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European Week of Regions and Cities – Regions have much to say

14 October, 2019 By Editor

From 7 to 10 October, AER attended the annual European Week of Regions and Cities organised by the European Committee of the Regions and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO). The purpose of this four-day event is to bring local, regional, national and EU representatives interested in regional and urban policy from all over Europe together and give them the opportunity to exchange good practices and share their experiences.

Every year, the different workshops follow a series of red threads related to the current European situation. This year the three main topics were: “A Greener Europe”, “A Europe Closer to Citizens” and “The Future of the EU and the roles of the Regions and Cities”.

In this context, AER organised a side event entitled “REGIONerating Europe”, participants had the chance to get to grips with the main challenges facing Europe and to examine different strategies implemented at the European, national and regional level to regenerate the European project and bridge the gap between citizens and the EU institutions.

As the largest network of regions in wider Europe, AER had the opportunity to learn more about how regions designed their strategies on specific topics. The different workshops covered a range of issues of interest to AER, including localisation of SDGs, cohesion policy and youth empowerment.

SDGs go Local

AER is committed to localising the UN Sustainable Development Goals by promoting good practices among regions. The different workshops addressing this urgency proved the regions’ willingness to mobilise citizens and take action to address these challenges. Although across Europe regions face different realities, the common idea is to guarantee an inclusive, resilient and sustainable future to all citizens. The first thing needed is to increase awareness among citizens. Secondly, it is crucial to give space to the monitoring process: in order to develop more effective strategies, review processes have the same importance as the implementation itself. SDGs’ localisation is a complex issue, but regions demonstrated that through collective action improvements can be achieved.

Stronger Synergies for Cohesion Policy

Cohesion policy is one of the major EU tools to enable regions to implement the 2030 Agenda, but how we can bring citizens closer to Europe and vice versa? In line with AER priorities & its ongoing project Together For Cohesion, workshops on cohesion policy highlighted the advantage of supporting local and regional governments to develop and deliver better policy through experience sharing and cooperation. Citizens frequently feel distant from the European context, therefore, throughout some workshops, different organisations presented communication campaigns on cohesion policy. The aim is to bring citizens closer to EU. As this is a priority for AER, EU regions week provided an excellent opportunity to see how similar projects can be promoted in different ways across Europe.

Stay Updated for YOUth

AER has constantly supported youth engagement at the European level, consequently, the European Week of Regions and Cities provided the opportunity to better understand the different strategies implemented by regions on this issue. As mentioned previously, there are various realities in Europe and when it comes to youth it is even harder to find common definitions, but what facilitates countries’ cooperation are their common objectives: improving youth participation, mobility and work. Focusing on the latter, youth unemployment is one of the main concerns for young generations, youth-led organisations and local governments. The only way to improve the situation is to involve them in this process, youth work is not static therefore all the stakeholders have to stay updated.

All the topics mentioned above are high up on AER agenda, therefore the European Week of Regions and Cities was a good opportunity to learn more about practical actions as regards localisation of SDGs, cohesion policy, youth empowerment and much more.

At this point, jointly action and common strategies are crucial, for this reason, AER wants to make sure to promote this exchange of good practices and achieve together with regions our common goals.

Photo credits: European Commission

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AER to represent SCIROCCO Exchange project consortium in the European Parliament Healthcare Conference

14 October, 2019 By Agnese Pantaloni

On 9 October 2019, nine EU umbrella health organisations held a debate: ”EU 2019-2024: Health Champions Wanted” on the health policy challenges for the European Union in the coming years. The goal of the event was to raise awareness on the main public health priorities including universal access to high quality and sustainable healthcare, disease prevention, the fight against cross-border healthcare threats and health inequities, as well as a continued supply of medicines for EU citizens. Indeed, these challenges require urgent EU action and appropriate budgets. More in particular… “When we wish people something good for their anniversary or for the New Year, we always say that health is the most important. That is why politics at all levels should make health a priority. While many areas are in the responsibility of the Member States, there is a lot of responsibility for the European Union too, according to the treaties.” (MEP, EPP, Dr Peter Liese) … “My ambition is to have health in all policies, and for strong health policies we need discuss together what we want and how can we achieve a healthier Europe. This debate is an excellent opportunity to share visions with different stakeholders and define how we can address the main public health challenges” (MEP, S&D, Dr Sara Cerdas).

Eduardo Nadal represented the SCIROCCO Exchange project consortium #SCIROCCOxchange – , coordinated by the Scottish Government, at the #EUHealthchampions conference in the European Parliament. He presented briefly the project mission and goals and linked it to the importance of quality, equity and sustainable healthcare systems.

One of the key conclusions, importantly for regional healthcare institutions, is MEP Peter Liese’s remark about the principle of subsidiarity as a shared responsibility between the EU and Member States in terms of funding accountability and policy measures for a more inclusive and efficient healthcare eco-systems on regional and national level.

AER, along SCIROCCO Exchange project partners, are looking forward to contributing to the multi-stakeholder dialogue processes with new MEPs on EU healthcare and public health issues. The consortium, led by the Scottish Government, encourages the European Parliament to join its effort to ensure that health policy remains high on the European Union agenda for the next five years. In line with the debate’s conclusions, the healthcare community believes that, when working together, the EU Member States along the regions, can add genuine value to regional efforts to improve the effectiveness of health systems and deliver patient-centered-care to their communities, making the most of integrated-care good practices for more efficient, sustainable and equity healthcare systems on the regional level.

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Global Challenges, Local Actions

7 October, 2019 By Editor

Approaching the end of this decade, it is clear that climate change is becoming an increasingly pressing issue worldwide. Local and regional involvement is required to stimulate an effective bottom-up transformation, bearing in mind that the focus must always be on people and the planet.

As a member of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments (LRGs), AER’s commitment to strengthen local and regional authorities action toward the successful localisation of the Goals by can have a strategic role in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

We are approaching the implementation decade, therefore accelerated measures are needed as a response to the climate emergency that we are currently facing: the next 10 years will be our last wind of opportunity.

In the context of the SDG Summit, which took place from 24 to 25 September, the Global Taskforce of LRGs brought its experience and its forecasts as regards concrete actions for the SDGs’ implementation.

To help address this, it is crucial to enhance dialogue among local and regional governments. Through intergovernmental cooperation, it will be possible to adopt mitigation strategies aimed at tackling climate change.

Action – Cooperation – Support – these are the elements at the core of the LRGs’ strategy. The Global Taskforce of LRGs promotes the global ‘localisation’ movement, but we must be careful, localisation goes beyond city boundaries, it aims to create synergies and coordination across all levels of government and actors with the purpose to strengthen communities and achieve the 2030 Agenda.

LRGs are committed to ‘leave no-one, no place and no territory behind’, this awareness led to formalising their expectations and their claims in the Statement of the organized constituency of Local and Regional Governments at the occasion of the SDG Summit.

The key issues arising from the Statement are:

The creation of new spaces of dialogue among different spheres of governments (such as the Local and Regional Governments Forum, co-organised by the constituency as a critical space for dialogue among LRGs)
The production of annual reports on the localisation of the SDGs (such as the Voluntary Local Review, a learning and training tool to co-create strategies to fight climate change)

It has become clear that there is a global awareness about our production and consumption habits, about our use of resources and today’s challenges, therefore it is up to us to identify and weight the cost of inaction.

The 2030 Agenda looks ambitious only if you take a broad perspective, but taking a closer look may help to see how local actions have an effective and real impact on our world.

AER is committed to promoting these principles among its member regions, and advocating for the full engagement of regional authorities in the global, regional and national implementation, follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda.

Find here the official Statement of the organized constituency of Local and Regional Governments.

Photo credits: Canva

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Successful ‘Together4Cohesion project information desk’ at the AER committee’s plenaries in Podčetrtek (SI)

30 September, 2019 By Agnese Pantaloni

On 25 September 2019, at the committees’ plenaries in Podcetrtek in Slovenia, an information desk (stand) was organised to present and disseminate the Together 4 Cohesion project activities.

In particular, participants had the opportunity to exchange insights about EU cohesion and structural funds from their point of view. Participants received a showcase on how to use the project website, how to handle the online database of good practices on communication campaigns and how to contribute to the so-called “European cohesion calendar of local events”. Flagship regions Trentino (IT), Varazdin (CRO), Catalunya (ES) and Timis (RO) had the opportunity to meet each other and to discuss and clarify aspects linked to the organisation and implementation of their corresponding regional events and activities.

Participants attending the plenaries approached the information desk to learn more about the upcoming project opportunities. Insights on funding synergies between both EU and regional levels, enhancement of the upcoming local events, networking opportunities, better visibility and positioning for the region and Marketing-related issues linked to the project dissemination were touched upon between the project representative and the attendees interested.

Particular interest was given to the planning of the training workshops across the regions since they will provide advice and guidance on the use and communication of EU cohesion policy and structural funds. The workshops are intended to bring together regional civil servants, NGOs, entrepreneurs, public authorities, private companies and media media partners. Actually … how the EU cohesion funds have had and are having a positive impact on citizens’ life and therefore contribute to a better quality life for people established in the regions!

The “European cohesion calendar of local events” is still open so we encourage you to come up with ideas and proposals so as to include yours in our calendar and give a boost to your event at European level! It might draw the attention of European institutions to your regional topical needs and priorities!

Any suggestions as regards an event/activity planned or to be planned in your region somehow linked to EU cohesion and funding issues? Please contact:

EU Project Manager
Eduardo Nadal

Phone: +32 2 400 10 12 / +32 483 448 430
E-mail: e.nadal(at)aer.eu

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Make this Week Last All Your Life – AER-YRN at the 20th UYD

30 September, 2019 By Editor

From 15 until 19 September, 23 participants from 13 different countries represented the AER – Youth Regional Network (YRN) at the 20th University on Youth and Development (UYD) of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe in Mollina, Málaga (Spain). The UYD network provides a unique space for youth empowerment, offers non-formal education capacity building activities and endorses policies, mechanisms and tools for youth development, in order to increase the recognition of youth as agents for positive change. In this context, AER – YRN celebrated its Autumn Committee Plenaries themed around the UYD’s 2019 annual focus “Youth & Justice”.

AER-YRN Opening the 20th University on Youth and Development

On Monday 16 September, the 20th UYD officially kicked off with the Opening Ceremony where a wide range of experts and partners emphasised the importance of young generations in the implementation of the UN SDGs. Ambassador Manuel Montobbio, Chair of the Executive Committee of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, officially opened the 20th edition of the UYD, followed by Ruth Carrasco, Director General of the Spanish Institute for Youth and Marcos Andrade, Founder of the UYD, who encouraged all the participants to be ‘ambitious as individuals, ambitious as a group’.

Together with Carina Autengruber, President of the European Youth Forum and Sana Afouzaiz, Founding Director of Womenpreneur, Gloria Vitaly, President of AER’s Youth Regional Network, was invited to participate in the opening discussion entitled “the relevance of interregional youth cooperation to ensure that no-one is left behind”, moderated by Bruno Antònio, Coordinator of DYPALL. With young people’s involvement in the decision-making process being a priority for AER-YRN, Gloria Vitaly stated:

“We’re being heard but we’re not listened to, at YRN we want to change that. We want to integrate young people from different local and regional backgrounds and bring about change for good.“

Joint thematic activities to raise awareness on Youth & Justice

The Joint Pedagogical Team organised a set of activities to the beat of the music played by the UYD band “Ubanda” which introduced rules around rights, space and consent and made the participants reflect upon the linkages between justice, power and youth.

Just to name a few of those activities, the “Power & Justice Theatre” was staged on Monday 16 September which made the participants reflect on the power relations within society, using the Theatre of the Oppressed techniques. On Wednesday 18 in the morning, a role play of a trial – the “UYD Court” – increased understanding of the prevalence of civil justice issues in everyday day life based on real cases heard by the European Court, which was followed by an expert conversation with Cristina Gallach, High Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda of Spain.

In the afternoon of Tuesday September 17th, another joint thematic activity brought together the partners and the participants for the ‘Organisations’ Fair’ to exchange best practices. AER had the chance to introduce its political priorities and organisational principles as well as sharing some good practices, projects and the flagship programmes, including Eurodyssey.

After all the good practices were exchanged, the sharing continued, this time with delicious local food in the form of tapas!

The last joint activity was the Final Plenary on Saturday 21 Sept, this session involved all the partners presenting their outcomes from the week of learning. AER-YRN also shared its results in the form of a video. Find out more about the outcomes of the AER-YRN activities in this article.

What’s ahead for AER regions?

Interregional cooperation in the youth field is a core element of AER’s work and a strategic goal within the cycle 2018-2020 of the NSC Universities. Member regions are encouraged to promote the involvement of youth representatives and cooperate with other youth-led organisations in order to increase capacity building and boost their engagement in networking activities, such as the UYD.

AER-YRN is very proud to have taken part in the 20th UYD and extends its appreciation to all the organisers, partners and participants of the UYD for making this event possible. We look forward to cooperating with you again in the future!

All the take-aways and materials of the AER-YRN activities are already available on the event page.

Photo credits: Luca Scognamillo / North-South Centre of the Council of Europe on Flickr

Takeaways of AER-YRN’s activities at the 20th University on Youth and Development

From 15 to 19 September, the Youth Regional Network of the Assembly of European Regions (AER-YRN) celebrated its Autumn Plenaries ...
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Make this Week Last All Your Life – AER-YRN at the 20th UYD

From 15 until 19 September, 23 participants from 13 different countries represented the AER – Youth Regional Network (YRN) at ...
Read More

Take a look at the AER-YRN’s programme for the 20th University on Youth & Development!

From 15 to 19 September, a group of young participants from 13 different European countries will represent AER - Youth ...
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Apply now for the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe’s 20th University on Youth and Development!

AER - Youth Regional Network (YRN) is very proud to announce its partnership with the North-South Centre of the Council ...
Read More

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An Injection of Reality at AER Breakfast Seminar on Digital and Healthcare Innovation

24 September, 2019 By Editor

Innovating is always an ambitious goal but there is much to be learned from one another. The Breakfast Seminar on “Innovation in Healthcare Design – what have we learned?” is a perfect example of mutual learning. On Tuesday 10 September, AER hosted an insightful seminar organised in partnership with its members, Region Värmland (SE) and the Scottish Government TEC and Digital Healthcare Innovation Division.

The breakfast seminar was an opportunity to highlight a European perspective on digital healthcare innovation and subsequently, look more specifically at the Swedish and Scottish experiences. The seminar gave all participants the opportunity to discuss this relevant and ever-present issue and to interact with regions who have already made strides in digital transformation.

A nutritious Nordic breakfast marked the beginning of the event as Kenneth Johannesson, AER Committee on Social Policy and Public Health and Councillor from the Region Värmland and Donna Henderson from the Scottish Government gave a warm introduction to the topic at hand and the invited expert speakers.

In Integration We Trust

Filip Domanski, from the European Commission, was first to take the floor as he explained the EU strategy for digital and healthcare innovation. He emphasised that joint action is needed in order to transform healthcare and that an exchange of failures is as useful as the exchange of good practices. Integration and digitisation are at the heart of the Commission’s strategy, he highlighted the importance of two projects co-financed by the European Commission: SCIROCCO and VIGOUR. Both projects will support health and social care authorities to improve the patient’s experience by improving the integration of health and care services. AER’s involvement in the SCIROCCO project is to be commended.

Ever Heard of “Service Logic”?

By entering the core of the topic, Tomas Edman, Coordinator of the Experio Lab Sweden, shifted the attention to the approach adopted in Sweden. He introduced the concept of ‘Service Logic’, which means that value is created in the meeting between the patient and the healthcare services. Patients, therefore, are an important resource for the development and use of healthcare services. He argued that this kind of systematic shift is essential to really transform healthcare services instead of merely digitising it. According to Edman, the only thing that has to be contagious is a user-centric approach – involving citizens will help to build an effective and replicable prototype.

Care 4.0 – Let’s Think Digital

With the contribution of George Crooks, Professor and CEO at the Digital Health and Care Institute from Scotland, the debate moved to the Scottish approach for digital health. Professor Crooks stressed that an effective transformation in the health sector requires, obviously, more time than a Parliamentary mandate, therefore, it is fundamental to achieve a citizen-driven method. Reflecting on the practices employed around the EU, Scotland has managed to design an effective strategy to improve their health system and guarantee safe, effective and patient-centred services.

The Breakfast Seminar gave participants the opportunity to broaden their horizons and learn more about their counterparts’ strategies as regards healthcare. The key takeaway was that a patient-centred method might be the best, but in order to improve the overall situation, all public services have to change their approach, not solely the healthcare system.

Thanks to the input of the Region Värmland and the Scottish Government TEC and Digital Health Care Innovation Division, we can say that the Breakfast Seminar was successful, AER’s aim, however, is to organise more events similar to this one and to involve more and more policymakers, civil servants and experts with the intention of creating not only seminars but fruitful meetings of minds.

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The Policy Learning Platform – take the shortcut to smart regional solutions!

10 September, 2019 By Mathieu Mori

All over Europe, we are now in a moment that is decisive for the future of Structural Funds planning.

As such, you might be looking for better and more innovative ways to manage your policy or programme in the future. If so, Interreg Europe has a solution to offer: check the services of the Policy Learning Platform!

The Policy Learning Platform is a free service that offers a variety of tools to all those that are looking for solutions to their regional challenges. ‘We believe in the value of cooperation and the power of creating links between professionals all around Europe.’

The Platform Proposes:

Thematic and networking events all over Europe
Personalised policy advice from experts and peers in the form of peer reviews (2 days) or matchmaking sessions (2 hours)
Continuous learning throughout webinars, publications and a database of policy good practices

Covered topics: Research and Innovation, SME Competitiveness, Low-Carbon Economy, Environment and Resource Efficiency.

Curious to know more? Check their website today or subscribe now to receive policy digests directly to your mailbox!

Photo by: Policy Learning Platform

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Committee 2 Progress Report Autumn 2019

10 September, 2019 By Norina Haubold

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

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

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

Projects
Good practice sharing
Lobbying

Projects

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AMiD project for the inclusion of migrants with disabilities: ongoing

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

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

E-health in rural areas: planned

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

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

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Good Practice Exchange

Autumn Committee Plenaries – Podčetrtek (SI): ongoing

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

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

Mutual learning event on economy 4.0: ongoing

Each year Brussels Capital proposes a mutual learning event on a current and transversal topic. On 4 December 2019, Brussels Capital will organise a mutual learning event on economy 4.0. Economy 4.0 describes a new era of productive, industrial and economic development characterized by the implementation of big-scale automatization, artificial intelligence (AI) robotic instruments, computational big data analytics software, and high tech infrastructure. It aims to gather experiences from all three AER Committees and regions who will be welcome to share inputs and regional examples.

Workshop of the AER e-health network: ongoing

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

Breakfast seminar on innovation in healthcare design: finished

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

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

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

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

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

AER Delegation at Smart City Expo World Congress: ongoing

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

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

Elderly care homes in rural areas: planned

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

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

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2. Advocacy/Lobbying

Contributing to a Network of Intercultural Regions: ongoing

The Bureau Task Force on migration organised a Breakfast debate on the occasion of the General Assembly in Larnaca to examine the possibility of creating an intercultural regions programme, similar to the existing Council of Europe Intercultural Cities Programme. The network will support regions for the design and implementation of diversity and inclusion strategies. The process to develop this programme requires intense dialogue with institutions. Regions interested to participate in network of intercultural regions should contact Vania Freitas

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

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

Joint initiatives for advocacy

Member regions can decide to initiate joint actions and find partners among AER members. Regions can get support from the Secretariat to connect with other regions, get an overview of existing legal framework and identify relevant actions, target institutions. The AER Secretariat will also organise Breakfast Briefings to help regions organise their advocacy activities.

AER Bureau Task Forces

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

-Task Force on Food Security

-Task Force on Cohesion Policy

-Task Force on Digitalisation

-Task Force on Migration

-Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

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

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

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

Photo on Pexels

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Committee 3 Progress Report Autumn 2019

9 September, 2019 By Norina Haubold

Twice a year the members of the AER Committee on Culture Education and Youth gather in plenary meetings. This is the opportunity to set goals for cooperation through the development of a joint work programme and to evaluate progress every six months.

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

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

Projects
Good practice sharing
Lobbying

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Banners-for-committee-progress-page-2018.jpg — Write caption…

Projects

Road to the Future: ongoing

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

The lead partner is JEF Europe – Young European Federalist. AER represents local and regional authorities. The consortium is composed of 21 organisations, mainly national JEF associations.

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

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

Good Practice Exchange

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

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

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

The next seminar on public policy design will take place from 7 to 9 October in Cluny, in English and is open to all AER members. Registrations for this seminar are open until 20 September at [email protected]

Civil Servants Exchange Programme: ongoing

The AER Training Seminar in Cluny was also the first step for the Civil Servants Exchange programme announced in September 2018 and coordinated by the President of Committee 3 Radimir Čačić, Varaždin (HR). The Civil Servants Exchange programme will allow civil servants to spend a month in a partner region to learn about new processes and practices. This programme is being developed in close collaboration with the Eurodyssey network and will start in 2020.

Autumn Committee Plenaries – Podčetrtek (SI): ongoing

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

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

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

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

Workshop on youth participation: ongoing

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

Workshop on the future of education

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

Mutual learning on culture and health: ongoing

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

Workshop on culture in rural communities: ongoing

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

Raise awareness on the Eurodyssey programme: ongoing

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

Mutual learning event on economy 4.0: ongoing

Exchanges around traditional cultures: ongoing

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

AER Delegation at Smart City Expo World Congress: ongoing

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

Mutual learning on early school leaving: planned

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

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

From brain drain to brain gain: planned

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

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

Mutual learning on the loss of workforce: planned

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

This action could be developed within the context of the Subcommittee on Education or in collaboration with the AER Committee on Regional Development and Economy. Regions interested in working on this topic should share their idea with the Secretariat in order to start developing this initiative.

Lifelong learning for 50+ people: planned

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

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

Advocacy/Lobbying

Contributing to a Network of Intercultural Regions: ongoing

The Bureau Task Force on migration organised a Breakfast debate on the occasion of the General Assembly in Larnaca to examine the possibility of creating an intercultural regions programme, similar to the existing Council of Europe Intercultural Cities Programme. The network will support regions for the design and implementation of diversity and inclusion strategies. The process to develop this programme requires intense dialogue with institutions. Regions interested to participate in a network of intercultural regions should contact Vania Freitas

Joint initiatives for advocacy

Member regions can decide to initiate joint actions and find partners among AER members. Regions can get support from the Secretariat to connect with other regions, get an overview of the existing legal framework and identify relevant actions, target institutions. The AER Secretariat will also organise Breakfast Briefings to help regions organise their advocacy activities.

AER Bureau Task Forces

-Task Force on Food Security

-Task Force on Cohesion Policy

-Task Force on Digitalisation

-Task Force on Migration

-Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

The 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.

Photo on Pixabay

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Committee 1 Progress Report Autumn 2019

9 September, 2019 By Norina Haubold

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

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

Projects
Good practice sharing
Lobbying

Projects

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

E-health in rural areas: planned

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

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

Project development on farming, rural planning and infrastructure: planned

Members of the AER working group on rural development would like to develop a project to compare and incorporate good practices in farming (cattle, dairy) and infrastructure.

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

Project on rural development: planned

Members of the AER working group on rural development would like to develop a project on how to invest and develop basic infrastructure in rural areas. For example, water, waste, gas, roads, education, health care .

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

Good Practice Exchange

Breakfast seminar “Sustainable Development Goals and regional growth”: finished

On 15 May 2019, a breakfast seminar was organised by Oppland (NO) on how to integrate the SDGs in regional planning. This event which gathered speakers from the region and from the OECD revolved around the question whether it is possible to reach the SDGs and have economic regional development, or if they are mutually exclusive? The Powerpoint presentations and videos are available on the AER event page.

2019 AER Autumn Committee Plenaries – Podčetrtek (SI): ongoing

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

The topic of the thematic event of the plenaries will be Cohesion & Contrasted Regional Realities. The aim is to share experiences especially from regions with considerable disparities within their territories to learn about different strategies and practices as well as enablers and barriers to more cohesive regional development.

Workshop ” connectivity vs sustainability?”: ongoing

On the occasion of the Autumn plenary meeting in Podčetrtek (SI), the working group on transports & mobility chaired by Martin Tollén is organising a workshop on connectivity and sustainability.

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 is 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 exchanges with other regions.

Gelderland (NL) and the European Commission organised a TAIEX-EIR workshop on “Maintaining and Enhancing Ecosystem Services in Urban Regions” on 4 and 5 July 2019.

In the context of the joint action to protect Romanian forests, the AER Secretariat has been in touch with DG Environment, to identify ways to use the TAIEX-EIR programme. This should help improve legislation and practices for the protection of primary forests and biodiversity in Romania.

Mutual learning event on economy 4.0: ongoing

Creation of a working group on how to attract more workforce: planned

Several regions in AER have expressed the need to exchange experiences on how to attract more workforce to regions which are largely rural.

This action could be developped within the contect of the working group on business and SMEs. Regions interested in working on this topic should share their idea with the Secretariat in order to start developping this initiative.

Effective legislative frameworks: planned

Tulcea would like to collaborate with other regions to elaborate good legislative frameworks for tourism, business, industry, research. The goal would be a simplification of administration and the reduction of red tape.

Workshop on sustainable transport and mobility: cancelled

AER member regions Gelderland (NL) and Östergötland (SE) planned a workshop on sustainable transport and mobility during the European Sustainability Energy Week on Clean Energy from 18-20 June in the House of Dutch Provinces in Brussels.

Lowering emissions in transport: planned

AER member region Norboten (SE) would like to organise good practice exchange on identifying how to lower emissions in transports within the Working group on Energy and Climate Change.

Waste collection in rural areas: planned

Within the working group on rural development, members would like to have an exchange of good practices on how to raise awareness on recycling and waste collection in rural areas.

This topic could be addressed either in the context of a meeting of the working group on rural development or in separate events, such as Breakfast seminars in Brussels. Regions which would like to develop something aroud this topic should contact the AER Secretariat.

Small hydropower plants: planned

Exchange of good practice on noise reduction with (small) hydro powerplants (finding suitable location also from environmental point of view). Lobbying and advocacy with NGOs and governments about environmental point of view, partnership, and exchange of good practice. National stimulations for developing projects on national tourism strategy on a local and regional level.

Energy efficiency: planned

Good practice sharing on stimulating energy efficiency, for instance, competition between organisations and OECD. Indicators on energy efficiency and EC energy efficiency directive.

New mobility services: ongoing

Good practices exchange on electric cars and infrastructure both at AER meetings and in events of the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities (EIP-SCC), where Östergötland (SE) is representing AER.

European Week of Regions and Cities: ongoing

The European Week of Regions and Cities (EWRC) is an annual four-day event during which cities and regions showcase their capacity to create growth and jobs, implement European Union cohesion policy, and prove the importance of the local and regional level for good European governance. It will take place from 7-10 October 2019 in Brussels.

AER is hosting a workshop during the EWRC with the title REGIONerating Europe on 8 October 2019 from 9.00am in Brussels. More information is available on the AER event page.

AER Delegation at Smart City Expo World Congress: ongoing

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

Advocacy/Lobbying

Mobility: engagement in the EIP-SCC: ongoing

AER is involved in the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities (EIP-SCC). This framework is an opportunity for strategic intelligence, state of the art information, partnership building and influence.

Protection of Romanian forests: ongoing

Primary forests are rare in Europe and the ones in Romania are threatened by excessive logging. AER members therefore agreed at the Committee 1 Spring plenary meeting in Örebro, to support Romanian regions to protect this invaluable natural heritage. As a first step, a breakfast debate will be organised at the 2019 AER Autumn Committee Plenaries in Podčetrtek (SI), on the topic of European Biodiversity: Protecting Primary Forests. The situation will be presented and different opportunities for concerted action and next steps will be discussed. The goal will be to establish a joint initiative for the protection and preservation of the Romanian forests.

Action for the protection of Romanian forests will also entail a mutual learning dimension (see above in “good practices”)

Joint initiatives for advocacy

Member regions can decide to initiate joint actions and find partners among AER members. Regions can get support from the Secretariat to connect with other regions, get an overview of the existing legal framework and identify relevant actions and target institutions. The AER Secretariat will also organise Breakfast Briefings to help regions organise their advocacy activities.

AER Bureau Task Forces

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

-Task Force on Food Security

-Task Force on Cohesion Policy

-Task Force on Digitalisation

-Task Force on Migration

-Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER Action Plan

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

Photo by Thomas on Pexels

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Together for Cohesion project – Get involved at the plenaries’ committee information desk!

9 September, 2019 By Agnese Pantaloni

On the occasion of the 2019 autumn committee plenaries in Podčetrtek, we are organising an interactive information desk (stall) in the context of the Together for Cohesion: Let’s rEUnite! Project (DG Regio/EU funded).

During this info desk, participants are encouraged to exchange insights about EU cohesion and structural funds from their point of view. Participants will receive a showcase on how to use the project website, how to handle the online database of good practices and learn/share about communication campaigns and reflect on examples from other regions for mutual learning. In addition, participants will be invited to propose events or activities – within their regions – that can be linked to cohesion and structural funds directly or indirectly. These evens are to be included in the so-called “European cohesion calendar” – which is envisaged to provide an overview of the key regional events and activities on the topic of EU cohesion and structural funds.

On the other hand, the online catalogue of best practices is in the process of implementation and will be available on the project website very soon! We are currently collecting more events on European Cohesion Policy. This central hub is one of the main outcomes of Let’s rEUnite and will garner interest not only from the EU institutions but also from the regions and citizens themselves!

In conclusion … you will have the opportunity to get involved in the project and contribute with your local event and activity and get visibility and attention to your region from other regions and key stakeholders as well as from the EU institutions.

Following the agenda, the interactive information session will take place on 25th September 2019, from 11:30 to 17:30 outside the plenaries meeting room.

We look forward to talking to you there and find out how regions can better communicate on Cohesion Policy to make sure your events/activities get heard across Europe!

To know more about the this “Together for Cohesion information session”, please contact directly:

EU Project Manager
Eduardo Nadal

Phone: +32 2 400 10 12 / +32 483 448 430
E-mail: e.nadal(at)aer.eu

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Let’s REGIONerate Europe!

9 September, 2019 By Gisela Guari Cañada

One more time the AER has the chance to contribute to the European Week of Regions and Cities with its workshop entitled “REGIONerating Europe”, to held on the 8th of October.

What’s the 2019 European Week of Regions and Cities?

The so-called EU Regions Week is an annual event co-organised by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO). On this occasion, all the regional and local authorities, as well as other organisations related to regional policies, such as the Assembly of European Regions, can participate in order to showcase their good practices and exchange mutual learning.

This year edition will take place from the 7-10 October 2019 in Brussels (BE). But there is an important date that you should save in your calendar: the 8th of October! Scroll down to for more details…

AER is REGIONerating Europe!

The Assembly of European Regions cares about the future of Europe and with this workshop intends to bring together relevant EU and regional actors to discuss the next steps of the new European Parliament and the new European Commission on facing the significant challenges that are shaking Europe on nowadays reality.

On the last European elections, citizens had the chance to raise their voice to defend their rights and interests; consequently, the outcome of the polls reflects the citizens’ values and needs for a greener Europe free from far-right parties. With a turnout of over 50 per cent of Europeans voting it has been made clear the need for a more participatory and inclusive approach to the EU decision-making process, towards a European Union shaped and made for and by European citizens.

At the AER we want to make sure that local and regional authorities are taken into consideration and play a relevant role in building up a new European project that is able to deliver on its citizens’ priorities and ambitions. Therefore, in this session, we aim at discussing how cities and regions can serve as a bridge to connect and bring closer citizens to European institutions.

Meet the speakers!

For this session, we will hear a wide range of perspectives on the future of Europe thanks to the different backgrounds and fields of expertise of our panellists. For instance, we will have the institutional, regional, and youth perspective from:

Anna Wagner, Deputy Head of Unit of European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy.
Thomas Andersson, rapporteur on the partnership between civil society and local and regional level of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, and President of the Region Jämtland Härjedalen (SE).
Anna Casini, Vice President of Marche Region (IT).
Christopher Glück, President of the Young European Federalists (JEF Europe).

And moderated by Nina Björby, the Vice President on Democracy at the Assembly of European Regions.

*More speakers to be confirmed.

Save the date!

8th of October
From 9:15 to 10:45h
Committee of the Regions – Room VMA 1
(2, Rue van Maerlant, 1040 Brussels)

Register Now!

For further information visit the official event page.

Photo credits: Pixabay.com

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What is good youth participation?

6 September, 2019 By Norina Haubold

Discussions during the 2019 Summer Academy “Youth is future, youth is Europe”, showed youth participation is still a very hot topic. The AER Subcommittee on Youth chaired by Hrvoje Kovač therefore aims to relaunch a discussion among regions, together with the AER Youth Regional Network YRN, in order to better define and improve youth participation in regions accross wider Europe.

A longstanding engagement for youth participation

AER has a history of advocating for youth participation in regional policymaking, in particular via the establishement of youth councils in regions. This was to engage young people in policy thinking and influence regional policymaking. Indeed participation requires space as is very well highlighted in this 2010 video from the AER Youth Regional Network. And by space it isn’t just physical space that is meant, such as meeting rooms, but also space in the institutions, in the decision making process.

The first network of regional youth councils in Europe

In order to help members of these regional youth councils all over Europe to learn from each other, engage at European level and further improve their action back home, AER created in 2008 the first Youth Regional Network in Europe.

The AER Youth Regional Network YRN discussed youth participation extensively, and published its Declaration on Youth Participation in 2012. The 2014 AER political report on youth participation also provides a list of good practices on youth participation.

However experience shows that official structures are not enough to ensure the quality and impact of youth participation. In this context experience sharing and mutual learning are essential to ensure better youth participation in regions accross wider Europe.

Workshop in Podčetrtek, Slovenia

The AER Subcommittee on Youth, chaired by Hrvoje Kovač, is organising a workshop on the occasion of the AER Autumn Committee Plenaries in Podčetrtek (SI). The topic of the workshop will be Youth participation in regional policy-making. It aims at identifying steps to implement meaningful and impactful youth participation in regions.

There will be a focus on youth social capital, the need to harness it, and the question of how to harness it. How can processes and practices be developed to make better use of youth?
The discussion during the workshop should lead to the development, at a later stage, of an AER Charter or AER position on youth participation, which will allow to create momentum, engagement and will be a practical tool to improve policies
Hrvoje Kovač is also involved in a project with Estonia, which is developping a guide for civil servants to improve youth participation. AER members could contribute to this guide and members will have the possibility to use the guide in their regions.

Join the workshop and bring in your ideas to better define and really improve youth participation within AER!

Photo by Fox on Pexels.

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Regional Business Forum – Second Edition

4 September, 2019 By Editor

Regional Business Forum – Second Edition

Date: 1 – 3 October 2019
Venue: Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vojvodina, 11 Hajduk Veljkova St, Novi Sad

The Autonomous Province of Vojvodina will host the Second Edition of the Regional Business Forum, it will be an opportunity for companies to exchange their business ideas and find new partners.

Following the success of last year’s forum, this year’s Regional Business Forum will be organised in partnership with the Enterprise Europe Network, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vojvodina, Vojvodina Development Agency and the Novi Sad Fair.

Sectors Involved:

– Agriculture & Food
– Metal Processing Industry
– Automotive Industry
– ICT
– Creative Industries

Want to know more?

We look forward to having fruitful discussions in Novi Sad, but first…

For more info about the event please read this article.

Take a look at the AER-YRN’s programme for the 20th University on Youth & Development!

3 September, 2019 By Gisela Guari Cañada

From 15 to 19 September, a group of young participants from 13 different European countries will represent AER – Youth Regional Network (YRN) at the Council of Europe North-South Centre’s (NSC) 20th University on Youth and Development (UYD) in Mollina (Málaga).

AER – YRN will contribute to the programme of the 20th edition of the UYD with various seminars and activities in line with the main theme “Youth, Justice & Strong Institutions” in collaboration with other UYD partners. Scroll down to find out more!

“Glocal” Youth Advocating for SDGs

The 2030 Agenda established that young people are a driving force for development – but this can only be possible when they are well-provided with the skills and opportunities needed in order to reach their potential, support development and consequently contribute to peace and security.

The first workshop session scheduled on Monday 16th from 15:00h to 16:30h entitled “Glocal Youth Advocating for SDGs” will allow the participants to gain insights on how to integrate the SDGs targets, in particular the SDG 16, into the work and projects carried out within their organisations (regional youth councils, local NGOs, University associations, etc.) and on the opportunities and strategies for influencing and getting involved in the monitoring and accountability of the SDGs from the local level up to the global one. To this end, not only the participants will exchange good practices, project ideas or initiatives relating to the SDG 16 targets but will also have the chance to develop together an advocacy strategy towards including young people in the decision-making at all levels for effectively realising the goals of the 2030 Agenda.

(Co)Innovating Youth Participation

As a matter of fact, participation is not limited to voting or standing for election, but also to active citizenship; and therefore, having the right, the means and the opportunity to influence in the decision-making. In particular, youth participation is the expression of a plurality of approaches for publicly engaging in democratic processes, beyond the conventional forms of participation.

On the 17th of September from 9:30 to 11:00h the participants will reflect upon different models of youth participation (both conventional and unconventional) and find out about the ins and outs of influencing the decision-making process from the very local level up to the global one. Along with Developing Youth Participation at Local Level (DYPALL) and the Centre for Intercultural Dialogue (ICD), the participants will learn about the principles of the Council of Europe co-management system for participatory democracy and will look into some research findings by DYPALL regarding models of youth participation in decision-making processes in the local governance that will inspire their conclusions.

Ultimately, the participants will play the role of decision-makers to think of ways of innovating youth participation at their respective spheres (Youth Councils and Parliaments, NGOs, Universities, etc.) in line with the SDG 16 and its targets of developing effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.

Youth for Intercultural Dialogue

The development of intercultural sensitivity is a quality needed for a young person to live in today’s pluralistic Europe. It enables them to take an active role in confronting social injustice and discrimination―on grounds such as gender, race, religion, sexuality or disability―and, ultimately, promote and protect human rights. Young people and youth organisations play a vital role in promoting and ensuring equality and non-discrimination and creating inclusive, diverse and cohesive societies free from prejudice and hate

On the 17th of September from 11:30 to 13:00, the participants will learn about self-awareness methodologies to identify injustice situations and the role that young people can play in building peace from an intercultural point of view. Furthermore, they will hold a discussion on how youth work and projects can prevent discrimination and translate the needs of vulnerable groups into inclusive policy-making within their communities.

Education for Sustainable Development

Education is admittedly a powerful tool to make individuals agents of change. SDG 4.7 calls on building “more democratic, inclusive and peaceful societies by integrating a more global approach into education”. Reorienting education towards sustainable development will equip individuals, communities, businesses and government with a better understanding of the economic, societal, and environmental horizons.

Through this last workshop session taking place on the 18th of September from 15:00h to 16:30h, the participants will look into evidence-based findings and policy recommendations for increasing public awareness of education’s central role in achieving sustainable development and the challenges to achieve quality, equitable and inclusive lifelong learning for all by 2030 as means to prevent youth discrimination or any form of injustice. Additionally, the participants will learn about multi-stakeholder strategies that could use in their work to spread global active citizenship and, ultimately, bring sustainable change to their local communities.

Discover the full programme!

The detailed programme is already available HERE!

For further updates and news related to the AER – YRN participation in the CoE North-South Centre’s 20th University on Youth and Development, please visit the event page.

Photo credits: @COE.INT / @Edwin Andrade on Unsplash

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