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Regions support regions by using AER Peer Review methodology

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Banja Luka, Republika Srpska (BiH), 16 September 2011

Members of the Assembly of European Regions (AER) discussed on 15 and 16 September ways on how regions can support each other to develop ways out of the crisis. The most qualified knowledge on regional development lies within regions.

Organizing cooperation between politicians and specialists of regions from different countries leads to fast changes and developments”“ stated Håkan Sandgren, President of AER Committee on ‘Economy and Regional development’ and County Councillor of Jönköping (S). This was the common result of the working sessions that looked at several initiatives which had been carried out in recent month, using the AER Peer Review methodology. They had covered sectors like entrepreneurship, energy or tourism development.

Participants also discussed the new financial instruments that EU institutions promote for the coming years to support regional development. Regional politicians gave a clear message that those instruments have to be developed and carried out in line with the initiatives taken by the regions, if they want to make a difference.

“30% of AER member regions do not belong to the EU. They therefore have a limited access to EU funding. This is the case for my region, Republika Srpska. Hosting this conference allowed us to share experiences with our counterparts from other regions and opened new perspectives for funding our projects” underlined Željka Cvijanovic, Minister of Economic relations and Regional Cooperation of Republika Srpska’s Government.

The meeting took place in Banja Luka, the capital of the Republika Srpska region in Bosnia Herzegovina. In 2009, AER had carried out with its members a Peer review on energy in Republika Srpska, which was featured by the Central European Initiative as an exemplary project.

For more information: [email protected]

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People with Disabilities: AER works to institute regional employment policies

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Valencia, Comunitat Valenciana (E), 17 June 2011

The Assembly of European Regions’ (AER) working group on ‘Equal Opportunities for people with disabilities’ met in Valencia (E) to debate the question of integrating people with disabilities into professional life.

Advances in the rights of people with disabilities

Today, more than 80 million people with disabilities across the European Union – approximately 15% of the total population – face a number of obstacles in their daily lives, including discrimination in the work place. “We are fortunate because our generation has seen the most important breakthroughs for people with disabilities,” said Joaquin Martinez, Regional Vice-Minister for Personal Autonomy and Dependence, referring to both the UN Convention on the rights of People with Disabilities, recently ratified by the EU, and the EU Disabilities Strategy 2010-2020.

“The actions planned in the framework of the new European strategy focus primarily on assuring that people with disabilities can freely access of goods and services. Additionally, the strategy seeks to improve the participation of people with disabilities and their families’ so that they may exercise all of their rights as citizens of the EU, guarantee access to EU subsidies and encourage governments to strive to eliminate obstacles to their full inclusion,” added the MEP member of the Disability Intergroup of the EP, Rosa Estaràs.

The European regions implement the UN Convention

Regions acknowledge the importance of access to employment as a key guarantee of autonomy and fundamental rights for people with disabilities and a fulfilment of the objectives of the UN Convention and the EU Strategy. To ensure that disability is not an obstacle to employment, the Region Poitou-Charentes (F) for example has instituted an active policy of recruitment, awareness-raising, and adaptation of job positions to help people stay employed. Actions under this policy range from training the region’s staff on disability issues to awarding entrepreneurship funds to people with disabilities wishing to start up their own businesses.

“AER is a great way to open up our minds, stimulate exchange and innovation among the regions and help us implement the rights and obligations that the UN Convention has created for people with disabilities.” concluded Christina Wahrolin, County Councillor from Värmland (S).

For more information: [email protected]

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Youth mobility and entrepreneurship : AER banks upon young people

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Orléans, Centre (F), 19th April 2011

The overall assessment is bad: the unemployment rate of Young Europeans reached a record highpoint of 21% on average, this figure even attaining 45% in Spain! In order to contain this flail, the Assembly of European Regions (AER) mobilised its member regions and its Youth Regional Network (YRN) during a conference on youth professional mobility.

Indeed, one of the recurring answers put forward by its members as a tool to help fight youth unemployment is youth mobility. The latter is not only essential to facilitate integration on the job market but also to enable cultural and linguistic exchanges, and thereby open minds. Many programmes already exist, however certain limitations, such as a lack of information and knowledge among companies as well as administrative and legal barriers, hinder their optimal use. Participants at the conference underlined the need to progress in the areas of linguistic and educational preparation, and to set up appropriate evaluation methods. In this context, the audience praised AER’s Eurodyssey programme for its efficiency and its simple framework.

Regions can promote all European programs in this field, and even propose their own initiatives to their young citizens. Karine Gloanec Maurin, Chairwoman of AER’s sub-committee on ‘Education and Training’ and Vice-President of the Centre Region, presented the “Trans’Europe Centre” project, which offers college students in the region the opportunity to visit another European country for at least 5 days. This initiative, which has already been used by two-thirds of the region’s high schools, allows teenagers to experience the European dimension on a new level and constitutes a unique opportunity for their future. The region’s budget for this project amounts to 2 million euros per year.

Hande Özsan Bozatli, President of the AER’s Committee on ‘Culture, Education, Youth and International Cooperation’ underlined the fact that “the increased exchanges between youth and the regional stakeholders is a prerequisite of the territories’ future, but also for Europe as a whole”. The President of the Region Centre, François Bonneau, has undertaken steps in this direction and announced the creation of a Youth Regional Conference in his region: “This authority, composed of 72 members aged between 15 and 25, will be a platform for exchange and dialogue; its members will be a proactive source of proposals, they will formulate suggestions concerning existing or future regional public policies, in underlining the priorities and the expectations of young people in the region”. The members of this new regional network will be invited to take part in AER’s Youth Regional Network (YRN).

AER has invested itself in another project in favour of youth employment: project YES – Youth Entrepreneurship Strategies – aims at promoting entrepreneurship within the educational system. Entrepreneurship is not traditionally considered as an obvious career option – 60% of European citizens state that they have never considered setting up their own business (Eurobarometer survey, 2007). AER has therefore decided to cooperate with seven other partners in order to improve regional policies in the field of entrepreneurial education. Creativity, responsibility, risk taking and team work are the key words of the entrepreneurial spirit, and the regions have to help the training organisations in all their forms to include them in their priorities. YES’s objective is to develop a concrete set of tools specifically for European regions, as well as a guide of best practices and common obstacles.

For more information: [email protected]

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Cooperation between regions of the Black Sea will ensure territorial stability and prosperity

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Batumi, Ajara (GE), 6th April 2011

“It is important that we are gathered today as the EU is experiencing a turning point in its construction as it revises its strategies for 2020. The links that the EU weaves with its neighbours will be decisive for years to come, for example on questions regarding energy. The AER intends to contribute to development of those bordering the Black Sea area through an approach based on its territories”. It was with these words that Michèle Sabban, President of the Assembly of European Regions (AER), opened the second Conference of the regions surrounding the Black Sea, which this year was attended by 130 politicians, experts and representatives of the Black Sea regions who gathered in Batumi, Georgia to reflect on the importance of cooperation in this space and how to develop it.

Development of interregional and cross-border projects in the Black Sea

A major geo-strategic location marked by number of past conflicts, the Black Sea basin is confronted by an urgent environmental question, whose long-term impact is not confined to seven riparian states and thirty-three regions. Convinced that cooperation at regional and local levels, along with the diplomatic dialogue, is the best way to obtain concrete results and to face environmental challenges, but also socio-economic and cultural specific to this area, AER presented successful examples of interregional cooperation. Concrete projects in key areas such as cooperation between SMEs around the Black Sea, women’s entrepreneurship or cultural integration through cooperation between young people were presented, proving that if necessary the regions can act even when States and the EU remain stuck in the status quo.

AER has committed to create Training Academies for officials and politicians of the Black Sea Region and to support them in implementing projects and finding partners, particularly in the context of the 2nd call for proposals under the ‘Programme of the European Union Black Sea ENPI CBC’, which opens in April. AER in this regard calls for the simplification of rules of this program. Among the proposed improvements: a common budget line for all partners of the Black Sea project, a homogenization of legal formalities to be completed by potential partners and the abandonment of specific rules of participation for Turkish partners.

Access to finance is an essential component of any successful initiative, the AER has allowed participants to interact with experts in project financing, including the Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the Caucasus, Moldova and Belarus.


A perfectible EU Strategy for the Black Sea 

Michèle Sabban said that “In the current political context the focus is primarily oriented towards the north-south dimension whilst even though the EU is preparing a reform of its neighbourhood policy, there is a real risk that Eastern Europe comes second in political and financial efforts of the EU. We have also very recently met European Parliamentarians who have clearly highlighted this danger! “

Romanian MEP Victor Bostinaru, co-rapporteur on the Black Sea Strategy adopted by the European Parliament in January, had indeed insisted on the importance of the EU developing a real strategy for the Black Sea, involving all stakeholders to ensure the lasting stability of the area. Regional cooperation is essential, he said to establish stability and overcome the environmental and energy challenges it faces. He assured the AER of his support for its action.

Finally, conference participants agreed on the need for better coordination of macro-regional European approaches, in particular to ensure synergy between the EU strategy for the Black Sea and the Danube, a river that has a direct impact on seawater. The AER strongly calls the Union to act in this regard.

“I wanted to host the conference on the Black Sea AER in my region, Adjara, because I am committed, along with my colleagues from around the Black Sea, to go ahead and use all tools available to ensure peace and stability, which will contribute to social and economic development of our territory, for the good of our citizens” concluded Levan Varshalomidze, Chairman of the Government of Ajara.

For more information: [email protected]

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Boosting Entrepreneurship and Innovation…AER breaks new ground

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Østfold (N), 25 March 2011 

The Assembly of European Regions (AER) strongly believes in the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation as key factors for future European knowledge economies and a stepping-stone to emerge out of the current economic and financial recession. AER organised a debate, attended by more than 100 participants, where entrepreneurship and innovation were elaborated along a series of broader concepts highly relevant to regions:

Success factors for regional development

The partners of the INTERREG IVC ENTREDI project (Entrepreneurial diversity) presented the methodologies and tools they developed in a view to identify regional initiatives that foster entrepreneurship and the success factors for a regional development strategy.
The new AER working group on entrepreneurship and innovation will use the ENTREDI approach, including the so called 4+1 model for entrepreneurship support and will identify regional gaps by using a SWOT analysis for every region.

Energy and climate change

Green growth is a buzzword of our days and one of the major objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy. How can we help emerge and support innovative and environmentally responsible entrepreneurs? How can we transform an industrial crisis into a dynamic opportunity for new “greener” sectors? These are the very concrete issues that participants discussed.

Rural development

Economic activity is important to maintain viable rural communities, and not only farms play a role but also the development of industries that built up on the assets of rural territories. To make rural regions more entrepreneurial, new concepts were introduced such as “The Agricultural College as competence centre”, a project held by Hvam Upper Secondary School in Østfold.

The culture of entrepreneurship through education

“In order to foster an entrepreneurial culture, to encourage innovative business start-ups and the growth of SMEs, Europe needs to stimulate entrepreneurial mindsets of young people.” stated Orhan Albrayak, Chairman of AER’s new working group ‘Entrepreneurship and Innovation’ and Vice-President of Istanbul Provincial Council (TR).

Concluding the conference, Håkan Sandgren, President of the AER Committee on ‘Economy and Regional development’ and County Councillor of Jönköping (S), stated: “Regional actors know: small firms depend on entrepreneurs – innovative individuals who have the ideas and are willing to take the risks to get a firm off the ground.”

Link to ENTREDI can be found here.

For more information: [email protected]

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Thematic dossier n°27 on Education for Entrepreneurship – Spring 2011

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Education for Entrepreneurship

Table of contents:

  • Editorial: Hande Özsan Bozatli, President of AER’s ‘Culture, Education, Youth and International cooperation’ Committee, Vice-President of Istanbul Provincial Council (TR)
  • Knowledge transfer: The EU is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of education for entrepreneurship
  • YES we can: The YES project aims to promote entrepreneurship in the education system
  • Interview: Kari Hietala, Special Advisor in International and EU affairs at the Pori
    Regional Development Agency in the Satakunta region, Finland
  • Interview: Anna Bergdahl, Project Coordinator at the County Administrative Board in Östergötland, Sweden
  • Interview: Jose Daniel Martín González, General Secretary of the CEEIM Business Innovation Centre in Murcia, Spain
  • Entrepreneurial vision: Nordland (NO) & Baden-Württemberg (DE)
  • Linked in: AER’s Eurodyssey programme
  • Meet the team: Committee 3 on Culture, Education, Youth and International Cooperation

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Tampere (FI) wins the AER Innovation Award

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AER regional innovation award

Aim of the project
The objective of Demola is to boost multidisciplinary agile innovation
culture and encourage entrepreneurship in the Tampere region. As part of the New Factory innovation platform, Demola provides students and companies
with a collaborative and multidisciplinary innovation environment, where students from the three regional universities create demonstrations of novel
service and product concepts coming from companies.

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Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (DE) wins the AER Innovation Award

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AER regional innovation award

Aim of the project
The objective of Entrepreneurial Technology Transfer is to support
an atmosphere of entrepreneurship spirit in the region and research
institutes, encouraging people to start up their own business as well
as corporations offering the necessary support.

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Regions cannot afford youth unemployment: AER acts on youth employment with its youth representatives

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Svolvaer, Nordland (N), 21 September 2010.

As a prelude to the plenary meeting of its Committee on Culture, Education and Youth, the Assembly of European Regions (AER) organised a seminar on youth employment in Svolvaer (N).

With a European youth unemployment average of 20,4%, this issue remains on everyone’s radar and keeps rising on the political agenda of all European member states. This AER seminar is particularly timely as it follows the launch, five days ago, of a long awaited initiative on youth unemployment by the European Commission branded “Youth on the move”. Most of the topics tackled during the seminar have also been identified as priorities by the European Commission: mobility, school to work transition, school drop out, education to entrepreneurship, access to credit etc. These issues had been raised as well in 2009 by AER’s Youth Regional Network (YRN) as key problems to be faced. Given that they are the first concerned by unemployment, YRN president Olov Oskarsson, Jämtland (S), together with some YRN members were present today to share their conclusions on the issue with regional politicians and experts.

The seminar was hosted by Nordland (N), a region strongly committed to helping every young person find its place in the labour market. While exploring the various ways of boosting youth employment, participants discussed regional strategies accompanying the leap from school to work by preventing education drop-out, setting up successful apprenticeship policies and bringing young people with disabilities onto the labour market. The second part of the seminar focused on youth entrepreneurship as one employment strategy which needs to be complemented by education, training and access to funding sources. Both sessions were followed by Round Table discussions attended by speakers from diverse organisations such as AER YRN, Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, NAV EURES (European job mobility portal), Institute for Social Services in Voralberg (A), “Youth Entrepreneurship Nordland” and the leading French Microcredit Association ADIE. The education sector was represented by the Narvik and Bodø Universities, both actively supporting young entrepreneurs.

AER’s YRN president Olov Oskarsson stressed that nowadays “young people are expected to have both professional experience and education, which is a difficult combination to obtain. Employers should be sensitive to the fact that employing a young worker is already an asset, which can significantly contribute to the development of a company, if young workers are provided with adequate training.”

President of AER Committee on Culture, Education and Youth and Lower Austria minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner, said that “we live in times when diplomas are no longer the guarantee of employment. Only young people educated in the fields that meet the market demands stand any chance of getting a job. Therefore politicians should act together to support these educational paths that will meet the demand of the labour market and secure employment of young people.”

In her closing remarks, the chair of the Nordland County, Mariette Korsrud stressed that “the youth employment is an important and serious issue also in Nordland, even though the average rate of youth unemployment in the region is much lower than in Europe. In Nordland 1396 persons under the age of 30 are without jobs. We can’t simply afford not to bring those young people on the labour market. Therefore we are pleased that we could host this seminar here in Svolvaer, which gives us the opportunity to share our experience in the field of youth employment with other European regions as well as to learn from their best practices.”

The meeting was concluded with an update on concrete actions taken by AER in the fields of youth employment and entrepreneurship: training academies in South Eastern Europe, set up of a young entrepreneurship prize, production with seven regions of a best practice guide with recommendations on how to implement a successful education to entrepreneurship policy.
No doubt that further concrete actions will stem from today’s discussions.

For more information: [email protected]

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AER brings its expertise to the Albanian regions

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Michèle Sabban highlights regions as important stakeholders for youth employment

Tirana (AL), 1st July 2010.

Michèle Sabban, AER President, came to Albania at the invitation of the United Nations Programme for Youth Employment and Migration (YEM).

Ms. Sabban was invited as a keynote speaker during a forum entitled “Youth Employment in Albania: Innovative approaches and financing mechanisms”. In this forum, policy makers, the private sector and partners discussed how innovative approaches – such as public-private partnership (PPP) – at the regional level could promote youth employment in Albania. The main objective of this event was to increase the awareness of the regions and public sector to improve their potential regarding youth employment in a country such as Albania, where fiscal decentralization is in its early stages. The event was attended by Presidents of all Albanian regions, as well as by stakeholders involved in the youth employment, such as the Albanian Ministers of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Youth and Home Affairs.

The visit of Ms. Sabban was the opportunity to officially launch the Regional Employment Fund of Shkodra in the presence of Gjovalin Kolomba, President of the Shkodra Regional Council. This fund is the first financial instrument in Albania enabling a regional administration to improve youth employment at the regional level: “We know that employment is the first social integrator. The effort to create this fund is really crucial since almost 46% of Albanian citizens are under 25 years old. AER has always valued entrepreneurship and youth participation in European affairs, particularly through its mobility program Eurodyssey and Youth Regional Network (YRN)” said Michèle Sabban.

Ms. Sabban stressed in the presence of all Albanian regional Presidents that AER would provide support and expertise for the future initiatives to give young people the place they deserve on the labour market. 11 out of 12 Albanian regions are currently members of AER: Berat, Dibër, Durrës, Elbasan, Gjirokastër, Korçë, Kukës, Lezhë, Shkodër, Tiranë and Vlore. “The establishment of this fund may provide a compelling argument in favour of the creation of a permanent fund for employment and social issues – like the EU structural or social funds that exist in many countries around the world”, she concluded.

Tomorrow the AER President will meet the President of the Republic of Albania, Bamir Topi. Together, they will discuss different regional models adopted in the AER member regions, as Albania is currently debating and reflecting about decentralisation. On this occasion Ms. Sabban will present to Mr. Topi the AER 2010 Regionalism Report.

For more information: [email protected]

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AER places women entrepreneurs at the heart of its actions

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Istanbul, 25 March 2010

Turkey is paving the way for women entrepreneurship. The Assembly of European Regions (AER) has held a conference in Istanbul with the objective of advising regional politicians and officers on their policy on women entrepreneurship. The conference has examined this issue from a practical perspective by presenting relevant studies and examples of women running a business. Its main purpose was to create an understanding concerning women entrepreneurship and to discuss how regional actors can encourage and support female business starters.

“In order to encourage more women to consider working self-employed and supporting them when starting their own company, we need to understand the situation and any specific approach, women have towards business start-up. This is not just a question of equal opportunities but of utmost importance for the prosperity of our regions”, said Håkan Sandgren, President of AER Committee on Economy and Regional Development and County Councillor of Jönköping (S).

The conference highlighted the inequalities facing female workers when it comes down to creating their own businesses. According to a research conducted by Eurostat, in 2005 only 8,6% of the total number of women in work were self-employed, not even the half of the proportion of self-employed men. The reasons behind this reality include less access to credit and larger markets, lack of networks needed to facilitate business development and most importantly, traditional attitudes towards the gender role.

It is in the social and economic interest of the regions to make the most of the untapped potential of female workers, support women entrepreneurs and close the gender gap in the traditional market. “First and foremost, we need to work very hard on changing mentalities and on implementing policies aiming at a better work-life balance. Then, there are very practical steps to be taken by regions. Regions can for instance provide specific training for women in order to help them start their businesses. They can set up help-desks to advice them on legal or financial issues, assisting them in starting or expanding their businesses. It is very important to fight against the confinement of women entrepreneurs and offer them a place where they can go to when faced with business questions”, said Monica Carlsson, President of the AER Standing Committee on Equal Opportunities and County Council Commissioner of Norrbotten (S).

Certainly, the conference only marks the beginning of AER’s project on women entrepreneurship. The AER member regions will proceed to apply the knowledge acquired through the conference and transform it into concrete projects. “It is of great importance for our region to be a motor regarding women entrepreneurship. This is why we will host an AER Training Academy in Istanbul on 3 and 4 June of this year, where several support schemes from different European regions will be exposed in order to help regional politicians to develop their own support programmes”, concluded Orhan Albayrak, Vice president of the Istanbul Provincial Council.

For more information: [email protected]

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Thematic dossier n°23 on Economy and Growth – Spring 2010

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Economy and Growth

Table of contents:

  • Editorial: Håkan Sandgren, President of AER’s ‘Economy and Regional development’ Committee, County Councillor of Jönköping (S)
  • And the winner is… 5th innovation award
  • Young ambition: Europe must support young entrepreneurs
  • Interview: Anton Kuzmin, President of the Olomouc youth county council (Czech Republic)
  • 2020 vision: Europe will fail to meet its 2020 targets if it does not recognise the role of regions in its implementation
  • The Baden-Württemberg’s example
  • Gender agenda: AER conference on how best to promote female entrepreneurship in regions
  • Regional governance boosts economic success, says report: AER study shows positive economic impact of decentralisation

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The AER welcomes the Barroso Commission II and gives proposals for further cooperation

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Strasbourg (F), 10 February 2010.

The Assembly of European Regions (AER) welcomes the new Barroso Commission, approved by the European Parliament. The new college of European Commissioners will shape European policy making for the next 5 years (until October 2014).

“On behalf of AER, I extend a special welcome to Johannes Hahn, the new Commissioner for Regional Policy. Mr Hahn has a strong local and regional background and he has proven in previous responsibilities a sound understanding of regional policy. But of course AER is looking forward to working with all Commissioners and contributing the regional perspective to their individual policy dossiers,” underlined Michèle Sabban, AER President.

AER, the largest independent network of regional authorities in the wider Europe, is committed to strengthening its cooperation with the new Commission. With a view to improving cooperation, AER calls on the new European Commission to:

Strengthen relations with stakeholders: Each Commissioner should hold regular meetings with representatives of regions and interregional organisations. At the same time, the new Commission has to create a true dialogue between the different DGs and develop a mainstreamed strategy to better link policies.

Take into account regional expertise and know-how in creating a sustainable Europe – EU 2020 strategy: As the regions are best placed to tackle the economic crisis and to employ a sustainable and knowledge based economy, the European Commission should, through efficient multilevel governance structures, involve them in the development and implementation of long-term strategies such as the EU 2020 strategy and the future cohesion policy.

Treat innovation as a core priority: It is in the regions where innovative ideas are born and implemented. Bringing those ideas to the European agenda and putting strong emphasis on the issue of innovation is what regions expect from the Commission.

Ensure that social inclusion forms a basis for European integration: the new Commission project for a social market economy should promote holistic policies that take into account the most vulnerable persons in our societies and strives to bring them within the sphere of the European economic and social project.


Renew efforts to adopt the proposed Directive on patient mobility and cross-border healthcare and ensure that health remains a priority under the future cohesion policy and structural funds.

Encourage and promote a quality approach in education and training policies that brings the human being with its multiple dimensions into focus and that does not only concentrate on workforce production and hard sciences. Education and training are drivers for research, innovation and entrepreneurship and thus contribute to both social and territorial cohesion objectives.

For more information: [email protected]

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EU Survey links Economic recovery to regional performance

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Limerick (IRL), 8 october 2009

An insightful EU survey carried out in 24 regions from 13 countries shows that regions have a crucial role to play in economic recovery. “We need long-term solutions to the economic crisis, and national governments must work closely with regions to maximise economic growth potential,” says Christina Diegelmann, Senior Policy Coordinator “Economy and Regional Development” for the Assembly of European Regions (AER).

The AER survey found that a country’s economic performance can be improved with more influence from its regions at national level, more independence of the regions from the national level, financial competences and resources for the regions, as well as more competences in recreation and culture, infrastructure, education and research, and health care.

“While national recovery plans mainly target large companies and the financial system, regions focus primarily on supporting entrepreneurship, SME’s and innovation capacity. Regional actions can contribute to turning this crisis into an opportunity to strengthen regional economies and safeguard jobs. Working together with all relevant stakeholders, regions are close to businesses and can take appropriate measures. While national support plans mainly target larger mostly international firms, regions focus on regional clusters and support business start-ups and SME’s that make up the important part of Europe’s companies and employers,” says Ms Diegelmann.

Ms. Diegelmann is due to speak in Limerick, at a national Shannon Development conference titled ‘Dynamic Regions – Future Directions in Regional Development’.  An expert panel of national and international speakers, leaders in their fields, has been assembled by Shannon Development for their forthcoming conference which will take place on the 6th November at Thomond Park Stadium in Limerick City.

The Conference will be chaired by Broadcaster John Bowman, and addressed by Mary Coughlan TD, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, and Dr. Vincent Cunnane, Chief Executive, Shannon Development, Ireland’s only regional development company.

“We have gathered an outstanding panel of national and international experts for our Conference and we hope it will pave the way for a wider national debate on the importance of regional action. It will include international case studies from the Assembly of European Regions, London Development Agency and the Basque Region of Spain. We see it as a key opportunity to share and learn, and we have assembled some of the leading experts in the field of regional development to reflect its growing importance on the economic world stage. Our speakers will tackle a number of important topics that will provide the lead in new areas of regional action,” said Dr. Cunnane announcing the conference.

The Conference will attract key decision makers and policy influencers who have an interest or involvement in regional development in Ireland and Europe. Private sector and industry leaders concerned with public private initiatives in regional development will also attend the conference.
For more information: [email protected]
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AER seminar on youth entrepreneurship: Regions Supporting Innovative Business and Social Profit

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Sarajevo (BiH), 29 September 2009

As Europe faces the global effects of climate change and economic recession, its regions came together yesterday and today to invest in the best resource available to tackle these challenges: Europe’s young people.

In this European Year of Creativity and Innovation, an Assembly of European Regions (AER) seminar on youth entrepreneurship gathered regional politicians and experts from across wider Europe to develop “creative ideas for innovative business and social profit”.

The seminar was hosted by the Sarajevo canton of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a territory with around 50% youth employment and hence enormous potential for developing youth entrepreneurship schemes.

In exploring the various forms of youth entrepreneurship, the seminar focused on stimulating small business start-ups by offering young people information, training, networking, and financing opportunities.

The seminar also identified regional good practices that have turned young people’s innovative ideas into reality and encouraged their active contribution to change and development in their regions.

President of AER Committee 3 (Culture, Education and Youth), Lower Austria minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner, said that the seminar “comes at an opportune time considering the global economic situation and its negative effects on the labour market, especially among young people. Offering a specific education in entrepreneurship can give young people a better chance of making the transition from education to employment, and their creativity and energy can foster social stability in dealing with the long-term consequences of the economic crisis.”

For more information: [email protected]

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