Assembly of European Regions

Connecting regions, inspiring Europe since 1985

You are here: Home / Archives for Disabilities

This is the tag for all posts relating to disabilities.

Intercultural Regions – Where to Next?

By

Building on the impetus generated at the AER’s Spring Bureau Meeting in Larnaca (CY) on 6 June 2019, Catalonia has taken the initiative to lay out a plan for convening a Network of Intercultural Regions. 

The network will be based on close cooperation and information sharing between European regions. If your region is committed to developing comprehensive intercultural strategies to manage diversity and migration and promote intercultural integration at regional level across Europe, you are invited to join the network!

The members of the network will develop a mission statement and structure for their cooperation, as well as a strategy to better plan its interventions related to communication, knowledge exchange and advocacy. They will combine forces with the AER Committees to share learning, and with the Task Force on Migration to lobby European organisations. 

Ensuring this initiative complements institutional stakeholders’ efforts on integration, AER will work closely together with the Council of Europe and the European Committee of the Regions.

We will collaborate with the Council of Europe to promote its Intercultural Cities Programme at regional level, including its “Inclusive Integration Policy Lab” launched in 2017 to promote co-operation and co-ordination among local, regional and national authorities in the field of diversity management and inclusive integration.

AER will also bring complementary strengths in support of the Cities and Regions for Integration Initiative implemented by the European Committee of the Regions in collaboration with the European Commission and some European associations of regions and cities, including AER. We strongly encourage you to join us in this initiative!

If your region shares the intercultural integration principles and is interested in joining the network of intercultural regions, please send an email to: [email protected].


We would like to take this opportunity to inform that we now have a date and location for the Final Conference of AMiD – Access to services for Migrants with Disabilities project. The event will take place in Brussels on 5 November. Please save this date! More details to be announced soon.

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

SUMMER ACADEMY 2019: AMiD workshop on Migrants with Disabilities

By

“Opportunities for all abilities”

The AMiD-Access to services for Migrants with Disabilities project is landing in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS) for the 2019 Summer Academy with the aim to raise awareness among regional and local authorities and young representatives about one of the most fragile within the disadvantaged groups: migrants with disabilities. The AMiD official video, testimonies of migrants with disabilities, the human rights-based approach of the UN CRPD- Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities are ingredients of the cocktail to showcase how better services lead to more inclusive societies.

Costs of participation can be reimbursed from the European Union’s AMIF – Asylum Migration and Integration Fund programme by signing up to this AMiD workshop taking place on Wednesday 3rd of July! How? Keep reading below…

Migrants with disabilities in the spotlight

Over the past few years, Europe has been facing an unprecedented influx of migrants and refugees since the end of the Second World War. The risks for refugees and migrants travelling to Europe remain very high today with more people dying at sea or along land routes while travelling to or crossing a border. In this context, the integration of migrants has become one of the most salient topics in the European political agenda.

When it comes to migrants and refugees with disabilities, the European Council and Parliament Directive 2013/32/EU states that “the reception of persons with special needs should be a primary concern for national authorities in order to ensure that such reception is specifically designed to meet their special reception needs.”

Furthermore, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), ratified by the EU and all the EU member states, requires States Parties to put in place structures that enable the full participation of persons with disabilities in society and to ensure their protection in situations of risk, including armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters.

However, there are multiple obstacles migrants and refugees with disabilities have to face, such as fails to assess their disabilities or the lack of access to social services that address their specific needs. One of the reasons is the lack of a common approach among different actors and the lack of cohesion among Local Authorities concerning the migrants and refugees situation.

Inclusion at the forefront

AER is at the front side when it comes to migration. In 2008, the AER General Assembly adopted the “Tampere Declaration on Migration and Integration”. A political statement on “Facing the migration and refugee challenges” was also adopted by the Bureau in 2015. Furthermore, AER is a partner in a project to support efficient management of the reception and integration of asylum seekers and refugees with disabilities in the EU, the AMiD project. Värmland (SE), Timis (RO) and Valencia (ES) are members of the AMiD – Community Advisory Board. Just last week, the AER Task Force on migration adopted a position “Towards an intercultural Europe”.

An AMiD workshop to stand-up for equal opportunities!

The Summer Academy participants attending this workshop will take-away the following message: migrants with disabilities are in need of welfare support and integral services to fulfil their right to equal opportunities. One expert from the AMiD consortium will conduct this session where the participants will be invited to reflect on the challenges that migrants with disabilities face on a daily basis.

Following this, the AMiD official video and some video-testimonials will be screened in order for the participants to get acquainted with the campaign and the ways they can collaborate to spread the word. The participants will also have the chance to share their experiences when accessing welfare services in a foreign country. The last part of the session will be dedicated to introducing the human rights-based approach and the AMiD’s Needs Assesment Tool (NAT).

Get reimbursed for your participation!

By signing up to this workshop, the participants can benefit from the reimbursement of their trip expenses, accommodation for 2 nights and 3 meals per day at the AER 2019 Summer Academy in Novi Sad, Vojvodina.

Please, read very carefully HERE the guidelines to make sure you meet the requirements and your expenses are eligible for reimbursement! Please, note that you will need a mandate signed by the relevant public authority:

Expenses must be claimed after the Summer Academy and sent to the AER Secretariat until the 15th of July!

For any inquiries regarding the AMiD project or reimbursements, please contact Luca Magri ([email protected]) at the AER Secretariat.

How to participate?

This workshop takes place in the context of the AER Summer Academy 2019.

If you are already registered for the AER Summer Academy and would like to participate in this workshop, you have the possibility to have two nights accommodation and your travel costs reimbursed. Please send an expression of interest to [email protected] via email with the Subject Line “AMiD workshop 2019 Summer Academy – Expression of Interest”.

If you are not already registered for the Summer Academy and wish to participate in this workshop and in many other activities, please visit the event page of the Summer Academy and discover the full programme. 

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to join the Novi Sad 2019 European Youth Capital!

Register for the Summer Academy Now!

If you would like to register for the AMiD workshop only – please email [email protected] with the Subject Line “AMiD workshop 2019 Summer Academy – Expression of Interest”

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

Building Intercultural Regions

By

AER’s General Assembly and Spring Bureau Meeting in Larnaca (CY) on 5-6 June 2019 brought together regional leaders from across Europe to discuss how to harnesses the benefits of migration and diversity for a more inclusive and democratic Europe.

Round Table “Connecting the dots – Multi-level, Multi-actor Migration”

During the Round Table “Connecting the dots – Multi-level, Multi-actor Migration” on 5 June, representatives of local and regional authorities, civil society organisations and European Institutions shared experiences and methodologies on how to achieve a common approach among different stakeholders and better multilevel coordination on welcoming migrants and refugees. The event was held in the framework of the “AMiD – Access to Services for Migrants with Disabilities“ project, supported by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) of the European Union.

Breakfast Briefing on Intercultural Regions

At the Breakfast Briefing on 6 June, moderated by the AER Vice President for Democracy, Nina Björby, AER members discussed approaches to more effectively managing migration and diversity for more inclusive communities.  

Albert Castellanos, AER Vice President for Interregional Cooperation and Mediterranean Affairs and Chair of the AER Task Force on Migration, highlighted the importance of interculturalism as a policy approach in our increasingly diverse societies. Projecting a positive attitude towards migration and diversity, interculturalism offers a more valuable narrative for public action, he stated.  

Irena Guidikova, Head of Division Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Programmes of the Council of Europe, presented the Intercultural Cities Programme. This flagship programme of the Council of Europe assists local authorities in designing policies based on the intercultural integration policy model. Implemented in more than one hundred cities in Europe, it aims to foster connections and inclusive collective identity, managing diversity as an opportunity, while also ensuring equal access to rights and opportunities for all. Introducing the intercultural approach to regional level is key to increasing the impact of intercultural integration on managing migration and diversity in Europe, proclaimed Irena Guidikova.

Member of Limassol Municipal Council, Neophytos Charalambides, presented the experience of the Limassol Intercultural Council. This multi-stakeholder consultative body is based on the Council of Europe Intercultural Cities programme and aims to advise local authorities on the integration challenges faced by migrants. 

AER member regions committed to work even more closely together and exchange on migration, diversity and inclusion policies, governance and practices within a European informal network of intercultural regions.

Bureau Position on Intercultural Regions 

During the AER Bureau Meeting on 6 June, Bureau Members adopted a Position “Towards an Intercultural Europe”, proposed by the Chair of the AER Task Force on Migration, Albert Castellanos, Catalonia (ES). The position calls for European institutions and national governments to adopt a proactive agenda when managing migration, building a comprehensive approach that goes beyond security-driven measures. Regional leaders urged the Council of Europe, the European Union and their Member States to make inclusion a priority and to provide increased funding and resources for the integration of migrants, using a multi-level and multi-actor approach. 

What’s next?!

On 25 June 2019, The Regions for Integration Initiative will host a seminar “Integration of Migrants and Refugees in Small Territories: A factor for local development” in Brussels at the European Committee of the Regions. See the Draft Agenda and register HERE.

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

Committee 2 Annual Report June 2018 – May 2019

By

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 2018 General Assembly in Lillehammer, Oppland (NO) and the 2019 General in Larnaka (CY).

Activities are organised in 3 categories:

  • Projects
  • Good practice sharing
  • Advocacy/ Lobbying

The AER Action plan, which brings together all the activities carried out within AER, is constantly updated.

Projects

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

The SCIROCCO Exchange project, under the 3rd Health Programme, is based on the SCIROCCO project, which has resulted in the development of an online self-assessment tool for integrated care. The project will run from end 2018 to end 2020. It will support regions, mainly health and social care authorities for the adoption and the scaling-up of integrated care. The maturity matrix, 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 strengths and also gaps in their capability managing the many activities needed in order to deliver integrated care.

The lead partner is the Scottish Government Health Agency Service, a new AER member. The consortium is composed by 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. This article on SCIROCCO Exchange explains how Regions can share expertise and examples and how they can use the tools developed by the project

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

This project is funded by DG REGIO. It will:

  • raise awareness on the importance of programmes, projects and services funded by Cohesion Policy funds
  • encourage the participation of citizens and stakeholders to ensure they are active players in the dialogue on cohesion policy.

The project officially started on 1st of April 2019 and will last for 12 months. The following regions, which have sent a letter of support for this project will be involved in different actions funded by the project to engage citizens and communicate about Cohesion Policy in their territories:
Trento (IT), Alba (RO), Timis (RO), Catalonia (ES), Varazdin (HR) and potentially Csongrad (HU).
All AER members are invited to share examples of communication campaigns on Cohesion Policy and to participate in the launching event of the project on 5 June 2019 in Larnaka on the occasion of the AER General Assembly.

The project is led by AER with the international communication agency MC Group (DE). The application was submitted to the DG Regio on the media calls for proposals. The project is part of AER’s work on Cohesion Policy.

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.

  • The project co-organised the event on migrants inclusion in Barcelona
  • facilitated a workshop at Committee Plenaries
  • and will organise 2 intense workshops at the AER General Assembly in Larnaka.

Silver Economy Awards (SEED): finished

The Silver Economy Awards aimed to catalyse a sustainable European digital Silver Economy movement by promoting and rewarding innovative solutions to improve the quality of life for over 50s. The Awards were an opportunity to raise awareness around the lesser-known notion of the Silver Economy. They illustrate the breadth of the consumer markets and the public spending involved and the size of the opportunities available for entrepreneurs, investors, public authorities and civil society. SEED was a two-year project: 10/2016 to 09/2018. Last year the Silver Economy Awards replaced the traditional AER Regional Innovation Award.

Models of Child Health Appraised (MOCHA): finished

The MOCHA team is led by the Imperial College London and involves 19 scientific partners from ten European countries and 30 country agents from each European Member State and EEA country. MOCHA appraises the differing models of child health that are used across Europe. The project identified gaps in knowledge, on surveillance of children’s primary care and children’s specific needs in primary care, lack of coordination of care, models of care that are not based on current child health epidemiology, and low prioritisation of children’s needs in e-health strategies. AER is a member of the Advisory Board. AER is benefitting from the connection with the MOCHA experts, which have been invited at AER events (workshop on health innovation ecosystems in Izmir, workshop on social capital for integrated care in Norrbotten) and also shared expertise and advice for the development of the project on youth mental health led by Catalonia and Norrbotten. The project is now in the final year where results will be published. The final conference took place on 15-16 November in The Hague.

Event: EU funding for Croatian & Albanian regions: finished

The event on EU funding for Croatian regions, hosted by Varaždin (HR) and Committee 3 President Radimir Čačić, and the event on EU funding for Albanian regions, hosted by Korcë (AL) and MEG member Ana Verushi brought together about 70 participants, both members and non members of AER to:

-hear about AER’s activities
-learn more on AER services for projects and services
-obtain information on the areas of cooperation with EU
-get a relevant update on the current and forthcoming EU funding opportunities
-become aware of the successful experiences of project applicants

HOME4LIFE – Certified smart and integrated living environments for ageing well: pending approval

AER joined this project as supporting partner, upon the request of AGE Platform which is partner in the consortium. No budget or specific tasks assigned. This project has been submitted within Horizon 2020 – CSA on “Supporting investment in smart living environments for ageing well through certification” and aims at the development of a European certification scheme fostering safe investments and supporting physical and technological retrofitting for what concerns age-friendly environments and accommodation.

INTEGRATE PERMED project – The inter-regional linking infrastructure for implementation in personalised medicine:project rejected

The INTEGRATE PERMED has been submitted under the Horizon 2020 Programme. It aims at linking the efforts in personalised medicine across European Regions by mapping them and then exchange of experiences between selected regions. The project will focus on breast cancer as a launching pathology to maintain focus. After validation, the approach will be replicated to other pathologies.

PATHWAY project – Pathway to social entrepreneurship: project rejected

The PATHWAY project, under the Erasmus+ Programme, aims at providing learners with a training programme which meet their needs in the sector of social entrepreneurship. It also aims to raise awareness on the role social entrepreneurship can play in local development, fostering also be the establishment of links and cooperation between different stakeholders.

The multiplier event will be a collateral activity of the AER Summer Academy. Submitted within the Erasmus+ Programme, the Social Entrepreneurship Key competences (SEK) project strives for providing learners with specialized training in the sector of social entrepreneurship with a special focus on tourism.

Social Entrepreneur Key competencies – SEK project: project rejected

Within this project, AER is in charge of organising an international information day, which will be the opportunity to share the project outcomes and to foster networking. AER is also in charge of a training session to test training course for social entrepreneurs. On top of that, AER will perform advocacy work in order to raise the attention on the project findings at regional and EU level.

The activities realised by the AER will take place in the scope of the Eurodyssey and the AER Youth Regional Network.

PIKTOGRAMA project – Visual thinking for social innovation: project rejected

PIKTOGRAMA is a project submitted within Erasmus+ Programme. It focuses on design thinking approach as a method to empower non-profit organisation and implement original visual thinking tools to face new EU societal challenges (e.g. climate change). The project aims at raising awareness on this approach and the advantages it has in the social innovation context as well as stimulating its use by training the youths.

The project will provide regions with recommendations regarding design thinking, which can be an interesting method for non-profit organisations to approach social challenges.

The multiplier event will be a collateral activity within the Youth Regional Network General Assembly, thus creating synergies between AER programmes and the project.

Good Practice Sharing

Equal access to healthcare: ongoing

The AER Group on Equal Opportunities has identified equal access to health as the main topic to be addressed in Committee 2. This includes:

-vulnerable groups: meet them where they are & help them
– exchange good practices on reducing barriers to care & access to services. The AER Transversal Group on Equal Opportunities held regular phone calls to identify joint actions on the topics identified by the Group.

Spring Plenary meeting Committee for Social Policy & Public Health: finished

Committee 2 gathered in Örebro (SE) on the occasion of the Spring Committee Plenaries to assess progress, elect new representatives and define its new work programme. The results of the elections are the following:

  • Committee President : Mihai Ritivoiu, Timis (RO)
  • Vice-President for Health Innovation : Kenneth Johannesson, Värmland (SE)
  • Chair of the E-Health Network : Donna Henderson, Scotland (UK)

Autumn Plenary meeting Committee for Social Policy & Public Health: finished

The 2018 Autumn Committee Plenaries were hosted by the region of Vojvodina in Serbia from 25 – 27 September 2018. A detailed recap of all the meetings that took place is available here. The Committee on Social Policy and Public Health members said farewell to Agneta Granström, Vice President of the Committee and Chair of the AER e-Health network. Albert Castellanos, Catalonia (ES) was elected Vice-President for Health Innovation, other positions were left open for future candidacies.
On the occasion of Committee 2 plenary meeting in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS), members decide to focus on social entrepreneurship & inclusion
Good practices from Umbria (IT) and Maramures (RO) were presented

Breakfast Briefing on welcoming unaccompanied migrant children: finished

Committee 2 members decided to share experiences on welcoming unaccompanied migrant children. In this context a Breakfast Briefing was organised on welcoming unaccompanied migrant children in Novi Sad on 27 September 2018, which was led by the European Programme for Integration and Migration, an initiative of currently 25 private foundations, which has the goal of strengthening the role played by civil society in advocating for constructive approaches to migration in Europe.
A background article on youth on the move was published by the AER Secretariat.

Panel discussion at the Vojvodina plenaries on Open data for regional development: finished

On the occasion of the Autumn plenaries in Vojvodina, the panel discussion “Open data for regional development: governance, start-ups and innovation” took place.

The discussion focused on how public institutions collect and generate enormous quantities of data in areas as varied as unemployment, air pollution, hospital consultations etc and how this data can best be re-used to create or improve both public and private services. There is a need to change the political perception of Open Data and instead view it as opportunity for policy-making.

Meeting of the Working Group for Equal Opportunities: finished

The AER Group on Equal opportunities has regular phone meetings and met as well in Novi Sad to discuss the development of a Code of Conduct for AER.

Mutual learning event on the Sharing Economy: finished

Each year Brussels Capital proposes a mutual learning event on a current and transversal topic. On December 4th 2018, Brussels Capital organised a mutual learning event on the sharing Economy together with Catalonia, in Brussels, Brussels Capital Region (BE). This event organised upon the invitation of Committee 1 President Jean Luc Vanraes, aimed to gather experiences from all three AER Committees and regions were welcome to share inputs and regional examples.

The event brought together policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics and representatives of the third sector for vivid exchanges. A follow up article with updates on what happened in Brussels was published.

International Migrants Day: Promoting Diversity in Regions: finished

The three AER committees and the AER Task Force on Migration worked closely together to develop messaging ahead of the International Migrants Day: Promoting Diversity in Regions event in Barcelona on Tuesday 18 December 2018.
Participants shared their experiences and good practices in diversity management at regional level, including examples of policies, programmes and projects promoting inclusion, participation in civic, economic and political life, positive intercultural interaction and the sense of belonging.

AER e-health network activities: planned

The AER e-health network has achieved the objectives it had set at its creation. The plenary meeting in Arad was the opportunity to set new objectives. These include good practice sharing on

-risks of digital exclusion
-business models
-data protection, profiling & mass surveillance
-Artificial intelligence, bots
After the 2018 Spring plenaries, no concrete initiatives were identified. This was mainly due to the fact the AER e-health network didn’t have a chair to give impulse to its activities. At the Spring 2019 Committee 2 plenary meeting, members will elect a new chair and get an opportunity to define new actions they would like to implement jointly.

Under a new leadership from Scotland, the e-health network will focus on digital health and explore synergies with fellow networks

Leadership programme for policymakers on e-health, integrated care systems and health innovation: cancelled

The AER e-health network wants to share good practices on leadership for the deployment of integrated care systems. After the 2018 Spring plenaries, no concrete initiatives were identified. New opportunities may arise with the implementation of the Scirocco Exchange knowledge hub which will be developed and will also provide tools to improve readiness to change, leadership and governance in general.

Advocacy/ Lobbying

Cohesion Policy Activities: ongoing

Members agreed in September 2018 that the Task Force on Cohesion will now be under the responsibility of the Bureau, which is also in charge of the other Task Forces. Joint actions include:
– Convene joint advocacy: Bureau Members adopted an updated position on the European Commission legislative proposals for the future EU cohesion policy, setting out the specific changes European regions propose to make to the new framework.
– Advocate towards the European Union and Member States
– Work in alliance with other relevant stakeholders and European associations
Flevoland (NL) is coordinating the implementation of the action and the cohesion policy task force help implement the action.

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 & Institutionnal Relations Vania Freitas

-Task Force on Food

-Task force on Digitalisation

-Task Force on Migration

-Task Force on Social Innovation

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.

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

The developement of the Action Plan is a collective process to enable all participants to specify needs and decide to initiate activities which add value for 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 Committees work programmes. The work programmes are developped in Spring each year.

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 Committees work programmes and the AER action plan.

Committee 2 Coordination & implementation of the work programme

The new Presidium of the AER Committee on Social Policy & Public health will meet met on 4 June 2019 in Larnaka, to discuss the implementation of the Committee’s work programme for 2019-2020. They will agree on a series of actions to support the actions proposed by members on the occasion of the Spring Plenaries. This work is coordinated by Agneta Kardos, the seconded officer for Committee 2 President Mihai Ritivoiu, Timis (RO)

Photo by Alessia Cocconi on Unsplash

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

‘Connecting the dots’ – Multi-level, Multi-actor Migration 

By

The Assembly of European Regions is pleased to invite you to two inclusion days, starting with:

A Round Table and World Cafe’ Exchange Session
‘Connecting the dots’
Multi-level, Multi-actor Migration
AMiD Targeted Meeting 3
Larnaca, 5 June 2019

Timing: 10.00 – 16.30
Venue: Radisson Blu Hotel, Larnaca (Atlantidon 2, Larnaca 6058, Cyprus)
Programme: HERE

About the Event:
This event aims to bring regional and local authorities together with civil society organisations and representatives of European Institutions to share experiences and methodologies on how to achieve a common approach among different stakeholders and a better multilevel coordination on welcoming migrants and refugees.

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.

Individuals from organisations, such as NGO’s, working in this field may qualify for participation, pending an endorsement mandate (available HERE) from their region. 

Travel and accommodation costs for participation will be covered in the context of the European project “AMiD – Access to Services for Migrants with Disabilities“. Full details about the reimbursement procedures can be found HERE.

On 6 June, the AER Bureau Meeting will take place. Participants attending the AMiD workshop are welcome to attend the Breakfast Seminar and Taskforce on Migration taking place on this day. The full programme for the Bureau can be found HERE.

On the evening of 5 June, a Gala Reception will take place at Larnaca Medieval Castle Gardens. Participants of the AMiD workshop are invited to attend this event. 

Due to a limited number of places eligible for reimbursement, participants are encouraged to register as soon as possible. 

To do so, please click on the link below:

The Committees’ 2019-2020 work programme is out!

By

On the occasion of the Committees’ plenaries in Örebro, AER members identified the topics which matter most for them and on which they want to develop joint actions on with fellow regions. The development of the work programme was a collective process to enable all participants to specify needs and decide to initiate activities which add value for 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 Committees work programmes.

Committee for Economy & Regional Policy

The planned actions in the AER Committee on Economy and Regional Policy can be summed up as follows:

Innovation & SMEs :

-sharing experiences & mutual learning on simplification of legislation
-exchange of experiences on attraction & retention of workforce
–organisation of a mutual learning event on a current & transversal aspect of innovation & industry in Brussels on 4 december 2019

Rural development

-exchange of experiences on waste management in rural areas
-initiating collective action for the protection of Romanian forests
-develop a project for good practice exchange on farming practices
-sharing experiences on investments & financing of infrastructure in rural areas
-develop a project together with the Committee on Social Policy & Public Health on e-health in rural areas

Energy & climate change

–organisation of a roundtable on how to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals in regional planning, during the EU Green Week in Brussels on 15 May 2019
-exchange of good practices on small hydropower plants
-exchange of experience on multistakeholder engagement around the topic of energy, partnerships, and advocacy towards different levels of governance
-sharing good practices around gas exploitation: environmental & economic impact on national tourism strategy on Norway in Sweden in particular
–organisation of workshop at European Week of Cities and Regions in Brussels in October 2019
–organisation of a workshop on energy efficiency
-Breakfast briefing on competition

Transports & mobility

-exchange of good practices and engage a shared reflexion on how to achieve zero emission transports
–organise a workshop during the European Sustainable Development Week in Brussels on clean energy hubs
–organise a side event at Smart City Expo World Congress

Committee for Social Policy& Public Health

The planned actions in the AER Committee for Social Policy & Public Health can be summed up as follows:

Social inclusion

-exchange experiences and identify solutions around the issue of isolated elderly people in rural areas
-share information on the inclusion of children with disabilities in school
-exchange experiences around the care and wellbeing of children whose parents have moved abroad for work (specifically in Romania)
-identify good practices for the support of young orphans who are 18 and are no longer supported by institutions

Health innovation

-compile achievements of the AER e-health network in the past 13 years
-mapping of e-health systems and integrated care in Europe via the Scirocco Exchange project
-develop a project together with the Committee on Economy & Regional Development on e-health in rural areas

Committee for Culture, Education & Youth

The planned actions in the AER Committee on Culture, Education, and Youth can be summed up as follows:

Culture

-mutual learning around culture for all and how to, in particular, reach out to young people
-mutual learning on culture &

Education

-share knowledge, experiences and practices to address the issue of brain drain and move from brain drain to brain gain
-exchange around the issue of governments investing in education and “losing” their qualified workforce and identify elements of resilience or compensation for territories which “lose” qualified workforce
-exchange experiences on lifelong learning for 50+ people in order to improve wellbeing and employability

Youth

-share experiences on early school leaving and the issue of young people who are not in education and not in employment. In particular explore practices around building confidence and encouraging young people.
-Organise a workshop, potentially at the Eurodyssey Forum, on the Eurodyssey programme to increase the number of applicants for the first youth mobility programme in Europe

The AER Action Plan & planning cycle

The AER Committees’ work programmes are developed at the Spring plenaries each year and are then consolidated into the AER Action Plan, which is adopted at the General Assembly.

The AER Action Plan brings together all the activities carried out within and via the AER network, be they large or small, including the Committees’ work programmes. The Action Plan is constantly updated during the year. It is the Executive Board, which approves actions to be added to the AER Action Plan, in order to ensure alignment with values and priorities.

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

Committee 1 Progress Report Spring 2019

By

Twice a year the members of the AER Committee on Regional Development and Economy gather in plenary meeting. 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 Committees’ plenaries in Arad, AER members identified joint actions they wanted to implement with fellow regions. Sa years later it is time to evaluate progress, celebrate achievements and share experiences!

Evaluating progress

During the elaboration of the work programme in Arad, planned activities were organised in 3 categories:

Projects
Good practice sharing
Lobbying

The below progress report was compiled for the spring 2019 plenary meeting in Örebro. It gives an overview of the situation, a year after the adoption of the work programme.

Projects

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 second hand, the project will encourage the participation of citizens and stakeholders to turn them in active players in the dialogue on cohesion policy.

Silver Economy Awards (SEED): finished

The Silver Economy Awards aim to catalyse a sustainable European digital Silver Economy movement by promoting and rewarding innovative solutions to improve the quality of life for over 50s. The Awards are an opportunity to raise awareness around the lesser-known notion of the Silver Economy. They illustrate the breadth of the consumer markets and the public spending involved and the size of the opportunities available for entrepreneurs, investors, public authorities and civil society.

Last year the Silver Economy Awards replaced the traditional AER Regional Innovation Award. The first Awards Ceremony took place on May 2018 in Brussels.

SEED was a two-year project: 10/2016 to 09/2018
After two years of dedicated work, the SEED project has met its objectives.

ARLEM project – Capacity building for an integrated and sustainable urban development: canceled

This is a joint project of the Committee of the Regions regional and local authorities focused on the Mediterranean. In this context, AER answered to the call of ARLEM – Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly in order to provide technical expertise and political support. AER expressed its interest to focus piloting actions in Turkey, Tunisia and Morocco having already implemented several actions in these geographical areas.

This project aims to reinforce the capacities of local and regional authorities from the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean both in terms of urban management and integrated urban development. AER will contribute in the capacity building activities as well as the organisation of regional conferences.

It is funded by the Finnish Development Agency and activities are planned for 2 years and six months.

REFIT Project – New regulative frameworks to foster innovation in the transport sector: not accepted

The REFIT project, under the Horizon 2020 Programme, will improve the regulative framework to make it consistent with the development of new forms of mobility, including shared used mobility, having in mind to safeguard the interest of the users and to attend societal goals.

The main result will be the creation of a user-friendly governance tool facilitating regulatory processes to support the deployment of innovative transport technologies and services in the EU.

Event: EU funding for Croatian & Albanian regions: finished

The event on EU funding for Croatian regions, hosted by Varaždin (HR) and Committee 3 President Radimir Čačić, and the event on EU funding for Albanian regions, hosted by Korcë (AL) and MEG member Ana Verushi brought together about 70 participants, both members and non members of AER to:
-hear about AER’s activities
-learn more on AER services for projects and services
-obtain information on the areas of cooperation with EU
-get a relevant update on the current and forthcoming EU funding opportunities
-become aware of the successful experiences of project applicants

Good Practice Sharing

Open data and blockchain in transports, Working group meeting: ongoing

The AER working group on Transports and Mobility, which is chaired by Martin Tollén, member of the Transport and Urban Planning Committee of Östergötland (SE), will meet on March 28th, on the occasion of the 2019 Spring Committee Plenaries in Örebro.
The content will be the following:

The Sustainable Development Goals as policy framework: ongoing

The Working Group on Energy and Climate Change planned to organise a workshop on using the Sustainable Development Goals as a policy framework on September 26th in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS).

New mobility services: ongoing

Good practice exchange on electric cars (production of batteries) and infrastructure. Participation of the working group in the REFIT H2020 project on policies to support New Mobility Services.

Supporting members to use the TAIEX-Environmental Implementation Review: ongoing

The AER Secretariat disseminated information about the TAIEX-EIR peer to peer learning programme and supporting members to use this programme to gain or provide knowledge on environmental policies on topics as diverse as air quality, waste management, water management, the circular economy. This programme which is relatively easy and quick to access is a good complement to activities carried out within AER and an opportunity to access support from the Commission to carry out exchnages with other regions.

The TAIEX-EIR programme was presented at the Autumn plenaries in the workshop of the AER Working group on rural development.

The AER Project Unit will also organise a webinar in May or June 2019 to help members use the programme.

Food: short supply chains & quality food: ongoing

The Working Group on rural development organised a side event on the occasion of Smart City Expo World Congress on the topic of food. Findings of this side event will feed the work of the Bureau Task Force on food.

Youth entrepeneurship: ongoing

Members expressed the wish to develop youth entrepreneurship actions in link with Committee 3. EMAX, a Swedish organisation, which organises innovation camps presented their work on the occasion of the Autumn Committee 3 plenary meeting. They will also organise a Breakfast Debate on youth entrepreneurship on the occasion of the Spring 2019 plenary meetings in Örebro (SE).

Mutual learning event on the Sharing Economy: finished

Each year Brussels Capital proposes a mutual learning event on a current and transversal topic. On December 4th 2018, Brussels Capital organised a mutual learning event on the sharing Economy together with Catalonia, in Brussels, Brussels Capital Region (BE). This event organised upon the invitation of Committee 1 President Jean Luc Vanraes, aimed to gather experiences from all three AER Committees and regions were welcome to share inputs and regional examples.

The event brought together policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics and representatives of the third sector for vivid exchanges. A follow up article with updates on what happened in Brussels was published.

International Migrants Day: Promoting Diversity in Regions: finished

The three AER committees and the AER Task Force on Migration worked closely together to develop messaging ahead of the International Migrants Day: Promoting Diversity in Regions event in Barcelona on Tuesday 18 December 2018.
Participants shared their experiences and good practices in diversity management at regional level, including examples of policies, programmes and projects promoting inclusion, participation in civic, economic and political life, positive intercultural interaction and the sense of belonging.

Workshop on Life Cycle Approaches to Regional Sustainable Development: finished

Following the September 2017 workshop on life cycle approaches for renewable energy, circular economy and regional development, members of the working group on energy and climate change were invited to participate in a workshop in Bordeaux, France in 4 and 5 March 2019.
This workshop was intended as a consultative forum to gather advice, experience and further case studies to facilitate this move. It will help to develop an outreach programme on Life Cycle approaches to sustainable regional development.

Autumn Plenary, Vojvodina: finished

The 2018 Autumn Committee Plenaries were hosted by the region of Vojvodina in Serbia from 25 – 27 September 2018. A detailed recap of all the meetings that took place is available here.

Plenary meeting: Committee for Economy and Regional Development: finished

On the occasion of the 2018 Autumn the Committees Plenary meetings in Vojvodina, the Committee on Economy and Regional Development members decided that the Task Force on Cohesion Policy, which for historic reasons was under the responsibility of this Committee, should be transferred to the Bureau for coherence purposes, as it is the Bureau which is in charge of the identification of policy messages and advocacy activities.

Panel discussion at the Vojvodina plenaries on Open data for regional development: finished

On the occasion of the Autumn plenaries in Vojvodina, the panel discussion “Open data for regional development: governance, start-ups and innovation” took place.

The discussion focused on how public institutions collect and generate enormous quantities of data in areas as varied as unemployment, air pollution, hospital consultations etc and how this data can best be re-used to create or improve both public and private services. There is a need to change the political perception of Open Data and instead view it as opportunity for policy-making.

Sustainable Urban Mobility, Working group meeting: finished

The Working Group on Transports and Mobility decided in Spring 2018 to work on sustainable urban mobility. At the Autumn Committees Plenary meetings, Miroslav Tadic, UNDP Climate Change Portfolio Manager shared the experience of UNDP in Serbia.

Meeting of the Working group on Energy and Climate Change: finished

The Working Group on Energy and Climate Change met in September 2018 on the occasion of Autumn the Committees Plenary meetings. On this occasion, the workshop “The SDGs as a policy framework” took place. Many regions are very active in this space. Oppland, Norway and Varmland, Sweden provided case studies.

Meeting of the Working group on Rural development: finished

The Working Group on Rural Development met in September 2018 on the occasion of Autumn the Committees Plenary meetings. On this occasion, the workshop “Waste management in rural areas” took place. Svetlana Marusic presented the situation in Vojvodina (RS) and Olimpia Neagoe, Chair of the Working Group, presented a project which is being implemented in Dolj (RO) and which is substantially supported by EU funding. Sustainable Waste Management involves both considerable investments in infrastructure and a lot of work on behavioural changes.

Webinar on New Mobilities: canceled

The Working Group on Transports & Mobility will organise a webinar on New Mobilities for all AER members. Date & topic tbc.

International event on Biomass in Vojvodina: canceled

Organisation of an international event on Biomass in Vojvodina (RS) in collaboration with AER members. It was replaced by an International Business Summit

Using the SDGs to communicate AER activities: planned

Oppland suggested that as many of the AER activities are contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, AER should promote the 2030 Agenda, raising visibility of how AER and its member regions are contributing to reach goals.

Study visit on the energy transition: finished

The main focus of the study visit, was the bottom-up approach for the energy transition, which was implemented in the region. This multi-stakeholder cooperation was materialised by the Gelders’ Energy agreement (GEA). The shared goal is to make the province energy-neutral by 2050. Local and regional industries, governments and NGOs’ in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands, have pledged for the province to become energy-neutral by 2050. It facilitates a co-creative process where initiatives, actors, and energy are integrated into society.

Participants shared good practice and experience and in particular:

observe Gelders’ Energy agreement working process
meet with Gelders’ Energy agreement regional partners
carry out visits to observe regional results
participate in a serious game on energy and the diverging interests of stakeholders to exchange about challenges.

Waste management in rural areas: finished

The Working Group on rural development organised a workshop on waste management in rural areas on September 27th in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS).

Study visit on food production: cancelled

The idea was to focus the study visit on the approach to food production in order to see how microfirm became large company, which was implemented in the Norrbotten region. The initiative could potentially have been linked with the TAIEX EIR peer learning opportunity of the European Commission. This idea was not implemented.

Advocacy/ Lobbying

Mobility: engagement in the EIP-SCC: ongoing

The AER Working Group on Transports and Mobility is involved in the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities. It shares regular updates on the work of the EIP-SCC with members

Cohesion Policy Activities: ongoing

Members agreed in September 2018 that the Task Force on Cohesion will now be under the responsibility of the Bureau, which is also in charge of the other Task Forces. Joint actions include:
– Convene joint advocacy: Bureau Members adopted an updated position on the European Commission legislative proposals for the future EU cohesion policy, setting out the specific changes European regions propose to make to the new framework.
– Advocate towards the European Union and Member States
– Work in alliance with other relevant stakeholders and European associations
Flevoland (NL) is coordinating the implementation of the action and the cohesion policy task force help implement the action.

Financing climate action: ongoing

AER works alongside R20, Blue Orchard and Leonardo Di Caprio Foundation to set up a 350 million $ Subnational Climate Fund to finance climate projects in European regions. In August AER met the European Investment Bank to pursue negotiations.

AER was present at this year’s UN climate meeting, which took place in Katowice, Poland. The highlight of AER’s involvement was when AER President Magnus Berntsson spoke at the high-level segment 12 December on behalf of all the regions and municipalities of the world.

AER at the OECD Roundtable on Cities and Regions for the SDGs: finished

Eva Hallström from Värmland, chairing the AER working group on energy and climate change, represented AER while speaking at the 1st OECD Roundtable on Cities and Regions for the SDGs, which took place at the OECD Headquarters in Paris.

The Roundtable brought together cities, regions, national governments, international organisations, private sector and other key stakeholders to identify trends and challenges in the localisation of the SDGs, including the experiences and key findings from the pilots of the programme “A Territorial Approach to the SDGs”.

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

-Task force on Digitalisation

-Task Force on Migration

-Task Force on Social Innovation

-Task Force on Cohesion

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

The developement of the Action Plan is a collective process to enable all participants to specify needs and decide to initiate activities which add value for 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 Committees work programmes. The work programmes are developped in Spring each year.

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 AER Action Plan.

Photo by Ryan Yao on Unsplash

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

Committee 2 Progress Report Spring 2019

By

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 elaboration of a joint work programme and to evaluate progress every six months.

On the occasion of the Spring 2018 Committees’ plenaries in Arad, 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 Arad, planned activities were organised in 3 categories:

Projects
Good practice sharing
Lobbying

The below progress report was compiled for the spring 2019 plenary meeting in Örebro. 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 3rd Health Programme, is based on the SCIROCCO project, which has resulted in the development of an online self-assessment tool for integrated care. The project will run from end 2018 to end 2020. It will support regions, mainly health and social care authorities for the adoption and the scaling-up of integrated care. The maturity matrix, 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 strengths and also gaps in their capability managing the many activities needed in order to deliver integrated care.

The lead partner is the Scottish Government Health Agency Service, a new AER member. The consortium is composed by 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

The project will launch an integrated campaign “Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite!” with ongoing press functions and an activity mix which will allow us to achieve indirect and direct reach of the target audience.
The campaign centers on the stories of locals in regions in each of the five selected countries (Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Italy and Spain), as a highly-relatable focal points to convey the positive impact of Cohesion policy in people’s everyday lives.

The project is led by AER with the international communication agency MC Group (DE). The application was submitted to the DG Regio on the media calls for proposals.

The project is part of AER’s work on Cohesion Policy.

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.

Silver Economy Awards (SEED): finished

The Silver Economy Awards aim to catalyse a sustainable European digital Silver Economy movement by promoting and rewarding innovative solutions to improve the quality of life for over 50s. The Awards are an opportunity to raise awareness around the lesser-known notion of the Silver Economy. They illustrate the breadth of the consumer markets and the public spending involved and the size of the opportunities available for entrepreneurs, investors, public authorities and civil society.

Last year the Silver Economy Awards replaced the traditional AER Regional Innovation Award. The first Awards Ceremony took place on May 2018 in Brussels.

SEED is a two-year project: 10/2016 to 09/2018.
After two years of dedicated work, the SEED project has met its objectives and is wrapping up its activities.

Models of Child Health Appraised (MOCHA): finished

The MOCHA team is led by the Imperial College London and involves 19 scientific partners from ten European countries and 30 country agents from each European Member State and EEA country. MOCHA appraises the differing models of child health that are used across Europe. The project identified gaps in knowledge, on surveillance of children’s primary care and children’s specific needs in primary care, lack of coordination of care, models of care that are not based on current child health epidemiology, and low prioritisation of children’s needs in e-health strategies. AER is a member of the Advisory Board. AER is benefitting from the connection with the MOCHA experts, which have been invited at AER events (workshop on health innovation ecosystems in Izmir, workshop on social capital for integrated care in Norrbotten) and also shared expertise and advice for the development of the project on youth mental health led by Catalonia and Norrbotten. The project is now in the final year where results will be published. The final conference took place on 15-16 November in The Hague.

Event: EU funding for Croatian & Albanian regions: finished

The event on EU funding for Croatian regions, hosted by Varaždin (HR) and Committee 3 President Radimir Čačić, and the event on EU funding for Albanian regions, hosted by Korcë (AL) and MEG member Ana Verushi brought together about 70 participants, both members and non members of AER to:

-hear about AER’s activities
-learn more on AER services for projects and services
-obtain information on the areas of cooperation with EU
-get a relevant update on the current and forthcoming EU funding opportunities
-become aware of the successful experiences of project applicants

HOME4LIFE – Certified smart and integrated living environments for ageing well: pending approval

AER joined this project as supporting partner, upon the request of AGE Platform which is partner in the consortium. No budget or specific tasks assigned.

This project has been submitted within Horizon 2020 – CSA on “Supporting investment in smart living environments for ageing well through certification” and aims at the development of a European certification scheme fostering safe investments and supporting physical and technological retrofitting for what concerns age-friendly environments and accomodation.

The results of the evaluation should be known in 2018.

INTEGRATE PERMED project – The inter-regional linking infrastructure for implementation in personalised medicine:project rejected

The INTEGRATE PERMED has been submitted under the Horizon 2020 Programme. It aims at linking the efforts in personalised medicine across European Regions by mapping them and then exchange of experiences between selected regions. The project will focus on breast cancer as a launching pathology to maintain focus. After validation, the approach will be replicated to other pathologies.

PATHWAY project – Pathway to social entrepreneurship: project rejected

The PATHWAY project, under the Erasmus+ Programme, aims at providing learners with a training programme which meet their needs in the sector of social entrepreneurship. It also aims to raise awareness on the role social entrepreneurship can play in local development, fostering also be the establishment of links and cooperation between different stakeholders.

The multiplier event will be a collateral activity of the AER Summer Academy

Submitted within the Erasmus+ Programme, the Social Entrepreneurship Key competences (SEK) project strives for providing learners with specialized training in the sector of social entrepreneurship with a special focus on tourism.

Social Entrepreneur Key competencies – SEK project: project rejected

Within this project, AER is in charge of organising an international information day, which will be the opportunity to share the project outcomes and to foster networking. AER is also in charge of a training session to test training course for social entrepreneurs. On top of that, AER will perform advocacy work in order to raise the attention on the project findings at regional and EU level.

The activities realised by the AER will take place in the scope of the Eurodyssey and the AER Youth Regional Network.

PIKTOGRAMA project – Visual thinking for social innovation: project rejected

PIKTOGRAMA is a project submitted within Erasmus+ Programme. It focuses on design thinking approach as a method to empower non-profit organisation and implement original visual thinking tools to face new EU societal challenges (e.g. climate change). The project aims at raising awareness on this approach and the advantages it has in the social innovation context as well as stimulating its use by training the youths.

The project will provide regions with recommendations regarding design thinking, which can be an interesting method for non-profit organisations to approach social challenges.

The multiplier event will be a collateral activity within the Youth Regional Network General Assembly, thus creating synergies between AER programmes and the project.


Good Practice Sharing

Equal access to healthcare: ongoing

The AER Group on Equal Opportunities has identified equal access to health as the main topic to be addressed in Committee 2. This includes:

-vulnerable groups: meet them where they are & help them
– exchange good practices on reducing barriers to care & access to servicesThe AER Transversal Group on Equal Opportunities held regular phone calls to identify joint actions on the topics identified by the Group.

Autumn Plenary, Vojvodina: finished

The 2018 Autumn Committee Plenaries were hosted by the region of Vojvodina in Serbia from 25 – 27 September 2018. A detailed recap of all the meetings that took place is available here.

Breakfast Briefing on welcoming unaccompanied migrant children: finished

Committee 2 members decided to share experiences on welcoming unaccompanied migrant children. In this context a Breakfast Briefing was organised on welcoming unaccompanied migrant children in Novi Sad on 27 September 2018, which was led by the European Programme for Integration and Migration, an initiative of currently 25 private foundations, which has the goal of strengthening the role played by civil society in advocating for constructive approaches to migration in Europe.
A background article on youth on the move was published by the AER Secretariat.

Plenary meeting: Committee for Social Policy and Public Health: finished

On the occasion of the 2018 Autumn the Committees Plenary meetings in Vojvodina, the Committee on Social Policy and Public Health members said farewell to Agneta Granström, Vice President of the Committee and Chair of the AER e-Health network. Albert Castellanos, Catalonia (ES) was elected Vice-President for Health Innovation, other positions were left open for future candidacies.
On the occasion of Committee 2 plenary meeting in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS), members decide to focus on social entrepreneurship & inclusion
Good practices from Umbria (IT) and Maramures (RO) were presented.

Panel discussion at the Vojvodina plenaries on Open data for regional development: finished

On the occasion of the Autumn plenaries in Vojvodina, the panel discussion “Open data for regional development: governance, start-ups and innovation” took place.

The discussion focused on how public institutions collect and generate enormous quantities of data in areas as varied as unemployment, air pollution, hospital consultations etc and how this data can best be re-used to create or improve both public and private services. There is a need to change the political perception of Open Data and instead view it as opportunity for policy-making.

Meeting of the Working Group for Equal Opportunities: finished

The AER Group on Equal opportunities has regular phone meetings and met as well in Novi Sad to discuss the development of a Code of Conduct for AER.

Mutual learning event on the Sharing Economy: finished

Each year Brussels Capital proposes a mutual learning event on a current and transversal topic. On December 4th 2018, Brussels Capital organised a mutual learning event on the sharing Economy together with Catalonia, in Brussels, Brussels Capital Region (BE). This event organised upon the invitation of Committee 1 President Jean Luc Vanraes, aimed to gather experiences from all three AER Committees and regions were welcome to share inputs and regional examples.

The event brought together policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics and representatives of the third sector for vivid exchanges. A follow up article with updates on what happened in Brussels was published.

International Migrants Day: Promoting Diversity in Regions: finished

The three AER committees and the AER Task Force on Migration worked closely together to develop messaging ahead of the International Migrants Day: Promoting Diversity in Regions event in Barcelona on Tuesday 18 December 2018.
Participants shared their experiences and good practices in diversity management at regional level, including examples of policies, programmes and projects promoting inclusion, participation in civic, economic and political life, positive intercultural interaction and the sense of belonging.

AER e-health network activities: planned

The AER e-health network has achieved the objectives it had set at its creation. The plenary meeting in Arad was the opportunity to set new objectives. These include good practice sharing on

-risks of digital exclusion
-business models
-data protection, profiling & mass surveillance
-Artificial intelligence, bots
After the 2018 Spring plenaries, no concrete initiatives were identified. This was mainly due to the fact the AER e-health network didn’t have a chair to give impulse to its activities. At the Spring 2019 Committee 2 plenary meeting, members will elect a new chair and get an opportunity to define new actions they would like to implement jointly.

Leadership programme for policymakers on e-health, integrated care systems and health innovation: cancelled

The AER e-health network wants to share good practices on leadership for the deployment of integrated care systems. After the 2018 Spring plenaries, no concrete initiatives were identified. New opportunities may arise with the implementation of the Scirocco Exchange knowledge hub which will be developed and will also provide tools to improve readiness to change, leadership and governance in general.

Advocacy/ Lobbying

Cohesion Policy Activities: ongoing

Members agreed in September 2018 that the Task Force on Cohesion will now be under the responsibility of the Bureau, which is also in charge of the other Task Forces. Joint actions include:
– Convene joint advocacy: Bureau Members adopted an updated position on the European Commission legislative proposals for the future EU cohesion policy, setting out the specific changes European regions propose to make to the new framework.
– Advocate towards the European Union and Member States
– Work in alliance with other relevant stakeholders and European associations
Flevoland (NL) is coordinating the implementation of the action and the cohesion policy task force help implement the action.

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 & Institutionnal Relations Vania Freitas

-Task Force on Food

-Task force on Digitalisation

-Task Force on Migration

-Task Force on Social Innovation

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.

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

The developement of the Action Plan is a collective process to enable all participants to specify needs and decide to initiate activities which add value for 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 Committees work programmes. The work programmes are developped in Spring each year.

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 Committees work programmes and the AER action plan.

Photo by sergee bee on Unsplash

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

The Committees’ work programme development explained

By

Spring is work programme definition season at AER! On the occasion of the Spring Plenary meetings in Örebro, members of the three thematic Committees will decide what they would like to do together and how they will leverage regional initiatives via the network. The below elements will help you make the most of this opportunity.

Just do it!

Many things change, but the n°1 rule doesn’t: everything is possible!

The main idea is the following: if you want to carry something out within the network, just do it! Any idea is welcome!
The actions members can implement via the committees are diverse: project development, organisation of a workshop, seminar, international conference, study visit, brokerage event, breakfast briefing, webinar, collection of good practices, elaboration of a political report based on the experience of regions etc.
To have it included in the work programme, members should:

  1. Share their idea in the relevant Committee plenary meeting. This will be done in workshop style (see below). Members should explain what they would like to do and how they would like to implement their action.
  2. Explain how other regions will benefit: visibility? contacts? new collaborations? benefits for other regional stakeholders…
  3. Explicit what support they would need from other regions: speakers? Ideas? Partners for a project? Contacts to a specific stakeholder? Support for an advocacy action? Advice…
  4. Agree with other members on upcoming steps and be specific!

Picking a topic has never been so easy

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 Committees work programmes.

The three AER Committees work on:

  1. Economy and regional development
  2. Social policy and public health
  3. Culture, education and youth

Because the topics addressed by the Committees are rather broad, many policy areas can be addressed within the different Committees. Recent activities give an idea of what is possible but shouldn’t be considered as a limit.

Committee 1 works on issues covering innovation, economic development and SMEs, transport and mobility, renewable energies and rural development. Food and sustainable food systems are a topic of particular interest in this context. For the past year, there has been a strong focus on supporting the collaboration of regional innovation stakeholders. Members, in particular, discussed the implications of the development of the sharing economy on regional policymaking and new emerging roles.

Committee 2 supports members in implementing e-Health services and exploring the potential of integrated care. It aims at building leadership on change management and innovation in the public sector. Inclusion is a key topic. In this context, members discussed welcoming unaccompanied migrant children and catering for the needs of youth on the move in general. They also worked on how to welcome migrants with disabilities in a more integrated way.

Committee 3 focuses on culture, education and youth policies. The Committee published a handbook with good practices on culture for inclusion. Youth entrepreneurship was also discussed at meetings. Another main topic has been cultural heritage. Committee 3 is developping an exchnage programme for civil servants and is also collaborating closely with the European College of Cluny for the development of a post-master degree.

How this will be done

As with the Arad Spring Plenaries, participants will be seated around round tables, where each table will work around one topic (or set of related topics). They will share their own ideas & jointly develop actions on the different topics the Committees are working on.
The 3 plenary meetings will be held separately and consecutively so that members are able to participate in all meetings, allowing for synergies & cooperation between Committees.
Members of the AER Youth Regional Network, the Summer Academy and the Eurodyssey programmes are invited to join the process as well so that they can provide ideas on how their work could integrate and feed the work of the committees.
At the end of the session the different actions will be brought together on a flip-chart and organised according to the 3 main categories:

  • Advocacy/ Lobbying
  • Projects
  • Good practice Exchange


Actions will be discussed together after which the work programme will be adopted

How to prepare

In order to get involved AER members can

  • identify the needs they have in their region which could be addressed via the AER network
  • liaise with their colleagues from other regional departments to identify needs
  • define an activity they would like to carry out in the Committees
  • think about how other members could contribute and benefit from this activity
  • Join the AER Committees online community in order to already share and test ideas with other members
  • think how they can support other members who have suggested joint actions

What is a Committee?

The AER Committees are the backbone of the network’s activity. They are the place where knowledge and experience exchange happen and where new collaborations are shaped. To this end Committee members meet at least twice a year on the occasion of their Spring and Autumn plenaries. Workshops are organised along with the statutory meetings in order to dig deeper in specific topics and identify areas for policy innovation. Through experience sharing, including both good and bad practices, AER members engage in mutual learning. Whenever a need arises for focused cooperation on a topic, specific projects are set-up, to ensure the experience exchange will be sustainable and co-funded.

Photo by Jacek Dylag on Unsplash

Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

AMiD workshop: multilevel cooperation for migration policies

By

On the occasion of this year Spring Plenaries in Örebro (SE), AER is organising a workshop on multilevel cooperation for migration policies.

What is AMiD about

The AMiD-Access to services for Migrants with Disabilities project aims to support an efficient management of the reception and integration of asylum seekers and migrants with disabilities in the EU.
AER is an important partner in the consortium, representing local authorities. Timis (RO), Värmland (SE) and Valencia (ES) have an active role in the Community Advisory Board (CAB), which gathers partnership members, European Regions and external experts from service providers.

A multistakeholder approach

In the migration context, cooperation and coordination between governments, local and regional authorities, civil society and other relevant stakeholders is needed.

At the International Migrants Day: Promoting Diversity in Regions, regions already discussed how to successfully harness the benefits of diversity for better social cohesion outcomes, through multi-level and multi-actor cooperation.

The AMiD project itself uses a multi-actor approach – involving civil society organisations and regional authorities. The workshop will devote particular attention to the local level and to the role of regions in the multi-level governance of migration and integration.

The workshop: get involved!

The AMiD workshop will take place on March 28th from 9:00 to 10:00 in Örebro. The idea is to have an interactive 60-minutes workshop which will allow participants to share their experiences and to learn from the experience of their peers in other regions. The main focus will be on multistakeholder cooperation and how this results in better outcomes in inclusion policies.
Highlights of this workshop also include a presentation of the AMiD Needs Assessment Tool, which should help regions address the needs of migrants with disabilities in an effective and integrated way.
The AMID project is an example of the way AER gets involved in EU-financed projects, with the aim to provide extra benefits and services for members.



Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

Public Authority wanted for a project on Skills Alliance

By

The European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD), partner of AER in the AMiD project, is looking for a public authority to join as a partner in their project within the Erasmus+ Sector Skills Alliance program.

Who is EASPD?

EASPD is an organisation that dedicates itself to persons with disabilities. Their objective is to deliver high-quality support services for those in need.

What about the project?

This project seeks to develop an alliance to provide training on the new technological competences and improve digital skills of the Health and Social Sector professionals who are supporting persons with disabilities. The training will help to identify the skills shortages and link these to ECVET points (European Credit System for Vocational Education & Training) and EQF levels (European Qualifications Framework).

The outcomes of this training will:

  • Afford caregivers (occupational therapists, psychologists, social workers, special education teachers, nurses, gerontologists, rehabilitation experts) the ability to learn how to use new technological devices such as sensors, assistive devices, robots, virtual and augmented reality headsets, brain computer interfaces,
  • Improve the learner’s mobility, and
  • Aid their own personal and professional development.

The maximum budget for this project is € 1,000,000 and the duration is 3 years.

Who are they looking for?

EASPD is looking for a public authority who is engaging in certification and accreditation but also interested in this area. Participation from public authorities in Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Germany, Ireland or Lithuania are especially encouraged!

If you are a public authority interested in being part of this worthwhile project, please contact the AER Secretariat before 18 January 2019.

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

Phone: +32 2 400 10 52 E-mail: a.pantaloni(at)aer.eu Skype ID: agnesepanta Languages: it, en, pt Articles by Agnese
  • EU funding
  • Calls for projects and tenders
  • Partner search

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Follow AER!
Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

At International Migrants Day event, regions share intercultural approaches to diversity, inclusion

By

On 18 December, AER marked International Migrants Day in Barcelona. A source of inputs for the AMiD project (Access to Services for Migrants with Disabilities), the event was partially funded by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund. We and our co-host, AER member region Catalonia, brought together representatives from regions from around Europe to push forward the conversation on integration and diversity management.

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. The day-long event was held In the Petralbes Royal Palace, and simultaneous interpretation in English, Catalan and Spanish was offered throughout.

Opening Session and Plenary Session

The opening session was moderated by AER Secretary General Mathieu Mori. President of AER Magnus Berntsson and Oriol Amorós, Secretary of Equality, Migration and Citizenship for the Government of Catalonia set out the conference’s mission of establishing an intercultural approach to integration based on “equality, relationships and recognition” and expressed hopes that it represented a first step toward sustained collaboration on the issue among the regions involved. Laura Corrado of the European Commission’s DG Home spoke about the Commissions efforts to bring a multi-level, multi-stakeholder approach to migration policy, while Leen Verbeek of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe championed a less ideologically-charged, more pragmatic diversity management policy that focused on the positive benefits of migration to European cultures, economies, and societies. Albert Castellanos, Secretary General of Ministry of Vice Presidency and Economy, Government of Catalonia, gave a stirring contribution and argued for a common European approach to migration “based not on fear, but on shared welfare, rights and duties.”

Carles Macian of the Catalan government and Dani de Torres, expert of the Council of Europe’s Intercultural Cities Programme, then took the stage to discuss intercultural approach to diversity management in cities and regions. De Torres pointed to the potential of regions to collaborate with cities and civil society to bring about intercultural integration, while Manel advocated for a comprehensive approach to integration on the basis of inclusion, diversity and interaction, targeting a variety of sectors with specific strategies.

Roundtables

Following the opening session participants split into two rooms to hold more participative discussions on key topics. There were four sessions, two before a lunch break and two after, in which representatives of local and regional governments, civil society organisations and researchers shared knowledge and experience

Roundtable 1  was all about providing Public policies and services for diversity and inclusion. Participants promoted the personalization of services in producing positive outcomes for migrants. Fatmé Khalil-Hammoud of the Vienna (AT) touted the success of the city’s tailored actions to young women, providing avenues to social inclusion on the basis of activities related to the beneficiaries’ interests.  Meanwhile, Silvija Ladić Fischer of Varaždin County (HR) argued that focusing on industries that where demand for labor was higher and providing individualised services to help migrants validate the skills they had gained before their arrival was key to the high impact of the region’s low-budget project on labor market inclusion. In the discussion session, Iñigo Magdaleno of Murcia (ES) called for investments in the creation of social capital, understood as social networks and associated norms of reciprocity and trust, has been correlated with more effective conflict management and gains in social justice. Contributions from Marzio Barbieri of Emilia Romagna (IT) and Çiçek Bacik of the German Children and Youth Foundation highlighted the inclusion of migrants in mainstream services and empowering young people through sports participation and rights education, respectively, as means of furthering this end.

Roundtable 2 – Recognising Diversity and Combating Racism was moderated by Director of Open Society Initiative for Europe Jordi Vaquer. Brussels-Capital Region (BE), the Government of the Basque Country (ES), the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (RS),  Region Västra Götaland (SE), and Barcelona City Council (ES) all made contributions, with a special focus on hate speech and discrimination.  A particular highlight was the Brussels Action Plan Against Racism and Discrimination 2018-2020, presented by Katrien Lefever and Noémie Emmanuel. The comprehensive and multi-perspective plan incorporates 29 concrete measures adapted to contemporary challenges, such as cyber hate-speech.  Amanda Rohde from Friends of Europe underlined the importance of sharing the perspectives of newcomers to combat xenophobic narratives, calling for “forward-looking, sustainable and inclusive solutions” to the problems we face.

 Roundtable 3 – Comprehensive approaches to inclusion and participation was moderated by Professor Ricard Zapata. In this session, members of the Community Advisory Board for AMiD, Kenneth Johannesson (Värmland, SE) and Dr. Angela Unufe, presented the project’s work on bringing access to services to migrants with disabilities. They were joined by representatives of the regional governments of Valencia (ES), the Basque Country (ES) and Umbria (IT). Inmaculada Carda Isach presented Valencia’s plan for Inclusion and Social cohesion, with its PANGEA offices for education, information and intercultural mediation. Lide Amilibia discussed the Basque Country’s comprehensive and multi-perspective plan for the reception and integration of migrants, including the support to local entities, the areas of training and employment, sports, and health. Meanwhile, Anna Ascani highlighted the Urbagri4Women project, which provides migrant women with an opportunity to develop innovative and self-sufficient urban agricultural initiatives. Bruno António of Portugal’s DYPALL, focused on the youth network’s work on boosting the participation of young migrants in decision-making processes at local level.

Roundtable 4 – Sense of belonging & Second-generation migrants brought a focus on the initiatives and experiences young people with a migration background. Moderator Gemma Aubarell guided discussion, which saw Jana Zah of Sindelfigen (DE) present her work as Integration officer of the city, collaborating with the young population to broaden the boundaries of civic and national identity. Youcef Allaoui advocated for the empowerment of young people, presenting ongoing projects from Union of Catalan Muslim Communities in which young Muslims are the protagonists of research, stating “We cannot leave to others the responsibility of answering questions about us on our behalf.” Komal Naz  of the association PakMir and  Students Aliu Diallo and Lisabeth Murga were particularly active in the discussion, wrestling with socially-defined ideals of immigrant success and the complexities of individual and collective identities. Speakers underlined that their senses of self were informed by a harmonious ensemble of values and traditions that entailed neither renunciation nor conformism, contending that the idiosyncrasy of personal cultural identity defies categorisation.

Closing Session

Participants from the roundtables reconvened at the end of the day for a session that brought the conference to its conclusion. Kenneth Johannesson spoke first, appealing 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.” His contribution was followed by a summary of the conclusions from the conference gathered by two rapporteurs: Marlen Niubò and M’hamed Abdelouahed Allaoui.

At conference’s climax, Xantal Genovart, read aloud to the audience one of the main outputs of the event: The International Migrants Day Manifesto. Genovart, who also moderated the closing session, is Vice-President of the Association of Muslim Women in Catalonia. The manifesto proclaims the need for an outlook that defends respect for fundamental rights due to migrants but goes further. It proclaims that host societies have obligations to foreign-born residents as citizens, members of the community. Local and regional governments are called on to adopt a set of approaches that aim toward an intercultural model of inclusion and diversity, while combatting racism and discrimination. The full text of the manifesto can be found below.

Two performances bookended the statement; the Bollywood-style dance group Associació Dancing Ganesh preceded the manifesto’s declaration, and String orchestra Vozes Barcelona, an organisation which favours integration through music, followed. Secretary Oriol Amorós closed the ceremony, thanking participants and looking forward to future collaboration toward a more just and harmonious future.

Follow AER!

Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

Fund your project on cultural cooperation with Creative Europe

By

Regions involved in Committee 3, we have a great funding opportunity for you. The call Support for European Cooperation Projects 2019 from the European Union’s Creative Europe programme is currently open.  While projects relating to culture may be admissible under calls from other programs (e.g. Interreg or Horizon2020), Creative Europe is the EU programme explicitly designed to support actions in the cultural and creative sectors. With a broad scope of objectives, this call is a great opportunity for those looking to fund transnational projects in this area.

Build up your application

The following priorities are identified in the call:

  • Promote the transnational mobility of artists and professionals with a view to enabling them to cooperate internationally and to internationalise their careers;
  • Strengthen audience development as a means of improving access to European cultural and creative works and tangible and intangible cultural heritage and extend access to cultural works to children, young people, people with disabilities and underrepresented groups;
  • Foster capacity building through innovative approaches to creation, develop and test new and innovative models of revenue, management and marketing for the cultural sectors, in particular as regards the digital shift , and developing new skills for cultural professionals;
  • Enhance intercultural dialogue, promote shared EU values and mutual understanding and respect for other cultures, thereby contributing to the social integration of migrants and refugees;
  • As a legacy to the European Year of Culture Heritage, raise awareness of common history and values, and reinforce a sense of belonging to a common European space.

When developing their proposal, applicants should design their projects to address at least one of these priorities and may indicate a maximum of three on the application form.

If the priority on  migrant integration interests you, take a look through the handbook of best practices on culture for inclusion from AER regions. Inside, you will find a wealth of projects that might just be that spark of inspiration you need to make your own proposal come to life. The Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity is also a good place to go for a clearer understanding of the concepts evoked in the language of the call.

AER members may also remember a debate on Culture and Digitalisation held during committee plenaries in Nancy in September 2017. There, Director General Michel Magnier presented the European Year of Cultural Heritage. This call represents a way to cement the successes achieved in the intervening year and an opportunity to build on the momentum gathered. So explore the actions that have been carried out in 2018 to get an idea of what sorts of projects have been favoured by the European Commission in the past.

Of course, before developing a project proposal, you would do well to to consult the call itself, in addition to the more detailed guidelines for the call application, and finally the guide for applications, which outlines the technical aspects of preparing and submitting your proposal.

For any additional questions and to stay up to date on opportunities under Creative Europe (which also includes the audiovisual support MEDIA subprogramme), find your local Creative Europe Desk.

Get started!

Time is short. Applicants must submit their proposals by 11 December 2018 at 12:00 noon (CET/CEST, midday Brussels time).

If you are interested in finding a partner to join you on an application, searching for a project to join yourself, or just need a bit of helpful advice, do not hesitate to contact the AER Project Unit.

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

Phone: +32 2 400 10 52
E-mail: a.pantaloni(at)aer.eu
Skype ID: agnesepanta
Languages: it, en, pt

Articles by Agnese


  • EU funding
  • Calls for projects and tenders
  • Partner search

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Follow AER!

Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

Latvian or Estonian? Join a project to revamp care for the elderly and the disabled

By

Örebro Municipality (SE), found within AER member region Örebro (SE), is seeking partners from Latvia and Estonia to join a project proposal within the Interreg Central Baltic Programme under Priority 4.1. The project will develop new methods for effectively serving the elderly and people with disabilities, forging durable relationships between public authorities and civil society organisations.

As populations age, public authorities face new challenges in providing the care and supporting their citizens need. Örebro (SE)  is looking for creative solutions to overcome these challenges. Their project will focus on developing a rehabilitative working method that:

  1. Empowers citizens to set goals for their own care

  2. Establishes civil society organisations and citizens as equal actors and facilitates cross-professional cooperation

  3. Incorporates all aspects of daily life into rehabilitation

While developing and testing the working method, partners will alter welfare techniques, reorganise care, redistribute competences among actors, and change the steering system. Throughout the project, partners will share their knowledge and experience to bring about sustainable care and prevention.

If you are a local, regional or national organisation in Latvia or Estonia interested in building up the independence and self-sufficiency of elderly and disabled citizens, this project is for you!

Reach out to the AER Secretariat by November 10 at the latest if you are interested in learning more.

Contact:

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

Phone: +32 2 400 10 52
E-mail: a.pantaloni(at)aer.eu
Skype ID: agnesepanta
Languages: it, en, pt

Articles by Agnese


  • EU funding
  • Calls for projects and tenders
  • Partner search

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

 

Follow AER!

Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

Committee 2 Progress report Autumn 2018

By

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 elaboration of a joint work programme and to evaluate progress every six months.

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

Evaluating progress

During the elaboration of the work programme in Arad, planned activities were organised in 3 categories:

Projects
Good practice sharing
Lobbying

The below progress report was compiled for the autumn 2018 plenary meeting in Novi Sad. It gives an overview of the situation, 6 months after the adoption of the work programme.

Projects

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

The SCIROCCO Exchange project, under the 3rd Health Programme, is based on the SCIROCCO project, which has resulted in the development of an online self-assessment tool for integrated care. The project will run from end 2018 to end 2020. It will support regions, mainly health and social care authorities for the adoption and the scaling-up of integrated care. The maturity matrix, 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 strengths and also gaps in their capability managing the many activities needed in order to deliver integrated care.

The lead partner is the Scottish Government Health Agency Service, a new AER member. The consortium is composed by 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.

  •  Silver Economy Awards (SEED): ongoing

The Silver Economy Awards aim to catalyse a sustainable European digital Silver Economy movement by promoting and rewarding innovative solutions to improve the quality of life for over 50s. The Awards are an opportunity to raise awareness around the lesser-known notion of the Silver Economy. They illustrate the breadth of the consumer markets and the public spending involved and the size of the opportunities available for entrepreneurs, investors, public authorities and civil society.

This year the Silver Economy Awards replaced the traditional AER Regional Innovation Award. The first Awards Ceremony took place on May 2018 in Brussels.

SEED is a two-year project: 10/2016 to 09/2018

  • HOME4LIFE – Certified smart and integrated living environments for ageing well

AER joined this project as supporting partner, upon the request of AGE Platform which is partner in the consortium. No budget or specific tasks assigned.

This project has been submitted within Horizon 2020 – CSA on “Supporting investment in smart living environments for ageing well through certification” and aims at the development of a European certification scheme fostering safe investments and supporting physical and technological retrofitting for what concerns age-friendly environments and accomodation.

The results of the evaluation should be known in 2018.

  • INTEGRATE PERMED project – The inter-regional linking infrastructure for implementation in personalised medicine (reserve list)

The INTEGRATE PERMED has been submitted under the Horizon 2020 Programme. It aims at linking the efforts in personalised medicine across European Regions by mapping them and then exchange of experiences between selected regions. The project will focus on breast cancer as a launching pathology to maintain focus. After validation, the approach will be replicated to other pathologies.

  • PATHWAY project – Pathway to social entrepreneurship

The PATHWAY project, under the Erasmus+ Programme, aims at providing learners with a training programme which meet their needs in the sector of social entrepreneurship. It also aims to raise awareness on the role social entrepreneurship can play in local development, fostering also be the establishment of links and cooperation between different stakeholders.

The multiplier event will be a collateral activity of the AER Summer Academy

  • Social Entrepreneur Key competencies – SEK project

Submitted within the Erasmus+ Programme, the Social Entrepreneurship Key competences (SEK) project strives for providing learners with specialized training in the sector of social entrepreneurship with a special focus on tourism.

Within this project, AER is in charge of organising an international information day, which will be the opportunity to share the project outcomes and to foster networking. AER is also in charge of a training session to test training course for social entrepreneurs. On top of that, AER will perform advocacy work in order to raise the attention on the project findings at regional and EU level.

The activities realised by the AER will take place in the scope of the Eurodyssey and the AER Youth Regional Network.

  • PIKTOGRAMA project – Visual thinking for social innovation

PIKTOGRAMA is a project submitted within Erasmus+ Programme. It focuses on design thinking approach as a method to empower non-profit organisation and implement original visual thinking tools to face new EU societal challenges (e.g. climate change). The project aims at raising awareness on this approach and the advantages it has in the social innovation context as well as stimulating its use by training the youths.

The project will provide regions with recommendations regarding design thinking, which can be an interesting method for non-profit organisations to approach social challenges.

The multiplier event will be a collateral activity within the Youth Regional Network General Assembly, thus creating synergies between AER programmes and the project.

  • Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite! project

The project will launch an integrated campaign “Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite!” with ongoing press functions and an activity mix which will allow us to achieve indirect and direct reach of the target audience.
The campaign centers on the stories of locals in regions in each of the five selected countries (Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Italy and Spain), as a highly-relatable focal points to convey the positive impact of Cohesion policy in people’s everyday lives.

The project is led by AER with the international communication agency MC Group (DE). The application was submitted to the DG Regio on the media calls for proposals.

The project is part of AER’s work on Cohesion Policy.

  • Models of Child Health Appraised (MOCHA): ongoing

The MOCHA team is led by the Imperial College London and involves 19 scientific partners from ten European countries and 30 country agents from each European Member State and EEA country. MOCHA appraises the differing models of child health that are used across Europe. The project identified gaps in knowledge, on surveillance of children’s primary care and children’s specific needs in primary care, lack of coordination of care, models of care that are not based on current child health epidemiology, and low prioritisation of children’s needs in e-health strategies. AER is a member of the Advisory Board. AER is benefitting from the connection with the MOCHA experts, which have been invited at AER events (workshop on health innovation ecosystems in Izmir, workshop on social capital for integrated care in Norrbotten) and also shared expertise and advice for the development of the project on youth mental health led by Catalonia and Norrbotten. The project is now in the final year where results will be published. The final conference will take place on 15-16 November in The Hague.

  •  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 project is will provide opportunities for experience sharing and capacity building in this area for all AER members.

  • Event: EU funding for Croatian & Albanian regions

The event on EU funding for Croatian regions, hosted by Varaždin (HR) and Committee 3 President Radimir Čačić, and the event on EU funding for Albanian regions, hosted by Korcë (AL) and MEG member Ana Verushi brought together about 70 participants, both members and non members of AER to:

-hear about AER’s activities
-learn more on AER services for projects and services
-obtain information on the areas of cooperation with EU
-get a relevant update on the current and forthcoming EU funding opportunities
-become aware of the successful experiences of project applicants

 

Good Practice Sharing

  • Welcoming unaccompanied migrant children

Committee 2 members decided to share experiences on welcoming unaccompanied migrant children. In this context a Breakfast Briefing is being organised on welcoming unaccompanied migrant children in Novi Sad on 27 September, which will be led by the European Programme for Integration and Migration, an initiative of currently 25 private foundations, has the goal of strengthening the role played by civil society in advocating for constructive approaches to migration in Europe.

  • Exchange of experiences on social entrepreneurship (ongoing)

On the occasion of the Committee 2 plenary meeting in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS), members will discuss Social Entrepreneurship: multi-stakeholder collaboration & social cohesion. Good practices from Umbria (IT) and Maramures (RO) will be presented

  • Mutual learning event on the Sharing Economy (ongoing)

Each year Brussels Capital proposes a mutual learning event on a current and transversal topic. On December 4th 2018, Brussels Capital will organise a mutual learning event on the sharing Economy together with Catalonia, in Brussels, Brussels Capital Region (BE). This event organised upon the invitation of Committee 1 President Jean Luc Vanraes, aims to gather experiences from all three AER Committees and regions are welcome to share inputs and regional examples.

  • Leadership programme for policy makers on e-health, integrated care systems and health innovation (planned)

The AER e-health network wants to share good practices on leadership for the deployment of integrated care systems

  • AER e-health network activities (planned)

The AER e-health network has achieved the objectives it had set at its creation. The plenary meeting in Arad was the opportunity to set new objectives. These include good practice sharing on

-risks of digital exclusion
-business models
-data protection, profiling & mass surveillance
-Artificial intelligence, bots

  • Equal access to healthcare (planned)

The AER Group on Equal Opportunities has identified equal access to health as the main topic to be addressed in Committee 2. This includes:

-vulnerable groups: meet them where they are & help them
– exchange good practices on reducing barriers to care & access to services

 

Advocacy/ Lobbying

  • Cohesion Policy Activities: ongoing

Building on AER’s role in advocating for a strong cohesion policy, and following the adoption of a position paper on the future of cohesion policy post 2020 at the Bureau meeting in Sankt Pölten, Lower Austria (AT) on 1 June 2017, AER will continue to convene and deliver joint policy influencing work for the future cohesion policy by:

  • Holding regular debates on cohesion policy among members and between members and relevant stakeholders, such as the “Cohesion Policy: are you getting anything out of it?” debate during the AER Committees’ Autumn Plenary Meeting in Nancy on 12 September.
  • Gathering facts and figures on cohesion investments results and impact for a evidence-based advocacy.
  • Disseminating the AER position on future cohesion policy to key stakeholders and decision-makers in-country (in coordination with member regions) and in Brussels.
  • Working together with other European associations of regions, municipalities and cities and the Committee of the Regions to generate broader support for regions interests and policy proposals, including #CohesionAlliance created to demand that the EU budget after 2020 makes cohesion policy stronger, more effective, visible and available for every region in the European Union.

The Task Force on Cohesion Policy post 2020 will continue to support the work of AER in this field, providing strategic direction and oversight.

These actions aim to ensure European regions engage in the future cohesion policy discussions at regional, national and European level, and meaningfully contribute to the design and implementation of a stronger and more effective reformed policy.

  • 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 & Institutionnal Relations Vania Freitas

-Task Force on Food

-Task force on Digitalisation

-Task Force on Migration

-Task Force on Social Innovation

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

The developement of the Action Plan is a collective process to enable all participants to specify needs and decide to initiate activities which add value for 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 Committees work programmes. The work programmes are developped in Spring each year.

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 Committees work programmes and the AER action plan.

Follow AER!

Facebooktwitterlinkedinrss

Library

Statutory Documents
AER Strategies
Minutes
Media Kit
Activity Reports
Newsletters
European Regions Map

Join AER!

Become a Member

Job Opportunities

Sign up for our Newsletter

Search

Website map