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Committee 2 Progress Report Spring 2020

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

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

Evaluating progress

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

Projects
Good practice sharing
Lobbying

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

Projects

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

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

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

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

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

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

Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite! ongoing

“Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite!” is a project submitted under a call launched by DG REGIO. This project raises awareness on the importance of programmes, projects, and services funded by the cohesion policy funds. It also encourages the participation of citizens and stakeholders to become active players in the dialogue on cohesion policy. AER coordinates the project and has collected experiences on cohesion policy together with regions.

This project was officially launched during the 2019 General Assembly in Larnaca (CY). Six AER member regions are partners in this project: Varazdin (HR), Csongrád (HU), Trentino (IT), Timis and Alba (RO), and Catalonia (ES). The project also had an information stall dedicated to the Together for Cohesion project at 2019 Autumn Committee Plenaries.

Partner regions have organized several local events to raise awareness on Cohesion policy among EU citizens:

The first event of Together for Cohesion held, the “Apulum Agraria” Fair in Alba (RO) held from 20-22nd September 2019, promoting agriculture, the economy of Alba and local farmers and members of professional associations.

The project was also represented at the 37th session of the Local and Regional Authorities Congress, led by the Council of Europe between the 28-31st October 2019.

The project contributed to the organisation of a Career management fair in Alba (RO), which raised awareness on the use and benefits of the EU cohesion policy and funds – with a special focus on how to find employment opportunities and how to receive the appropriate career guidance.

The Forum for Mayors, on the 11th of December, in Szeged, Hungary, by the General Assembly of Csongrand County was an opportunity to learn more about why cohesion policy and funds are crucial for the social and economic development of the cities and towns led by the Mayors taking part in the Csongrad Forum

Regions have also prepared several trainings focused on developing communication skills and understanding of European cohesion policies. The first training, on Together4Cohesion: how to use social media to better communicate the EU cohesion policy took place on the 23rd of January, in Trentino, Italy.

In Varazdin (HR), the annual Gala Ball of Varaždin County on 24 January 2020 was an opportunity to promote the project.

AMiD project for the inclusion of migrants with disabilities: finished

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

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

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

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

Includ-EU: Regional and local expertise, exchange and engagement for enhanced social cohesion in Europe ongoing

AER and the International Organisation for Migration, together with several regional and local authorities have joined forces in the Includ-EU project. This project will improve transnational knowledge and experience sharing, cooperation and partnerships to build a more inclusive and cohesive Europe.

AER will organise 5 workshops to facilitate knowledge and experience sharing as well as to support the implementation of pilot activities around the 5 key priorities of the EU action plan: post-arrival support, education, labour market integration, access to services, citizen participation & inclusion. AER will also organise 5 webinars on these topics, to share experiences regarding practical aspects such as housing, health services or the integration of services especially regarding the access to the labour market. These activities will be open to AER members, especially regions in the Intercultural Regions Network (see below “Lobbying”)

E-health in rural areas: planned

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

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

Autumn Committee Plenaries – Podčetrtek (SI): finished

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

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

2020 Spring Committee Plenaries – Covasna (RO): ongoing

The main focus of the AER 2020 Spring Committee Plenaries in Covasna County (RO) between 10-12 March will be territorial approaches. Urban-rural divides within regions will be in the spotlight.

While the Autumn 2019 plenaries “Territorial cohesion and Contrasted Realities” looked at how regions address territorial differences, this spring’s plenary will take stock of the situation in Europe. How to bridge the gap between theories on place-based policies and the actual implementation of effective and participative policies?

Members will, in particular, discuss the state of play of smart specialization strategies in Europe, health innovation and wellbeing, as well as brain drain vs brain gain.

Mutual learning event on economy 4.0: finished

On 4 December 2019, AER, the Brussels Capital Region and the Government of Catalonia organized a mutual learning event on economy 4.0. Economy 4.0 describes a new era of productive, industrial and economic development characterized by the implementation of big-scale automatization, artificial intelligence (AI) robotic instruments, computational big data analytics software, and high tech infrastructure. It aims to gather experiences from all three AER Committees and regions who are welcomed to share inputs and regional examples.
The report on the event can be found here.

Workshop of the AER e-health network: ongoing

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

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

Breakfast seminar on innovation in healthcare design: finished

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

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

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

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

AER Delegation at Smart City Expo World Congress: finished

AER took part in SCEWC19. The 3-day conference confirmed its role as the world’s greatest meeting point for cities and companies sharing the same goals as regards the future of cities. Different stakeholders gathered together in Barcelona and explored new innovative ways to make cities inclusive, efficient and sustainable.

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

Elderly care homes in rural areas: planned

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

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

Advocacy/Lobbying

Building a Network of Intercultural Regions: ongoing

The Bureau Task Force on migration organized a Breakfast debate on the occasion of the General Assembly in Larnaca to examine the possibility of creating an intercultural regions programme, similar to the existing Council of Europe Intercultural Cities Programme. The network will support regions for the design and implementation of diversity and inclusion strategies. The Intercultural Regions Network was launched on 5th November 2019.

The process to develop this network requires intense dialogue with institutions.

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

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

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

Joint initiatives for advocacy

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

AER Bureau Task Forces

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

-Task Force on Food Security

-Task Force on Cohesion Policy

-Task Force on Digitalisation

-Task Force on Migration

-Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

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

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

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

Photo by Katherine McCormack on Unsplash

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Committee 3 Progress Report Spring 2020

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

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

Evaluating progress

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

Projects
Good practice sharing
Lobbying

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

Projects

Road to the Future: finished

Road to the Future was a project submitted under the Erasmus+ programme, within the Key Action 3 – Support for Policy Reform, and was 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 continued the training for trainers and mentors, based on the ideas collected during the first phase. This ensured 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 was JEF Europe – Young European Federalist. AER represented local and regional authorities. The consortium was composed of 21 organizations, mainly national JEF associations.

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

The final conference took place on 20-21st of January 2020. Young Europeans from all over the continent gathered together with civil society organizations and representatives of the European institutions to reflect on the “I Choose Europe” electoral campaign implemented in the run-up to May 2019.

Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite! ongoing

“Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite!” is a project submitted under a call launched by DG REGIO. This project raises awareness on the importance of programmes, projects, and services funded by the cohesion policy funds. It also encourages the participation of citizens and stakeholders to become active players in the dialogue on cohesion policy. AER coordinates the project and has collected experiences on cohesion policy together with regions.

This project was officially launched during the 2019 General Assembly in Larnaca (CY). Six AER member regions are partners in this project: Varazdin (HR), Csongrád (HU), Trentino (IT), Timis and Alba (RO), and Catalonia (ES). The project also had an information stall dedicated to the Together for Cohesion project at 2019 Autumn Committee Plenaries.

Partner regions have organized several local events to raise awareness on Cohesion policy among EU citizens:

The first event of Together for Cohesion held, the “Apulum Agraria” Fair in Alba (RO) held from 20-22nd September 2019, promoting agriculture, the economy of Alba and local farmers and members of professional associations.

The project was also represented at the 37th session of the Local and Regional Authorities Congress, led by the Council of Europe between the 28-31st October 2019.

The project contributed to the organisation of a Career management fair in Alba (RO), which raised awareness on the use and benefits of the EU cohesion policy and funds – with a special focus on how to find employment opportunities and how to receive the appropriate career guidance.

The Forum for Mayors, on the 11th of December, in Szeged, Hungary, by the General Assembly of Csongrand County was an opportunity to learn more about why cohesion policy and funds are crucial for the social and economic development of the cities and towns led by the Mayors taking part in the Csongrad Forum

Regions have also prepared several trainings focused on developing communication skills and understanding of European cohesion policies. The first training, on Together4Cohesion: how to use social media to better communicate the EU cohesion policy took place on the 23rd of January, in Trentino, Italy.

In Varaždin (HR), the annual Gala Ball of Varaždin County on 24 January 2020 was an opportunity to promote the project. On 13 February 2020, Varaždin also hosted an event in the context of the Together4Cohesion Project called “ESI Funds beyond 2020”. On 5 March a third event will be organised, with a contribution by South Ostrobothnia on entrepreneurship education. It is connected with Cohesion Policy since schools will also present how they develop new curricula with the help of EU funds. The recommendations will be sent to AER and be at disposal for all interested members

CUBES: Cultural Administration Boosting with the Engagement of Sustainability for Local Communities ongoing

The CUBES project was developed to create a bridge between cultural heritage, administrative bodies, and digitalization. The project will:

  • raise awareness
  • emphasizing the importance of culture
  • increase competitiveness and economic growth.

Target: local communities, public authorities, NGOs and CSOs. The kick-off of the CUBES project took place on the 25th of October 2019 in Lisbon, the project will end in April 2020

The experience of the CUBES project on grassroots approaches for sustainable regional development will also inform the discussions at the conference “Territorial Approaches to Regional Development” in Covasna on 11 March 2020.

Includ-EU: Regional and local expertise, exchange and engagement for enhanced social cohesion in Europe ongoing

AER and the International Organisation for Migration, together with several regional and local authorities have joined forces in the Includ-EU project. This project will improve transnational knowledge and experience sharing, cooperation and partnerships to build a more inclusive and cohesive Europe.

AER will organise 5 workshops to facilitate knowledge and experience sharing as well as to support the implementation of pilot activities around the 5 key priorities of the EU action plan: post-arrival support, education, labour market integration, access to services, citizen participation & inclusion. AER will also organise 5 webinars on these topics, to share experiences regarding practical aspects such as housing, health services or the integration of services especially regarding the access to the labour market. These activities will be open to AER members, especially regions in the Intercultural Regions Network (see below “Lobbying”)

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Banners-for-committee-progress-page-20182.jpg

Good Practice Exchange

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

In partnership with the European College of Cluny, AER organized 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.

Civil Servants Exchange Programme: ongoing

The AER Training Seminar in Cluny was also the first step for the Civil Servants Exchange program announced in September 2018 and coordinated by the President of Committee 3 Radimir Čačić, Varaždin (HR). The Civil Servants Exchange program 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): finished

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

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

2020 AER Spring Committee Plenaries – Covasna: ongoing

The main focus of the AER 2020 Spring Committee Plenaries in Covasna County (RO) between 10-12 March will be territorial approaches. Urban-rural divides within regions will be in the spotlight.

While the Autumn 2019 plenaries “Territorial cohesion and Contrasted Realities” looked at how regions address territorial differences, this spring’s plenary will take stock of the situation in Europe. How to bridge the gap between theories on place-based policies and the actual implementation of effective and participative policies?

Members will, in particular, discuss the state of play of smart specialization strategies in Europe, health innovation and wellbeing, as well as brain drain vs brain gain.

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

The Summer Academy Organising Committee organized 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: finished

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

Workshop on the future of education: finished

The Subcommittee on Education, chaired by Simon Johnson, Nordland (NO), planned 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 would have been: How should education look like in a world where things happen faster than ever? How is it possible to organize knowledge acquisition or provision?

This workshop was canceled because of the exceptional circumstances in Slovenia, were Adria Airlines stopped activities during the AER plenaries.

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 organized 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: finished

The Subcommittee on Culture chaired by Fereshteh Jalayer, Värmland (SE) organized a workshop on rural touring. The initiative was 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 featured 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 number 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.

The Eurodyssey Assembly took place as part of the annual Eurodyssey Forum on 24 October 2019 in Cagliari, Sardinia (IT). The event brought together more than fifty representatives both from Eurodyssey regions and outside the programme to discuss the functioning of the programme, to share experiences and best practices and to explore future initiatives for Europe’s only regional youth mobility scheme.

The conference opened with two discussions on youth mobility, looking at both aspects of personal and professional development for young people as well as how youth mobility has a positive impact on regional development. You can read more on the topic of youth mobility in this article.

Mutual learning event on economy 4.0: finished

On 4 December 2019, AER, the Brussels Capital Region and the Government of Catalonia organized a mutual learning event on economy 4.0. Economy 4.0 describes a new era of productive, industrial and economic development characterized by the implementation of big-scale automatization, artificial intelligence (AI) robotic instruments, computational big data analytics software, and high tech infrastructure. It aims to gather experiences from all three AER Committees and regions who are welcomed to share inputs and regional examples.
The report on the event can be found here.

Exchanges around traditional cultures: ongoing

The 5th edition of FolkoFonija took place from 13 to 15 September 2019 and all AER members were 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.

The next international folk festival on 25-29 June 2020. This event will feature 10 ensembles from 10 countries for 5 days of festivities. This European folk festival aims to contribute to safeguarding intangible cultural heritage by bringing together folk ensembles from all over wider Europe. AER members are invited to contact Maja Zuber, the seconded officer of Committee 3 President M Čačić.

AER Delegation at Smart City Expo World Congress: finished

AER took part in SCEWC19. The 3-day conference confirmed its role as the world’s greatest meeting point for cities and companies sharing the same goals as regards the future of cities. Different stakeholders gathered together in Barcelona and explored new innovative ways to make cities inclusive, efficient and sustainable.

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

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: ongoing

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

Brain drain vs brain gain will be the debate topic of Committee 3 during the AER 2020 Spring Committee Plenaries in Covasna County, Romania, between 10-12th March 2020.

Mutual learning on the loss of workforce: ongoing

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 topic will also be the debate topic of Committee 3 during the AER 2020 Spring Committee Plenaries in Covasna County, Romania, between 10-12th March 2020.

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

Building a Network of Intercultural Regions: ongoing

The Bureau Task Force on migration organized a Breakfast debate on the occasion of the General Assembly in Larnaca to examine the possibility of creating an intercultural regions programme, similar to the existing Council of Europe Intercultural Cities Programme. The network will support regions for the design and implementation of diversity and inclusion strategies. The Intercultural Regions Network was launched on 5th November 2019. The process to develop this network requires intense dialogue with institutions.

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

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 organize Breakfast Briefings to help regions organize their advocacy activities.

AER Bureau Task Forces

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

-Task Force on Food Security

-Task Force on Cohesion Policy

-Task Force on Digitalisation

-Task Force on Migration

-Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

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

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

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

Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash

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Brain Drain vs Brain Gain

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AER 2020 Spring Committee Plenaries will be held in Covasna County, Romania between 10-12 March. This year the Committee 3 debate topic will focus on brain drain vs brain gain.

Brain drain is the loss suffered by a region as a result of the emigration of a (highly) qualified person, while brain gain is when a country benefits as a consequence of immigration of a highly qualified person.

Dramatic impacts on people and territories

Brain drain has a socio-economic impact on concerned regions. Human capital flight, more commonly known as brain drain, is a problem faced by many parts of Europe. It is characterized as the emigration of highly skilled laborers to other countries. In the EU countries such as Romania, Poland, Italy, and Portugal are especially affected by brain drain, while other countries such as Sweden, Ireland, Estonia, and Denmark notice the opposite effect, namely brain gain.

The main effect is ‘brain waste’. This happens when workers who are highly skilled move to a region with incomplete or one-sided information on the labor/skill demand and then end up in being unemployed or employed in a job not requiring their high skills

Territorial approaches needed

There are both push and pull factors affecting brain drain. Pull factors include higher employment rate, higher salary and a perceived increase in quality of life, while the push factors are high youth unemployment and high enterprise death rate.

Brain drain can have a negative impact on the sending region, such as reduction of human capital, limited capacity to innovate, reduced economic growth, demographic shifts, and a higher cost of public goods. Albeit small, there are positive side-effects as well, such as return migration, incentives for investment in education and improvement of governance.

This calls for a territorial approach. The Committee of the Regions therefore suggests that Local and Regional Authorities develop instruments and promote measures to increase the attractiveness of the regions facing a Brain drain and to set up local alliances, which can help in drafting and implementing of local policies in order to mitigate brain drain.

Cohesion Policy a major asset

The brain drain and it’s negative effects have been key concerns of the Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research and Culture of the European Committee of the Regions. As current economic and social disparities between European regions are the main trigger to brain drain, Mr. Emil Boc has stressed the need for a strong association between Europe’s cohesion policy, which will help in addressing the existing imbalances and further promote an even development across the regions of Europe. This will also help in putting out front the measures expected to combat the problem of brain drain including investing in education, employment, innovation and social inclusion in European regions.

Understanding needs, removing barriers

A study founded by the Commission for Social Policy, Education, Employment, Research, and Culture analyzed several programs across Europe and came up with the following list of best practices for combating brain drain. This list includes steps like understanding the need of skilled workers, creating mechanisms for cooperation between government, corporations, and universities, stimulating inflow of outside talent, removing structural barriers, cooperating with authorities facing the same challenges, etc.

In February 2020, the Committee of the Regions adopted an opinion, ‘Brain drain in the EU: addressing the challenge at all levels’. It observes the complex issue of Brain drain in Europe and stresses the need for a stronger association between cohesion policy and measures envisaged to deal with brain drain.

Two of the key Europe 2020 objectives, increasing the percentage of employed people and improving social inclusion, are also directly relevant to creating favorable conditions which will diminish brain drain

Photo by Mantas Hesthaven on Unsplash

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Internship “European Projects Assistant” – February/March 2020 (closed)

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Ready to train with the EU projects team of the largest independent network of regions in Europe?

We are looking for a motivated intern (ONLY STUDENTS) to join the Project Unit at our Brussels Office, supervised by the European Projects & Private Partnerships coordinator. The placement would be for around 6 months.

Your main tasks will be:

  • Mapping calls for proposals and collecting information on funding (based on desk research and by attending relevant events and meetings at European level)
  • Writing articles on the results of your mapping as well as on running projects and activities
  • Liaising and networking with regional organisations and actors for project management and reporting purposes.
  • Disseminating information about EU-wide projects and funding opportunities on social media
  • Supporting AER’s projects team in its partner searches and follow-ups with its members
  • Contributing to the implementation of ongoing projects for all concerning activities and finances
  • contributing to the communication of ongoing projects, including news items drafting for media partners or taking minutes at projects meetings.
  • Providing inputs in terms of drafting documents to join new project proposals
  • Overall assistance in the project management at European level.
  • The intern will also assist the team with general office management tasks.

This is who we are

Here are some things that make working with us great:

  • AER, the Assembly of European Regions, is an international organisation devoted to interregional cooperation and regional cohesion at European level – which has a multi-disciplinary approach in working on varied topics, but in particular on education, youth, migration & inclusion, public health, regional cohesion policy and EU funding, and cultural administration issues, – and follows a multi-stakeholder focus (on regional governments and authorities, private companies, Universities, EU institutions and civil society organisations at European level, among others).
  • We are a team where everyone—including interns—is respected and treated equally
  • We are a committed group of professionals, with terrific people on board
  • We have a meaningful mission; helping people across Europe to work together is what drives us
  • We provide a place for personal and professional growth. Working with a diverse group of colleagues and collaborators in an array of different policy areas widens your horizons and gives you the chance to develop valuable skills
  • We use cloud-based team collaboration tools, which allow us to work efficiently, keep in close contact, and strengthen our community despite frequent travel and different locations

 This is the place for you if:

  • You are keen about European public affairs from a regional/local perspective
  • You have knowledge of and/or previous experience in European project management and funding, e.g. ERASMUS+, INTERREG, etc.
  • You have excellent knowledge of both oral and written English. Knowledge of any other European languages will be considered an asset for your work here.
  • You are self-motivated and interested in helping people work together to tackle challenges.
  • You are able to perform tasks autonomously and take on responsibilities while organising your work with the rest of the team.
  • You are a creative and problem-solving oriented person.
  • You have a high degree of multi-tasking, proactiveness and flexibility.
  • You have an open-minded attitude to work in multi-cultural, international and fast-paced working environments.

AER is happy to offer you the opportunity to:

  • Gain practical experience in the field of projects funded by European programmes.
  • Be in contact with high-ranking politicians, project officers and partners across Europe and get inspired by them.
  • Learn about regions and gain a deeper insight into contemporary issues in European politics and interregional cooperation
  • Work in a dynamic, lobbying and multicultural environment
  • Develop personal responsibility and initiative
  • Take part in high-level EU events and project-building activities in Brussels and abroad
  • Gain invaluable experience in an international professional environment

Internship requirements and conditions:

  • You must be currently enrolled in an education programme (e.g. at University or other higher education institution level) or being a fresh graduate able to have an internship experience abroad through your sending organisation (e.g. your University or other higher education institution).
  • An internship contract must be signed by AER, the trainee and a sending University/School/Institute.
  • The internship period will be for 6 months, starting AS SOON AS POSSIBLE in February or March 2020 and you will be considered a full member of the team from Day One.
  • You will receive a monthly financial contribution of EUR 150 during your internship period. Travel and living costs must be covered by the intern. Candidates are encouraged to seek other financing sources, e.g. by applying for an ERASMUS+ internship scholarship in their national country.
  • If you are a citizen of a non-EU country, you will have to make sure that you meet all the legal requirements (visa, residence permit, etc.) to stay in Brussels as specified by the Belgian Law for foreigners.
  • Health insurance must be ensured throughout your internship stay.

How to apply?

If you are interested in joining us and making AER your next professional experience, please send your CV and 1-page cover letter to Agnese Pantaloni at her email address [email protected], by 12 February 2020 by 12:00 CET, with the subject line “AER European Projects Intern”.

Interviews are planned to take place on rolling-basis in February 2020. The intern position is to be filled as soon as possible..

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

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Basque Country Initiative on Integration of Migrants and Refugees

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

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

What is the Basque Country proposal about?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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We are eager to announce that the European Parliament has granted AER to participate in the European Youth Event 2020 in Strasbourg! (Keep reading to join us in this exciting adventure…)

What is EYE2020?

From 29 to 30 May 2020, the European Youth Event will bring thousands of young people coming from all over Europe to Strasbourg (FR). The event is aimed to make young people active agents of change in the European democratic life rather than passive beneficiaries, by engaging in debates, workshops, hearings and digital activities on a very diversified range of topics. All the activities are co-created with partners, youth organisations and the participants.

The EYE2020 is the perfect opportunity for youth to share their thoughts, concerns, hopes and meet and inspire each other. And on top of that, some participants will also be able to present the most impactful ideas directly to the Members of the European Parliament.

If you want to find out more, take a look at the tentative programme or just visit the webpage of the EYE2020!

What are the selection criteria?

  • Be aged between 16 and 30 years old representing a regional or local youth entity.
  • Hold EU citizenship and residency. Citizens and residents from candidate countries are also eligible for sponsorship.
  • A clear explanation of your motivation and how you plan to employ the soft skills gained and the takeaways.
  • Proof of experience in youth work or related-initiatives you have carried out.
  • Proof of a mandate or person of reference supporting your application from the organisation/region you stand for.
  • young people with disabilities, from rural or remote areas and from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds will be prioritised.

AER and YRN members, particularly those coming from remote areas in Europe, have priority.

And the financial conditions?

The financial contribution is calculated on the basis of the following 2 elements per sponsored participant:

1. An amount depending on the distance calculated as follows: €0.045/km considering the most direct road return journey between the common point of departure of the group (town/city) and Strasbourg. If there is no common point of departure, it will be calculated based on the average travel distance.

2. Thanks to the sponsorship provided by the European Parliament, the selected youth delegates will benefit from free half-board (breakfast & dinner) accommodation in shared rooms from 28-31 May 2020. Lunch is not included and will be at the expense of the participants.

N.b.: Participants from non-EU territories, EEA or neighbourhood countries canNOT be part of the sponsored group.

Apply now!

If you are a young activist aged between 16 and 30 years old representing a regional or local youth entity and meet the aforementioned criteria, you then cannot afford to miss the fantastic opportunity of taking an active part in the EYE2020 in the name of AER!

Submission deadline:
22 January 2020

Only the 20 best candidates will be confirmed to form the AER’s delegation to the EYE2020 following the submission deadline.

Contact us!

For any questions related to AER’s participation to the EYE2020, please do not hesitate to contact Andrés Muñoz at the AER Secretariat:
e: [email protected] / t: +32 (0) 2 400 10 54

Photo credits: @European Parliament

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“Massively thought-provoking” – AMiD project Final Conference

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Massively thought-provoking…

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

Not just a conference…

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

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

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

What we heard from the panellists…

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

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

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

What about the local authorities? Regions at AMiD

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

Multi-stakeholder and multi-level collaboration

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

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

Watch this wrap-up video from the Conference to learn more!
Cross-County Report (EN)
AMiD Training Course (EN)
Needs Assessment Tool
AMiD Project Website
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Intercultural Regions Network set for launch!

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European regions have agreed to establish an Intercultural Regions Network to better work together to develop comprehensive intercultural strategies to manage diversity and migration. 

The initiative was presented by the Assembly of European Regions and the Government of Catalonia on 5 November at a meeting held at the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia to the EU in Brussels, to a gathering of network partners including representatives from European regions, the Council of Europe, the European Commission and the European Committee of the Regions. 

Europe is becoming more diverse. The key to fostering inclusion is adopting an intercultural approach based on strong coordination among all levels of government and other relevant stakeholders. 

Inspired by the Intercultural Cities Programme (ICC) of the Council of Europe, the Intercultural Regions Network aims to provide a platform for regions to share knowledge, resources and experiences to promote intercultural integration at regional level.

The Network will provide support for regions to design, implement and evaluate diversity and inclusion strategies based on the principles of equal opportunities, recognition of diversity and positive interaction between people from different origins.

Andrew Gibson, Vice-President for Equity and Diversity of the Assembly of European Regions said: “the initiative hits the heart of the problem. At some point, the EU will understand that immigration is a major threat unless is confronted with tools as inclusion and becomes an opportunity”.

Oriol Amorós, the Secretary of Equity, Migrations and Citizenship of the Government of Catalonia, said that “our proposal is to build a new network to exchange practices, to learn from each other, and to collaborate with institutions by incorporating the intercultural perspective”. 

A group photo from the launch. Taken by @Catalonia_EU

For more information, please contact Gisela Guari at [email protected]

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EU Disability Strategy 2010-2020: Are We on Target?

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

Public consultation: your feedback is precious!

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

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

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

European Day of Persons with Disabilities

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

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

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

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

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

Why this matters for AER

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

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

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

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Competition “INTEGRATION THROUGH YOUR LENS”

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Calling all budding photographers!

The European Committee of the Regions, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) and the Assembly of European Regions are organising a photo exhibition and contest on the topic of integration of migrants and refugees in Europe.

Selected pictures will be displayed at the conference “GO LOCAL: SUPPORTING REGIONS, CITIES AND RURAL AREAS IN MIGRANTS’ INCLUSION” and on the premises of the European Committee of the Regions.

If you’re interested in participating, you can find more information here.

Please submit up to 2 photographs per entrant (accompanied by a caption of up to 80 words) to: [email protected] (cc-ed to [email protected]) by 31 October 2019 (midnight).

The deadline has been extended until 7 November 2019.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

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

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From 15 to 19 September, the Youth Regional Network of the Assembly of European Regions (AER-YRN) celebrated its Autumn Plenaries for the first time in the framework of the 20th University of Youth and Development (UYD) of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe. 23 young participants from 13 different countries representing the AER-YRN at the 20th UYD actively engaged in workshop debates, committees’ work and joint thematic activities themed around the UYD’s 2019 annual focus on “Youth, Justice & Strong Institutions” related to SDG 16.

Advocacy on SDGs and innovative approaches to youth participation

In the morning of the 16th, the first workshop debate Glocal Youth Advocating for SDGs began with the participation of Benjamin Günther, board member of the European Youth Forum (EYF), who presented the work that the Forum undertakes in order to advocate for the inclusion of young people in the review and implementation of SDGs and, in addition, presented the main conclusions of the EYF Policy Paper on Sustainable Development.

Elitsa Hadzhieva, AEGEE-Europe: European Student’s Forum, also joined the discussion with the YRN delegates to stress the importance of enhancing cooperation in a more coordinated way among the different youth-led organisations in order to have a more unified voice when advocating for youth major rights towards the EU institutions and the UN. 

Benjamin Günther (European Youth Forum), Elitsa Hadzhieva (AEGEE Europe)

On Tuesday 17th, Bruno António, Coordinator of DYPALL Network and Nami Isaki, board member of the Centre For Intercultural Dialogue, shared insights and experiences at the workshop debate entitled (Co)innovating youth participation. The YRN participants not only learned about the principles of the Council of Europe (CoE) co-management system for participatory democracy but also heard the experience of Nami Isaki in establishing an influential network of youth-led organisations both at the local and national decision-making levels in North Macedonia and, more generally, in strengthening youth cooperation in the Balkans. 

Bruno António pointed out that the 2030 Agenda goes beyond the so-called roadmap to sustainability but it is rather an inspirational framework for engaging young people in active participation to stand for their own rights and, moreover, influence policy-making at multiple levels. Organisations such as the ones represented by Bruno and Nami are trying to change the concept of democratic participation by facilitating access to the decision-making process for all cohorts of young people, including the most disadvantaged groups.

Nami Isaki (CID) and Bruno António (DYPALL)

Intercultural dialogue and Global Education 

Abdelkader El Khissassi, Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), took part in the second workshop debate Youth Inclusion and Intercultural Dialogue on the 18th of September. During the interactive discussion, Abdelkader insisted on the importance of mainstreaming an intercultural sensitivity for young people’s inclusion in the public sphere but also to build more democratic societies free from prejudice and discrimination. The UfM is currently developing a cooperation framework between youth platforms in the Mediterranean basin, such as the Youth Forum for the Mediterranean, with the purpose of fostering intercultural dialogue and cooperation beyond the European borders and thus create a project-oriented space for mutual understanding in the field of youth. 

Following the discussions on inclusion and interculturality, YRN participant Tiziana Fantucchio, as a representative of CESIE, organised an interactive activity to raise awareness on sexual violence through a changing-pair exercise that allowed participants to explore their own personal boundaries. Another activity was organised by Vahram Vardanyan, member of the YRN Presidium, to reflect upon SDG 16 and the linkages with gender equality, discrimination and xenophobia. 

  • YRN-AER Participants with Abdelkader El Khissassi (UfM)
  • CESIE’s activity

The last workshop debate on Education for Sustainable Development involved a number of guest speakers: Giuseppe Lipari, board member of OBESSU, and Rocío Cervera from the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe. Giuseppe explained that OBESSU’s core goal is to increase the recognition of students as fundamental actors in shaping the educational policies and, to that end, the organisation commits itself not only to defend school student rights towards European Institutions and other relevant stakeholders but also to provide assistance for the development of school student representative structures at different levels. 

Rocío Cervera underlined three perspectives that are fundamental in the field of Global Education: multi-perspectivity; multi-stakeholder approach for advocacy purposes; and sustainable lifestyles, which links the notion of sustainable development to the individual responsibility of contributing to it. In this regard, Rocío concluded that “we are all educators and individually responsible for bringing about worldwide sustainable change”.  

  • Giuseppe Lipari (OBESSU)
  • Rocío Cervera (North-South Centre)

The work in the YRN Committees

Throughout the week, the 23 representatives of the AER – Youth Regional Network worked in the YRN committees putting a log-frame analysis (problem/alternative trees) into practice to identify a core issue related to SDG-16 hindering youth participation and the human (youth) right vulnerated. For this exercise, the participants integrated all relevant inputs received at the workshop debates and the outcomes of the log-frame analysis were used in a second phase to elaborate an advocacy plan. Following this advocacy reflection exercise, the participants discussed solutions to overcome the problems identified and came up with recommendations to lobby the regional and local entities they stand for.  

Outlining the main outcomes:

From these three days full of activities, workshops and debates concluded into many outcomes, although we could sum them all up into these three main outcomes:

  • Attitude: Self-awareness (youth as right-holders) and individual responsibility.
  • Skills: Analytical-advocacy planning skills.
  • Knowledge: Global challenges for local and regional actions.

Visit the event page to find all the presentations and materials of the AER – YRN’s activities at the 20th UYD.

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

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

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!

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 ...
Read More
Apply now for the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe's 20th University on Youth and Development!

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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Committee 2 Progress Report Autumn 2019

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

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

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

Projects
Good practice sharing
Lobbying

Projects

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AMiD project for the inclusion of migrants with disabilities: ongoing

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

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

E-health in rural areas: planned

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

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

Autumn Committee Plenaries – Podčetrtek (SI): ongoing

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

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

Mutual learning event on economy 4.0: ongoing

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

Workshop of the AER e-health network: ongoing

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

Breakfast seminar on innovation in healthcare design: finished

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

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

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

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

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

AER Delegation at Smart City Expo World Congress: ongoing

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

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

Elderly care homes in rural areas: planned

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

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

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Committee 3 Progress Report Autumn 2019

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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

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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

“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).

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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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Kick-Off in collaboration with the Task Force on Migration

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

International conference: marking International Migrants Day

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

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

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

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

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

Project and programmes on migration in AER’s network

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

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

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

Meeting young politicians: AMiD at the 2020 Summer Academy

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

What’s next?

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

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

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

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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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