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Committee 3 Annual Report June 2019 – November 2020

3 November, 2020 By Johanna Pacevicius

The General Assembly is the highest authority of AER and convenes representatives of all its full members at least once a year. The General Assembly adopts among other things, the annual reports of the Thematic Committees.

This report is the compilation of actions developed and implemented within Committee 3 between the 2019 General Assembly in Larnaka (CY) and the 2020 online General Assembly.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic the AER Executive Board decided to prolong the validity of the AER Action Plan in order to allow the continuation of knowledge sharing between regions in a structured way.

AER had to define ways to maintain planned activities and offer new opportunities for mutual learning in a radically different and uncertain context, where face-to-face meetings are not possible and all regional stakeholders are focused on fighting the pandemic.

Activities are organised in 3 categories:

Projects
Good practice sharing
Advocacy/ Lobbying

Projects

In terms of knowledge sharing, the idea with projects is to provide a framework, where regions can go deeper in mutual learning and good practices exchange, while being co-financed by the EU. AER always negotiates its implication in projects in a way that will benefit all AER members. In the current situation where face to face events are cancelled, projects offer unparalleled opportunities for online knowledge and experience exchange.

SKILLNET

SKILLNET is a project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme aimed at improving Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems.

AER joined the SKILLNET project this Spring while most of Europe was in lockdown, specifically because of the opportunities the project is offering for online activities relevant to both Committee 1 and Committee 3. Indeed the project is organising a high number of webinars and offering online platforms for the exchange of knowledge. In order to make sure project activities provide value to members, the topics of SKILLNET webinars are chosen based on the AER Action Plan and further specified together with members which have expressed needs in the process of the definition of workprogrammes at Committee meetings

SKILLNET has launched a series of 18 webinars on EU funding opportunities. Each webinar is open to all interested parties and focuses on different areas of intervention upon which relevant partnerships can be launched.

As a follow-up of each SKILLNET webinar, a Partnerships in Focus bulletin is circulated and stored in the Partnerships in Focus hub on the AER website.

Additionally, the project offers the opportunity for regional stakeholders working on Vocational Education and Training to connect via the Peer Learning Clubs. Stakeholders learn from each other, and get access to relevant information and experts to be applied to develop future partnerships within EU calls.

AER members interested in sharing their experience in a webinar should contact AER Coordinator for Policy & Knowledge Transfer Johanna Pacevicius

Road to the Future: finished

Road to the Future was a project submitted under the Erasmus+ programme, within the Key Action 3 – Support for Policy Reform, and was designed around the European Parliament Elections in 2019. First, it encouraged debate among young European on the European elections to increase young voters’ turnout. This was implemented through training of youth activists, leaders and the development of tools and resources. After the elections, the project continued the training for trainers and mentors, based on the ideas collected during the first phase. This ensured that young people gain the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to be engaged for the future of Europe at the local level.

The lead partner was JEF Europe – Young European Federalist. AER represented local and regional authorities. The consortium was composed of 21 organizations, mainly national JEF associations.

AER was responsible to connect young people and decision-makers, especially via the involvement of the YRN. “Road to the Future” lasted 16 months, from October 2018 to February 2020.

The final conference took place on 20-21st of January 2020. Young Europeans from all over the continent gathered together with civil society organizations and representatives of the European institutions to reflect on the “I Choose Europe” electoral campaign implemented in the run-up to May 2019.

Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite! finished

“Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite!” is a project submitted under a call launched by DG REGIO. This project raised awareness on the importance of programmes, projects, and services funded by the cohesion policy funds. It also encouraged the participation of citizens and stakeholders to become active players in the dialogue on cohesion policy. AER coordinated the project and collected experiences on cohesion policy together with regions.

This project was officially launched during the 2019 General Assembly in Larnaca (CY). Six AER member regions were partners in this project: Varazdin (HR), Csongrád (HU), Trentino (IT), Timis and Alba (RO), and Catalonia (ES). The project also had an information stall dedicated to the Together for Cohesion project at 2019 Autumn Committee Plenaries.

Partner regions have organized several local events to raise awareness on Cohesion policy among EU citizens:

The first event of Together for Cohesion held, the “Apulum Agraria” Fair in Alba (RO) held from 20-22nd September 2019, promoting agriculture, the economy of Alba and local farmers and members of professional associations.

The project was also represented at the 37th session of the Local and Regional Authorities Congress, led by the Council of Europe between the 28-31st October 2019.

The project contributed to the organisation of a Career management fair in Alba (RO), which raised awareness on the use and benefits of the EU cohesion policy and funds – with a special focus on how to find employment opportunities and how to receive the appropriate career guidance.

The Forum for Mayors, on the 11th of December, in Szeged, Hungary, by the General Assembly of Csongrand County was an opportunity to learn more about why cohesion policy and funds are crucial for the social and economic development of the cities and towns led by the Mayors taking part in the Csongrad Forum

Regions have also prepared several trainings focused on developing communication skills and understanding of European cohesion policies. The first training, on Together4Cohesion: how to use social media to better communicate the EU cohesion policy took place on the 23rd of January, in Trentino, Italy.

In Varaždin (HR), the annual Gala Ball of Varaždin County on 24 January 2020 was an opportunity to promote the project. On 13 February 2020, Varaždin also hosted an event in the context of the Together4Cohesion Project called “ESI Funds beyond 2020”. On 5 March a third event will be organised, with a contribution by South Ostrobothnia on entrepreneurship education. It is connected with Cohesion Policy since schools will also present how they develop new curricula with the help of EU funds. The recommendations will be sent to AER and be at disposal for all interested members

More events organised in the context of the project can be found on the Together4Cohesion website

CUBES: Cultural Administration Boosting with the Engagement of Sustainability for Local Communities ongoing

The CUBES project was developed to create a bridge between cultural heritage, administrative bodies, and digitalization. The project will:

raise awareness
emphasizing the importance of culture
increase competitiveness and economic growth.

Target: local communities, public authorities, NGOs and CSOs. The kick-off of the CUBES project took place on the 25th of October 2019 in Lisbon, the project will end in April 2020

The experience of the CUBES project on grassroots approaches for sustainable regional development was supposed to inform the discussions at the conference “Territorial Approaches to Regional Development” in Covasna on 11 March 2020. As the plenaries were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an article was written on Culture, a pillar of sustainable regional development by the Lead partner of the CUBES project.

As the project is progressing, the Secretariat is exploring how to use the knowledge and outputs created in the project to benefit members in Committee 3.

Includ-EU: Regional and local expertise, exchange and engagement for enhanced social cohesion in Europe ongoing

AER and the International Organisation for Migration, together with several regional and local authorities have joined forces in the Includ-EU project. This project will improve transnational knowledge and experience sharing, cooperation and partnerships to build a more inclusive and cohesive Europe.

AER will organise 5 workshops to facilitate knowledge and experience sharing as well as to support the implementation of pilot activities around the 5 key priorities of the EU action plan: post-arrival support, education, labour market integration, access to services, citizen participation & inclusion.

In the context of the pandemic, AER anticipated the organisation of the webinars, which were normally planned for later. A first webinar was organised in collaboration with the Intercultural Regions Network, The Council of Europe and the International Organisation for Migration, to share experiences on access to services, especially health services.

The second webinar will take place on 10 November and will be focused on Labour Market Inclusion, with good practices from Greece and the Netherlands and a presentation by the European Commission on upcoming changes in funding for activities on integration.

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Good Practice Exchange

Survey on measures in education during COVID-19 lockdowns

On the initiative of Radimir Čačić (Varaždin County, Croatia), Chair of the Committee for Education, Culture and Youth, regions were invited to share their experiences and lessons learned via a survey.

The aim of this survey is to provide valuable information about the organisation of classes in the exceptional school year 2019/2020, which will provide important and hopefully valuable information for the exchange of best practice examples, which could help other regions to improve the organisation of schooling and/or apply some new methods, within the competence of each respective region.

The collected information refers mainly to primary and secondary level education. It will provide an overview of the school year 2019/2020 and plans for 2020/2021.

The online survey is still available

Training Seminar 2019 – “Cities and Regions: New Actors of Change in Europe”: finished

In partnership with the European College of Cluny, AER organized a Training Seminar “Cities and Regions: New Actors of Change in Europe”, which took place in Cluny (FR), from 26 – 30 August 2019.

Local and regional authorities were invited to attend a 5 days Training Seminar to participate in conferences, round table discussions, study visits, and case studies to determine how to boost their influence multiply their innovation potential and increase their territorial resilience through interregional cooperation.

Training Seminar 2020 – “How can local democracy help with constructing European identity and citizenship?”: postponed

The 2020 Training Seminar in collaboration with Sciences Po is postponed due to the impact of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on public administrations.

Civil Servants Exchange Programme: ongoing

The AER Training Seminar in Cluny was also the first step for the Civil Servants Exchange program announced in September 2018 and coordinated by the President of Committee 3 Radimir Čačić, Varaždin (HR). The Civil Servants Exchange program will allow civil servants to spend a month in a partner region to learn about new processes and practices. This programme is being developed in close collaboration with the Eurodyssey network and should have started in 2020. In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, the programme is on halt until the situation improves in Europe.

Autumn Committee Plenaries – Podčetrtek (SI): finished

The annual Autumn Committee Plenaries of the Assembly of European Regions took place on September 24-26 2019, in Podčetrtek, Slovenia.

The topic of the thematic event of the plenaries was Cohesion & Contrasted Regional Realities, and the aim was to identify strategies and actions to boost regional development and innovation in the face of contrasted realities.

2020 AER Spring Committee Plenaries – Covasna: cancelled

The main focus of the AER 2020 Spring Committee Plenaries in Covasna County (RO) between 10-12 March was to be territorial approaches. Urban-rural divides within regions were going to be in the spotlight.

While the Autumn 2019 plenaries “Territorial cohesion and Contrasted Realities” looked at how regions address territorial differences, this spring’s plenary should have been about taking stock of the situation in Europe. How to bridge the gap between theories on place-based policies and the actual implementation of effective and participative policies?

Members should have in particular, discussed the state of play of smart specialization strategies in Europe, health innovation and wellbeing, as well as brain drain vs brain gain.

In the context of the cancellation of face to face activities, AER tried to ensure that the content, which would normally have been shared at the plenaries, was still shared via the AER website. A series of articles was therefore published, featuring the speakers on the programme of the Covasna events, both from AER regions and from external experts with examples challenges and good practices: https://aer.eu/tag/event-2020-spring-plenaries/

While reading articles about a region don’t replace actually visiting it, special visibility was given to Covasna and the good practices to be presented on the spot on the AER website.

The topic of brain drain vs brain gain was given further attention in the framework of the July 2020 webinar of the Skillnet project on transnational partnerships for technical and vocational training.

The topic of smart specialisation for inclusion and wellbeing will be further developed in the context of the webinar of the Digital Health network on 18 November 2020

AER Summer Academy 2019 – “Youth is future, youth is Europe”: finished

The Summer Academy Organising Committee organised the 2019 AER Summer Academy Vojvodina (RS) on the theme “Youth is future, youth is Europe” in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS), the 2019 European Youth Capital. In the wake of the 2019 Elections to the European Parliament, the aim was to exchange innovative ideas and good practices in various fields. It was about the potential of young people to bring about a social transformation and rethink the way Europe can meet the challenges of the future. Hrvoje Kovac, Chair of the AER sub-committee on youth moderated the 1st Plenary Session: Youth is democratic participation and European citizenship.

Workshop on youth participation: finished

Discussions during the 2019 Summer Academy showed youth participation is still a very hot topic. The AER Subcommittee on Youth, chaired by Hrvoje Kovač, organised a workshop on the occasion of the AER Autumn Committee Plenaries in Podčetrtek (SI). The topic of the workshop was Youth participation in regional policy-making. It aimed at identifying steps to implement meaningful and impactful youth participation in regions.

Workshop on the future of education: finished

The Subcommittee on Education, chaired by Simon Johnson, Nordland (NO), planned a workshop on the future of education in an ever-changing professional life on the occasion of the AER Autumn Committee Plenaries in Podčetrtek (SI). Questions addressed would have been: How should education look like in a world where things happen faster than ever? How is it possible to organize knowledge acquisition or provision?

This workshop was canceled because of the exceptional circumstances in Slovenia, were Adria Airlines stopped activities during the AER plenaries.

Mutual learning on culture and health: ongoing

Regions agreed they wanted to engage in mutual learning around culture and health for all and how to, in particular, reach out to young people. As a first step, the Subcommittee on Culture organized a workshop at the autumn plenary meetings on rural touring an initiative to promote a culture for all (see below).

Workshop on culture in rural communities: finished

The Subcommittee on Culture chaired by Fereshteh Jalayer, Värmland (SE) organized a workshop on rural touring. The initiative was driven by the desire to overcome social, geographic, economic and psychological barriers that have historically inhabited the enjoyment of the arts by people in rural communities. The workshop featured a theater manager and a dance strategist.

Raise awareness on the Eurodyssey programme: ongoing

The AER Committees are supporting the communication around the Eurodyssey programme for youth mobility to increase the number of participants in Eurodyssee. This is done for instance by allocating slots at the Committees’ meetings to share achievements of the programme and by presenting the programme at events led by the Committees, such as for instance the Training Seminar in Cluny.

The Eurodyssey Assembly took place as part of the annual Eurodyssey Forum on 24 October 2019 in Cagliari, Sardinia (IT). The event brought together more than fifty representatives both from Eurodyssey regions and outside the programme to discuss the functioning of the programme, to share experiences and best practices and to explore future initiatives for Europe’s only regional youth mobility scheme.

The conference opened with two discussions on youth mobility, looking at both aspects of personal and professional development for young people as well as how youth mobility has a positive impact on regional development. You can read more on the topic of youth mobility in this article.

The Eurodyssey programme was presented in the September 2020 webinar of the SKILLNET project on Youth Partnerships

Mutual learning event on economy 4.0: finished

On 4 December 2019, AER, the Brussels Capital Region and the Government of Catalonia organized a mutual learning event on economy 4.0. Economy 4.0 describes a new era of productive, industrial and economic development characterized by the implementation of big-scale automatization, artificial intelligence (AI) robotic instruments, computational big data analytics software, and high tech infrastructure. It aims to gather experiences from all three AER Committees and regions who are welcomed to share inputs and regional examples.
The report on the event can be found here.

Exchanges around traditional cultures: ongoing

The 5th edition of FolkoFonija took place from 13 to 15 September 2019 and all AER members were invited to contribute to the development of this event. Initiated and organized by the Centre for Traditional Culture Varaždin, this festival could be the basis for a joint project to be developed in AER on traditional cultures in wider Europe.

The following international folk festival planned on 25-29 June 2020 was postponed to 25-30 June 2021 This event will feature 10 ensembles from 10 countries for 5 days of festivities. This European folk festival aims to contribute to safeguarding intangible cultural heritage by bringing together folk ensembles from all over wider Europe. AER members are invited to contact Maja Zuber, the seconded officer of Committee 3 President M Čačić.

AER Delegation at Smart City Expo World Congress: finished

AER took part in SCEWC19. The 3-day conference confirmed its role as the world’s greatest meeting point for cities and companies sharing the same goals as regards the future of cities. Different stakeholders gathered together in Barcelona and explored new innovative ways to make cities inclusive, efficient and sustainable.

Mutual learning on early school leaving: planned

Share experiences on early school leaving and the issue of young people who are not in education and not in employment. In particular, explore practices around building confidence and encouraging young people.

This action could be developed within the context of the Subcommittee on Education. Regions interested in working on this topic should share their idea with the Secretariat in order to start developing this initiative.

From brain drain to brain gain: finished

Share knowledge, experiences, and practices to address the issue of brain drain and move from brain drain to brain gain.

Brain drain vs brain gain was to be the debate topic of Committee 3 during the AER 2020 Spring Committee Plenaries in Covasna County, Romania, between 10-12th March 2020.

As the events in Covasna were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Radimir Čačić, President of Committee 3 wrote an article on a Regional Approach to reduce Brain Drain, and Hrvoje Kovač, Chair of the Subcommittee on Youth prepared a very clear video on the topic.

Moreover, Hrvoje Kovač also shared the experience of Varaždin County on skills development at the June 2020 SKILLNET webinar on implementing innovative TVET policies

Mutual learning on the loss of workforce: finished

Exchange around the issue of governments investing in education and “losing” their qualified workforce. The aim would be to identify elements of resilience or compensation for territories that “lose” qualified workforce.

This topic was to be the debate topic of Committee 3 during the AER 2020 Spring Committee Plenaries in Covasna County, Romania, between 10-12th March 2020.

Initiatives to address and mitigate brain drain and turn it into brain gain, brain regain or brain circulation are addressed in the article by Radimir Čačić, President of Committee 3

Lifelong learning for 50+ people: finished

Special training for 50+ people in for example IT, in order to improve wellbeing and employability.

In order to address the need expressed by regions to hear about examples on upskilling and reskilling especially for people 50+, it was decided that the October 2020 SKILLNET webinar would be on “Lifelong learning: Upskilling and Reskilling of 50+”. AER members shared their experience: Michael Heaney, Chief Executive Officer at Údarás na Gaeltachta (IE) and Ana Gale, Director of Uciliste Studium (Osijek-Baranja, HR)

Advocacy/Lobbying

Building a Network of Intercultural Regions: ongoing

The Bureau Task Force on migration organized a Breakfast debate on the occasion of the General Assembly in Larnaca to examine the possibility of creating an intercultural regions programme, similar to the existing Council of Europe Intercultural Cities Programme. The network will support regions for the design and implementation of diversity and inclusion strategies. The Intercultural Regions Network was launched on 5th November 2019. The process to develop this network requires intense dialogue with institutions.

AER and the Council of Europe are now planning activities for the coming months, a first meeting was organised in 16 March. The Intercultural Regions Network is closely involved in activities carried out in the context of the Includ-EU project (see above)

Joint initiatives for advocacy

Member regions can decide to initiate joint actions and find partners among AER members. Regions can get support from the Secretariat to connect with other regions, get an overview of existing legal framework and identify relevant actions, target institutions.

AER Bureau Task Forces

The 2018 Spring Bureau established the creation of Task Forces on dedicated topics. These Task Forces will gather examples, identify and formulate policy messages which will be brought together in position papers which will then be used for advocacy. Members who would like to contribute to one of the below Task Forces should contact AER Coordinator for Advocacy & Institutional Relations Vania Freitas

-Task Force on Food Security

-Task Force on Cohesion Policy

-Task Force on Digitalisation

-Task Force on Migration

-Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

The development of the Action Plan is a collective process to enable all participants to specify needs and decide to initiate activities that add value to their region. The principle is the following: as long as an action fits with the AER values, is in line with the AER priorities and has support from other regions, it can be included in the Committee’s work programmes. The work programmes are developed in spring each year and the 2019/2020 work programme is available here.

The AER action plan is the consolidation of the three Committees’ work programmes with all other activities led by the Bureau and the Executive Board. It is adopted at the General Assembly.

Members can propose new joint initiatives at any time during the year, these are then approved by the Executive Board and included in the Committee’s work programmes and the AER action plan. The action plan for 2019/2020 is available here.

Photo by Daniel Lorentzen on Unsplash

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Cluny Training Seminar: Local democracy for European identity and citizenship

21 October, 2020 By Valeria Simonte

To register to this event, please download the registration form on the event webpage of the Training Seminar

For the second year in a row, AER is collaborating with the European College of Cluny to provide a training seminar for policymakers, which brings together both academics and practitioners in an interactive format. This year’s seminar is organised together with the European campus of Sciences Po in Dijon and will be held fully online.

The collaboration with the European College of Cluny was initiated in the framework of an initiative led by Committee 3 President Radimir Čačić and aimed at facilitating civil servants exchanges and capacity building in public administration.

Difficult questions for difficult times

This training seminar will look at a question, which is deemed to have no simple answer: How can local democracy help with constructing European identity and citizenship?
Is the European Union irremediably riddled with the distrust of citizens and the rise of Euroscepticism? Although quite common, this dire depiction is neither accurate nor a fatality. And what if a reinvigoration of the European project could come from the local level? This seminar aims to discuss and brainstorm around this intuition that underlies the very purpose of the European College of Cluny.

About the Training seminar

The training seminar will combine lectures, roundtables and discussions with academics and practitioners from different regions in Europe.

The collaborative approach of the training will provide the opportunity to:

Share perceptions and thoughts
Consolidate knowledge of the latest development of the European Union
Further understanding of the European integration process
Reflect on the ways in which local authorities can contribute to the development of a“ European grassroots democracy ”

About Science Po – the European campus in Dijon

The European campus of Sciences Po Paris in Dijon hosts about 180 students coming from more than 30 different countries (mostly from France and from Central and Eastern Europe), who follow a multidisciplinary curriculum in social sciences and humanities, with a focus on the EU and the specificities of Central and Eastern Europe.

About European College of Cluny

A higher education and research institution of excellence, strongly European in its spirit, oriented towards the training of future decision-makers who will work within or collaborate with local authorities. It is oriented towards concrete and practical solutions, emphasising the exchange of good practices, vocational training, and the network effect.

Programme

Monday 9 November

Day one will start off with an Introductory world café, which will be followed by Lecture 1 with Bruno Cautrès, a researcher at CNRS/ Centre for Political Research at Science Po (CEVIFOP). Having experience in the analysis of political behavior and attitudes, sociopolitical divisions related to the question of European integration, he will present the State of public opinion in the European Union.

In the afternoon, Yves Bertoncini, President of the Mouvement Européen-France, Vice-President of European Mouvement International, expert, and consultant on EU affairs will provide Lecture 2 on recent political developments in the European Union from the democratic legitimacy perspective

Tuesday 10 November

In this session, practitioners and speakers will debate on projects led in France aiming at involving citizens in the debate on the EU and its future. Participants will share and exchange good practices on EU-related initiatives led locally in the various Member States.

As one of the most important European case studies, Christian Lequesne will provide Lecture 3 on Brexit, the case study of a rejection of the European project. Professor and researcher at Science Po, he has previously taught at the London School of Economics and holds the charge of director of the CEFRES in Prague and Director of the CERI-Science Po. His main research interests are actors and practices of foreign policies in the EU, French European policy, States and their foreign services, the EU, and Brexit.

Wednesday, 11 November

No programme (holiday in several European countries)

Thursday, 12 November

The last day will be dedicated to the presentations and discussions of the results of a preliminary online survey, and the representatives of the Committee of Regions, AER, and experts in EU affairs will present the Local authorities’ representation in the EU debate. The Training Seminar will come to an end with a Closing World cafe’, groups will brainstorm topics related to previous debates, answering to the question ” What local agendas for promoting European citizenship? How can the European College of Cluny help?

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To another 35 years of Eurodyssey regions on the move!

21 October, 2020 By Editor

For the very first time, the AER-Eurodyssey programme was featured in the European Week of Regions and Cities in partnership with the Public Employment Service of Catalonia – SOC (es), Bureau International Jeunesse – Wallonia (be), Varazdin County (hr), Brussels Public Employment Service – Actiris (be) and the Sardinian Agency for Active Labour Policies – ASPAL (it).

A celebratory event marking 35 years of Eurodyssey

The Eurodyssey virtual lab Eurodyssey35: Regions on the move (14/10/2020), moderated by Hrvoje Kovaç, Chair of the AER Subcommittee on Youth, was joined by two inspiring panellists in the field of youth: Jovana Majstorovic, Board Member of the European Youth Forum, and Floor Van Houdt, Head of Unit for Youth policy and Volunteer Solidarity at the European Commission’s DG for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture.

Kicking-off the discussion, Hrvoje Kovaç set out that mobility is at the core of European integration and that the AER has been actively promoting this principle through its flagship #Eurodyssey traineeship programme for over 35 years. Since its inception in 1985, this scheme has allowed over 10,000 people to benefit from work placements. Following these introductory remarks, the teaser of the Eurodyssey 35th Anniversary video was premiered.

Our moderator @Najdeblji sets out the key role that Eurodyssey has played in creating "inclusive, open and equitable" mobility for over 10,000 young people since it began 35 years ago. ✈️ 🌍 pic.twitter.com/vJ1EjdgaPL
— AER (@europeanregions) October 14, 2020

Hrvoje Kovaç subsequently invited a round of questions from Slido addressed both to the speakers and the audience; challenging them to dig into the links between learning, mobility, social inclusion, active citizenship and territorial cohesion.

Mobility in times of COVID-19

Jovana Majstorovic, European Youth Forum, drew attention to the negative impact of COVID-19 on youth development, noting outcomes such as high unemployment, precarious work conditions, lack of access to social protection, restrictions on mobility and deteriorating mental health among young people.

Floor Van Houdt added that the Commission’s immediate concern when COVID-19 broke out was the young people on mobility programmes abroad who ended up stuck in another country. The first measure the Commission took was to cover administrative costs for affected organisations and participants by activating force majeure clauses. In spite of the crisis, she noted that young people refused to end their participation in these programmes; choosing instead to adapt to the situation and lead from the front. For instance, the vast majority of the European Solidarity Corps projects were transformed into emergency initiatives led by young people to deliver medical equipment, help the elderly or assist school teachers.

What can be done at the regional level to encourage youth participation and inclusive mobility?

Floor Van Houdt called upon regional and local authorities to fully exploit large European funds (e.g. European Social Fund) and the Reinforced Youth Guarantee which are concrete instruments to help young people access the labour market. In addition, Floor mentioned the “Europe goes local” project carried out by the Erasmus+ National Agencies, which provides specific tools to municipalities to support youth work and co-management structures. The European Solidarity Corps is another good example of how young people can help themselves by helping others.

In her view, equality and inclusion can only be safeguarded through an ambitious, collective effort involving all stakeholders: the EU, the member states, regions, NGOs, youth associations and civil society. As for inclusive mobility, EU programmes have together with the national agencies developed diversity strategies with funding support to identify target groups and their needs when they engage with mobility schemes.

Floor van Houdt, head of unit for youth policy @EU_Commission underlines that "it's important for regions to listen to young people, because they know best what their needs are."

Don't forget to submit your questions on slido using #eurodyssey 💻💬 pic.twitter.com/V0fYo7Olb0
— AER (@europeanregions) October 14, 2020

In this regard, Hrvoje pointed out that in order to tackle youth unemployment and other issues affecting young people, regions have a duty to make young people’s voices heard in decision-making processes.

Jovana explained that the European Youth Forum is focusing more and more on consolidating youth participation in regional public life. She welcomed the Reinforced Youth Guarantee as a key instrument to encourage youth autonomy in times of COVID-19, and urged the EU institutions to extend this funding to non-EU countries for better cohesion. Jovana stressed the importance of including youth-led associations, particularly those representing disadvantaged groups in regional policy-making. She noted the European Youth Capitals initiative as a best practice example of how to develop youth inclusion policies between local/regional authorities and young people.

According to Jovana, the COVID-19 crisis is leaving young people behind, while democratic norms are increasingly eroding. In this context, young people are falling into poverty and marginalisation, and COVID-19 cannot be an excuse to neglect their needs. On a more positive note, responding to a question from the moderator regarding the European Parliament’s resolution to ban unpaid internships, Jovana answered: “it is indeed a great victory and proves that youth participation has tangible outcomes and is vital to uphold youth rights”.

Jovana Majstorovic, Board Member of @Youth_Forum stresses that regions "must involve young people in the creation of youth policies." 👫🤝

What do you think? 🤔

Join the conversation on https://t.co/Vi9XP0UwZs using the #eurodyssey! pic.twitter.com/ASLxuqZDaI
— AER (@europeanregions) October 14, 2020

What are the benefits of learning mobility and volunteering?

As a former Erasmus participant, Floor Van Houdt strongly believes that any mobility or volunteering experience abroad is enriching in many different ways. Besides learning a new language, becoming immersed in a culture and becoming more tolerant, mobility encourages young people to acquire a set of personal and professional competencies that are in high demand from employers, such as autonomy, self-confidence and a sense of initiative. Additionally, exchange programmes of this kind make for better-informed citizens, and to the internationalisation of companies and organisations.

What are the benefits of taking part in youth programmes like @eurodyssey ?

🗣️Stronger language skills;

🙋‍♀️Greater independence;

🇪🇺 More active citizens;

🤔 Challenging ideas.

What would you add to this list? Tell us on slido with #eurodyssey pic.twitter.com/reh3imej6P
— AER (@europeanregions) October 14, 2020

Jovana also shared her reflections on mobility programmes based on her personal experiences as a non-EU citizen. In her opinion, the opportunity to take part in a mobility programme abroad fosters intercultural sensitivity in young people, especially in the Balkan region where some long-standing prejudices remain. Thanks to these experiences, she became a strong advocate of inclusiveness and understanding in her community, which has been negatively influenced by a biased and politically motivated media. She underlined that volunteering significantly influences one’s personal development and brings people of different opinions and backgrounds together.

Hrvoje pointed out that mobility has an extraordinary potential to spread European active citizenship and, most importantly, to break down prejudices and preconceptions in a given community when it is introduced to foreign people, particularly in remote and rural areas. What is more, Eurodyssey proves that mobility schemes enable “brain-circulation”, as opposed to “brain-drain”, as it brings benefits to both the sending region and hosting regions.

Curious to find out more?

Rewatch the webinar!

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AER Appoints Christian Spahr as Secretary General

16 October, 2020 By Justin Sammon

The Executive Board has appointed Christian Spahr as the Secretary General of the Assembly of European Regions (AER), which represents regional governments in wider Europe. A former European Commission Spokesperson for Regional Policy, Spahr will lead the work of the AER Secretariat, which has offices in Brussels and Strasbourg and also includes the AER’s Southeast Europe Hub in Alba Iulia, Romania. He takes over the role in November from his predecessor Mathieu Mori, who led the daily work of AER from 2013 until 2020.

Christian Spahr, a German national, has held a number of key management roles in the fields of European policy, communications and media. Between 2018 and 2020, he was in charge of the European Commission’s media relations on issues of economic governance and Cohesion policy, among other topics. From 2012 to 2018, Spahr led a ten-country programme of the German think tank Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Southeast Europe, based in Sofia, Bulgaria. Earlier in his career, he worked as a spokesperson for Germany’s digital business association Bitkom, and was business editor for a large regional newspaper. He is also a founder and board member of a non-profit association for government communication, serving in an honorary capacity.

Announcing Mr Spahr’s appointment as Secretary General, AER President Magnus Berntsson first thanked his predecessor, Mathieu Mori: “for his strong dedication to building stronger regions and successfully managing our ambitious and transformative organisation with 150 member regions.”

“The Executive Board is very happy to welcome Christian Spahr as our new Secretary General”, Berntsson continued. “With his knowledge of European policymaking, management experience in member-driven organisations, and an excellent working knowledge of the EU and its neighbourhood, Christian will be a key player to overcome the challenges for regions ahead.” Some of the AER’s current and ongoing priorities are to strengthen subsidiarity in times of crisis, to ensure sustainable development including in rural areas, and to equip regional governments so they can successfully transition and use EU funding.

Speaking of his appointment, Spahr said: “It will be a great privilege to work for the hopes and ambitions of Europe’s regions. Many of them need to reinvent themselves for the future, to strengthen their economy and develop better living conditions in difficult times. In line with AER’s inclusive and bridge-building approach, I am committed to offer the regions an even greater package of support.”

His predecessor Mathieu Mori explained: “In the past decade, AER could play its part in building stronger regions and striving for more solidarity in Europe. I am grateful for this inspiring experience and would like to thank the AER President and Executive Board for their support and trust; the team for their professionalism, and all the AER members and partners for their engagement and passion.”

Spahr will formally take up his role on Monday, 2 November 2020.

***

The Assembly of European Regions is the political platform of regional governments in wider Europe, with direct membership of public authorities from 30 countries. As the largest independent network of its kind, AER promotes the regions as key players in the European project, as well as democracy and good governance.

For press inquiries, please contact our Communications & Events Officer, Justin Sammon via email at [email protected]

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ARLEM Award 2021

15 July, 2020 By Aurelien Godin

Are you a young entrepreneur running a local business in the Mediterranean region and collaborating with your regional or local community? Then you may be eligible for the ARLEM Award 2021.

The Assembly of the European Regions is pleased to present this initiative launched by the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) to award a young innovative entrepreneur addressing their local needs. Created in 2010 by the Committee of the Regions (CoR), ARLEM aims to give a territorial dimension to the Union for the Mediterranean; promote local democracy, multi-level governance and decentralized cooperation around the three shores of the Mediterranean; encourage North-South and South-South dialogue; promote exchange of best practices; and promote regional integration and cohesion.

In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of the local economy and the realisation of the limits of globalisation came to the forefront. Now more than ever before, young local entrepreneurs need support to develop their businesses and address local communities’ needs. With this award, ARLEM focuses on stimulating local business, supporting young entrepreneurs and encouraging collaboration between local public authorities and the private sector.

Deadline for this award is 20 September 2020. More information and the application can be found here.

The winning enterprise and local/regional authority will be announced at the 12th ARLEM Plenary Session at the beginning of 2021 (#ARLEMaward).

Eligibility Requirements:

Young Entrepreneur (under 35)
Supported by her/his regional or local community
Enterprise has been registered and running for at least 3 years
Headquartered in a country on the three shores of the Mediterranean (Albania, Algeria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Turkey

Take a look below at the previous winners:
Arlem Award 2020
Arlem Award 2019

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Enrol in the 2nd Youth International Conference in Sweden!

24 June, 2020 By Erik Hayes

Do you want to actively engage in the next global changes? Are you 18-24 years old? Do you want to raise your voice and be heard? Then you should definitely participate in the next Think Thank in Gothenburg on November 16–19, 2020!

What is it about?

The overall goal of the conference is to stand up for a democratic and open society and to counterbalance the pessimistic ideas of contemporary nationalism and populism. Moreover, this year there will be a test and report on new ways of combining and integrating various transport means for travelling to Gothenburg. The other end is to promote sustainable ways for people and ideas to move across Europe in the future.

A 4-day conference at the Swedish Exhibition Congress Center in Gothenburg

Who is eligible?

If you are aged 18-24 and live in Europe, take the chance to join the movements that show the way forward to a sustainable future of an open and democratic society. – Urban Strandberg

Be aged between 18-24
Be resident in a European city, suburb or countryside
Share ideas or suggestions on how to sustain a democratic and open society in Europe 😉
Limited places: 25 young people

What is included ?

Trip reimbursement to Gothenburg
Accommodation for 4 days
All meal costs covered during the stay

How to apply?

To apply you just have to submit via the form accessible HERE a motivation letter arguing why you want to participate. The deadline is set on August 12th!

The initiative is sponsored by the European Commission Representation in Sweden, the City of Gothenburg and Region Västra Götaland.

DOWNLOAD THE CALL

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CUBES Update: mapping local sustainability & governance of culture, brand new website and…more!

22 May, 2020 By Mathilde Perrier

The CUBES partners gathered on the 14th of May for an online consortium meeting, with their main goal to assess the progress accomplished since the CUBES Kick-off in October, as well as to move on to the next stages of the project implementation.

The CUBES project aims to design and develop a training programme offered on an inclusive, interactive and user-friendly digital platform. Open and accessible to all, the project aims to empower all sectors of society to own and administer their cultural resources in sustainable ways, aiming at both cultural democracy and cultural sustainability. CUBES is a project co-funded by Erasmus+.

One of the outcomes expected from this project is the so-called Review Paper and Parameters Mapping. This document is now complete. It includes examples of best practices, funding tools, local challenges, training needs and area of focus in heritage. It draws from the various activities which have been implemented at national, regional and local level in the seven countries covered by CUBES in order to boost local sustainability and governance of culture. Within this document, examples provided by two AER member regions are also included: Denizli Metropolitan Municipality and Eastern Slovenia.

The next step is the production of the Cultural Administration & Sustainability Boosters Curriculum. This document aims to address several core educational topics on the general theme of the sustainable administration of cultural resources.

In addition, the CUBES website has now been launched. You can find further information about the project itself but also about the partners and the latest news. E-learning modules will be uploaded in the upcoming months so stay tuned. You can also find information about the project on its Facebook page.

CUBES website

Contact :

Agnese Pantaloni, European Projects Coordinator – [email protected]

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Join AER’s New Taskforces!

27 February, 2020 By Gisela Guari Cañada

Two new Taskforces are set for launch: Democracy, and Sustainable Mobility and Connectivity. Read below for more information on the work of these new taskforces, and find out if it might be of the interest of your region to join them!

AER Taskforce on Democracy

At the AER Bureau meeting, in Larnaca (CY), the Bureau members decided to establish the Taskforce on Democracy under the proposal of Örebro (SE).

The establishment of this Taskforce will advocate for ensuring one of AER’s Political Priorities 2020-2025: Promoting Democracy and good governance.

Human rights are at the very core of European values and AER believes that citizens’ interests must be at the centre of all decisions. They must be involved in clear ways in decision-making and must have access to all public information which will help them keep track and contribute to public authorities’ work. Decisions must be made according to the will of the many while the rights and interests of minorities and excluded groups must be respected. Government and public authorities must continuously seek new innovative solutions to foster greater involvement of citizens and more efficient governance, and decentralisation and subsidiarity must be promoted as a mean to achieve this. For instance, the work of this Taskforce should seek to find a way to greater involve regions in the development of the Conference on the Future of Europe and raising awareness among European citizens.

Should the work of this Taskforce be of any interest to your region, please fill in this form.

AER Taskforce on Sustainable Mobility and Connectivity

At the AER Bureau meeting, 5 December 2019 in Brussels (BE), the Bureau members decided to establish the Taskforce on Sustainable Mobility and Connectivity under the proposal of the Region of Sardinia (IT).

The establishment of this Taskforce will advocate for ensuring one of AER’s Political Priorities 2020-2025: Nurturing territorial cohesion and fostering cooperation all around Europe.

With reference to nurturing territorial cohesion, there is a need to stress the importance of transport connections in order to allow distant and marginal territories, such as islands, to stay linked to the rest of Europe, to allow mobility, synergies and economic development.

Should the work of this Taskforce be of any interest to your region, please fill in this form.

How to apply?

In order to join any of these task forces, or both of them, you just have to be a member of AER, doesn’t mind if you’re a Bureau member or not. Please, fill in the form below for each of it:

Taskforce on Democracy

Taskforce on Sustainable Mobility and Connectivity

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact Gisela Guari, Institutional Relations & Advocacy Officer

Photo by Hudson Hintze on Unsplash

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Road to the Future Final Conference – The curtain has not yet fallen

22 January, 2020 By Editor

The EU funded project “Road to the Future” came to an end when its Final Conference took place on 20-21 January 2020. Young Europeans from all over the continent gathered together with civil society organisations and representatives of the European institutions to reflect on the “I Choose Europe” electoral campaign implemented in the run-up to May 2019.

The two-day conference aimed to analyse the objectives, the activities implemented and the results achieved over the past months, while at the same time, it was an occasion for the participants to discuss the role of young people and civil society in shaping Europe’s future, going beyond the 2019 European elections.

Share, Coexist & Learn from Each Other

The Assembly of European Regions (AER), as a project partner, contributed to the success of this initiative by taking responsibility for the evaluation and monitoring of the project, at the same time, an active role was played by the AER-Youth Regional Network (YRN). Throughout the project, YRN members attended several events at local and European levels while establishing connections with other European youth organisations. In this context, Gloria Vitaly, President of YRN, was invited to participate in the round table debate entitled ‘The Future of Europe after the 2019 Elections’ where she particularly emphasised the importance of the bottom-up approach as regards youth involvement in the European democratic life. In line with AER-YRN priorities, Gloria Vitaly stated:

Everything starts at the local and regional level, and the YRN tries to involve as many actors as possible, such as all the organisations present today. We cannot do it alone, together we can achieve real change.

The statement was later confirmed by the representatives of the other project partners, the common thread that emerged from the round table was the need for coordination, especially as regards European institutions and local institutions. In addition to this, the ‘I Choose Europe’ campaign confirmed the necessity of engaging young people from the very beginning because the overall goal is not only to enhance participation, but also to achieve meaningful participation.

Conference on the Future of Europe – Shaped by Citizens, Made for Citizens

The second day focused on the upcoming Conference on the Future of Europe, a topic particularly debated in the last weeks. On this occasion, several Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were invited to give more details about this brand new initiative aiming at giving citizens the chance to contribute in shaping the future of Europe. At this early stage, the Conference is still in the planning phase, but most of the MEPs agreed on the fact that a continuous dialogue with citizens has to be maintained and it is essential to collect as many opinions as possible. Following the discussion with the MEPs, the participants experienced a simulation of a meeting of the Conference on the Future of Europe. The discussion touched on a variety of topics, whereby the main issues that emerged were climate change, education, refugees and migrants. The lively debate ended with a set of policy recommendations addressed to European decision-makers and this interactive exercise gave participants to have a glimpse at how the Conference might look like.

AER is proud to have taken part in this inspiring project, which is just the beginning of even more activities in the youth engagement field. Thanks to the support of our member regions and the YRN, we are strongly committed to promoting youth engagement in European democratic life and we want to make young people’s voices stronger for the sake of the future of Europe.

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Road-to-the-Future final project conference on youth and democracy!

11 December, 2019 By Agnese Pantaloni

After a good number of training workshops, advocacy activities at national and local level, an inspiring bus tour and many other successful lobby actions aimed to encourage youth participation and democratic engagement towards the 2019 European elections and beyond, the Road-to-the-Future / European Youth Together project is coming to an end.

The “I Choose Europe” campaign has been led by civil society organizations, aiming to strengthen young people’s public participation before and after the European Elections 2019. Before May 2019, Les Jeunes Européens fédéralistes (JEF, project leader) and partners organized debates and public events intended to raise awareness of the European Elections and send a clear message to current and future decision-makers that young people’s voices matter.

With the new Commission just taking office, this final conference will be now the perfect moment to assess the success of the “I Choose Europe” campaign and also look at the future of how youth and civil society organizations can make their voice heard in European-level decision-making in the next cycle of reforms the European Union.

The closing ceremony will take place between 20-21 January 2020 in Brussels, Belgium. It will bring together young Europeans from all over the continent, civil society organizations, as well as representatives of the European institutions.

During the conference, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on the “I Choose Europe” electoral campaign, as well as the role of youth and civil society in shaping Europe’s future. Furthermore, a discussion on the upcoming Conference on the Future of Europe will take place. It will be followed by a simulation workshop where participants will be able to discuss their proposals for the future of Europe together with civil society organizations and Members of the European Parliament, as well as representatives from the European institutions.

The outcomes of the discussion will be compiled into a set of policy recommendations addressed to European decision-makers, creating synergies with the upcoming “Y-FED” project aimed at bringing the EU closer to its citizens – in which AER will be also a partner.

Objectives of the Final conference:

Assess the success of the “I Choose Europe” campaign.
Reflect and debate about the upcoming Conference on the Future of Europe, while exploring the role and expectations of youth and civil society organizations.

Why this project conference is so important? Youth policies – an AER priority: Young people in community engaging and organising on the regional level for social change and for better EU-level youth policies.

There are plenty of synergies between the RTF project and the AER Youth Regional Network (YRN). Both aimed to networking, influencing policy by involving young people in decision-making processes at regional and European level and by exchanging best practice and experience by bringing together youth activists and experts on the topic, i.e young representatives from AER member regions. Moreover, the project conference could serve as an opportunity to strengthen the AER vision of regionalisation and the promotion of sustainable governance by broadening the scope of the network to include other regional stakeholders from civil society partners as well as from governments/institutions. In addition, this conference could provide some insights to inspire further other AER youth-led programmes such as the Most Youth Friendly European Region Award – an innovative initiative which greatly succeeds in highlighting the importance of youth policies at the regional level. Noteworthy is also the Eurodyssey programme, that is a flagship and prestigious exchange programme which allows young people from AER member regions to have professional experience and gain European democratic citizenship skills, through a traineeship abroad.

Interested to participate in the final conference?

 Are you between 18 and 30 years old?
 Keen on youth and democracy topics at European level? Have you been somehow involved in this project or in any other activity related to the European Elections 2019 in your region or city?  Would you be willing to share your views or experience about the role of young people within European policies-making processes?
 Are you resident of one of the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, North Macedonia, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, or Spain?

Then, please do not miss the opportunity to attend this unique and inspiring conference and REGISTER NOW since places are limited (first-come, first-served!) All costs related to your participation (incl. accommodation, travel and meals) would be reimbursed!

Registration is now open until 20 December 2019, so please fill in the registration form as soon as possible: https://www.federalists.eu/activities/eytroad-to-the-future/reg-raising-young-peoples-voices-for-the-future-of-europe/

In case that you need more information about this participation opportunity, please have a look at the call for participation and the official conference programme.

For more information, please contact directly:

Eduardo Nadal – Projects Manager:

Phone: +32 2 400 10 12
E-mail: [email protected]

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2019 Autumn Bureau Meeting in Brussels

10 December, 2019 By Erica Lee

The Autumn edition of the twice-annual AER Bureau Meeting took place in Brussels on 5 December 2019, hosted by the Brussels Capital Region.

The Bureau is the primary political voice of AER. It engages in issues of a pan-European and global nature emanating from members and establishes the political base for AER’s advocacy work.

Political Priorities 2020-2025

The Bureau members had a full agenda with the adoption of the AER Political Priorities 2020-2025 up for discussion and debate.

The new political priorities will be put to a vote at the June 2020 AER General Assembly, and if adopted, will be in effect until June 2025.

If you would like to learn more about the Political Priorities adoption process, see our latest article here.

The political priorities can be read in full here.

The AER Political Priorities for 2020-25 are being debated and defined at this Autumn Bureau Meeting.

🧭 The political priorities will be a guiding political framework for AER for the next five years. 🗺️ pic.twitter.com/cWPUdLXFIC
— AER (@europeanregions) December 5, 2019

The Political Priorities were not the only cause to look ahead at this Bureau meeting. A discussion also took place on the Priority Topics for AER Task Forces from 2020.

The following is the status of the Taskforces at present:

Finished	Ongoing	Soon to Commence	Suggested
Migration	Cohesion Policy Food Security Digitalisation SDGs	Democracy	Sustainable Mobility & Connectivity

One taskforce slot is always held vacant in case a matter of urgent importance arises during the Bureau’s mandate.

Taskforce on Cohesion

Michiel Rijsberman, Chair of the Taskforce on Cohesion, gave an update on the work of the group. He emphasised the successful advocacy work undertaken by an AER Delegation to the European Parliament in October to meet with newly elected MEPs.

The time has now come for a final push towards the European Council and EU Member States. Together with the Cohesion Alliance, which gathers all major networks of local and regional governments, we sent a letter to the European Council President, Mr Charles Michel, on Tuesday 10 November 2019. This letter has also been disseminated to AER members to transfer to their national governments. It is important for all regions to mobilise to safeguard cohesion policy. Check the article to know more about this advocacy action.

Taskforce on Migration

Albert Castellanos Maduell, Chair of the Migration Taskforce, reported on the work carried out since the Bureau adopted its position on Migration, “Towards an Intercultural Europe”, in June 2019. A prime example of this is the newly launched Intercultural Regions Network, co-founded by AER, the Government of Catalonia and the Council of Europe’s Intercultural Cities Network. All regions interested in joining this new initiative are invited to come forward.

Taskforce on Food Security

A discussion was held to finalise the AER Position on Food Security which will form the basis of AER’s advocacy work towards the new European Commission and newly elected MEPs. The position can be read in full here.

Brainstorming on Food Security

🌱🌽👩🏾‍🌾👨🏻‍🍳🍽️

Position Paper will be adopted shortly, stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/E7chrHfWLu
— AER (@europeanregions) December 5, 2019

Debates

In the afternoon, the Bureau was pleased to host two high-level panel debates pertaining to the work of its taskforces on the Sustainable Development Goals and Digitalisation.

Panel Debate: Glocalising the Sustainable Development Goals

With representatives from the European Parliament, EESC, CoR and the United Nations Development Programme, the discussion reflected on the contribution of regional authorities to the implementation, follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda and invite views on how we can more effectively localise its Goals. Read this article to find out more.

Glocalising the Sustainable Development Goals 🌍

Panel debate on #SDGs at our Autumn Bureau, we’re reflecting on the contribution of local and regional authorities to the 2030 Agenda!

It’s time for action, local and global action. pic.twitter.com/kuGPCxg2iO
— AER (@europeanregions) December 5, 2019

Panel Debate on Regions in the Digital Era

Organised by Lower Austria who holds the chairmanship of the Taskforce on Digitalisation, the panel debate formed an opportunity for regions to discuss how to adapt to the digital transformation and make the changes associated with digitalisation work for regions and their citizens. Read more about this subject in this article.

Regions in the Digital Era 🌐

Networks such as AER have a key role in the digital transformation. The goal is to bring closer citizens to the digital world and raise awareness on this topic. pic.twitter.com/KBUA0ujQDS
— AER (@europeanregions) December 5, 2019

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AER selected for the European Youth Event 2020! Apply now!

21 November, 2019 By Editor

We are eager to announce that the European Parliament has granted AER to participate in the European Youth Event 2020 in Strasbourg! (Keep reading to join us in this exciting adventure…)

What is EYE2020?

From 29 to 30 May 2020, the European Youth Event will bring thousands of young people coming from all over Europe to Strasbourg (FR). The event is aimed to make young people active agents of change in the European democratic life rather than passive beneficiaries, by engaging in debates, workshops, hearings and digital activities on a very diversified range of topics. All the activities are co-created with partners, youth organisations and the participants.

The EYE2020 is the perfect opportunity for youth to share their thoughts, concerns, hopes and meet and inspire each other. And on top of that, some participants will also be able to present the most impactful ideas directly to the Members of the European Parliament.

If you want to find out more, take a look at the tentative programme or just visit the webpage of the EYE2020!

What are the selection criteria?

Be aged between 16 and 30 years old representing a regional or local youth entity.
Hold EU citizenship and residency. Citizens and residents from candidate countries are also eligible for sponsorship.
A clear explanation of your motivation and how you plan to employ the soft skills gained and the takeaways.
Proof of experience in youth work or related-initiatives you have carried out.
Proof of a mandate or person of reference supporting your application from the organisation/region you stand for.
young people with disabilities, from rural or remote areas and from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds will be prioritised.

AER and YRN members, particularly those coming from remote areas in Europe, have priority.

And the financial conditions?

The financial contribution is calculated on the basis of the following 2 elements per sponsored participant:

1. An amount depending on the distance calculated as follows: €0.045/km considering the most direct road return journey between the common point of departure of the group (town/city) and Strasbourg. If there is no common point of departure, it will be calculated based on the average travel distance.

2. Thanks to the sponsorship provided by the European Parliament, the selected youth delegates will benefit from free half-board (breakfast & dinner) accommodation in shared rooms from 28-31 May 2020. Lunch is not included and will be at the expense of the participants.

N.b.: Participants from non-EU territories, EEA or neighbourhood countries canNOT be part of the sponsored group.

Apply now!

If you are a young activist aged between 16 and 30 years old representing a regional or local youth entity and meet the aforementioned criteria, you then cannot afford to miss the fantastic opportunity of taking an active part in the EYE2020 in the name of AER!

Submission deadline:
22 January 2020

Only the 20 best candidates will be confirmed to form the AER’s delegation to the EYE2020 following the submission deadline.

Contact us!

For any questions related to AER’s participation to the EYE2020, please do not hesitate to contact Andrés Muñoz at the AER Secretariat:
e: [email protected] / t: +32 (0) 2 400 10 54

Photo credits: @European Parliament

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Together for Cohesion project goes to the Council of Europe!

30 October, 2019 By Agnese Pantaloni

The Together for Cohesion project has been represented at the 37^th session of the Local and Regional Authorities Congress, led by the Council of Europe and held in Strasbourg on 28-31 October 2019.

At our dedicated stand, project representatives promoted and advertised the project mission and activities to the interested participants attending the congress. Thanks to this event, the project information reached out to many different stakeholders from all over Europe, mostly regional and local civil servants, governmental representatives, politicians and NGOs. Indeed, more than 300 participants took part in the congress and had the opportunity to get insights and Marketing materials from our project, either for information purposes or for getting somehow involved in the project activities. The project’s mission is now in the phase of being spread and disseminated all over Europe.

Being also a member of the European Cohesion Alliance and linked to this year congress’s theme “Mayors safeguarding democracy”, project representatives mentioned to the participants who passed by our information desk the importance of EU cohesion policy and funds as a channel to implement social and economic investments at the grassroots level with the view to fostering better and enhanced growth among the regions. In this sense, AER considers EU cohesion policy and funds as an opportunity to help reduce (territorial) disparities and inequalities across the regions and therefore contribute to the respect of principles of solidarity, equity and good public governance – essential for achieving strong regional and local democracies. Indeed, our project is also touching upon this democratic dimension and is contributing somehow towards sustainable developments goals 8 (economic growth), 10 (reduced inequalities) and 16 (strong institutions).

More precisely, attendees who were interested in our information desk received a showcase on how to use the project website, how to handle the online database of good practices and learn/share about communication campaigns and reflect on examples from other regions for mutual learning. In addition, participants were invited to propose events or activities – within their regions – that can be linked to cohesion and structural funds directly or indirectly. These events are to be included in the so-called “European cohesion calendar of local events” – which is envisaged to provide an overview of the key regional events and activities on the topic of EU cohesion and structural funds, focused on the partner regions. This activity is one of the central hubs of the project implementation and will garner interest not only from the European institutions but also from the regions and citizens themselves!

In conclusion … attendees had the opportunity to learn more about the project either for dissemination purposes or for getting engaged somehow. Our project representation through the dedicated and well-organised stand in such an important event has given a strong visibility boost and political attention – not only from the Council of Europe representatives but also from key regional and local institutions across Europe.

Next Together for Cohesion project visibility activity will take place on 5 December at the AER Bureau meeting in Brussels.

Keen to learn more about this project?

Please contact Eduardo Nadal – EU Projects Manager [email protected] (+32 2 400 10 12)

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Youth Mobility at the fore during the 2019 Eurodyssey Forum in Sardinia

30 October, 2019 By Erica Lee

The experience of living in another country impacts a young person’s personal and professional development, increases independence and responsibility, helps improve knowledge of foreign languages and develops other valuable social skills and professional competences. Youth mobility can also indirectly contribute to dismantling certain prejudices or social constructs in times of political disaffection, radicalisation and economic recession across Europe. Most importantly, mobility is how young people develop a new viewpoint about their own reality, systems and culture. As a result of this mobility, and by gaining varied learning experiences, young people increase their chances for employment and in this way influence their own position in the labour market.

The Eurodyssey Forum, a yearly event gathering representatives of all the regions that participate in this regional mobility scheme, was the perfect venue for discussions on this topic. Over the course of two days, more than 50 participants, came together to discuss the merits of, and challenges to, the exchange of young people among the regions of Europe.

Alessandra Zedda, AER Vice President for Employment & Skills, and Rita Dedola, Regional Councillor for Youth Policies, opened the 2019 Eurodyssey Forum by giving a warm welcome to all the participants and expressing gratitude to AER for the close and fruitful cooperation as regards Eurodyssey, which both of them praised for being a very valuable tool for the regions to deliver on youth employment and internationalization policies.

Two high-level discussions were open to the public as part of the Forum, the first on “Youth Mobility for empowerment and professional growth“, moderated by AER Secretary-General, Mathieu Mori, featured a panel of experts from Italy and wider Europe.

Massimo Temussi, Managing Director Sardinian Agency for Active Labour Policies (ASPAL) opened the discussion by bringing a regional perspective and shedding light on the situation of young people in the labour market in Sardinia. He noted, in particular, that there is an increasing mismatch of skills and opportunities for young people, concluding that more needs to be done to provide specific training that will enable young people to make the transition from vocational or higher education into the workforce. Going abroad to learn new in-demand skills through the Eurodyssey programme is one way to achieve this.

Domenico De Maio, Managing Director of the National Agency for Youth of the Italian Republic, spoke about how young people from other parts of Europe can breathe life into declining rural villages. In turn, he also praised the many young Italians who go abroad to gain professional experience before returning home with new and innovative visions for their home regions.

Valentina Cuzzocrea and Ewa Krzaklewska, members of the Council of Europe Pool of European Youth Researchers (PEYR) delved further into the policy context and elaborated on their work as part of the PEYR.

Valentina Cuzzocrea spoke of the significance of ‘Brain Circulation‘, where young people are free to move, to shape their own experiences and bring their skills and ideas with them wherever they like. This undoubtedly opens new perspectives, not just in terms of finding a job or starting a business, but also in terms of personal development, learning about themselves, what they like and dislike, and ultimately how they want to live their lives.

Ewa Krzaklewska stressed the importance of European mobility programmes such as Eurodyssey as a means of integrating Europeans and strengthening democracy because, at the end of the day, Europe is a human project.

Tatjana Babrauskienė, Member of the European Economic and Social Committee, added that when we think about the European project and the role of youth mobility we must think about the sustainable aspect, focusing on social growth, not just economic growth. She stated also that European mobility programmes like Eurodyssey foster a balancing of European, national and regional identities, which, in a time of polarising world views is a welcome development.

A second roundtable discussion provided food for thought as well as concrete examples from Eurodyssey members of how youth mobility can contribute to regional development.

Esther Estany, President of Eurodyssey, Catalonia (ES).
Arlette Brone, Head of Actiris International, Brussels-Capital (BE)
Miriana Bucalossi, Training policies and EU projects, Tuscany (IT)
Denis Lamard, President of the Burgundy-Franche-Comté (FR) Youth Information Center (CRIJ)
Michele Demontis: Cooperation for mobility in Sardinia, CASMI Committee of Sardinian Associations for Youth Mobility
Moderated by Luca Spissu, ASPAL, Sardinia (IT)

Esther Estany, Eurodyssey President, has been involved in the programmes since its inception. She opened the discussion by sharing her experience over the last 35 years and expressing the concern of the employment service of Catalonia regarding the ‘brain drain’ which has come about in the wake of the economic crisis. On a positive note, she noted that this trend is diminishing with more Catalans who leave the region for work coming back home again with new skills and experiences under their belts.

The discussion, moderated by Luca Spissu from the Sardinian Agency for Active Labour Policies (ASPAL), shed light on the regional realities of youth mobility in Brussels-Capital (BE), Tuscany (IT), Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (FR), Catalonia (ES) and Sardinia (IT).

Each of these regions has its own specific employment situation as regards young people & benefits from youth mobility schemes such as the Eurodyssey programme by welcoming young Europeans from other regions as well as sending their young people abroad, many of whom return home with innovative new ideas and perspectives on life in their home regions.

Regional Parliaments: host a debate on the future of Europe

15 October, 2019 By Editor

Regions shape Europe and, considering their proximity to citizens, regional governments are crucial actors for the achievement of effective democracy and good governance. In this context, a consortium of universities is looking for EU member regions willing to participate in a project focused at showcasing the role of regional parliaments in European democracy and at gathering their input in the future of Europe debate.

What is REGIOPARL?

REGIOPARL is a cooperation of researchers located at the Danube University Krems (Austria) and the European Democracy Lab in Berlin (Germany). This project brings together regional political actors with the aim to contribute actively to the ongoing debate on the future of Europe.

What does REGIOPARL do?

REGIOPARL organises workshops with members of regional parliaments and assemblies in 15 European regions. The purpose of this platform is to strengthening democracy at regional level and consequently strengthening democracy in Europe.

The workshops will address the regional perspective on:

The EU’s institutional structure
The distribution of competences
Territorial aspects of regions in Europe

What can you do?

If you are interested in getting involved, REGIOPARL is looking for regions wishing to host one of the workshops. But there is more: the workshops’ results will be collected for the comparative study on which REGIOPARL is working on and, secondarily, the outputs will be disseminated among policy-makers at the regional, national and European level.

Regional realities are the core of this project, your experience and the transfer of this knowledge is fundamental for the realisation of this initiative, for this reason, AER invites its member regions to join this project and foster this exchange of perspectives.

If you are interested in taking part of this project and sharing your regional realities, please contact Annalena Rehkaemper, Research Associate REGIOPARL, via phone (+ 49 30 20 61 62 58) or e-mail ([email protected]).

More useful information can be found on REGIOPARL webpage.

Photo credits: REGIOPARL

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Projects

SKILLNET

Road to the Future: finished

Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite! finished

CUBES: Cultural Administration Boosting with the Engagement of Sustainability for Local Communities ongoing

Includ-EU: Regional and local expertise, exchange and engagement for enhanced social cohesion in Europe ongoing

Good Practice Exchange

Survey on measures in education during COVID-19 lockdowns

Training Seminar 2019 – “Cities and Regions: New Actors of Change in Europe”: finished

Training Seminar 2020 – “How can local democracy help with constructing European identity and citizenship?”: postponed

Civil Servants Exchange Programme: ongoing

Autumn Committee Plenaries – Podčetrtek (SI): finished

2020 AER Spring Committee Plenaries – Covasna: cancelled

AER Summer Academy 2019 – “Youth is future, youth is Europe”: finished

Workshop on youth participation: finished

Workshop on the future of education: finished

Mutual learning on culture and health: ongoing

Workshop on culture in rural communities: finished

Raise awareness on the Eurodyssey programme: ongoing

Mutual learning event on economy 4.0: finished

Exchanges around traditional cultures: ongoing

AER Delegation at Smart City Expo World Congress: finished

Mutual learning on early school leaving: planned

From brain drain to brain gain: finished

Mutual learning on the loss of workforce: finished

Lifelong learning for 50+ people: finished

Advocacy/Lobbying

Building a Network of Intercultural Regions: ongoing

Joint initiatives for advocacy

AER Bureau Task Forces

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

Difficult questions for difficult times

About the Training seminar

About Science Po – the European campus in Dijon

About European College of Cluny

Programme

Monday 9 November

Tuesday 10 November

Wednesday, 11 November

Thursday, 12 November

A celebratory event marking 35 years of Eurodyssey

Mobility in times of COVID-19

What can be done at the regional level to encourage youth participation and inclusive mobility?

What are the benefits of learning mobility and volunteering?

Curious to find out more?

What is it about?

Who is eligible?

What is included ?

How to apply?

AER Taskforce on Democracy

AER Taskforce on Sustainable Mobility and Connectivity

How to apply?

Share, Coexist & Learn from Each Other

Conference on the Future of Europe – Shaped by Citizens, Made for Citizens

Political Priorities 2020-2025

Taskforce on Cohesion

Taskforce on Migration

Taskforce on Food Security

Debates

Panel Debate: Glocalising the Sustainable Development Goals

Panel Debate on Regions in the Digital Era

What is EYE2020?

What are the selection criteria?

And the financial conditions?

Apply now!

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More on the 2019 Eurodyssey Forum…

What is REGIOPARL?

What does REGIOPARL do?

What can you do?

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