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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

http://aer.eu/programmes/youth-friendly-european-region-award-myfer/

Related articles

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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Gävleborg: a county of cultural heritage

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With 2018 a year designated by the European Commission as European Year for Cultural Heritage, Gävleborg (SE) decided to develop a project to highlight what the region can do to promote conservation, digitisation, infrastructure, research, and skills development in the field. The recently published report Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe demonstrates that cultural heritage creates job opportunities, attracts investment, and that it can strengthen social cohesion.

Cultural heritage for all

The project developped by the Office for Cultural Development in collaboration with the Gävleborg County Administrative Board will highlight the cultural heritage of the region and ensure that it is accessible for a wider and more diverse audience. Among other things, this includes developing methods to attract people and to acquire further training in cultural heritage issues, in order to promote social inclusion and integration. The integration part is an extremely important instrument for the future and a crucial element in an election year, where the integration issues may be instrumentalised.

Gävleborg’s strategy is to use cultural heritage as a resource for achieving a sustainable and inclusive society, from the social, economic and environmental point of view. This means making cultural sites available physically, in different locations, enabling both inhabitants and visitors to experience and enjoy the natural and cultural environments.

A catalyst for exchanges

Gävleborg has particularly remarkable cultural sites in very diverse places: along the coast and watercourses, in the forest, the industrial environments, and in the cultural landscape. The European Year of Cultural Heritage is a unique opportunity for Gävleborg to invest in the cultural heritage on its entire territory. This project, therefore aims to make full use of the attractiveness and amenity value of the cultural heritage. Furthermore, it contributes to increasing the knowledge of and pride of citizens of the cultural heritage of the county. The European Year of Cultural Heritage is seen as a catalyst for exchanging and developing considerations with regards to cultural heritage, and to demonstrate the relationship between culture and cultural heritage.

One of the cultural policy objectives stresses the importance of “promoting a living cultural heritage that is conserved, used, and developed”. Well-conserved cultural sites are rich in history and are often attractive for people to visit; a resource for the public health and for social well-being. Gävleborg’s cultural heritage strategy, which has been developed in collaboration with the regional actors, underlines that the cultural heritage is a resource for achieving a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable society. It is essential to coordinate resources to strengthen the importance of the cultural heritage, which in turn contributes to a socially sustainable and inclusive society.

The European Year of Culture will also give new impetus for follow-up actions by bringing together stakeholders and generating new collaborations and initiatives

A rich culture

The Year of Cultural Heritage will help raise awareness and further develop the county’s rich cultural heritage through various cultural expressions: music, art, film and digital media, dance, handicrafts, literature, cultural and natural environments etc. The intangible cultural heritage is highlighted as well through different activities. Stories of the county’s various cultural heritage sites shall be alive and expressive. An important part is to take advantage of the experience gained from the year of cultural heritage in order to develop and make certain operations permanent.

Senses, experiences & knowledge

The three-year project will be implemented around three main approaches:

  • Cultural heritage for all the senses
  • Cultural heritage for experiences
  • Cultural heritage for knowledge

The project will allow to carry out the inventory of sites, identify stakeholders as well as national and international actors for exchange and collaboration. Connecting potential partners will be a very important aspect of the project which will make use of commitments, tap into the wealth of inspiration and ideas for activities to develop afterward.

The Virtual Reality project, which was initiated by the world heritage site “Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland” will be intensified and upgraded.

In the course of 2018, activities will be organised to attract a wider audience. During the year a program is planned, including continuous lectures, demonstrations, and events.

– “Cultural heritage for all the senses” is in Jan – April. The period is characterised by arrangements on the theme of cultural heritage, based on taste (food), hearing (e.g. music), sight (exhibitions, demonstrations), and touch (handicraft).

– “Cultural heritage for experiences” is in May – Sept. Makes the cultural heritage accessible through cultural experiences, demonstrations and events, e.g. through art, theatre and music in cultural settings that reflect the cultural heritage of the county.

– Lastly, “Cultural heritage for knowledge” is in Oct – Dec. This is the period for seminars, awareness-raising activities such as classes in care and development of cultural sites and intangible cultural heritage.

Year three (2019) focuses on utilisation and dissemination of experience. Utilising contacts, initiatives for networking etc. The activities will be evaluated as a basis for what is sustainable enough to proceed with in the long run. The evaluations, which are carried out continuously during the project, are used to find further work within the ordinary activities on a regional and a local level.

Objectives

Gävleborg wants to achieve specific targets:

  • Recognition of the culture and cultural heritage of the county of Gävleborg in and outside the county.
  • Utilisation of creative ideas to create conditions for continued development with regards to the cultural heritage.
  • Creation of opportunities for inhabitants of the county and visitors to take part of the cultural heritage.
  • Increased accessibility to cultural heritage
  • Presence of cultural heritage in the county ‘s representation in various media, e.g. on the municipal and regional websites and in other forms of informational material.
  • Increased knowledge of the cultural heritage
  • Pride within the County of the cultural heritage

Share experiences & develop a project

The Gävleborg’s project is a good example of how to use a Europe-wide initiative to derive concrete impacts on region’s territory.

Cultural Heritage will be also discussed during the workshop of the sub-committee on Culture, at the AER Spring Plenary meeting, on the 23rd March 2017, in London, UK. During the workshop participants will be provided with information on funding opportunities in this framework and share experiences on financing cultural heritage in regions.

 

 

Related articles

Develop a project on cultural heritage

http://aer.eu/event/committees-plenary-meeting/

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Project proposal on air quality: looking for partners!

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Following the Brokerage Event “Going green in Seventeen” jointly organised by AER and ERRIN, we are happy to share with AER member region a project proposal on air quality which have been presented during one of the break-out session. This project is looking for partners to join the consortia!

Green Solution for Outdoor Air Pollution

Politecnico of Milano, a scientific-technological university which trains engineers, architects and industrial designers, presented the project idea “Green Solution for Outdoor Air Pollution”, which will be submitted within Horizon 2020,in relation to the call SCC-02-2016-2017 Topic: “Demonstrating innovative nature-based solutions in cities”. It proposes to use green roofs as a solution for improving air quality and life in cities. The research aims at developing a tool capable to quantify the amount and type of reduced pollutants, obtaining the potential health benefits that green roofs can provide to the environment and population health.

As potential partners, the Politecnico of Milano is looking for experts dealing with epidemiology, urban planners, agronomists, policy makers, economists, agency bodies for the environmental monitoring and technologists.

The deadline of this call is on 7th March 2017.

More details on this project are available on the pitch presentation and the project template.

If you like to join this project and/or ask for further information, please do not hesitate to contact the AER Secretariat.

Documents and presentations from the brokerage event on green projects are available on the event page.

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Integrated care: tapping into social capital

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Consent, Trust and Enablement in a Digital World

In the framework of the ALEC 2017 AER organised a mutual learning workshop on social capital for integrated care. Dr. Michael Rigby, Emeritus Professor of Health Information Strategy at Keele University (UK) and Deputy Principal Investigator for the MOCHA H2020 project led by the Imperial College of London on “The Informal and Formal Virtual Care Team – Consent, Trust and Enablement in a Digital World ”

We focused on stakeholder engagement, specifically on the largely untapped potential of social capital in integrated care systems. While we at least theoretically know how to involve the professionals, it is, for various technical, ethical or other reasons, difficult to enable more people around the patient to get engaged as well. Technology is only part of the answer, we need to revitalise democracy through the engagement of citizens. …

Building social capital is revitalising democracy

Currently, all AER actions are organised in the framework of the 2016-2017 focus “revitalising democracy”. The ALEC 2017 AER workshop is no exception.

Indeed just as quality care systems need the sustained participation of the people around the patient, society at large needs the constant participation of larger parts of society. In healthcare this means to go further than the next of kin and children, and look at all the other people who at some point are in contact with the patient and are eager to support them (think of the role of grandchildren, . This relates clearly with the AER declaration (r)e-inventing democracy which states

Whereas: tapping into the human capital both inside and outside institutions via IT applications could boost innovation, increase engagement, save time and financial resources;

Whereas: In a democracy the role of citizens is central and their participation is the corner stone of legitimacy; (…)

We, the Assembly of European Regions:

(…)

2. recognise the need for multi-stakeholder approaches for economic, social and politicalparticipation to face societal challenges;

3. encourage the public, private and non-governmental actors to incite citizen-led initiatives;

4. underline the importance of design in public services to provide citizens with opportunities to

contribute to the public good with their talent; (…)

 

Keywords here are “human capital” “via IT” “multi-stakeholder”

Team work to look at social capital

Participants to the AER workshop organised in teams, shared their experiences and objectives. They also committed to help each others to achieve their mutual goals in order for the workshop to have a multiplier effect on the social capital they are building during the #ALEC2017 event.

The workshop provided both scientific expertise on the topic and a gamified experience based on the methods developed and available on the QI4U eLearning platform from the Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care Northwest London.

Participants looked at the stakes and mechanisms in the engagement of the people around the patient. The engagement of a broader informal care team is to be envisaged in a wider process of quality improvement. Issues discussed included authorisation, roles, recruitement, communication with and recognition of the wider informal care team.

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Impact investments: sustainable returns to society

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With the economic and financial crisis of the recent years, governments had to commit themselves to balance their budget and reduce public debt and deficit. These constraints have put limits to national expenditures, meaning that many social issues have been left aside because of a lack of funds.

However, youth education, social inclusion, healthcare, climate change all have a significant impact on economic development. In order to be addressed these issues need to attract investment.

What is social impact investing?

Finding innovative mechanisms to finance social improvements is not something new. Some countries have already been searching for new financial sources and for ways to better and more efficiently use tight public budgets. Many public-private partnerships have been developed in order to gather resources and improve some social conditions. Many banks helped the financing of social projects too.

Also at european level, in 2013 the EIB Group launched the first pan-European public-private partnership, the Social Impact Accelerator (SIA). It addressed the growing need for availability of equity finance to support social enterprises, promoting social inclusion, alternative sources of employment and contributing to growth. SIA reached its final closing in July 2015. More lately, the Juncker Plan and the EFSI are facilitating public-private partnerships, providing technical assistance and resources in favour of projects in specific sectors.

However, we have started to talk about impact investment. The need of greater availability of resources and better investing structures lead to think to new approaches. Companies, organisations or development funds have been attracted by impact investment, addressing social and environmental issues. According to the strategy  and the budget adopted, to the investor expectations, the project can also set a financial return below the market rate. From this idea of impact investment many initiatives and good practices have come out.

Alternative approaches and initiatives

A recent example is the Social Impact Bonds case. They are “payment by results” investments. In particular they are agreements involving public authority, investors, a service provider and an intermediary organisation. They allow to have a return to the investment only if the project developed delivers positive and measurable social outcomes.

United Kingdom has been one of the first country to use the tool of social impact bonds. Its pilot project at Peterborough Prison it’s the world’s first social impact bond used since 2010 to finance rehabilitation at work. In 2012, with the government assistance UK launched also the world’s first social investment bank, realizing projects in healthcare, education and many other social issues.

Ireland, in its Public Service Reform Plan 2014-2016, proposed Social Impact Investing (SII). This involved using private capital to fund initiatives addressing social problems, and funding is linked to results. The State agreed to repay the private investor only if the established outcomes were achieved. The project aim was searching for private sector investment partners in the housing sector in order to provide long-term, sustainable and stable homes for homeless families in the Dublin region.

Consortium for Development of Polesine (CONSVIPO), Italy. A Territorial Pact was developed to support and reinforce the local economy through information about the financial opportunities offered by regional, national and European actors, aimed at public and private initiatives. The main goals: development of the territory, establishment of a permanent local cooperation and partnership network, support sustainable development programmes and initiatives regarding the promotion of equal opportunities.

In support of the social impact investment sector, the Global Social Impact investment Steering Group (GSG) was established in 2015, as a successor of the SII Taskforce established by G8. It’s composed by members from 13 countries plus the EU and other government and network organisations. Its aim is to promote a unified view of impact investment, facilitating knowledge exchange and encouraging policy change in national markets.

AER activities in the field

Regions are exactly the places where the citizens’ needs are and also where often the gap between financial and social players needs to be fixed. This is why AER is addressing investment issues in particular via its Spring plenary meetings on 21-23 in London. Moreover, AER has been invited to participate in the Commission’s A High-Level Task Force on financing social infrastructure and maximising public in order to ensure the regional perspective is taken into account in what could become the drafting of the Juncker Plan II.

Links

AER Spring 2017 Plenary meetings

Related articles

Long term Investments, the EU and you

Investing for green projects

 

Photo credit @Flickr – askal bosch http://tinyurl.com/gtpdzhy  

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Looking for partners: “Cognition and Inclusion” – persons with disabilities

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AER continues its focus on people with disabilities also on the projects side. Following its participation on 29 and 30 November at the European Day of Persons with Disabilities 2016 organised by the European Disability Forum and the European Commission in Brussels and the work carried out by the Working Group “Equal Europe for People with Disabilities” within AER Social Policy and Public Health Committee, it is now time to share concrete actions that could foster an inclusive society.

Den Achtkanter, a Belgian organisation supporting learning disabled adults, is looking for European partners to build the project ‘Cognition and Inclusion’ within the Erasmus+ programme.

An inclusive society adapts the environment physically and mentally to the disabled person, taking into account the ‘disabilities’ . Although this is a necessary condition, it is not a sufficient one. Also, the disabled person needs to (learn to) adapt to society, as this is an ever changing environment. This second condition addresses the ‘abilities’ and is necessary to promote learning potential, problem solving, self regulation, etc. These ‘cognitive’ skills are the basis for being able to be the director of one’s own live, to be independent, to be a full citizen who exercises his rights, etc. (Cognitive) methodologies within learning disabled (young) adults – although effective – are not well known, or are dealing with resistances based on beliefs that learning disabled people can’t develop these skills (as an element of the ‘mind set’ of the one who supports the disabled person). This project wants to share practices and produce a compendium with cognitive approaches (goal 1), and wants to develop a tool to assess the ‘mind set’ of professionals to be used in all kind of HRM-applications (selection, training, evaluation, etc).

This project foresees the following main activities:
– exchange of good practices of cognitive approaches within learning disabled adults (focusing on a specific context e.g. employment, living, etc)
– exchange of good practices focusing on methods to change belief systems/mind sets
– intellectual output: compendium of practical tools to foster general skills within learning disabled adults; training program and manual and development of a tool to assess the ‘mind set’ of professionals to be used in all kind of HRM-applications (selection, training, evaluation, etc).

Den Achtkanter is especially looking for partners who have experience in and knowledge on methodologies on the development of cognitive skills (planning, evaluation, reflection, being flexible,…) for persons with disabilities.

If you are interested to get more information and/or to join this project, please get in touch with us before Monday 12 December.

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The European Solidarity Corps: Acting for Europe (video)

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Although Mr Joseph Jammar, Head of Representation of the European Commission in Belgium could not take part in the Eurodyssey Forum in Cyprus, he prepared a video message for the participants to provide them with information on the future European Solidarity Corps in the framework of the conference “A fair mobility”.

The European Solidarity Corps (ESC) is conceived to offer people under 30 in Europe the chance to support a non-governmental organisation (NGO), local authority or private company active in addressing challenging situations across the European Union – for instance: rebuilding communities following natural disasters; addressing social challenges such as social exclusion, poverty, health and demographic challenges; or working on the reception and integration of refugees.
The Corps will develop its own distinct identity, rooted in the core EU values of engagement and solidarity. By joining the Corps, participants will express their commitment and willingness to devote a period of their lives to helping others. By supporting others, including the most vulnerable in our societies and communities, young people will not only put the core EU value of solidarity into practice, but also acquire skills and experience, including language skills, that can be valuable when looking for a job or considering further education and training.

Source: European Commission RAPID database

Eurodyssey is the AER youth mobility programme used by regions as a tool to tackle unemployment and provide their young people with a concrete way to improve their CV and professional experience. Eurodyssey prides itself in the quality of its exchanges which is the result of careful matching for each participant in the programme and a tailored approach to ensure a win-win situation for the young person and the company.

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EFSI: a concrete opportunity for regions

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The Investment Plan for Europe, also known as “Juncker Plan“, adapted in 2014, is built around three pillars:

  • the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI)
  • the European Investment Project Portal (EIPP) and the European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH)
  • Improving Investment Environment.

The focus of the AER briefing seminar on 30 November with EC Vice president Jirki Katainen will be on EFSI, the main instrument for boosting investment, employment and economic growth in general. The total investment target is EUR 315 billion in additional to public and private investment over the next three years. EFSI has been launched together with the EIB Group – European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund – and the European Commission.

The activities on which EFSI focuses are strategic infrastructures; education, research, development and innovation; expansion of renewable energy and resource efficiency; support for smaller businesses and midcap companies.

The objective to support the recovering of the real economy after the economic and financial crisis. This is done by providing financial support to valuable projects, which can deliver investment opportunities in the local community, in a long-term perspective. Almost half of the target has already been mobilised (EUR 154 bn), covering a geographical area of 27 out of 28 EU countries. The main sectors involved are smaller companies, energy, RDI, digital and transport. A smaller percentage involves transport, environment and social infrastructures.

Challenges

As the EFSI has been integrated into the EIB Group, it is subject to its Project cycle and governance. Projects to be eligible must be economically and technically sound, in at least one of the EFSI eligible sectors, contributing to EU objectives, mature enough to be bankable and priced in a manner commensurate with the risk taken. These requirements can be difficult and demanding for regions or SMEs which may already experience difficulties in meeting their balance budget or in developing well-structured and long-term projects.

Therefore the challenges for the EFSI to become more attractive are the following:

  • improve accessibility, by information and promotion
  • provide instruments to overcome the financial gap: for instance adapting the requirements
  • provide instruments to overcome the capacity gap: facilitating the project structure, providing help to build good projects in the right sector
  • gain visibility at the very local level
  • gain credibility by the impact of the other projects implementation
  • overcome minimum requirements for the size of the projects: for instance for midcap companies the loan volume must be between 7.5 and 25mln. For projects under 25mln EIB provides intermediate loans to local, regional and national banks.
  • overcome the slow disbursement of the loan: in fact the project is signed subject to the fulfilment of pre-disbursement conditions and after signature the project remains under consideration for six months.

Pioneering regions

Here there are some good examples of projects, well developed and approved in the framework of Juncker Plan, coming from the following regions:

–Grand Est: QUAERO EUROPEAN INFRASTRUCTURE FUND (2016) France

EUR 40mln in equity participation will enable the Quaero European Infrastructure Fund to attract other investors. This Fund provides equity financing for projects in the fields of social infrastructure, transport, telecoms, energy and public or private amenities.

-Rhône-Alpes: LYCEES – REGION RHONE-ALPES (2014) France

EUR 500mln to renovate and upgrade upper secondary schools. Part of the project’s investment is targeted towards the Region’s contribution to health and medicine-related higher education. The aim of the project is to improve education infrastructure and to increase energy efficiency of educational buildings in the region.

-North Braband: EVIDES WATER SUPPLY (2014) Netherlands

EUR 175 mln to support Evides’ capital investment programme 2014-2018 aimed at maintaining the quality and functionality of its water and distribution pipelines, basins and production installations among others. The aim is to  secure a sustainable management of water supply and distribution, bringing about positive social and environmental impacts.

-Gelderland: DYKE STRENGTHENING GELDERLAND Netherlands

EUR 182 mln to raise and widen river dykes along various sections of Rhine, Waal, Ijssel and Meuse (Gelderland). The aim is to strengthen the dikes along these rivers to protect and improve citizen’s physical safety and their quality of life. 

 

On 30 November, in the framework of the AER series of events “Investing in the future: new perspectives for the regions“, the Vice President of the European Commission in charge of investments Jyrki Katainen will give clarifications about the implementation of the EFSI. Regions can share their questions in advance by contacting AER coordinator for Institutional Relations Alexandre Brecx ([email protected]).

 

Photo credits of featured picture: Benjamin Turquier @Flickr http://tinyurl.com/j9aw78z

Other related articles

EFSI & the Circular Economy

Closing the loop: funding opportunities for circular economy projects

AER meeting with Jirki Kattainen on EFSI

Getting the most out of the European Fund for Strategic Investments

 

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Sustainable mobility: the way forward

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The modernisation and democratisation of means of transports have radically changed how we perceive distances and the world in general. At the same time resource scarcity, climate change and geopolitical stakes have obliged us to re-think models of mobility.

Sustainable mobility: a brand new world

From 7 to 10 November AER members are gathered in Izmir (TR) on the occasion of the Fall Plenary meetings of the 3 AER thematic Committees. The overarching theme of this series of meetings is sustainable mobility, because mobility is first of all access – to work, education, goods and services including health, friends and family. Choices in mobility therefore directly affect the competitiveness of territories but also rural-urban relations, territorial and social cohesion, fairness in terms of health or education, energy security, the circular economy etc

An energy intensive sector

According to the Fifth Asessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, transports account for 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Trends in transport are impacted by population growth and changes in demographics as well as by changes in the structure of the economy. The shift to a service economy among other things considerably  increases the weigh of transport in greenhouse gas emissions as for instance retail and other services depend on energy-intensive infrastructure.

Connectivity: essential for regional development

For regions, connectivity is an essential element for economic development. For Europe this is also a question of territorial cohesion, a matter for which AER has consistently been lobbying. This is why members in the working groups on transports and energy have focused on different aspects of connectivity including railway, regional airports, and electric vehicles.

“Sustainable”, what’s in a word?

Defining mobility as sustainable refers to the ability of individuals to provide for their needs without compromising the same ability to future generations. To minimise the negative impact of greenhouse gas emissions, individuals need information, motivation and/ or incentives to promote more sustainable solutions for instance public transport or bicycles, instead of individual cars. The key challenge is to meet environmental, economic and societal sustainability. With the new role of subnational entities and organisations, after COP21, regions more than ever have a crucial role in implementing environmentally responsible and sustainable policies.

Regions: the way forward

Sustainable transports and mobility therefore require a holistic approach which goes far beyond the remit of spatial planners. But more importantly sustainable mobility requires mutual learning and experience sharing because the time is now. Regions have a tremendous potential to make the change happen and they are doing it already.

 

More Links

IPCC report on Transport
EC Studies on sustainable transport

Photo credits Tambako The Jaguar @Flickr http://tinyurl.com/jbmxbsx

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Baltic Rim Economies: special edition on the Arctic

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The Pan-European Institute publishes a discussion forum, Baltic Rim Economies (BRE), which deals with the development of the Baltic Sea region. In the BRE review, high level public and corporate decision makers, representatives of Academia, as well as several other experts contribute to the discussion.

Special issue on the future of the Arctic was published on 20.6.2016.

Expert articles:

Ola Elvestuen: 20 years of peaceful cooperation in the Arctic
Aleksi Härkönen: The role of Finland in Arctic cooperation
Hannele Pokka: Clean technology brings new prospects in the north
Marja-Leena Vuorenpää: The role of Barents cooperation in the development of the European Arctic
Fujio Ohnishi: The Arctic concert system and its challenges
Liu Xu: China-Russian Arctic cooperation: black gold and beyond
Timo Laukkanen: Action to enable more sustainable business in the Arctic
Gunn-Britt Retter: Challenges and opportunities in the development of the Arctic region from the perspective of the Saami
Satu Miettinen: Arctic design: creating innovation and competitive edge in the north
Rauno Posio: Visit Arctic Europe: making cross-border cooperation
Susan Chatwood & Greg Poelzer: Social determinants of health in Arctic regions
Ilona Mettiäinen: There is no “one-size-fits-all” in Arctic climate change adaptation
Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen: Russia’s Arctic paradoxes
Daria Gritsenko: What does the case of Sabetta tell us about the relationship between energy and regional development?
Andrey Shadurskiy: Russia’s LNG projects in the Arctic: still on track?
Tomoko Tabata: Demographic trend in the Russian High North
Masahiro Tokunaga: The Russian Arctic and environmental discourse
Shinichiro Tabata: Research on the socio-economic development of the Russian Far North
Eini Haaja & Hanna Mäkinen: Need for international research on international business in the Russian Far North

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Communication & Actions in times of crisis

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The Committees’ spring plenary meetings, gathered over 180 delegates from all over Europe in Timisoara (Timis, RO) from 11 to 14 April 2016 on the theme “Communication and Actions in times of crisis”. This series of more than 20 events included workshops, working groups, statutory meetings, study visits and a seminar.

The general theme of these events reflects the situation in Europe, the observation of the rise of populism, the oversimplification of complex issues and simultaneously a growing feeling of distrust amongst citizens. It fits also in the framework of the 2016 AER general theme “revitalising democracy”. Policy makers discussed questions such as “how can policy makers communicate better with citizens, listen to their needs and worries? “How to generate adherence?” “How to create a narrative which is engaging?”

Although perspectives vary and the situation is very different from one region to another, common findings include:

-the involvement of civil society is instrumental in generating adherence to policies and engagement in the implementation process. Fereshteh Jalayer, County Councillor from Värmland (SE) explained for instance that the involvement of NGOs and volunteers in the welcome of refugees had enabled the region to implement its generous refugee health policy while gaining support from local citizens without negative communication or rumours.

-awareness raising and information are necessary to counter false or partial information. Andreas Galster, from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, presented the work of the Congress on this topic and in particular highlighted a good practice from Barcelona (ES) where a public service campaign was rolled out to dispel rumours, misconceptions and prejudices via ‘anti-rumour agents’ who contradicted uninformed ideas about immigrants.

-media education was especially mentioned by Ovidiu Nahoi, Editor in chief at Radio France Internationale Romania: whereas social media has made it possible for all to publish articles, education is needed to sensitise citizens to source checking. This echoed a good practice showcased in Nordjylland at the last Spring Plenaries: an event was specially created to teach youth how to use twitter to interact with politicians, get access to more varied sources and high quality information.

Following the joint session 3 workshops allowed for more detailed discussions on :

– Migrant entrepreneurship & integration in the labour market

– Adaptation of health & social care systems to the refugee crisis

– Culture as an inclusion strategy

 

Visit the event page to find out about the Commmittee Spring Plenary meetings.

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Autumn Bureau & Equal Opportunities Forum

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Pictures and video

AER Bureau & Forum Equal Opportunities

 

Documents

Agenda
Political declaration – status quo is not an option for the European regions
List of participants
Presentation Cllr Roy Perry “A post-Brexit system”
Programme of events
Practical information

Background

The City of Vienna welcomed the AER members to a Bureau Meeting and a Forum on Equal Opportunities on 24 and 25 October 2016.

Bureau: “Europe after the Brexit: is status quo an option?”

The topic came naturally during the last Bureau meeting in Nordland  where members had the opportunity to exchange on the very hot issue of the British Referendum, which was about to take place on the next day. In his video message to the members, AER Vice-President for Institutional Affairs Roy Perry (Hampshire-UK) shared his hopes and fears, followed by a lively intervention from AER’s Honorary Vice-President Brian Greenslade (Devon-UK). The vast majority of the members sent clear signals in favor of a “Bremain“ rather than a “Brexit“… But the results of the referendum poured cold water on these hopes.

With its focus of the year on “revitalizing democracy“ and while waiting for the next steps from the British government and the EU institutions, the Assembly of European Regions proposes you to think further with a debate on “Europe after the Brexit: is status quo an option? ». Everyone agrees Europe lives a critical moment of its history, which also makes it a relevant moment to question it, challenge it, and reconsider it with new ideas coming from the regional level. Regions also share a part of responsibility and can certainly lead the way towards a brighter future, setting examples for others to follow.

Forum Equal Opportunities: “What does it mean to implement Human rights at regional level?”

How does this translate in practice for topics such as health or economic development?
How to organise and to create tools for human rights governance at regional level?
What are the consequences for citizens at large?

The speakers of the day provided expert insights from the OSCE, the Congress of Regional and Local Authorities and the Fundamental Rights Agency, as well as good practices from various Västra Götaland (SE), Lower Austria (AT) and Värmland (SE).

Study visit to the OSCE

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe was created in 1975, to serve as a multilateral forum for dialogue and negotiation between East and West. With 57 participating States, the OSCE has today a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses politico-military, economic and environmental, and human aspects. It therefore addresses a wide range of security-related concerns, including arms control, confidence- and security-building measures, human rights, national minorities, democratization, policing strategies, counter-terrorism and economic and environmental activities. Learn more about the OSCE here.

For this study visit, AER members received a general lecture about the history, roles and missions of the OSCE, before learning more about its work in the fields of gender equality and fight against terrorism.

Dutch EU Presidency focuses on four of AER’s main policies

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An agenda in line with AER’s

The Netherlands Presidency of the European Union (from January to June 2016) aims to promote prosperity, freedom and security in the EU during the next half year, by focusing on Migration, Innovation, Economy and Energy Policies. The Assembly of European Regions can provide a wealth of knowledge and experience from the regions about these themes, these being at the core of its engagement. This is especially relevant given AER’s 2016 focus on Revitalizing Democracy, with a number of topics and events in line with the priorities of the Netherlands Presidency.

Dutch regions

AER boasts a special relation with the Netherlands, through the participation in AER of three very dynamic Dutch Regions: Flevoland, Gelderland and Noord-Brabant. These provinces already cooperate with regions from across wider Europe inside AER  on the four core priorities of the Netherlands Presidency of the European Union, and will have a pivotal role in the next six months.

Priorities of the Netherlands EU Presidency

Migration & International Security. The Netherlands Presidency of the EU is committed to a common border control, asylum and migration Policy. AER’s longstanding experience in interregional cooperation is instrumental in the implementation of hands-on solution: we cannot afford to not take advantage of each others’ experience. Feedback from peers in other regions allows for agile policy making & implementation of sustainable solutions.

Innovation and Job Creation. During the next half year, the Netherlands will prioritise new jobs and innovation in the economy of the EU. This sounds as an acknowledgement of AER’s continuous commitment for entrepreneurship, youth employment and the silver economy. By carrying out peer reviews on smart jobs creation, youth employment, innovation policies, by supporting regions to boost entrepreneurship and more specifically youth entrepreneurship, by encouraging youth participation, AER has put relentless efforts in innovation and job creation. The AER Regional Innovation Award typically shows the incredible innovation potential of regions. The AER Summer Academy is another example of a highly succesful initiative for innovation and job creation.

Finance and Eurozone. The Netherlands Presidency wants to continue the ongoing reforms to ensure modern economies with healthy public finances. AER reiterates its position that decentralisation is correlated with economic growth. Healthy and sustainable public finances will only be achieved with a user-based and territorial approach.

Forward-Looking Climate & Energy Policy. The AER enthusiastically welcomes the decision of the Netherlands  to commit to a coherent approach on climate, the environment and sustainability. AER member regions have been strongly promoting sustainable energy policies for many years and can share their experience and findings on topics such as the implementation of regional strategies for renewable energies and energy efficiency or the developement of the funding market for RES.

Forthcoming AER meetings

Many of the above mentioned issues will be discussed in the coming Committees’ Plenary and Bureau meeting. In addition, the AER and the Dutch member regions will soon organise a Breakfast Briefing in Brussels on the current Presidency of the Council (more information soon).

More information

Visit the website of the Netherlands Presidency of the European Union

Contact the AER Secretariat for more information

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