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Registrations open! Innovation and Farming: Applications of Advanced Manufacturing in the Food Value Chain

8 March, 2021 By Valeria Simonte

We are pleased to invite you to the webinar “Innovation and Farming: Applications of Advanced Manufacturing in the Food Value Chain” that will take place on 26 March 2021 at 10:00 CET and focuses on advanced manufacturing solutions in driving sustainable change in the agrifood sector

It will offer regions and stakeholders engaged with the agri-food sector the opportunity to learn and share experiences about how regions, companies, and Vocational Education & Training centers can identify common information communications technology (ICT) and advanced manufacturing solutions in driving the change in the food processing and supply chain, in order to foster regional cooperation based on the shared goals and values of the Smart Specialisation Strategies.

A new approach to food production

The agricultural sector, as in the case of other industries, is impacted by global trends related to demographics, economics, and climate change. Therefore the question is how to jointly address the societal and economic challenges in the food sector?

The agri-food sector contributes significantly to the support of the Sustainable Development Goals, from the Zero Hunger to the Decent Work & Economic Growth. Hence, the production of sustainable food is a key priority to ensure both societal and environmental wellbeing across regions. Yet, this poses a set of challenges to the producers when it comes to their capacity to remain competitive in the market. To overcome these challenges, the need to investigate and design innovative approaches involving Advanced Manufacturing techniques and digital tools becomes crucial to unlocking new solutions that can help farmers to work more efficiently and sustainably and, in turn, revolutionise the agriculture sector. 

The webinar will look at

  • How agriculture is making use of data mobility, industry 4.0, and new technologies
  • Regional examples of innovation and skills strategies in food tech and value chain
  • The role of TVET in helping sustain innovation in the agrifood sector

Agenda

Innovation and farming: Applications of Advanced Manufacturing in the food value chain

26 March at 10:00 CET

  • 10.00-10.05 – Housekeeping rules, quick presentation on Skillnet, Valentina De Vico, Communication Manager, Skillman Team
  • 10.05-10.10 – Opening remarks and introduction to the webinar, Cornelia Carmen Madaras, Advisor at the Foreign Affairs Office of the Alba County Council
  • 10.10-10.20 – Applications of digital technologies in the agriculture sector, Miguel de Porras, Director at the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FIBL 
  • 10.20-10.30 – Building innovation in the agri-food sector through EU projects, George Beers, Horticultural Engineer, Wageningen University and Research
  • 10.30-10.40, Regional practice from Vojvodina, Mladen Petres, Assistant Provincial Secretary of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry, Province of Vojvodina
  • 10.40-10.55 – Panel discussion and Q&A session
  • 10.55-11.00 – Closing remarks 

How to join the webinar

Click on the below “register here” button

or go to the Skillnet events page and chose:

  • E 420 – Innovation and farming: application of Advanced Manufacturing in the food value chain; 26/03/2021 10:00 CET
Register here!

This webinar is organised as part of the SKILLNET series of webinars on EU funding opportunities. SKILLNET is a project funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission aiming to strengthen the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system’s role and capacity to design high-quality VET programmes tailored to current societal needs through enhanced transnational and cross-sectoral partnerships.

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2019 Autumn Bureau Meeting in Brussels

10 December, 2019 By Erica Lee

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

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

Political Priorities 2020-2025

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

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

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

The political priorities can be read in full here.

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

🧭 The political priorities will be a guiding political framework for AER for the next five years. 🗺️ pic.twitter.com/cWPUdLXFIC

— AER (@europeanregions) December 5, 2019

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

The following is the status of the Taskforces at present:

FinishedOngoingSoon to CommenceSuggested
MigrationCohesion Policy
Food Security
Digitalisation
SDGs
DemocracySustainable
Mobility & Connectivity

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

Taskforce on Cohesion

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

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

Taskforce on Migration

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

Taskforce on Food Security

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

Brainstorming on Food Security

🌱🌽👩🏾‍🌾👨🏻‍🍳🍽️

Position Paper will be adopted shortly, stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/E7chrHfWLu

— AER (@europeanregions) December 5, 2019


Debates

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

Panel Debate: Glocalising the Sustainable Development Goals

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

Glocalising the Sustainable Development Goals 🌍

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

It’s time for action, local and global action. pic.twitter.com/kuGPCxg2iO

— AER (@europeanregions) December 5, 2019

Panel Debate on Regions in the Digital Era

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

Regions in the Digital Era 🌐

Networks such as AER have a key role in the digital transformation. The goal is to bring closer citizens to the digital world and raise awareness on this topic. pic.twitter.com/KBUA0ujQDS

— AER (@europeanregions) December 5, 2019
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AER discusses Digitalisation and Health with European Commissioners

4 April, 2019 By Erica Lee

On 20 March, AER had not one but two meetings at the Berlaymont, the European Commission headquarters, in Brussels.

Meeting Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel

On Wednesday morning, President Magnus Berntsson met with Commissioner Gabriel to discuss the Digital Europe programme for 2021-2022. Accompanied by Martin Svensson and Anders Karlberg from AER member region Västra Götaland the conversation flowed naturally to the topic of Digital Innovation Hubs – a subject where Västra Götaland has a wealth of expertise.

Digitalisation is a topic of priority for AER members and their political work in 2018/19. By engaging with the Commission and discussing together the issues that matter to regions, we are optimistic to find space for cooperation between European and local levels of policy-making and communication about our work.

At the upcoming Bureau meeting in Larnaca, AER will organise a debate on digitalisation and regional development. An invitation has been extended to the Cabinet of the Commissioner to join our debate and share with AER members the work it is doing to maximise the benefits of the digital transformation, in particular the support provided to regional authorities as they undergo this transition.

Meeting Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis

On Wednesday afternoon, the AER President, accompanied by two member regions, Timiş, Romania and Örebro, Sweden, met with Commissioner Andriukaitis to discuss the future of health policies and its implementation at regional level.

As President of AER Committee on Social Policy and Public Health, Mihai Ritivoiu shared information about the work of AER and the ongoing projects we have on the topic of healthcare. Irén Lejegren, County Commissioner from Örebro County in Sweden subsequently updated the Commissioner and his staff about the work done by AER in the area of food security.

Similar threads were discovered in this meeting as that which took place in the morning with regard to the need for cooperation among actors such as the European Commission and local and regional authorities. AER intends to follow-up closely on this topic with the new European College of Commissioners in the autumn.

On the topic of the European elections, AER also had the opportunity to present Commissioner Andriukaitis with a copy of its manifesto for the European elections.

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