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Committee 2 Annual Report June 2019 – November 2020

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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 2 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.

SCIROCCO Exchange project – Personalised knowledge transfer and access to tailored evidence-based assets on integrated care: ongoing

The SCIROCCO Exchange project, under the EU Health Programme, is based on the SCIROCCO project, which resulted in the development of an online self-assessment tool for integrated care. The project runs from January 2019 to August 2021. It supports regions, mainly health and social care authorities for the adoption and the scaling-up of integrated care. The Maturity Model, at the core of the project, offers a tool for regions to better deliver integrated care for their citizens while at the same time empowering citizens. With this tool, regions can assess their current status, revealing areas of strength and also gaps in their capability managing the many activities needed in order to deliver integrated care.

The lead partner is the Scottish Government. The consortium is composed of 14 organizations.

AER is leading the Working Package on knowledge transfer which started in autumn 2019, helping the regions in preparing the local environment for implementation and scaling-up integrated care.

The Institute of Social and Behavioural Medicine of Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice in Slovakia, one of SCIROCCO Exchange consortium partners, organized a local conference “Integrated care for people with chronic diseases” on 15 May 2019. The conference was organized as part of the European Public Health Week “Care4Care”. The objective of the conference was to raise awareness about the importance of integrated health and social care for people suffering from multiple chronic conditions. The conference was particularly useful to review the current progress with the adoption of integrated and long-term care in Slovakia and highlight the existing challenges such as change of culture, stakeholder engagement or political commitment

The project was presented at the Smart City Expo, which was held between 19 to 21st November 2019.
The project was also represented in the European Parliament at a debate, “EU 2019-2024: Health Champions Wanted”, held on 9 October 2019.

The SCIROCCO Exchange provides the opportunity to detail the methodologies and mutual learning approaches, which have developed by AER in over 3 decades of interregional cooperation.

The SCIROCCO Exchange also allows reaching some of the objectives set within the AER Digital Health Network.

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

AMiD project for the inclusion of migrants with disabilities: finished

This project was led by the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities and aimed to improve the access to services for migrants with disabilities. AER was a partner and Valencia, Timis and Värmland were all members of the Advisory Board. The AMiD project provided opportunities for experience sharing and capacity building in this area for all AER members.

During the 2019 Summer Academy in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS), a workshop on AMiD was organized. Participants were invited to reflect on the challenges that migrants with disabilities face on a daily basis.

The final conference of the AMiD project was held on 5th November 2019 in Brussels. After a wave of presentations and questions, participants split into three groups to discuss and agree on recommendations. They concluded:

  • Improving capacity for CSOs – Civil Society Organisations working in the sector.
  • To set and spread the multi-stakeholder approach to inclusion.
  • Engagement to raise the topic of migrants with disabilities in the next Disability Strategy 2020-2030

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.

E-health in rural areas: finished

Members discussed the possibility to develop a pan-AER regional e-health rural project based on innovation and digitalisation. This idea was not followed up by the development of a project.

As the topic is still relevant for many AER members, members were invited to participate in a webinar on integrated care in remote and rural areas, an activity organised in the context of the SCIROCCO Exchange project (see above)

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Good Practice Exchange

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 contrasting realities.

2020 Spring Committee Plenaries – Covasna (RO): 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 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 wellbeing and smart specialisation was addressed in two articles on the natural assets in Covasna (RO) and the smart specialisation strategy of Värmland (SE).

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

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.

Workshop of the AER e-health network (now known as “Digital Health Network”): finished

The AER e-health network has achieved the objectives it had set at its creation. It is time now to revamp the network, explore synergies with other initiatives and fellow networks around Europe. On the occasion of the Autumn Committee Plenaries the AER e-health network under the leadership of Donna Henderson, Scotland (GB), planned to hold a workshop to reinvent its way of working and set new goals.

While a discussion did take place on this occasion, only few members were able to attend, because of the exceptional circumstances in Slovenia, were Adria Airlines stopped activities during the AER plenaries. The group decided to change the name to “Digital Health network” and to cooperate more with other networks as well as with the European Commission. The SCIROCCO Exchange project is instrumental in this respect, as it positions AER on a very important topic.

Increasing collaboration on Digital Health between European Regions: ongoing

The Digital Health Network provides a platform for AER regions to share their experiences, knowledge, and resources that support the effective deployment of digital health solutions within their regional healthcare systems. The digital transformation of health and care requires further action in these areas:

  • citizen’s secure access to and sharing of health data across borders;
  • better data to advance research, disease prevention and personalised health and care;
  • digital tools for citizen empowerment and person-centred care.

 The Digital Health Network will:

  • Provide knowledge exchange opportunities for AER regions working to implement digital health.
  • Promote relevant policies to advance the implementation of digital health for all citizens.
  • Share good practices in the use of digital health in response to key health and care challenges for regions. 
  • Recognise the diversity of regions and identify key lessons from their different approaches to digital health.
  • Develop our shared understanding of how digital health can support increased citizen participation in and self-management of their own health and wellbeing.

Identify key events, in which members of the Digital Health Network will participate, to promote and raise awareness of the Network’s activities.

The activities planned for the Network in 2020 – 2021 are outlined in the roadmap below:

It is possible to join the Digital Health Network by filling this (

Webinar on Digital Health, Wellbeing and Smart Specialisation: ongoing

The webinar is organised by the Digital Health Network and will present the experiences of two AER regions on 18 November on :

  • supporting the development of digital solutions that support healthy living.
  • fostering collaboration between the public sector, universities; civil organisations, entrepreneurs, and businesses.
  • how we intend to achieve business growth and efficiency in public health services.
  • how digital health innovation fits with our regions’ smart specialisation strategies.

Breakfast seminar on innovation in healthcare design: finished

Värmland (SE), Scotland (GB) and AER organized a Breakfast Seminar on health innovation on 10 September 2019 in Brussels. The event looked at Health Innovation and User-centric Design and Digital Innovation in health and care. Kenneth Johannesson, Committee 2 Vice President for Health Innovation and Donna Henderson, Chair of AER eHealth Network, opened the event and provided background to it.

Sharing experiences on integrated care at Smart City Expo World Congress: finished

AER facilitated a 1h discussion in the Agora of Smart City Expo World Congress on the topic of mutual learning & international cooperation for the deployment of integrated care systems in Europe.

Through this session, attendees explored the regional perspective of integrated care systems and the related challenges and benefits, high-level speakers showcased the latest solutions from West Slovenia, Catalonia and Scotland. At the same time, it was presented the Scirocco Exchange Project, a pillar project for AER, which embodies our values as it aims to transfer good practices in integrated care across European regions.

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.

All member regions and partners interested in attending the next iteration of SCEWC 2020 as speakers can submit an application here

Elderly care homes in rural areas: planned

Exchange experiences and identify solutions around the issue of isolated elderly people in rural areas

  • Regions interested in working on this topic should share their idea with the Secretariat in order to start developing this initiative.

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 is foreseen on 16 March. This meeting will be followed by a public presentation of the Network, and a training on tactics and strategies for effective intercultural messaging by Nigel Smith, media and communication expert at the Council of Europe. Regions interested to participate in the public meeting and the training should contact Gisela Guari Cañada

Engagement in the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP-AHA)

AER is a member of the B3 Group for integrated care in the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing. Its contribution to the work is done via the SCIROCCO Exchange project and the AER Digital health network.

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 the existing legal framework and identify relevant actions, target institutions. The AER Secretariat will also organize Breakfast Briefings to help regions organize their advocacy activities.

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 Gisela Guari Cañada

-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.

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Spring Digest: Funding opportunities for EU and non-EU member regions

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Looking for funding for your projects? Here are some opportunities you could be interested in!

The AER Project Unit has prepared a selection of calls for proposals on the following subjects: Cohesion Policy, energy, climate action, civil society, citizen’s rights, youth and social economy.

If you require any further information, are looking for partners, or planning to apply to these calls, don’t hesitate to contact the AER project unit.

*** Update ***

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, some deadlines for funding application have been postponed. The Horizon 2020 call titled Boost Rural Economies through Cross-Sector Digital Service Platforms, previously shared in this article have been updated. The submission deadline for this topic has been extended from 22 April to 17 June 2020.

Cohesion Policy

Support for citizen engagement in the implementation of cohesion policy (DG REGIO)
Deadline: 1 June 2020
Eligibility: EU Member States
DG Regio has launched an open call for proposals, which the main action is the implementation of innovative actions or tools to engage citizens in cohesion policy, co-financed by the EU. This call has been mentioned in this article previously.

Energy

Mitigating household energy poverty (Horizon 2020)
Deadline: 10 September 2020
Eligibility: EU and non-EU Member States (check the list of eligible countries here)
This call focuses on alleviating energy poverty and developing a better understanding of the types and needs of energy-poor households and how to identify them. The proposed action should help to facilitate behavioural change and financial or non-financial support schemes and to disseminate innovative schemes for energy efficiency.
Supporting public authorities in driving the energy transition (Horizon 2020)
Deadline: 10 September 2020
Eligibility: EU and non-EU Member States (check the list of eligible countries here)
The focus of the call is on decentralisation of energy governance, with the main goal of enhancing political commitment at a local level through a shift of responsibility in implementation and monitoring of energy efficiency solutions. The proposed action should be a support to local and regional public authorities and respectively support into transposing the Energy Efficiency Directive.

Climate Action & Environment

National roundtables to implement the Smart Finance for Smart Buildings initiative (Horizon 2020)
Deadline: 10 September 2020
Eligibility: EU and non-EU Member States (check the list of eligible countries here)
This call aims to facilitate the creation/set-up of national roundtables focused on energy efficiency investment. The roundtables should gather the relevant stakeholders in permanent multilateral discussion forums. The focus must stress the exciting private and public buildings, industry and SME’s. The roundtables should analyse the possibility to upscale existing best practices from the national and European level, develop strategies, roadmaps and action plans, propose improvements in the national policy frameworks and measures, and follow their implementation, develop jointly template documents and contracts leading to better functioning of the market.
LIFE Calls for proposals
You can find several calls for proposals from the program LIFE under the Environment and Climate action sub-programs. Those calls are detailed in this article previously published.

Civil Society

Civil Society Projects (Europe for Citizens)
Deadline: 1 September 2020
Eligibility: EU Member States, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo
The project should consist of stimulating and organising reflection, debates or other activities related to the multiannual priority themes of the Programme. The proposed actions should also propose practical solutions that can be found through cooperation or coordination at the European level. Projects should actively involve many citizens in the implementation and aim at setting the basis or develop long-lasting networking between many organisations active in the field.

Citizen’s Rights

Call for proposals to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities (Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme)
Deadline: 02 June 2020
Eligibility: EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Serbia
The first objective of this call is to promote the collection, exchange and dissemination of innovative effective practice for the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities. The proposed actions should also promote their active inclusion and participation in the society taking into account socio-economic trends such as the ageing of the population and digitalisation. The second objective is to fill in data gaps related to the situation of persons with disabilities.

Youth

European Youth Together 2020 (Erasmus +)
Deadline: 28 July 2020
Eligibility: EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey
This call aims to create networks promoting regional partnerships, to be run in close cooperation with young people from across Europe. The networks should organise exchanges, promote training and allow young people themselves to set up joint projects, all of which could be done through both physical and online activities. Projects should particularly address challenges related to inclusive participation for all young people, regardless of their background. This call was launched to give a needed immediate response to help mitigate the socio-economic impacts in the youth sector that emerged against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Social Economy

Social Economy Mission (COSME)
Deadline: 9 June 2020
Eligibility: EU Member States and countries participating in the COSME programme
The call for proposals will support consortia in developing inter-regional learning and collaboration, and creating opportunities and incentives for future inter-regional partnerships in the field of priorities of “Social economy missions”. Project proposals must aim to enhance interaction and improving collaboration and boost inter-regional learning between a social economy network and stakeholders. It must also aim to contribute to the gradual building of a Social Economy community. You can find more information about this call in this article.

Photo by Sergey Shmidt on Unsplash

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European Youth Foundation: Funding Opportunities Responding to COVID-19

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If you are a local or a national non-governmental youth organisation looking for funding for activities aimed at demonstrating solidarity and supporting all persons affected by the COVID-19 crisis, this call is made for you.

The Assembly of European Regions (AER) is happy to share this special call from the European Youth Foundation (EYF). The EYF is a fund established by the Council of Europe providing financial and educational support for European youth activities.

For this call, priority will be given to pilot activities that aim at demonstrating solidarity and support to all persons affected by the COVID-19 crisis, such as:

  • Reaching out to and supporting particularly vulnerable groups of people, including homeless, refugees and asylum-seekers, people with disabilities, people living in isolation or in remote communities;
  • Support to health, social and educational services;
  • Education and awareness-raising of the importance of human rights in responses to the COVID-19 crisis.

Important to note: pilot activities MUST respect the sanitary and safety measures implemented by health services or national/local authorities. There should be coordinated with competent authorities and indicated in the project proposal.

 The maximum available EYF grant for a pilot activity is €10,000.

Only youth organisations which are registered with the EYF can submit applications. The youth NGO must be located in one of the 50 signatories to the European Cultural Convention. More information on registering can be found here. 

Deadline:  10 May 2020

For further information (see here)

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the AER Secretariat. 

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Committee 2 Progress Report Spring 2020

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Twice a year the members of the AER Committee on Social Policy and Public Health gather in plenary meetings. This is the opportunity to set goals for cooperation through the elaboration of a joint work programme and to evaluate progress every six months.

On the occasion of the Spring 2019 Committees’ plenaries in Örebro, AER members identified joint actions they wanted to implement with fellow regions. A year later it is time to evaluate progress, celebrate achievements and share experiences!

Evaluating progress

During the elaboration of the work programme in Örebro, planned activities were organized in 3 categories:

Projects
Good practice sharing
Lobbying

The below progress report was compiled for the spring 2020 plenary meeting in Covasna. It gives an overview of the situation, 1 year after the adoption of the work programme.

Projects

SCIROCCO Exchange project – Personalised knowledge transfer and access to tailored evidence-based assets on integrated care: ongoing

The SCIROCCO Exchange project, under the EU Health Programme, is based on the SCIROCCO project, which resulted in the development of an online self-assessment tool for integrated care. The project runs from January 2019 to August 2021. It supports regions, mainly health and social care authorities for the adoption and the scaling-up of integrated care. The Maturity Model, at the core of the project, offers a tool for regions to better deliver integrated care for their citizens while at the same time empowering citizens. With this tool, regions can assess their current status, revealing areas of strength and also gaps in their capability managing the many activities needed in order to deliver integrated care.

The lead partner is the Scottish Government, a recent AER member. The consortium is composed of 14 organizations.

AER is leading the Working Package on knowledge transfer, helping the regions in preparing the local environment for implementation and scaling-up integrated care.

The Institute of Social and Behavioural Medicine of Pavol Jozef Safarik University in Kosice in Slovakia, one of SCIROCCO Exchange consortium partners, organized a local conference “Integrated care for people with chronic diseases” on 15 May 2019. The conference was organized as part of the European Public Health Week “Care4Care”. The objective of the conference was to raise awareness about the importance of integrated health and social care for people suffering from multiple chronic conditions. The conference was particularly useful to review the current progress with the adoption of integrated and long-term care in Slovakia and highlight the existing challenges such as change of culture, stakeholder engagement or political commitment

The project was presented at the Smart City Expo, which was held between 19 to 21st November 2019.
The project was also represented in the European Parliament at a debate, “EU 2019-2024: Health Champions Wanted”, held on 9 October 2019.

Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite! ongoing

“Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite!” is a project submitted under a call launched by DG REGIO. This project raises awareness on the importance of programmes, projects, and services funded by the cohesion policy funds. It also encourages the participation of citizens and stakeholders to become active players in the dialogue on cohesion policy. AER coordinates the project and has 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 are 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 Varazdin (HR), the annual Gala Ball of Varaždin County on 24 January 2020 was an opportunity to promote the project.

AMiD project for the inclusion of migrants with disabilities: finished

This project was led by the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities and aimed to improve the access to services for migrants with disabilities. AER was a partner and Valencia, Timis and Värmland were all members of the Advisory Board. The AMiD project provided opportunities for experience sharing and capacity building in this area for all AER members.

During the 2019 Summer Academy in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS), a workshop on AMiD was organized. Participants were invited to reflect on the challenges that migrants with disabilities face on a daily basis.

The final conference of the AMiD project was held on 5th November 2019 in Brussels. After a wave of presentations and questions, participants split into three groups to discuss and agree on recommendations. They concluded:

  • Improving capacity for CSOs – Civil Society Organisations working in the sector.
  • To set and spread the multi-stakeholder approach to inclusion.
  • Engagement to raise the topic of migrants with disabilities in the next Disability Strategy 2020-2030

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. AER will also organise 5 webinars on these topics, to share experiences regarding practical aspects such as housing, health services or the integration of services especially regarding the access to the labour market. These activities will be open to AER members, especially regions in the Intercultural Regions Network (see below “Lobbying”)

E-health in rural areas: planned

Members discussed the possibility to develop a pan-AER regional e-health rural project based on innovation and digitalization.

  • Regions interested in developing such a project should share their idea with the Secretariat in order to start developing this initiative.
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Banners-for-committee-progress-page-20182.jpg

Good Practice Exchange

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 contrasting realities.

2020 Spring Committee Plenaries – Covasna (RO): ongoing

The main focus of the AER 2020 Spring Committee Plenaries in Covasna County (RO) between 10-12 March will be territorial approaches. Urban-rural divides within regions will 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 will take 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 will, in particular, discuss the state of play of smart specialization strategies in Europe, health innovation and wellbeing, as well as brain drain vs brain gain.

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.

Workshop of the AER e-health network: ongoing

The AER e-health network has achieved the objectives it had set at its creation. It is time now to revamp the network, explore synergies with other initiatives and fellow networks around Europe. On the occasion of the Autumn Committee Plenaries the AER e-health network under the leadership of Donna Henderson, Scotland (GB), planned to hold a workshop to reinvent its way of working and set new goals.

While a discussion did take place on this occasion, only few members were able to attend, because of the exceptional circumstances in Slovenia, were Adria Airlines stopped activities during the AER plenaries. The group decided to change the name to “Digital Health network” and to cooperate more with other networks as well as with the European Commission. The SCIROCCO Exchange project is instrumental in this respect, as it positions AER on a very important topic.

Breakfast seminar on innovation in healthcare design: finished

Värmland (SE), Scotland (GB) and AER organized a Breakfast Seminar on health innovation on 10 September 2019 in Brussels. The event looked at Health Innovation and User-centric Design and Digital Innovation in health and care. Kenneth Johannesson, Committee 2 Vice President for Health Innovation and Donna Henderson, Chair of AER eHealth Network, opened the event and provided background to it.

Sharing experiences on integrated care at Smart City Expo World Congress: finished

AER facilitated a 1h discussion in the Agora of Smart City Expo World Congress on the topic of mutual learning & international cooperation for the deployment of integrated care systems in Europe.

Through this session, attendees explored the regional perspective of integrated care systems and the related challenges and benefits, high-level speakers showcased the latest solutions from West Slovenia, Catalonia and Scotland. At the same time, it was presented the Scirocco Exchange Project, a pillar project for AER, which embodies our values as it aims to transfer good practices in integrated care across European regions.

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.

All member regions and partners interested in attending the next iteration of SCEWC 2020 as speakers can submit an application here

Elderly care homes in rural areas: planned

Exchange experiences and identify solutions around the issue of isolated elderly people in rural areas

  • Regions interested in working on this topic should share their idea with the Secretariat in order to start developing this initiative.

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 is foreseen on 16 March. This meeting will be followed by a public presentation of the Network, and a training on tactics and strategies for effective intercultural messaging by Nigel Smith, media and communication expert at the Council of Europe. Regions interested to participate in the public meeting and the training should contact Gisela Guari Cañada

Engagement in the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP-AHA)

AER is a member of the B3 Group for integrated care in the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing. Its contribution to the work is done via the SCIROCCO Exchange project and the AER e-health network.

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 the existing legal framework and identify relevant actions, target institutions. The AER Secretariat will also organize Breakfast Briefings to help regions organize their advocacy activities.

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 Gisela Guari Cañada

-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 Katherine McCormack on Unsplash

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Basque Country Initiative on Integration of Migrants and Refugees

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On 4 December 2019, the Assembly of European Regions participated actively in a seminar organized by the Basque country (ES) on the reception and integration of migrants and refugees, in Brussels. Indeed, AER work closely with our member regions by sharing knowledge and good practices on the topic.

The purpose of the Basque country seminar was to present an initiative called “SHARE” about the principles of solidarity and co-responsibility in the reception, distribution and integration of migrants and refugees across the European regions. An update on the proposal for a new European Pact on Migration and Asylum (DG HOME, European Commission) was also provided.

What is the Basque Country proposal about?

SHARE proposal is led by the Basque Government with the support of several European regions. The objective of SHARE is to promote solidarity and co-responsibility in the reception of refugees and migrants, for which it proposes to agree, at European level and on a transversal basis, a key of territorial distribution of the effort of reception and inclusion of migrants in most vulnerable situation.

For this territorial distribution, a formula based on three parameters is proposed: tax revenues (or Average Available Income, or GDP per capita), with a weight of 50%; the population, with an incidence of 30%; and the unemployment rate, with 20%. The application of SHARE in States, regions and municipalities would be directed to refugees and asylum seekers, migrants in an unregulated situation and special vulnerability, and minors and young people who migrate alone.

Logically, this is an open proposal. The objective is to have the greatest possible consensus. At the moment, following the meetings that took place on 2 April and 4 December in Brussels, the “SHARE project” is supported by the regions of Canary Islands, Navarre, Catalonia, Melilla, Communauté d’Agglomération Pays Basque, Attica, Nouvelle Aquitaine and Basque Country. The Basque country is now inviting more European regions to join this initiative.

Need more information? Interested to support and join the Basque country initiative?

Contact Project Manager, Eduardo Nadal:
[email protected] / (+32) 2 400 10 12

Why the Basque initiative is relevant for the AER advocacy work?

On the European level, AER has a dedicated taskforce on Migration within our Bureau which adopted a position paper on intercultural regions at our General Assembly in Larnaca in June 2019 – basically, calling for European institutions and national governments to adopt a proactive agenda on migration and to build a comprehensive approach that goes beyond the security-driven measures. Equally, AER considers that inclusion and humanitarian support actions as well as the provision of more accessible and sustainable funding and resources are key priorities for our regions to better integrate migrants and refugees, using a multilevel governance and multi-stakeholder approach, as well.

Following our Bureau position on intercultural regions, AER is also supporting the proposal for a network on intercultural regions coordinated by Catalonia with the involvement of the Council of Europe with the view to establish an EU-wide collaborative community of regions working together to develop intercultural strategies to better manage diversity and migration.

On the project management side, AER has also been an active partner in the DG HOME funded project called AMID – Access to Services for Migrants with Disabilities that among various activities, has resulted in the creation of a specific Online Needs Assessment Tool to allow regional and local authorities to better take into account the disability dimension while assessing the profile of asylum-seekers with the final goal to create a common standard approach to this specific vulnerable group of asylum-seekers at European level. Importantly also is that as of January 2020, AER will be co-leading – in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration – a new DG HOME funded project called INCLUD-EU that will aim to improve regional and local actors expertise in putting in place integration measures and to promote the implementation of social cohesion actions at territorial level with a focus on the reception-conditions of migrants and refugees.

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

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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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“Massively thought-provoking” – AMiD project Final Conference

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Massively thought-provoking…

That was the first reaction of one of the participants to the conference. The final conference of AMiD project. Why provoking? Because the topic is pretty new. And because it matters. Because as panellists and participants, there were representatives from the local authorities, disabilities organisations, service providers and international institutions. Because migration is not a problem, but a reality.

Not just a conference…

Gathering together this variety of participants had a purpose: to help them work together to shape recommendations. Just as in the project, it was a variety of organisations from different backgrounds that AMiD happen.
So first came a round of panellists to open up the debate: diversity, data and evidence, a common European framework of welcomes, all with migration as a cross-cutting theme.

After a wave of presentations and questions, participants split in three groups to discuss and agree on recommendations. They included:

  • Improving capacity for CSOs – Civil Society Organisations working in the sector.
  • To set and spread the multi-stakeholder approach to inclusion.
  • Engagement to raise the topic of migrants with disabilities in the next Disability Strategy 2020-2030

What we heard from the panellists…

Migration, disability, diversity, migration as transversal cut to health or education, Global compact. All those where key words shared with the audience.
Conny Reuter, Secretary-General of Solidar, gave insights on migration as first something linking the all spectrum of social life: health, education, employment, housing. That was the kick-off to understand the dimension of what migration is.
Nuria Diez Guardia, representing the European Commission’s DG Home , was on the same line. As the DG in charge of the topic of migration and inclusion, DG Home Affairs works in collaboration with the other Directorates-General. That is the only way to set policies and resources for real inclusion.

But what about disability and migration? Ola Herinkson, IOM representative at the European Commission, reminded participants that the Global Compact for Migration have an eye for this group. That being, Objective No. 15, this is the part to look at and to work with.
Angela Unufe, CEO of Migrant & Minority Disability Network Europe, considered AMiD as a starting point to give more visibility to this group. “With AMiD we kicked off, but it is the right direction”.

Yaya Traore’ brought the voice of those who did the journey by boat to Europe. A tragic story, with a happy end. Despite his disability and the trauma he had to overcome, it was possible for him to learn the language of the hosting country and even get a job! “I was lucky,” he said. Yaya could be supported with proper services. Proof that it can be done!

What about the local authorities? Regions at AMiD

Oriol Amoros, Secretary of Equality, Migration and Citizenship of Catalonia (ES), made the point very clear. Local authorities, regions, can create vulnerabilities. How? With their laws, policies and bureaucracy. A little example: no official paper, no access to services or employment for migrants. On the other hand, regions have also the power to change that.
Marlene Niubo gave an overview of a mentoring programme for young migrants. That is one of the actions in place to support vulnerable groups. As Oriol Amoros reminded to all us, numbers say that 14% of European citizens has a disability and that in the 24% of all households there is one member with a migration background.

Multi-stakeholder and multi-level collaboration

Regions and local authorities can do more. But they can do better working in collaboration with the other organisations in society. The conference was a kind of lab in this sense. In the workshops, it was particularly encouraging to see how much NGOs, service providers, local authorities and international institutions have in common.

Kenneth Johannesson, AER politician from Varmland (SE), shared the experience of the AMiD CAB-Community Advisory Board. He and Angela Unufe, and the other CAB members sit together to understand, check and give advice to increase the overall quality of the project products. Specific work was carried out on the NAT (Needs Assessment Tool). Irena Guidikova, bringing the experience of the Intercultural City Programme from the Council of Europe, had only one statement on the multistakeholder approach: it works and it makes actions sustainable over time.

Watch this wrap-up video from the Conference to learn more!
Cross-County Report (EN)
AMiD Training Course (EN)
Needs Assessment Tool
AMiD Project Website
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EU Disability Strategy 2010-2020: Are We on Target?

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The European Commission is evaluating the European Disability 2010-2020 strategy‘s implementation. This strategy is the EU’s main policy in the disability sector. It sets out the objectives and actions for implementing disability policy at the EU level.

Public consultation: your feedback is precious!

One part of the ongoing evaluation is an online open public consultation that aims to collect feedback and views of citizens, institutions and organizations and other stakeholders across Europe. The wider participation in this online survey, the better. This will highlight the interest of citizens and organizations for disability policies. This consultation will be open until 13 November 2019

NB: The online consultation is available in all the national languages of the European Union. To access your language version, click on “English” at the top of the page and chose your preferred language.

Don’t hesitate to share this consultation with stakeholders in your region: the European Commission is looking for feedback from as many stakeholders as possible!

European Day of Persons with Disabilities

The interim results of the consultation will be presented during the conference “European Day of Persons with Disabilities – EDPD, on 28 and 29 November 2019.

This event, which is hosted by the European Commission, in partnership with the European disability forum, is the opportunity for the EU to mainstream disability issues and to raise awareness of the everyday- life challenges faced by persons with disabilities.

Politicians, high-level experts and self-advocates will attend the conference to discuss the challenges, the solutions and the projects for improving policies dedicated to persons with disabilities.

Delegates will share their expectations for the next decade. Inspiration from outside the EU is also to be brought and participants will hear about the inclusion in sport and discuss how it can be improved.

To participate in this event, stakeholders are invited to e-mail the European Commision explaining their interest in taking part in the conference.

Why this matters for AER

AER has carried out significant work on helping regions to implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. A handbook for regional policy-makers was for instance published in 2010 which is a very hands-on guide on how to translate principles into action. It features 13 concrete steps a regional politician can take.

AER mainstreamed this topic in different activities, such as for instance the 2011 edition of the AER award for the Most Youth friendly European Region (MYFER) was focused on “social inclusion of youth with disabilities”. AER’s Committee on Social Policy and Public Health has been working constantly on inclusion and the AMID project “Access to Services for Migrants with Disabilities” launched in 2018 allowed to bring the knowledge gained in these activities to other fields of action.

AER is involved in the civil dialogue organised by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion and regularly shares opportunities with its members in this context.

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National insights. AMiD closer look at everyday situation of migrant with disabilities

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AMiD project looks at the topic of migrant with disabilities under different angles.

The very starting point of the journey was getting the picture of the different situation of migrants and refugees with disabilities in some EU member countries. Mostly, the ones on the front line to the welcome.

Greece, Austria and Italy were part of the study. Finland played the role of reallocation countries.

Findings and information gave the fuel to activities and the setting of the NAT-Need Assessment Tool.

Knowing and understanding gaps and challenges in the existing disability sector and the services available to the migrants with disabilities were one of the basic cornerstones of the project.

The report, as it is

The report is the result of contributions collected in different ways and from different sources.

The voice of the migrants with disabilities were heard via focus groups in each of these countries. Positive and negative experiences, suggestions and stories back on how their day to day, month after months lives is.

Experts and professionals were interviewed as well in focus groups.

Desk research brought the current situation on migration and disability. But also spotted the concept of integration and disability, the rights of migrants and the level of discrimination (in social life, laws, healthcare, education etc.).

Final recommendations for each country sum up the sense, the need and the requests for improvements.

What AMiD learned and you will learn

Migrants with disabilities have really clear something that sounds, unfortunately, obvious.

They are facing double discrimination. First because of their disability and second because they are not European citizens.

Frustration can be higher in some cases. Even when services are available, procedures might make them inaccessible. For example, requiring an official translator. Not only easy to get one.

Or the never-ending quest for an accommodation. The whole process might last more than one year.

Not only seeing dark

Very appreciated can be little but warm things. Like when the staff made a course in sign language and decided to use this ability to support colleagues working with refugees.

Or when refugees’ families discover that their children can go to school and the National educational system fully provides assistive devices.

Leisure activities are very important. And can be a nice surprise as well. Like being able to take part in social activities, like local festivities in the different regions, both Catholic or from the Muslim calendar when there is a Muslin community in the area.

And for the future

Briefly, in the different countries there were crosscutting recommendations that came from all the different countries:

  • Refugees and asylum seekers with disabilities must stay together with their family. Splitting family members causes more stress and insecurity to those family members that have disability.
  • Simplify bureaucracy. Sometimes is difficult even for native, what for those coming for the first time in a totally new country?
  • the need for raising awareness on the topic and a help from a higher political European level Especially when right-far right coalitions are in power in national countries to balance the efforts of local authorities and local no-profit organisations

And a final say: all assistance activities must be carried out with full respect for the fundamental rights of migrants.

Take a look of the full reports, the cross country and the national ones for Austria, Finland, Greece and Italy on the AMiD project page.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s AMIF – Asylum Migration and Integration Fund programme under grant agreement No 776055

Photo by Olivier Villard on Unsplash

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Committee 2 Progress Report Autumn 2019

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Twice a year the members of the AER Committee on Social Policy and Public Health gather in plenary meeting. This is the opportunity to set goals for cooperation through the development of a joint work programme and to evaluate progress every six months.

During the AER Spring Committee Plenaries 2019 in Örebro (SE), AER members identified joint actions they wanted to implement with fellow regions and came up with a work programme for 2019-2020 which was integrated in the AER Action Plan. Six months later it is time to evaluate progress, celebrate achievements and share experiences!

The progress report below is organised into 3 categories and gives an overview of the current situation and progress of the different activities going on within AER.

Projects
Good practice sharing
Lobbying

Projects

SCIROCCO Exchange project – Personalised knowledge transfer and access to tailored evidence-based assets on integrated care: ongoing

The SCIROCCO Exchange project, under the EU Health Programme, is based on the SCIROCCO project, which resulted in the development of an online self-assessment tool for integrated care. The project runs from January 2019 to August 2021. It supports regions, mainly health and social care authorities for the adoption and the scaling-up of integrated care. The Maturity Model, at the core of the project, offers a tool for regions to better deliver integrated care for their citizens while at the same time empowering citizens. With this tool, regions can assess their current status, revealing areas of strength and also gaps in their capability managing the many activities needed in order to deliver integrated care.

The lead partner is the Scottish Government, a recent AER member. The consortium is composed of 14 organisations.

AER is leading the Working Package on knowledge transfer, helping the regions in preparing the local environment for implementation and scaling-up integrated care.

Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite! project: ongoing

“Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite!” is a project submitted under a call launched by DG REGIO. On the one hand, this project aims at raising awareness on the importance of programmes, projects, and services funded by the cohesion policy funds. On the other hand, the project will encourage the participation of citizens and stakeholders to turn them into active players in the dialogue on cohesion policy. AER coordinates the project and it will collect experiences on cohesion policy together with regions.

Within AER this project was officially launched during the General Assembly in Larnaca (CY) in June 2019. With the project partner mc Group, also six AER member regions have taken up the challenge of becoming core partners: Varazdin (HR), Csongrád (HU), Trentino (IT), Timis and Alba (RO), and Catalonia (ES).

During the Autumn Committee Plenaries there will be an information stall dedicated to the Together for Cohesion project.

AMiD project for the inclusion of migrants with disabilities: ongoing

This project is led by the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities and aims to improve the access to services for migrants with disabilities. AER is a partner and Valencia, Timis and Värmland are all members of the Advisory Board. The AMiD project will provide opportunities for experience sharing and capacity building in this area for all AER members.

During the 2019 Summer Academy in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS), a workshop on AMiD was organised. Participants were invited to reflect on the challenges that migrants with disabilities face on a daily basis.

E-health in rural areas: planned

Members discussed the possibility to develop a pan-AER regional e-health rural project based on innovation and digitalisation.

  • Regions interested in developping such a project should share their idea with the Secretariat in order to start developping this initiative.
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Good Practice Exchange

Autumn Committee Plenaries – Podčetrtek (SI): ongoing

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

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

Mutual learning event on economy 4.0: ongoing

Each year Brussels Capital proposes a mutual learning event on a current and transversal topic. On 4 December 2019, Brussels Capital will organise 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 will be welcome to share inputs and regional examples.

Workshop of the AER e-health network: ongoing

The AER e-health network has achieved the objectives it had set at its creation. It is time now to revamp the network, explore synergies with other initiatives and fellow networks around Europe. On the occasion of the Autumn Committee Plenaries the AER e-health network under the leadership of Donna Hendersson, Scotland (GB), will organise a workshop to reinvent its way of working and set new goals.

Breakfast seminar on innovation in healthcare design: finished

Värmland (SE), Scotland (GB) and AER organised a Breakfast Seminar on health innovation on 10 September 2019 in Brussels. The event looked at Health Innovation and User-centric Design and Digital Innovation in health and care. Kenneth Johannesson, Committee 2 Vice President for Health Innovation and Donna Henderson, Chair of AER eHealth Network, opened the event and provided background to it.

Sharing experiences on integrated care at Smart City Expo World Congress: ongoing

AER will facilitate a 1h discussion in the Agora of Smart City Expo World Congress on the topic of mutual learning & international cooperation for the deployment of integrated care systems in Europe. The panel will gather the following speakers:

  • Liljana Madjar, President of the West Slovenia Cohesion region and
  • Stuart Anderson, Personal Chair in Dependable Systems at the University of Edinburgh and a partner of the SCIRROCCO Exchange project
  • Representative of Friuli Venezia Giulia

This event will be accessible for members who have an Expo pass

AER Delegation at Smart City Expo World Congress: ongoing

AER will again be taking part in the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) from 19-21 November in Barcelona (ES). This 2019 edition aims to be the meeting point to encourage all stakeholders (from technology industries to policy-makers and entrepreneurs) to engage in dynamic action to enable a sustainable and inclusive future.

  • Members interested in attending should contact Tina Wu. AER has received 10 free Expo passes and a 25% discount on the 3 day congress pass.

Elderly care homes in rural areas: planned

Exchange experiences and identify solutions around the issue of isolated elderly people in rural areas

  • Regions interested in working on this topic should share their idea with the Secretariat in order to start developping this initiative.
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Banners-for-committee-progress-page-20183.jpg

2. Advocacy/Lobbying

Contributing to a Network of Intercultural Regions: ongoing

The Bureau Task Force on migration organised 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 process to develop this programme requires intense dialogue with institutions. Regions interested to participate in network of intercultural regions should contact Vania Freitas

Engagement in the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP-AHA)

AER is a member of the B3 Group for integrated care in the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing. Its contribution to the work is done via the SCIRROCCO Exchange project and the AER e-health network.

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. The AER Secretariat will also organise Breakfast Briefings to help regions organise their advocacy activities.

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 on Pexels

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Throwback Thursday: reflecting on the achievements of the AMiD project…

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The AER flagship project on migration, AMiD-Access to Services for Migrants with Disabilities, has been running since early 2018.

Soon, the final conference, scheduled in Brussels on 5th November, will present a one-stop-shop of all the project’s products and findings.

AER focused in particular on how to set a common approach toward migrants and refugees with disabilities, improving cooperation among Local Authorities and NGOs.

A series of events with various formats, took place over the last year. That is in line with the interest and commitment that the AER network has brought to migration and migrants, since the “Tampere Declaration on Migration and Integration” in 2008 to the important political statement on “Facing the migration and refugee challenges” adopted at the pic of the  refugees crises in 2015.

Kick-Off in collaboration with the Task Force on Migration

Everything started with the debate on migration at the 2018 Autumn Bureau in Gelderland. The debate was the appetizer to introduce the multi-stakeholder and multilevel collaboration. That is the option suggested to overcome the issue to set a common approach among the different actors involved in the process of welcome and support of migrants and migrants with disabilities. AER members engaged in an exchange about the dynamics of migration, the European and global policies, and the funding instruments and programmes already available. 

International conference: marking International Migrants Day

The International Migrants Day marked a fundamental step in the evolution of the involvement and discussion of AER members and regional and local authorities from larger Europe.

Hosted by Catalonia Region (ES), participants came to exchange and learn, united in recognition of the vital role played by local and regional authorities in managing diversity and building cohesive societies, improving the lives and opportunities of citizens, and contributing to their social, economic and civic inclusion. This aim was echoed by Laura Corrado of the European Commission’s DG Home who shared the Commissions efforts to bring a multi-level, multi-stakeholder approach to migration policy. Kenneth Johannesson, from Varmland and member of the AMiD CAB – Community Advisory Board, appealed to a social vision of Europe that would combat discrimination in order to ensure that all people have access to “a freedom not from society, but through society.” 

Workshop at the Spring Plenaries: examples of the multi-stakeholder approach

The 2019 Spring Plenaries in Orebro (SE) welcomed a workshop under the sign of AMiD. A smaller event, where the perspective of the multi-staholder way have been discussed further. What is the added value to work with organisations that are not public authorities? Agneta Kardos from Timis County, another AMiD CAB member for AER, shared the experience of a non-formalised multi-stakeholder network that involves NGOs working on social care and child protection. Timis County is getting recommendations and knowledge from best-practices from them.

On the other hand, Aleksander Bro from Orebro County presented a consultation process where Public sector and social economy organisations work and talked together on local development. Other examples came up composing a large and various range of experiences. Participants got that the ways to collaborate and involve stakeholders can be different but all efficient and successful.

Project and programmes on migration in AER’s network

The 2019 General Assembly and Spring Bureau in Larnaca (CY) hosted a mixed panel gathering together regional authorities, cities, NGOs and European institutions. Rasoul Nejadmehr, expert on migration from Vastra Gotaland County, talked on the paradox that anti-migrant sentiments strongest in countries with very few migrants. Rasoul Nejadmehr spotted that the problem is the feeling among citizens to be politically disempowered, financially insecure and without social support. That makes citizens most likely to become extremely negative towards migrants and other vulnerable groups.

The good news is there are already examples and resources. ARCi, Italian NGO, brought the great example of JUMA, website were any service helpful to migrants is listed. City of Torino (IT) and the Prisma project proved how fruitful can be the collaboration between a local authority and an NGO, Verba association, specialized in disability. All the positive effects of the collaboration are benefiting migrants with disabilities that has access to this service first.

Irena Guidikova, head of division Inclusion and Anti-discrimination programme of the Council of Europe, made clear this statement: to turn needs in resources. The Council of Europe is supporting cities with the programme “Intercultural Cities Programme” (ICC). Experts from the Council supported Athens in 2017 to face the migration crisis, as well as smaller cities, as the sharing from Agios Athanasios 20.000 inhabitants in Cyprus showed. A the message coming from a video of a migrant with disability echoed this approach: give us an opportunity.

Meeting young politicians: AMiD at the 2020 Summer Academy

The final stop before the final conference (here the save the date), was the workshop at the 2019 Summer Academy. Angela Unafe, CAB member from Migrant & Minority Disability Network Europe, person with disability and migrant herself, led participants on the workshop among points that matters. Angela Unafe brought light on the phenomenon of people forced to leave their homes and how among them have disabilities. Participants hardly could estimate it, but they agreed that the migrants with disabilities are in need of welfare support and integral services to fulfil their right to equal opportunities.

What’s next?

The final conference is planned on 5th November in Brussels. Take a look at the programme. Come and learn more about other organisations experiences and what AMiD can provide to improve your services for migrants and migrants with disabilities.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s AMIF – Asylum Migration and Integration Fund programme under grant agreement No 776055

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AMiD Final Conference

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SAVE THE DATE!

The Assembly of European Regions is pleased to invite you to:

The AMiD Final Conference

Date: 5 November 2019 
Timing: 13:00-18:30
Venue: European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), Rue Belliard 99, B-1040, Brussels

 

AMiD – Access to services for Migrants with Disabilities project is an EU funded project that aims to support the efficient management of the reception and inclusion of migrants with disabilities in the EU. The conference is organised in collaboration with the AMiD consortium.

 

Aims of the conference:
– Explore the main project results from the national reports of the participating countries, the Needs Assessment Tool and the training modules
– Improve the knowledge of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and local authorities in order to meet the needs of migrants with disabilities arriving in Europe more successfully
– Discuss the most important trends, needs and challenges on the topic ‘disability & migration’ with key experts in the field

 

Participation is encouraged from experts working in the areas of social affairs, migration, inclusion, and diversity in AER’s member regions in local & regional authorities around Europe.

 

Useful Links

General Programme
Registration Link

For more info about the AMiD project please visit this webpage.

 

Check the video of Magnus Berntsson, President of AER, presenting the AMiD Project:

"Massively thought-provoking" - AMiD project Final Conference

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Interested in joining a new EU project on digital skills for migrants? Örebro region (Sweden) is looking for partners!

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AER is a partner in the EU-funded project called “AMiD-Access to services for Migrants with Disabilities” which aims to support an efficient management of the reception and integration of asylum seekers and migrants with disabilities in the EU.

Following up on the above project, our member region “the Administrative Board in Örebro County” (Sweden) is now looking for partners for a new project focusing on digital competences among third-country nationals, funded by AMIF (Asylum, Integration and Migration Fund).

What is this new project proposal about?

In today’s social and work life, digital competence is a necessary skill for achieving self-sufficiency. However, many migrants who have come to Sweden lack the digital skills required, which risks delaying their entry into the labor market and social life. The project aims to increase the digital competence among third-country nationals in the municipalities of Örebro county, thus improving their integration into work and social life. This is achieved by…

  1.  improving and developing the quality of municipal/local programmes for digital competence, partly through dialogue and information sharing with similar projects in other EU countries,
  2. establishing regional structures of collaboration between municipalities and other actors, and
  3. formalizing digital skills work as part of municipalities’ reception of newcomers. The project will establish “digital hubs” at the sub-regional level to which third-country nationals can turn for help and support in matters related to digital competence.

Interested to contribute to the social and labour integration of migrants in your region? Ready to embark on a new European project?

AER and our members are committed to the integration of migrants and refugees into our regions as a core element for more inclusive and sustainable societies from an economic, social and cultural perspective. Indeed, a common approach among the local authorities, regions and NGOs can serve to facilitate the welcoming of migrants and refugees into our regions and cities as well as empowering the EU, national and regional actors to better assess and support with adequate responses migrants and refugees in a more coordinated fashion. So, we warmly invite you to have a look at this project proposal and …. if this sounds enticing to you, please, send your declaration of interest by the  9th of September 2019. For any questions or more information, please contact Mr Hannes Hart Svedberg at [email protected]

For more detailed information related to this article, please contact directly:

EU Project Manager
Eduardo Nadal

Phone: +32 2 400 10 12
E-mail: e.nadal(at)aer.eu

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Looking back at the 2019 AER Summer Academy in Vojvodina!

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The Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (RS) hosted the 2019 AER Summer Academy, engaging almost 100 participants from all over Europe. Youth participation, equality, migration, environment and unemployment were some of the topics addressed during all the plenaries and parallel workshops. For all these reasons it was a great opportunity to discuss not only the problems that young Europeans are facing in Europe today but also the solutions and alternatives that can ensure a prosperous future.

Valuable insights and unforgettable experiences

Thanks to both the effort of the hosting region of AP Vojvodina and the proactivity of the participants, the Summer Academy 2019 became a great forum not to just discuss ideas and policies but also of informal knowledge-sharing. Some activities within the program encouraged the young participants to get to know each other and to create bonds among them.

A Tour around Novi Sad followed by a “Graffiti party” in the city beach “Strand”, the international dinner that took place on the next day, the several concerts during all the week in the Liberty Square and the Exit festival on Thursday night made the delights of the regional delegates and young participants. 

Besides that, it contributed to bringing up the importance of a dynamic and sustainable urban life in order to face the challenges ahead of us. These challenges were also discussed within the different workshops and plenary sessions. Youth participation was the main subject during the first day of sessions. The County of Jönköping (SE) and the Canton of Zürich (CH) inspired the audience through two different workshops about the importance of taking part in the public arena in order to defend the interests and rights of youth people all around Europe.

The second and the third day, sectoral concerns such as migration, equality, environment or the labour market were covered. In addition to the regions of Maramureș (RO), Østfold (NO) and Brussels-Capital (BE), participants had the chance to rely on the presence of experts from the AMiD- Access to services for Migrants with Disabilities project or Smart Coop, who provided a wider perspective than the institutional one to the debates.

Written by: Juan Antonio Gallardo Roca, Eurodyssey Trainee at Brussels International (BI) – Brussels Capital Region (BE)

Acknowledgements

The Assembly of European Regions would like to thank the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, the representatives, experts and volunteers of the region whose joint endeavour ensured the Summer Academy success.

A big thank you also to the Summer Academy Organizing Committee (SAOC) members, whose compromise is crucial to uphold every year’s program.

And last but not least, thank you to all the participants, you are the reason why the Summer Academy continues creating unforgettable memories year after year!

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Discussing the Future of European Youths at the 2019 Summer Academy

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Now that the 2019 Summer Academy is over, it is very fair to say that this year’s edition was a complete success with a total of 100 participants from 32 different regions and 19 countries from all over Europe and beyond!

The 2019 AER Summer Academy with the motto Youth is Future, Youth is Europe! was hosted by the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (RS) in the beautiful city of Novi Sad from the 1st to the 5th of July. Throughout the week, the youth delegates and regional officials participated in plenary sessions, seminars, workshops and other activities that allowed them to have their saying and exchange their perspectives regarding the #FutureofEurope.

Opening of the AER 2019 Summer Academy!

On the 1st of July, the opening session gathered high-rank politicians from the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and from the European arena. Following the performance of a choir singing live the national Serbian anthem and the European anthem, the AER 2019 Summer Academy was officially inaugurated by Mr István Pásztor who welcomed the participants to Novi Sad, Vojvodina. The AER Vice President for Interregional Democracy, Damir Zobenica, wished the participants a fruitful and joyful week in Novi Sad, and so the President of the AER Summer Academy, Rune Fredriksen, did. Furthermore, AER and AP Vojvodina were also honoured with the presence of the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Belgrade, Tobias Flessenkemper, the recently elected Vice President of the AER Youth Regional Network, Paula Holst, as well as the AER Vice President for Equal Opportunities, Andrew Gibson.

From left to right: Andrew Gibson, István Pásztor, Damir Zobenica and Tobias Flessenkemper

“Youth is Democratic Participation and European Citizenship”

After the official kick-off of the 2019 Summer Academy, the 1st Plenary Session started under the topic “Youth is democratic participation and European Citizenship”. In this session, moderated by Hrvoje Kovac, Chair of AER sub-committee on youth, Jovana Majstorović (European Youth Forum) stressed the importance of having young people involved in politics and being politically educated in schools.

From left to right: Hrvoje Kovac, Alejandra Piot, Jovana Majstorović and Igor Novaković.

Igor Novaković, International & Security Affairs Center (ISAC) Fund, added to Jovana’s insights that today education system should instruct children and students on European democratic and civic values. Alejandra Piot Pérez-Abadín, AEGEE Europe – European Students’ Forum, considered that the potential of social media and other digital tools to promote youth participation is not being fully exploited by the public administrations.

“Youth is Diversity and Equal Opportunities for all”

The Plenary Session 2, moderated by Tamara Glišić-Krivošija (AP Vojvodina), brought up various relevant topics that have direct impacts on young Europeans: the right to have equal opportunities no matter their background, gender, or physical conditions.

Panellists and audience at the 2nd Plenary Session “Youth is Diversity and Equal Opportunities for all”

Angela Unufe-Kennedy, Migrants and Minority Disability Network Europe, raised awareness about the enormous obstacles that the young migrant population has to face to thrive in the society they are part of. Bojana Gladovic, National Organization of Persons with Disabilities of Serbia (NOOIS), called on public administrations, private sector, NGOs and civil society to their joint responsibility in harnessing the abilities of young people with special needs and to create more job opportunities for this specific sector of the population.

Concerning youth opportunities in the labour market, both Joakim Sennesvik, Nordland County Council (NO), and Stefan Vladislavjev, Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, coincided in the fact that society itself has to offer young people more educational and training opportunities so they can effectively enter and remain in the labour market.

“Youth is Social Entrepreneurship and Sharing Economy”

The 3rd Plenary Session under the topic “Youth is Social Entrepreneurship and Sharing Economy” gathered four experts in this specific area. Sarah de Heusch, Smart Coop, explained that the sharing economy is an evolving concept as the young people have unlimited capacity and creativity to boost new forms of economy. Vladimir Nikic (Business Incubator) pointed out that young people may be afraid of taking risks and there is always a resistance to innovate and change the pre-established state of things. Luca Spissu, Sardinia-ASPAL (IT), described innovation as a creative idea that leads to a revolution in thinking at the benefit of the whole society. Aleksandre Davitadze, Deputy Minister of Education in Ajara (GE), expressed concerns regarding the lack of stable regulation frameworks for entrepreneurs so a more secure system should be put in place to incentivise innovation.

From left to right: Luca Spissu, Sarah de Heush, Alexandre Davitadze, Tamara Glišić-Krivošija and Vladimir Nikic.

“Youth is a driving force for green development”

The last Plenary Session of the 2019 Summer Academy tackled the topic of how youth can contribute to building and advocating for climate resilience at the regional and local levels. The President of AER, Magnus Berntsson, the AER Vice President for Democracy, Nina Björby, and Aleksandra Illijn, OPENS 2019 Foundation, exchanged views and agreed upon the fact that the regional authorities and young Europeans can be more responsive and deliver with more efficiency on the challenges of preserving the environment and preventing climate change. Furthermore, the Summer Academy youth participants took the floor and interacted with the speakers making questions about the role of youth in taking up these challenges.

A farewell celebration!

The 2019 edition of the Summer Academy concluded with the speeches from the AER President, Magnus Berntsson, and the AER Vice President for Democracy, Nina Björby, who expressed their gratitude to the host region, AP Vojvodina, and handed out the certificates of participation to all the Summer Academy delegates.

AER President, Magnus Berntsson, and AER Vice President, Damir Zobenica
AER Vice President, Nina Björby, and Sanja Shiflish, AP Vojvodina.

AER would like to express its warmest gratitude to all the participants, the speakers, the volunteers but, especially, to AP Vojvodina and OPENS Foundation for hosting the event and making this 2019 AER Summer Academy a great success!

Visit the event page of the AER 2019 Summer Academy to get all the presentations, pictures, videos and more takeaways!

Photo Credits: @Aleksandar Vasilic (AP Vojvodina)

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