can have an Ordinary Statute approved with an ordinary law (Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, Marche, Lazio, Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata and Calabria) or a Special Statute approved with a constitutional law (Valle d’Aosta / Vallée d’Aoste, Trentino-Alto Adige / Südtirol, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Sardinia and Sicily). Regions with special statutes are also entitled to special conditions of autonomy according to the first paragraph of article 116. The regions are the electoral constituency for the election of the Senate, but this fact does not lead to a regional representation in the strict sense.

Reforms and regional leadership

The Constitutional Reform of 2001 produced results below expectations and landed in a framework of regional leaderships in decline in many Italian regions, often involved in scandals. Some political parties call for the overthrow of the regional system in favour of a centralized state – including the “5 Stars Movement” of Beppe Grillo (25.5% of votes in 2013), and some areas of the centre-right and centre-left parties. However, a strong alternative to the regional system is not concretely foreseen. The media and citizens also frown upon centralization of resources and decision-making at the central level, marked by serious scandals, repeated since the unification of Italy and increasingly on newspapers’ front pages. Ongoing institutional reform sees a clash between two models coming from the debate on the past reforms: the first centralist, and the second faithful to the decentralization process set out since the post-war times. The two trends coexist in the new proposal: on the one hand in favour of a Senate of the Regions, on the other hand with a depletion of regional powers, although they have never actually been transferred to the ordinary regions. The special statute regions are worried by the new reforms, although the constitutional method of bilateral agreement with the state keeps them safe from the new centralism, for the time being.

The reform process for public finances and political stability arose in a very dramatic framework, leading to President Berlusconi’s resignation on 12 November 2011, to Mario Monti’s cabinet and to political elections on 24 and 25 February 2013. In three months, the project was ready. While the parliament was laboriously looking for a majority and a new government that would be born only on 24 April with Enrico Letta, on 30 March 2013, the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, appointed a group of experts (“The Wisemen”) to make proposals on reforms. On 11 June, the Senate started the debate on the project of constitutional law submitted by the government. However, the text was approved at first reading by the Senate on 8 August 2014, a few months after the government of Matteo Renzi took office. It is now under scrutiny at the Chamber of Deputies. Despite the short kick off in 2013, the debate has waned, making room for other urgent issues on public accounts and other structural reforms. However, the process of political reforms has been weakening recently. The opposition and some representatives of the majority do not want the removal of the “equal bicameralism”. They are also against a Senate not directly elected and with regional brand on the doorbell.

The constitutional bill changes the functioning of the institutions (legislative procedure, quorum for the election of the President of the Republic, referendum) and streamlines it (Provinces and “National Council for Economy and Labour” wind up). The most important changes are about the share of legislative powers between the state and regions, and the transformation of the Senate into a territorial Chamber with less power. The Chamber of Deputies will have the main relationship with the government (vote of confidence), the political guidance and control, and the largest part of national legislative decision-making. The Senate would be elected indirectly, with 95 members elected by regional councils among their members and the mayors of the region, while five senators will be appointed by the President of the Republic for 7 years.

The political forces agree on the revision of the legislative powers shared between the state and ordinary regions, winding up the category of shared competences, mainly transferred to the state (e.g. transport networks), and giving it new competencies, like coordination of public finance and taxation, standardization of labour rules in the public sector, and in the field of social security. The ordinary and special regions will carry on the exercise of participation in the ascending and descending phases of EU decision making process.

The constitutional reform finally introduces a “supremacy clause”, which bears out and strengthens the governmental possibility to act in the field of regional competences to preserve legal or economic unity of the Republic or the national interest. The parliamentary debate has confirmed that the special statute regions will keep their differentiated autonomy through article 116 of the Constitution. However, the special statutes of the five regions and of the two autonomous provinces will be updated according to the reform, on the basis of bilateral agreements between each of them and the state.

Further efforts to balance the state/region power

The success of the constitutional reforms depends not only on the stability and strength of the government in office but also on the country’s ability to move forward on structural reforms. Several forces hinder them: political, corporate and social; for example, on spending reviews or school reforms. Against the new bill on electoral system, they prefer a majority bonus in favour of the coalition than a single party, a direct election of the senate, and a general conservation of the status quo.

The next political steps remain difficult and the mood of the country does not help reforms. The protest expressed through political forces represents at least 40% of the votes, and 30-40% of the citizens who do not vote. Newspapers and the television do not miss a chance to despise and fault the regional texture of the Republic. The slight economic recovery of 2015-2016 could soften hearts, but it could also make structural and constitutional reforms appear less urgent.

Top decision-making officials know that the reforms do not change much the balance of power between the state and regions. The competencies of the ordinary regions will remain as residual as they are today, except in health and in local transportation. Special statute regions will remain unchanged, despite the budget cuts. Out of the vivid media debate, the constitutional reform does not seem so scary: it serves primarily to make the decision- making system faster, concentrating it primarily in the Chamber of Deputies. So, despite some resistance and perhaps some changes, the reform could be approved soon, unless the protest grows faster and the general political framework becomes entangled.

by Enrico Martial

The Report on the state of Regionalisation in Europe.

More than 40 experts contributed to this work, by delivering detailed reports about the state of regionalisation and multilevel governance in chosen European countries. The study covers 41 countries, and each country report is based on a similar structure, thereby allowing a comparative approach among all studied countries.

  • The first part of the report gives the political impetus from the main European stakeholders
  • The second part of this report entails a summarised version of the country reports. The objective is to provide interested readers with a short overview of the main features of regionalisation in various European countries. The complete versions of the country reports are available on the AER website, under LINK
  • The third part provides a thematic approach based on the main findings delivered by the country reports and the current state of regionalisation in Europe. The trends and outlooks lead to open questions on the future of the regions in the European landscape, and more broadly on the role of subnational authorities in the shaping of the continent.
  • The fourth part gives the floor to the actual regional decision-makers in Europe, across a series of interviews and statements by Presidents, Vice-Presidents and elected representatives of the European regions.

Over the next months, we will be focusing on a different European country’s approach to regionalisation. During these months, look out for #RoR2017 on Twitter and/or Facebook and follow us at @europeanregions.

Strong European regions are a pathway to a stronger Europe.

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#ShineBright Vojvodina improves waste management systems

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On the Occasion of the Regional Innovation Award on Circular Economy, ShineBright on the region of Vojvodina, in Serbia that presented its project on a Regional Waste Management Center.

The overall objective of the project is to develop an EU-standard integrated sustainable solid waste management system in the region of Zrenjanin, Vojvodina.

In the region, there is no control, treatment or systematic monitoring  of emissions, leachate waters or landfill gas.

In that sense, the initiative aims to build a regional sanitary landfill; a composting facility; a transfer station; local recycling centres. Adding  improvements to waste collection services and the closure and rehabilitation of selected existing waste disposal sites.

Improvements in the waste management system will contribute to significant improvement of health and environmental conditions in the region.

For more information visit Vojvodina’s website!

 

The next Regional Innovation Award will take place in 2018 and will be dedicated to the Silver Economy in the context of AER SEED project.

 

Photo credits: Filip Zrnzevic @Unsplash at https://unsplash.com/@filipz

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Democratic innovation: are regions up for the challenge?

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OPINION PIECE by Valentin Dupouey

Regions are, along with cities, the first ring of the democratic chain that links local to global, cities to continents, grassroots initiatives to global challenges, citizens to institutions. This democratic chain is under heavy pressure but we cannot afford to see it break.  

The health of democracy is extremely heterogeneous across the different rings of the chain. At the scale of the wider rings, the nation states and the European Union, democracy is under direct and serious threat. Citizens’ growing disinterest in political matters, the so-called disenchantment for democracy, the growing gap citizens perceive between their decision makers and their daily lives appears very sharply. Ever lower records of voter turnout, in particular among young people, and the rise of extremist parties with openly anti-democratic claims are just two symbols of the challenges democracy is facing today. Should further concrete examples be needed, one can turn his or her eyes towards Hungary and Poland, where democratically elected leaders are openly advocating for an ‘illiberal state’ jeopardising fundamental freedoms.

At the European level, these threats are equally affecting the object of democracy: the need for thriving coexistence. The inexorable movement of border opening known in Europe since the end of the Cold War has suddenly come to a halt. The refugee crisis is showing the limits of our desire for more open societies. The recent talks for a restricted Schengen area are additional signs of the same regressive movement.

Among the main causes would probably be the growing distance between citizens and policymakers; the complexity of democratic structures; the defiance to policy makers tied to private, vested interests; and the perceived inability of representative democracy to improve the state of things and common well being.

The need for young people and for all citizens to understand their own democratic structures, their desire to see their choices turning into changes, and their willingness to be actively participating in the decisions affecting their life must be taken into account if the hopes to revive democracy are to be turned into reality. A paradigm shift is now crucially needed among policy makers.

Grassroots democracy as embodied by local and regional authorities is the first link in a long chain and we cannot afford to see break. The proximity with decision making places allows individuals to better understand the democratic structures they live in. It offers citizens platforms for participation that no other level can offer. The low geographical gap and regional scope of decisions allow everyone to witness more discernibly the impact of their choices and actions. Tools and practices are available for policy makers to revive and renew grassroots local democracy. It is all about uptake and dissemination.

How can regions help rebuilt empowering democracies, that gives young people the means and will to be engaged for the common good?

Through competences for democratic culture

A whole book could easily be written on that concept…oh wait! It already exists! The work of the Council of Europe to develop a framework for competences for democratic culture composed of a set of 20 competences divided into values, attitudes, skills and knowledge is possibly the most important work recently done in the field of civic and citizenship education. The document “describes a conceptual model of the competences which need to be acquired by learners if they are to participate effectively in a culture of democracy and live peacefully together with others in culturally diverse democratic societies.”

The project is still on-going and aims at developing tools and resources for educators in order to facilitate this new approach to civic education.

Check the work of the Council of Europe on Competences for Democratic Culture:

http://www.coe.int/en/web/education/competences-for-democratic-culture

Through applied civic and citizenship education

Civic and citizenship education cannot be a simple top-down sharing of knowledge anymore. A passive transfer of knowledge was, partly, relevant, in a more rigid, less open, society where representative democracy was almost unique democratic pillar. Participatory democracy, direct democracy, civil dialogue, democracy through intermediary structures such as NGO requires a much wider range of knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Civic and citizenship education should aim at developing these skills and attitudes: team work, how to run an NGO and a project, how to collectively organise to run a campaign, critical-thinking and media literacy, understanding of active participation, etc.

It should equally offer opportunities to apply the learnt competences: co-management structures within schools, local youth councils, time and support to be engaged in NGOs at a younger age. We could possible imagine credits for civic engagement (with the utilitarian limits that it poses) or facilitation of gap years for engagement.  

A complete overhaul of our approach to civic education is necessary.

Through Co-management structures and meaningful youth participation

Co-management of some structures designed for the common good such as sports facilities, libraries, schools could provide a very good ground to share responsibilities between authorities and citizens, to collectively develop a sense of shared responsibility and to give opportunity for civic engagement at the local level. The best example is probably sports facilities that could quite often be much more efficiently used if real co-management systems would be put in place between local sports clubs and authorities.

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has adopted a charter of participation of young people in local and regional life. A very concrete tool to make regional authorities more innovative in youth participation: https://rm.coe.int/16807023e0

Through encouraging and supporting youth work

While the reality, diversity and complexity of youth work is still not fully understood, there is a strong common agreement that provision of quality youth work is vital in helping young people, in particular the most disadvantaged in their transition periods, as it develops critical thinking, increases the sense of belonging, and strengthens young people’s capacity to resist negative influences and behaviour.

Check more about the newly Council of Europe adopted resolution on youth work: http://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/quality-youth-work-key-to-preventing-a-lost-generation-in-europe

Through observatory for democratic innovation and civic participation  

Finally, I believe most of the ideas and practices we need to secure strong democracies through the rebuilding of trust between citizens already exist. It comes down to dissemination and transfer of successful initiatives. Public authorities at all levels should equip themselves with ‘democratic innovation and civic participation intelligence units’ in charge of exploring what works in other context and of importing these operational initiatives in their own contexts. It doesn’t require to reinvent the way we do things, it requires an open mind and open eyes and a political will for innovation.

 

Valentin Dupouey has been working in the education, youth and sport NGO sector for the last 10 years. As a proud member of the Erasmus generation, he has lived, worked, volunteered and studied in France, Slovenia, UK, Denmark and Belgium. He’s currently Secretary General of the Young European Federalists (JEF Europe) and an elected member of the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe on behalf of the Erasmus Student Network. See his blog: A European Citizen
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#RoR2017 – This week’s focus: Regions in Finland

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The article describes the Finnish regions from a number of different viewpoints. It delineates the overall politico-administrative architecture of Finland in order to place the regional councils in context. Thereafter it follows a delineation of the basic characteristics of the regions, and the tasks of the Finnish regions, emphasising both their formal characteristics as well as the dynamism of conducting the tasks. Then, the endings and conclusions with challenges facing the regions in the current socio-economic development are discussed.

The political structure of Finland is formally two-fold consisting of the national and the local level of governments. Regions, however, play a role in the Finnish politico-administrative system too; they refer to geographical entities with a long historical background. Secondly, there are regional councils, which have specific tasks, but lack the independence of a political actor more involved with local governance.

The regional councils play different roles in the Finnish politico-administrative system. They deal with technical issues of land use planning, and administer the EU Structural Fund appropriations. They also represent the municipalities and coordinate, more or less, the economic and social development in the regions.

In history, there have been a number of proposals put forward on how to conduct necessary reforms in the regions. A common feature in these proposals is the strengthening of regional councils, and a shift of tasks from the national government regional agencies to the regional councils. A recent proposal, based on discussions of the regional directors, puts forward four scenarios for the future.

In scenario one, regions become a new kind of service province that gather the existing municipal federations and the government’s Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment under the control of direct democracy. The mechanism to introduce this would be general election.

In scenario two, municipalities are essentially larger than they are now and are capable of providing most of their services. Large regional councils under democratic control are responsible for regional development and the most advanced special health care and polytechnic training.

Scenario three is based on large municipalities being controlled by a strong national government. Scenario four focuses on regional councils in 2010 in a situation where no structural reforms have been achieved. Municipalities and regions just drift along, and public nance is in a state of crisis. As it was referred to at the beginning of the paper, the number of inhabitants in the northern and eastern regions is decreasing, and hence the question of balanced territorial development and the best means to achieve it are at stake as well.

Regional councils represent municipal interests. The Finnish regions represent their area and inhabitants in a multitude of ways. Their main tasks focus on spatial planning, but development and coordination are important tasks too. During recent years their role has been grow- ing. The role of the regions has to be seen from a number of angles. In order to fulfil their tasks, they have to be able to define their role in the organisational network.

In other words, we can see regions facing different challenges in order to be successful in the current political climate. Finland has in the second decade of the 2000s experienced structural changes, which have caused turmoil. Regions in Finland are municipally based organisations. In other words, they represent the integrated voice of the member municipalities, and o er a forum for them. The membership is compulsory. Large and small municipalities may look at the regional council differently based on what extent it advocates their interests.

Regional self-government is still a goal, not a reality. One decisive step towards this direction would be popular elections. One further factor undermining the need of municipal cooperation is the trend of increasing municipal size. In addition, in the spring of 2014 the Finnish government decided to reform the health care system. According to the plans there will only be five social and health care regions; however, the details of the reforms are still open to discussion. In recent years, in 2014 in particular, there have been discussions on the social and health services and their organisation. Even now, hospitals, mentally handicapped care, and vocational education, have been inter-municipal responsibilities.

The new plan is to create regions in 2019. The regions would coordinate social and health services, and decide which services and to what extent they will be produced by the local government, private enterprises and non-governmental organisations. The regional council members would be elected by the citizens.

In this sense there is a lot of scaling and rescaling going on in Finland, which probably seems to also a elect the regions and regional councils.

For the full report on Finland, see here.

_____________

The Report on the state of Regionalisation in Europe.

More than 40 experts contributed to this work, by delivering detailed reports about the state of regionalisation and multilevel governance in chosen European countries. The study covers 41 countries, and each country report is based on a similar structure, thereby allowing a comparative approach among all studied countries.

  • The first part of the report gives the political impetus from the main European stakeholders
  • The second part of this report entails a summarised version of the country reports. The objective is to provide interested readers with a short overview of the main features of regionalisation in various European countries. The complete versions of the country reports are available on the AER website, under LINK
  • The third part provides a thematic approach based on the main findings delivered by the country reports and the current state of regionalisation in Europe. The trends and outlooks lead to open questions on the future of the regions in the European landscape, and more broadly on the role of subnational authorities in the shaping of the continent.
  • The fourth part gives the floor to the actual regional decision-makers in Europe, across a series of interviews and statements by Presidents, Vice-Presidents and elected representatives of the European regions.

Over the next months, we will be focusing on a different European country’s approach to regionalisation. During these months, look out for #RoR2017 on Twitter and/or Facebook and follow us at @europeanregions.

Strong European regions are a pathway to a stronger Europe.

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MYFER Award ceremony

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The Most Youth Friendly European Region Award ceremony took place yesterday in Sankt Pölten, Lower Austria on the occasion of the 2017 AER General Assembly.

This ceremony, chaired by Sonja Steen, outgoing President of the AER Committee for Culture, Youth and Education, highlighted the efforts region make to become more youth-friendly territories. Youth participation and inclusion are very high on the AER agenda and the award is a way of raising awareness on this topic while shining a light on successful and transferable examples in the regions.

…And the winner is

Jury Members unanimously awarded the MYFER award to Vojvodina (SRB) for their project on sex and relationship education for high school students.

The MYFER Special Prize went to Catalonia (ESP) for its tailor-made Youth Guarantee programme which combats early school leaving and increase the employability of Young people not in education, employment or training.

The MYFER Jury gathered on 16 May 2017 in Brussels and was composed of representatives from the AER Youth Regional Network, Eurochild, the European Youth Forum (EYF), the European Youth Parliament (EYP), and the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe Youth Department.Evaluation criteria include aspects such as sustainability, equal opportunities, social inclusion and gender equality as well as the impact of the initiative in the region and the role played by youth in its implementation and development.

Evaluation criteria include aspects such as sustainability, equal opportunities, social inclusion and gender equality as well as the impact of the initiative in the region and the role played by youth in its implementation and development.

Vojvodina: a holistic approach for healthy sex and relationships

This project started in 2013, after a survey of high school students returned alarming results indicating poor knowledge among sexually active teenagers. As regular school curricula in the country do not include sex education the region took action and implemented an extra-curricular programme for students.

This comprehensive sex and relationship education programme includes 14 one and a half hour workshops, a trainer’s guide and a book for students. Classes discuss sexuality, attraction vs. love, communication, gender roles, equality, sexual and reproductive rights, anatomy, AIDS and STIs, contraception and family planning, access to gynecology and urology health services etc. Gender-based violence and sexual abuse are also specifically addressed.

Young people are not mere beneficiaries: they are engaged and empowered to be actors of change: 30% of trainers are indeed peer trainers, enabling young people to be both recipients and providers of support.

This highly transferable initiative started with a pilot project for 10 schools. 2 years later it already involved 77 schools across the region. In total 150 trainers were trained, ensuring sustainability and long term impact.  After 3 years, 11865 young people from all over the region have been empowered through this action, for healthy sex and relationships.

Linked article: Serbian Province launches sex education classes

Catalonia: social innovation for empowered youth

Confronted with the daunting task to curb a 48.9% unemployment rate for young people under 25 in 2013, this region developed its own Youth Guarantee model based on social innovation, with two highly successful programmes.

The “New Opportunities” programme targets early school leavers. Creative methodologies is used to offer job guidance, training, mentoring and insertion. After a short period of personal and vocational guidance exploration young people follow personalised itineraries of up to 2 years.

The “Unique” programme focuses on increasing employability. Major landmarks of this programme are the training activities outside the classroom, the work on transversal competencies and the ongoing tutoring.

Youth from very diverse backgrounds, at risk of exclusion or with higher education, receive customised support for training, employment or to set up their own business. The close cooperation with local social and economic stakeholders from an early stage prove instrumental in supporting the youth and bringing innovation to the local economy.

Moreover, specific actions are being carried out for youths with functional diversity and over 660 youths with disabilities are being hired at special employment centres.

 The unemployment rate dropped by 16,6% in 3 years. Over 42700 young people have participated in one of these two programmes, and 19,940 are currently working.

MYFER: snapshots of a Beautiful Europe

“Every second year the MYFER award enables AER to seize a picture of how regions build a progressive Europe with and for youth. While the two winning regions are particularly in the spotlight, all participants presented inspiring examples of how to make regions youth-friendly” says Sonja Steen, whose region organised the award this year and who was also the Chair of the Jury.

Each participating region received a detailed feedback on major assets and elements which can be further improved from the Jury members. These examples will be highlighted via the AER website to continue to disseminate good practices and encourage other regions to import successful ideas.

Moreover, the AER Youth Regional Network will be involved in the development of the upcoming edition of the MYFER award, because AER takes youth seriously.

 

 

 

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MYFER Award jury meeting

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Today, Tuesday 16 May early in the morning the jury of the Most Youth Friendly European Region Award met in Brussels, Belgium. Together, they evaluated the 10 shortlisted applications. After passionate debates, the  jury selected MYFER 2017’s grand winner. The winner will be publicly announced on  31 of May at the AER General Assembly in Austria. A special prize will also be awarded.

Candidates 

Ten candidates from various regions applied for the prize:

  • AP Vojvodina, Serbia : “Health education on reproductive health of high school students in the region of Vojvodina”,
  • Hedmark, Norway : “Youth County Council of Hedmark”,
  • Lower Austria, Austria : “Youth coaches for Lower Austria communities”,
  • Umbria, Italy: “Creative Camp”,
  • County of Vrancea, Romania : “Grow up in Vrancea – remigrated children in Vrancea county – educated, supported, counseled!”,
  • Umbria, Italy : “Business at school”,
  • Antalya, Turkey : “School league”,
  • Antalya, Turkey : “GEDAM”,
  • Catalonia, Spain: “New opportunities and unique programs”,
  • Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland : “Je participe ! / Ich mache mit!”.

Rules & Criteria

The Jury members evaluated thoroughly all the applications. The candidates were rated according to specific criteria such as the impact and regional dimension of the initiative, the involvement of youth in managing and developing the initiative, its sustainability and the level of social inclusion, gender equality and the respect of equal opportunities.

Diverse initiatives

The MYFER award gathers very diverse initiatives, promoting the principles of tolerance and equal opportunities. Additionnally, the award plays a precious part in raising awareness on youth inclusion in policy definition and implementation.

The projects presented this year reflect this diversity. Some, focused mainly on fostering youth participation and consultation in local politics. Others, touch upon very specific subjects, such as sexual health education or improving younger generation’s enrollment in businesses and entrepreneurship. Most of the applications emphasized clearly the importance of education and schooling.

In the end, each program greatly participated in promoting young people’s involvement in society, public matters, and politics. All initiatives worked hard to foster cooperation, youth inclusion, strong education, good health and employment.

Jury members

Sonja Steen, Chair of the MYFER Jury, President of the AER Committee for Culture, Youth and Education

Giovanni Briganti, President of the AER  Youth Regional Network Committee for Education and Culture, Member of the Youth Council of Brussels-Wallonie

Tinna Ros Steinsdottir, Child participation and network development Officer at Eurochild

David Garrahy, Head of policy and advocacy for the European Youth Forum

Sam Van Hoof, President of the European Youth Parliament Belgium, Member of the European Youth Parliament

Valentin Dupouey, Member of the Advisory Council on Youth, Council of Europe Youth Department

Organisations represented

Youth Regional Network (YRN)

Created by the Assembly of European Regions, the Youth Regional Network (YRN) is a platform of regional-level youth parliaments, councils and organisations from the wider Europe. YRN provides a truly unique forum giving young people from diverse regions a collective voice on the European stage while introducing a European dimension to youth policy in those regions.

Eurochild

Eurochild is a network of 165 organisations and individuals working in and across Europe to promote the rights and well-being of children and young people. Eurochild’s work is underpinned by the UNCRC and aims to work for and with children to promote their rights and well-being in policy and practice. This work feeds into Eurochild’s vision of a society where children and young people grow up happy, healthy and confident and respected as individuals in their own right.

European Youth Forum

The European Youth Forum (YFJ) is the platform of youth organisations in Europe. Representing 104 youth organisations, both National Youth Councils and International Non-Governmental Youth Organisations, we believe youth organisations are the tool through which we empower, encourage, involve, represent, reach out and support young people. The Youth Forum brings together tens of millions of young people from all over Europe, organised in order to represent their common interests. We advocate for a Europe with stronger youth organisations, more youth participation, social and economic inclusion, youth rights and sustainable development.

European Youth Parliament (EYP)

The European Youth Parliament (EYP) is a unique educational programme which brings together youngsters from all over Europe to learn, exchange and debate. The EYP is an organisation for young people, by young people with a mission is to inspire and empower young Europeans to become open-minded, tolerant and active citizens.

Council of Europe Youth Department

The Youth Department of the Council of Europe provides funding and educational support for international youth activities aiming to promote youth citizenship, youth mobility and the values of human rights, democracy and cultural pluralism. It seeks to bring together and disseminate expertise and knowledge about the life situations, aspirations and ways of expression of young Europeans.

The Advisory Council on Youth is a Council of Europe body made up of 30 representatives from youth NGOs and networks in Europe which provide opinions and input on all youth sector activities of the Council of Europe. It also ensures that young people are involved in all activities of the Council of Europe. It is a unique structure world-wide for the active participation of young people at such a high decision-making level.

Information on MYFER

Most Youth Friendly European Region Award (MYFER)

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Awarding youth-friendly practices in European Regions

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Join the “New possibilities” project on model of working with addicts

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We are happy to announce a new partner search from the Wroclaw Centre for Integration (WCI), the unit of the Municipality of Wroclaw involved in social and professional activation of people without employment who are experiencing problems such as disability, homelessness.

What is the proposed project  about?

The project idea, titled  “New possibilities”, is about developing a model of working with addicts, based on the concept of harm reduction in order to maintain total abstinence. Abstinence is an unattainable goal. There is no access to other alcohol harm reduction models, so a significant proportion of people with a problem cannot fully benefit from help getting back into the labour market. The Wroclaw Health Centre has started the implementation of alcohol harm reduction program aimed to launch a pilot program targeting non-employed people with alcohol problems who will benefit from the alcohol harm reduction programme.

This project will be submitted in the framework of the Operational Program – Knowledge Development Education, Measure 4.3 Transnational Cooperation, having as deadline September/October 2017.

Who are the partners searched to join this project?

The partners searched to complete the consortium are non-governmental organisations whose mission is to help addicts (especially alcohol) to return to the labor market and which should be able to demonstrate the experience of the beneficiaries’ use of harm reduction programs.

The Wroclaw Centre for Integration would like to learn from the additional partners the specifics of the implementation of harm reduction programs and the principles of co-operation between different actors, aimed at reducing alcohol harm and professional activation of addicts, in order to transfer experience from other countries to Poland.

If you are interested to join this project or just to learn more about it, please contact the AER Secretariat by 26th May.

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Chiara: “I felt inspired by the work of AER”

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Friday was Chiara’s last day in Strasbourg. This is an opportunity to look back on what has been achieved in the past 6 months!

Chiara, who holds a Masters degree in Political Economy did an Erasmus+ internship at our Strasbourg office and supported the organisation of the Autumn plenaries in Izmir, the “E-health: let’s find a common language” event in Brussels and the Spring plenaries in London. Her work was instrumental in the development and implementation of the “Policy & Knowledge transfer” activities in the AER network.

“Considering the variety of the tasks, from the research to the most practical work, this experience has been particularly useful to understand what I really like. What I can say, in my last day here at AER, is that I feel I’ve grown up. I have learnt so much! The topics addressed, which are all relevant, have introduced me to many different fields, which I hadn’t explored before. I had the opportunity to practice and improve my communication skills. This was actually rather scary for me at the beginning. It was very interesting working in such an organisation and especially with an international, and I would say, fabulous team. Their work is great, they found the right way, I think, to get closer to regions and thus to the citizens’ needs, spreading knowledge and good practices. This experience enriched me both professionally, acquiring new skills and personally, for the working environment and for the knowledge developed. I felt inspired by the work of AER on regional development and I am actually thinking of doing my future steps in this field. Thank you AER team!”

We at the Secretariat are very grateful for the support we received from Chiara, as well as for the mutual learning and the fantastic human experience! We wish her a great career path and, of course, to keep in touch! Our paths for sure will cross again because this world, after all, is a rather small world!

 

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