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Coming to Vojvodina? Join our Summer Academy meeting!

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If you have not yet heard about the AER Summer Academy, then you should join us at our next meeting on Thursday 27 September – during the AER Autumn Plenaries in Novi Sad (Vojvodina, SRB)– in order to find out more about what this initiative can offer your region. Registrations for the Plenaries are closing on Friday 14 September! 

What is AER Summer Academy’s mission?

According to its Statute –recently approved by the AER General Assembly– the programme aims to:

  • To facilitate the exchange of experience and good practices between regions on issues of common interest.
  • To facilitate exchanges between policy makers and young people.
  • To support mutual learning.
  • To promote regional democracy in Europe & implementation of the principle of subsidiarity.
  • To provide an opportunity for regional representatives to build networks with their peers across wider Europe.
  • To foster interregional co-operation.
  • To highlight regional good practices and promote the host region
  • To promote European construction, European identity, between young people

Join our Summer Academy Organising Committee !

The AER Summer Academy Organising Committee (SAOC) is looking for new regional partners. There are many benefits to hosting an AER Summer Academy, including opportunities to:

  • learn about EU affairs;
  • network with experts and European counterparts;
  • promote the cultural heritage of your region; and
  • empower young people.

Our next meeting will be held on Thursday 27 September on the sidelines of the Plenary in Novi Sad. It will be a good opportunity for non-member regions of the Summer Academy to know more about this programme. You will have an opportunity to meet the members of the SAOC, watch a short video of the past edition in Maramures, listen to Vojvodina’s proposal for 2019, and provide comments and feedback to the committee members. Please, do not hesitate to contact Andrés Muñoz Rojo at the AER Secretariat for further information.

Looking forward to seeing you in Novi Sad!

Photo credits: @Maramures County Council

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Norrbotten and Scotland’s NHS24 help regions to deploy integrated care systems

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To innovate healthcare and improve the patient’s journey the AER Committee on Social Policy and Public Health has constantly offered a place for experiences exchange and knowledge sharing on integrated e-care systems since the first AER Conference on Integrated Care in 2013. This topic gained new momentum with the intervention of EHTEL’s Diane Whitehouse at the workshop of the AER e-health network in Arad on the SCIROCCO maturity model for integrated care.

Health innovation ecosystems & the deployment of integrated care systems

In March 2018, during the Spring Committee Plenaries in Arad (RO), Committee 2 held a workshop on health innovation ecosystems & the deployment of integrated care systems. Both topics are closely related as they require to build relationships and establish trust between multiple stakeholders to support collaboration, as findings from the MACH5 project show. To help regions deliver more integrated care services for their citizens, the SCIROCCO maturity model presented at this workshop shows its use, as it helps in analysing the situation in areas as diverse as citizen empowerment, governance, innovation management or finance and funding.

Assessing a region’s maturity to implement integrated care systems

The maturity model was first developped within the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing in the Action Group on Integrated Care (B3) of which AER is a member. The SCIROCCO consortium, which includes AER members Norrbotten and NHS24, further developped the model. The maturity model is now operationalised it in the form of an online self-assessment tool. This online tool is ready to be used by stakeholders who are working on innovative solutions that support the delivery of integrated health and care. The tool has been tested in 40 regions across Europe, Singapore and the United States. The SCIROCO tool is a participatory tool which helps regions to:

  • Understand the strengths and weaknesses of their regional context and inform national, regional and local policy-makers about potential areas of improvement;
  • Adopt and transfer integrated care good practices by identifying their maturity requirements, thus facilitating knowledge transfer;
  • Facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogues focused on progress towards the implementation and delivery of integrated care;
  • Facilitate twinning and coaching activities between regions by helping them to understand the local conditions that enable the successful deployment of integrated care.

Learning from the best

Registrations are open for the SCIROCCO Final Conference “How to Accelerate Scaling up of Integrated Care in Context”. During this event participants will learn about the self-assessment tool, the methodologies on how to apply the tool and the experience of regions in using it. The final conference will take place on Wednesday, 24 October 2018, at the Scotland House Conference Centre, Rond point Schuman 6, 1040 Brussels

The conference will be also web-streamed, here is the link to join us remotely

More information about this event is available on the SCIROCCO website

What are integrated care systems?

Integrated e-care systems aim to provide health and social care in a flexible, personalised, and seamless way. The integration of care can be

  • vertical, involving patient pathways to treat named medical conditions that transcend organisational boundaries and connect community-based generalists with largely hospital-sited specialists

or

  • horizontal, involving peerbased and cross-sectoral collaboration to improve overall health closing the traditional gap that often exists between health and social care or vertical, ensuring better.

The objective is to bridge delivery, management, and organisational gaps. An integrated e-care approach harmonizes and coordinates the management, organization, and delivery of services. This ensures healthcare services provide quality and efficient solutions to the needs of patients. ICT plays an important role in integrated care systems, and topics such e-health, big data in healthcare, artificial intelligence have constantly been on the agenda of AER events.

SCIROCCO Conference Agenda

Photo credits: Scirocco webpage, The 12 dimensions of the Maturity Model tool. 

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An unforgettable Summer Academy in Maramures

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The 2018 AER Summer Academy held in Maramures, Romania brought together over 100 participants from various regions across Europe to discuss and learn about the many benefits that heritage and culture can bring to a region. Through a series of plenaries, workshops and study visits, the delegates had the chance to find out about how cultural heritage contributes to the vitality of their region while also discovering the beauty of Maramures’ heritage sites and traditions.

Knowledge-sharing and study visits

Many relevant insights came out of the plenary sessions and workshops where the participants held debates on wide-ranging topics, such as the multiple positive effects of cultural heritage on regions’ prosperity; the role of youth in preserving the future of heritage sites; the growing importance of creative and traditional industries in the field of culture; and many others.

The Norwegian Youth Festivals of Art (UKM) from Østfold County Council (NO) provided the Summer Academy, in-between meetings, with a magnificent ‘soundtrack’ (to the delight of the participants!) through live performances of their young talented singers and musicians.

Last but not least, the Summer Academy delegates also had the opportunity to discover, through study visits and practical workshops, the local traditions and heritage treasures of Maramures – the UNESCO wooden churches, the restored monuments of the city of Baia Mare and the traditional local crafts and potteries.

The closing ceremony of the Summer Academy was later followed by the inauguration of the urban art work on the Youth House wall in Baia Mare carried out by Strokar artists.

Acknowledgements

AER would like first to thank Maramures County Council (RO) and its great team of devoted professionals for ensuring a success implementation of the programme. We also want to thank the locals for their warm hospitality.

A big thank you also to the Summer Academy Organising Committee (SAOC) members –  Brussels Capital Region (BE), Province of Flevoland (NL), Østfold County Council (NO), Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (SRB), Jönköping County Council (S), Canton of Zürich (CH) and Friuli Venezia Giulia (IT), because without their valuable contribution, the Summer Academy would not have been possible one more year.

And finally, you! The participants, who every year bring to the Summer Academy lots of enthusiasm, success stories and good practices that inspire our day-to-day work.

All the presentations, pictures and videos of the 2018 AER Summer Academy will be public very soon at the AER event page.

See you in 2019 for the next edition! 

Photo credits: @Maramures County Council

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Regional Business Forum in Vojvodina

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On the occasion of the Autumn Committee Plenaries in Vojvodina from 25-27 September 2018 a Regional Business Forum is being organised together with the Enterprise Europe Network and the Vojvodina Chamber of Commerce and Development Agency. 

Sharing experiences to support the business community

The Regional Business Forum will gather in one place Regional chambers of commerce and Regional agencies in charge of investments, support for SME and promotion of business and commerce from wider Europe. The event creates a possibility for collaboration and good practice sharing. This event is an opportunity for regions to promote their business potentials and achievements through both dialogue and bilateral meetings.

The Forum will be a place to exchange on the support for SME, promote business and commerce, incentive the possibility to collaborate and share best practices between regions.

The programme includes a one-day conference, a high-level panel debate on Open Data for startups together with all the policymakers from AER member regions, B2B meetings and different study visits.

Open Data for startups: a high-level panel debate

The high level panel debate will bring together speakers from startups, regional policymakers, experts on design and data to discuss why, how and for what regions should open their data and look at challenges and opportunities. Policymakers and representatives from the business sector will discuss how opening public data supports the emergence of startups in regions.

B2B meetings powered by Enterprise Europe Network

Business-to-business (B2B) meetings will be organised in the framework of the Regional Business Forum in Vojvodina. Enterprise Europe Network will facilitate these B2B meetings to help delegates find business partners based on their own interests. The Enterprise Europe Network helps businesses innovate and grow on an international scale. It is the world’s largest support network for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with international ambitions. The network is active in more than 60 countries worldwide and brings together experts renowned for their excellence in business support.

The B2B meetings will be organised via the Enterprise Europe Network matchmaking tool. These will be organised in advance. To request B2B meetings participants have to fill in the required information when registering for the event.

Study visits

The study visits organised in the framework of the Regional Business Forum will feature:

  • the BioSense Institute, the Research and Development Institute for Information Technologies.
    BioSense cross-fertilizes the two most promising sectors in Serbia: ICT and agriculture. BioSense performs multidisciplinary research in the fields of micro and nanoelectronics, communications, signal processing, remote sensing, big data, robotics and biosystems. The goal is to support the development of sustainable agriculture and create a positive impact to the lives of people. BioSense aims to incorporate all efforts and results of various research groups into a unique BioSense integrated system for agricultural monitoring. BioSense Institute coordinates or participates in a large number of international research projects, including Horizon2020, FP7 and Eureka.
  • Unimet, a metal transformation company based in Serbia

Registration

Further information including the programme, the B2B platform, the practical information and the registration can be found in on the Regional Business Forum website. To request a B2B meeting, participants need to fill in the relevant fields in the registration form.

Photo Credits: Viktor Krč,  Unsplash

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AER & the Rhine-Alpine Corridor EGTC

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On 7 June 2018, on the occasion of the  Interregional Alliance for the Rhine-Alpine Corridor EGTC conference, AER Secretary General Mathieu Mori presented the experience of AER member regions which are part of a European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC). AER aims to strengthen the cooperation with the European Corridors to help regions cooperate more along territorial axes which matter for them and engage regions across corridors.

Facilitating cooperation along European corridors

The main objective of the Rhine-Alpine Corridor EGTC is to facilitate territorial cooperation among its members and promote integrated development of the multimodal  from the regional and local perspective. The EGTC is a legal framework that helps public entities of different Member States to work together and develop projects under a new entity with full legal personality.
The conference has been the occasion to underline the importance of a joint and coordinated development of an European Corridor.

Case studies from AER members

At the workshop about “Experience with the EGTC as a legal Form” AER Secretariat Mathieu Mori spoke about AER’s members within EGTCs and illustrated four case studies:

  • Central European Transport Corridor EGTC, a Baltic-Adriatic transport corridor;
  • Euroregio Tyrol-South Tyrol-Trentino, a cooperation between Tyrol, South Tyrol and Trentino in different projects;
  • Euroregio Senza Confini, an association between Veneto (IT), Friuli-Venezia Giulia (IT) and Karnten (AT);
  • EGTC Alzette-Belval, brings together the regions of Grand Est (FR), Region Wallonie (BE), Luxemburg and the german regions of Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland (DE).

He gave an overview of their objectives, fields of actions, their expectations for the future and presented the experiences of each with a look at the common points in order to see if the Interregional alliance for the Rhine-Alpine Corridor is a good example of interregional cooperation and if EGTC is a good tool for cross-border cooperation. The conclusion shared by Mathieu Mori showed that in all the case studies EGTC is considered as a useful tool for cooperation and it has facilitated the dialogue between different institutions, being a neutral place of cooperation and a stable partner.
It is possible to see the presentation and find synthesised the main outputs presented at the conference (presentation here).

Together in one corridor

The Interregional Alliance for the Rhine-Alpine Corridor EGTC has been established three years ago. This alliance gather 21 members from cities, regions and ports along the corridor.
The EGTC acts as an interface, as an intermediate entity facilitating consultation and dialogue between the different levels of government and between the various stakeholders from public and private scope. One of the purposes is to influence positively the sustainable development of the EU territory through the creation of one shared strategy between corridors.

Follow Up

  • Communication is now established between AER and the  EGTC Platform coordinated by the Committee of the Regions
  • The Working Group on Transport and Mobility will discuss the collaboration with the Rhine Alpine corridor and other corridors at the AER Autumn Committee Plenary in Vojvodina.
    This will be an opportunity to plan the development of cooperations between and alongside European Corridors

Useful Links

Interactive map of European Transport and Mobility corridors

EGTC Platform

 

Photo credits: Rhine-Alpine Corridor EGTC

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Environmental policies: more activities for regions

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AER encourages its members to take advantage of existing programmes which offer support on policies which matter for regions. This is why the TAIEX-EIR programme of the European Commission seems of particular relevance. The diversity in services offered make the TAIEX-EIR a well suited tool to complement ongoing activities within the AER Working Group on Energy and Climate Change chaired by Eva Hallström, Värmland (SE).

Better implementation of environmental policies & laws

During the development of the AER Action Plan in Arad, several regions have expressed interest in learning more from other regions on  topics such as for instance waste management in rural areas, the energy transition and sustainable development in general.

The TAIEX-EIR programme supports public administrations with the application and enforcement of EU environmental legislation as well as the sharing of best practices between regions. Offering tailored expertise to those requesting it, TAIEX organises workshops, expert missions, and study visits to allow participants to learn from one another.

TAIEX-EIR peer to peer expert exchanges can address all issues covered by the EC Environmental Implementation Review country reports: for example circular economy and waste management, nature protection, biodiversity, green infrastructure and soil protection, improvement of air quality, water quality and management, sustainable urban development. They can also deal with common root causes of implementation gaps, such as administrative capacity, skills, coordination mechanisms, access to justice, environmental liability, compliance assurance as well as reporting and sharing of environmental information or other aspects of environmental governance.

The diversity in services offered make the TAIEX-EIR a well suited tool to complement ongoing activities within AER.

A programme for all regions

Regions with very diverse characteristices can take advantage from peer learning via the TAIEX-EIR programme. Recent activities include for instance:

  • Workshop on National Circular Economy Action Plans, Budapest -Hungary- 17 – 18 May with representatives from the Finish, Dutch and Slovenian governments on how to prepare National Circular Economy Action Plans in a workshop in Budapest (Beneficiaries: Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic)
  • Expert Mission on exchange of experience regarding circular purchasing, Paris – France – 13 – 14 March 2018 (Beneficiary: France)
  • Workshop on Waste Management within the European Green Leaf Network, Galway – Ireland – 21 – 22 February 2018 (Beneficiary: Ireland)
  • Expert Mission on closing landfills in Romania – benefitting from Ireland’s experience thanks to Commission’s peer-to-peer learning tool (Beneficiary: Romania)

An easy to access programme

TAIEX-EIR assists public institutions involved in the implementation of EU environmental policy and law in the EU Member States, such as:

-National, regional and local departments and agencies;
-Coordinating authorities;
-Inspection and audit authorities;
-Permitting authorities;
-Regional or local environmental implementation businesses entrusted with a public task, and with the application supported by an authority
-Networks of experts involved in environmental implementation and enforcement in cooperation with a Member State environmental authority

Applications can be submitted using the online application, which is rather easy to prepare. Applicants have to provide short information about the objective of the event, the field of expertise concerned, participants and target group, approximate timing and contact person. Details will be prepared later in close cooperation with the requesting institution.

The below overview explains the process from application to evaluation:

 

 

Useful links

Official TAIEX-EIR webpage on European Commission website

Environmental Implementation Review Country reports

Recent related AER activity: AER Study visit on the Energy Transition in Gelderland (NL)

Presidium AER Committee on Economy & Regional Development

Contact

Policy & Knowledge Transfer

Johanna Pacevicius

Mobile: +33 6 24 29 19 37
E-mail: j.pacevicius(at)aer.eu
Skype ID: johanna.pacevicius
Languages: fr, nl, en, pt

Articles by Johanna

  • Thematic Coordination
  • Committees
  • Mutual Learning

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Featured picture by Sebastien Gabriel on Unsplash

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On the road: AER travels to Korçë, Albania to discuss EU funding opportunities

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On 21 June 2018 AER Secretariat was in Korçë (AL) for the EU Funding Seminars. Hosted by our member region Korçë and the President Mrs Ana Verushi, we had the pleasure to meet and discuss with each 12 Albanian regions.

The event gave the opportunity to highlight the role regional cooperation can have and to develop on Programmes and Funding opportunities Albanian regions can have access to.

We also held a funding seminar in Varaždin County, Croatia. Find out more here.

The power of regions

The event began with introduction speeches which highlighted the importance of regions, interregional cooperation and work within a network.

While Mathieu Mori reminded that working together is helpful to make progress in access negotiations, Aldrin Dalipi, President of  Tirana and President of the Albanian regions association illustrated the importance of involving all actors of an area and showed how Korçë is a symbol of a city that has succeeded in mobilising different funds for the urban development.

The Mayor of Korça, Sotiraq Filo presented various challenges Albanian municipality faced towards EU standards but also his satisfaction towards the cooperation the city has achieved with different municipalities thanks to EU funds. This perfectly embodied how fundings and cooperation contribute to one another.

Finally Brian Greenslade stated the role of regions to deliver services to citizens is underestimated. As AER is defending, regions need to be better recognised.

Programmes & Funding opportunities

The key point of the event was programmes and funding opportunities Albanian regions can have access to.

Apart from Erasmus+, Horizon 2020, COSME, Europe for citizens, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs displayed several cooperation programmes. On one side, cross-border cooperation programmes were presented, which includes bilateral programmes with Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Greece. It is worth noting that for each of this bilateral programmes, specific objectives are targeted. For example, with Greece, the objectives are cross border cooperation and regional sustainability, and within the first call, 4 projects are to be implemented. On the other side, transnational programmes were highlighted, which includes the Adriatic-Ionion, the Interreg Balkan Mediterranean or the Interreg Med.

Following this presentation, all members had the chance to get an overview of the access to EU Funding in Albania. First of all, only 1/3 of cities have access to EU funding. The current challenge for Albania is to build capacity and inform relevant actors about funding opportunities. Jolanda Trebicka, team leader of the Municipality for Europe project also highlighted good practices to disseminate information on EU Funding. Thus local coordinator inform local community, information offices are in contact with Ministries in Europe and thus have information before calls are published and some events are organised: for example in Tirana practices of project managers were displayed to involve more stakeholders in projects.

Eventually AER Secretariat was happy to share how they can contribute in helping regions to access and submit project proposals.

To take away

Informing about opportunities is important to allow regions, local communities and various stakeholders to benefit from the funding opportunities. Albanian regions and municipalities have access to various funding opportunities and this event was one tool to raise awareness.

This event was a successful moment for AER and Albanian regions to get to know each other, for mutual learning and sharing of experiences.

As Brian Greenslade conclude, make out the most from the network and remember that together regions are stronger.

 

Useful links

Programme

AER Projects Unit Presentation

 

 

Contact

Member Relations

Anne Henk Bloemhoff

Tel: +32 2 400 10 22
E-mail: ah,[email protected]
Languages: en, de, nl, jp

  • Single point of contact for regions
  • Induction for new members
  • Members’ happiness

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Interested in collaborating with Castilla y León, Spain on innovative financing for social services?

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Gerencia de Servicios Sociales de Castilla y León, which is the Public Body competent on Social Services in the region of Castilla y León (Spain), is searching an additional partner for the project proposal they are developing within the IV Call of the Interreg Europe Programme.

The project aims at helping regional and local governments across Europe to develop and deliver better societal impact policies. It is set to drive societal impact by accelerating Social Impact Investments (SII) and it focuses especially on Social Impact Bonds (SIB). By learning from the most advanced/experienced regions that have already implemented SIBs in their territories, other regions in Europe can start testing the validity of this novel instrument and, if successful, induce a policy change to improve regional policy instruments.

Is it the area of inter-regional cooperation on innovative financing for social services something that you are interested to work on? Do you wish to focus on SIBs to finance societal? If so, you can canditate to join this project!

The ideal partner should be public administrations (preferable regional ones) with great interest in Social Impact Bonds (SIBs), mainly in social services or healthcare areas, able to influence their Structural Funds programmes (ERDF/ESF), especially those under the Investment for Growth and Jobs goal, on the topic of innovation.

If this is you and this proposal raises your attention, please get in contact with us by 7th June at the latest.

Contact

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

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

Articles by Agnese

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

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Looking for partners? Kamza Municipality is available to join projects!

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Kamza Municipality (AL) is looking for projects to join as partner within the Interreg Adrion Second Call for Proposals.

Kamza is located 7 km far from the capital city, Tirana, and it is the 6th largest city in Albania. The geographical position of this city is most advantageous in the triangle strategic, Tirana – International Airport “Mother Teresa – and Durres.

Kamza has previous significant experiences in European funded projects, in particularly within the IPA Adriatic Cross-border Cooperation Programme having been partner in the Project BWS314 “Build Waste Sustainability: New Capacities for a Sustainable Waste Management”, which was aimed at building the capacities of Local Actors in the field of integrated waste management.

More information of Kamza Municipality are available here.

If you are interested to receive more information and/or to liaise with Kamza Municipality, please come back to us asap being the deadline for the submission of proposals within the current call of Interreg Adrion on 26th June.

Contact

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

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

Articles by Agnese

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

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Inspirational Eurodyssey Events within the 2018 Forum!

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On 18 and 19 April, AER, together with Brussels International (Brussels-Capital Region) and Actiris (Brussels’ regional employment service) organised a couple of events which preceded the more traditional Eurodyssey Forum aimed at raising awareness about the importance of youth mobility and employment for regional development through the medium of the Eurodyssey programme for traineeship exchanges.

These two events along with the Eurodyssey Forum brought together in Brussels around 80 participants from 29 different regions or organisations.

“Discover Eurodyssey” (18 April)

On the afternoon of 18 April, the Eurodyssey regions participated in a mobility fair hosted by Actiris which consisted of information stands where the correspondents of the programme promoted their regions and approached young traineeship-seekers interested in embarking on new professional and cultural experiences abroad. In addition to this, the correspondents also had the opportunity to do some good networking and interact with various stakeholders from different sectors involved in the field of youth mobility.

Grégor Chapelle, Director General of Actiris, welcomed all attendees and dedicated a few words to highlight the advantages of Eurodyssey as a fair mobility scheme that help talented young professionals enter the labour market. This was followed by the testimonials of former Eurodyssey trainees who took the floor to share their experiences of how the programme changed their lives. To wrap up the session, the Eurodyssey correspondents were invited to a cocktail reception where the President of Eurodyssey, Esther Estany, and the hosts, Pierre Gérard (Brussels International) and Arlette Brone (Actiris) wished them a pleasant stay in Brussels and fruitful discussions within the Forum.

“Regional challenges at stake for youth mobility” (19 April)

On the morning of 19 April, the second Eurodyssey event entitled “Regional challenges at stake for youth mobility” took place at Actiris. This event, based on a round of conferences with multiple speakers, opened with a welcome speech by Grégor Chapelle who stressed the importance of interregional cooperation between the different employment agencies to work jointly for solutions improving the employability of young people. He also encouraged the non-member regions of Eurodyssey present in the room to join the network.

Introductory interventions

This welcome speech was followed by a presentation made by Liesbeth Driesen, Director & Head of Department of Actiris, on traineeship opportunities in Brussels. Through her presentation, Liesbeth gave a broad insight into the traineeship agreements in which the region of Brussels-Capital is part of as well as providing a picture of the state of play of youth professional integration in the region, mentioning that 80% of the trainees in Brussels get a job after completing a traineeship.

Prior to the Presidency’s speech, the promo-video of Eurodyssey produced by Brussels International (Brussels-Capital Region) was officially presented. You can watch the video again just by clicking below!:

Esther Estany, President of Eurodyssey, took the floor to welcome all attendees to the events outlining the conditions and advantages of the programme that add value to Eurodyssey as a fair mobility scheme. She also emphasised the need of reinforcing the principles of Eurodyssey contained in the Procedures and also invited the regions outside the programme to consider applying to become members.

What’s at stake for youth mobility?

The Presidency’s address led directly to the debate panel “Regional challenges at stake for youth mobility” moderated by Vania Freitas, AER Institutional Relations and Advocacy, who introduced the topic and the speakers to the audience. Manel Sánchez, Director of the European Youth Card Association (EYCA), Valentin Dupouey, Secretary General of the Young European Federalists (JEF), and Safi Sabuni, Policy and Training officer at Eurodesk, exchanged views on the challenges but also the opportunities for youth mobility to thrive by bringing down the multiple barriers that hamper cross-border cooperation in this specific area.

Manel Sánchez (EYCA) described very thoroughly how mobility has expanded exponentially in a period of 30 years from being extremely limited, or inexistent in the past, to the many structures and platforms that work today towards a better implementation of youth mobility policies enabling more and fairer exchanges between territories. In his view, the major challenge is to make mobility more accessible to young people, in particular, for those who are socio-economically in situation of disadvantage.

Valentin Dupouey (JEF) pointed out that many more synergies need to be created between the different actors and organizations that work favouring youth mobility. Local authorities can also contribute to paving the way for youth mobility by working in closer cooperation, building networks and sharing project ideas. Eurodyssey is an example of a successful cooperation scheme between public regional bodies. From his point of view, one of the main barriers hindering mobility is the access to reliable information sources. What is more, the EU investment in youth mobility is still too insufficient to ensure all young people access to a mobility opportunity.

Safi Sabuni (Eurodesk) explained that Eurodesk’s mission has a two-fold objective: to raise awareness about training mobility opportunities and also to encourage young people to become active citizens. She pointed out that there are multiple challenges affecting youth mobility, such as access to information, funding, housing and languages. Sabuni put the emphasis on the information gaps young people encounter when looking into the possibility of embarking on a mobility experience abroad. In light of this, Eurodesk’s core activity is to provide reliable information and knowledge on mobility programmes in a way that young people get easily the message.

Vania Freitas (AER) moved the discussion into a concluding phase by opening the floor to the audience so the participants had the chance to interact directly with the speakers discussing the circumstances accompanying mobility, the funding support to ensure stable mobility structures and the possible future scenarios for mobility in the upcoming years.

Second part of conferences

Following the coffee break, Laurence Hermand, Director of Bureau International de la Jeunesse (BIJ) – Wallonia, made a presentation on the European Project AKI focused on the assessment and recognition of transversal competences, acquired by young adults in international mobility projects, as a means to facilitate their socio-professional integration. The purpose of this project is to identify and make these key competencies –acquired outside school and university curricula– more visible and to increase their relevance in the labour market and society.

Emilio Terrado Vicente, Valencian Community (ES), and Clothilde Dorieux (Actiris, Brussels Capital-Region) made presentations on the theme of funding support for professional mobility in Europe. The former explained how to apply for the European Social Fund (ESF) through the website and its concrete advantages to co-fund mobility programmes, in particular, Eurodyssey. Clothilde also provided a comprehensive insight into the funding programmes for mobility by going through the conditions and specificities of the ESF, the European Solidarity Corps, Your First Eures Job and Reactivate.

Andrés Muñoz (AER), in charge of the Eurodyssey Secretariat, made a presentation on the steps needed towards becoming a full member of Eurodyssey and also explained the added value of the programme both for the participating regions and the trainees. He started his presentation by mentioning the fact that, thanks to his Eurodyssey traineeship at Brussels International, he later found a job at the AER Secretariat as a result of the successful cooperation between these two organisations. Apart from focusing on the benefits of becoming member of Eurodyssey, Andrés Muñoz also put forward the many opportunities regions can take advantage of by joining the largest independent network of regions –AER–.

This was followed by Laurence Hermand (BIJ – Wallonia) and Arlette Brone‘s (Actiris – Brussels-Capital Region) presentation on the Eurodyssey Pilot Actions, intended to innovate on the mobility exchanges of the programme according to the needs of the regions. These Pilot Actions are based on three proposals. The first one is a “companion project” aimed to allow exchanges between regions in a specific craft-trade domain for young job-seekers in their last year of training. The second one is thematic study visits consisting of a minimum three-day programme on a specific theme taking place in each of the regions involved. And the third proposal is focused on the professional integration of less qualified young people.

Magnus Berntsson, President of AER, in his closing speech thanked all participating regions for their attendance to the Eurodyssey Events & Forum remarking the importance of cross-border cooperation as a win-win-win situation for regions, citizens and companies and how Eurodyssey contributes to realise this objective by increasing training and job opportunities for youth as a result of interregional cooperation.

All presentations can be found on the AER event page.

Want to know more about the outcomes of the 2018 Forum? Then click here for further information.

Related Article

Sunny 2018 AER Eurodyssey Forum in Brussels!

It’s all about YOUth!

Photo credits: @Brussels Regional Public Service

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AER at Regional Airports Conference in Naples

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AER expert on regional airports, Roger Estefors has been invited to speak at a panel on “Changes in airline strategies and their impact on regional airports” at the ACI Europe’s 11th Regional Airports’ Conference & Exhibition. Roger Estefors provides members of the AER Working group on Transports and Mobility with regular updates on changes in legislation affecting the ability of regions to support their regional airports and indeed their connectivity. In the below article, he shares insights on the upcoming conference, which will take place from 14-16 May in Naples (IT).

AER has been contributing to the ACI Europe events for the last five years. From an AER perspective it is of great value to have the opportunity to take part in an event were a broad representation of European Regional Airports are present. The connections and the information available at these events provide elements to  address questions such as development and business models, regulations and threats or opportunities for the AER member regions in the management of their own regional airport.

This year’s programme feature a broad spectrum of current issues and addresses the strategic pillars of dynamic regional development. The event will also host the 27th meeting of ACIs Regional Airports’ Forum, a most active group created in 2006.

Among the items to be discussed we can notice that Brexit will be on the agenda as well as the implications for regional airports with a high percentage of British passengers.

Another item on the conference agenda, which is relevant to many AER regions with smaller airports, is the degree of benefits from implementation and use of remote technologies.

One of the sessions during the conference will focus on the effects on regional airports due to the shift within the more dominating airline companies’ strategic thinking. Notable is that large airline groups continue their consolidation. LCC (Low Cost Airline) Companies such as Ryanair, in the first line, are now changing their strategy on which airports they serve. The dynamic effects of these shifts in strategies entail an increasing risk for the smaller players to be outnumbered. Further developed business models by the dominating LCC companies towards Long Haul LCC in combination with new and more efficient regional aircrafts will change route dynamics.

Airport Council International Europe, ACI Europe, represents over 500 airports in 45 European countries. The member airports facilitate over 90% of commercial air traffic in Europe with 2 billion passengers, 20 million tonnes of freight and 23.7 million aircraft movements in 2016. The member airports contribute yearly to the employment of 12.3 people, generating some € 675 billion GDP in Europe.  ACIs European operations are executed from its office in Brussels and  its mission is primarily based on airport operators of all sizes, along with national airport associations, educational establishments and world business partners.

 

 

 

 

Roger Estefors, from Västerbotten (SE), is the expert on regional airports for the AER Working Group on Transports and Mobility.

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New project on connecting local governments & research communities: do you wish to join it?

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AER Secretariat wish to share with the entire network an interesting project proposal that HESAM University in cooperation with the Burgundy-Franche-Comté region is developing within the 4th call for proposals of the Interreg Europe, one of the main funding programme that European regions can access.

Lear more about the project proposal

This project proposal, entitled  “COnnecting LOcal government and the REsearch community to address REsource efficiency and environmental opportunities” aims to improve regional policies, in particular these policies supported by ERDF / ESF operational programs, in the field of ecological transition and natural and cultural heritage protection (Priority Axis 4 – Environment and Resource Efficiency).

The project relates more specifically to the cooperation practices between research universities/centers and mainly rural communities, that can support local authorities in the design and implementation of innovative solutions.

Regional policies on ecological transition and the protection and valorization of natural and cultural heritage should make a stronger link between structural funds and smart support to rural communities. They would thus facilitate: 1. linking local authorities and researchers to develop innovative solutions adapted to local issues; 2. the emergence and maturation of these solutions, and the support of partnerships between communities and researchers (“facilitation”).

 Lear more about the Lead Partner 

HESAM University is a federal university bringing together fifteen research and higher education organisations, with 54 campuses all over France. Its members have developed long-term cooperation with local communities (regional and local councils, industry). HESAM is promoting partnerships between research and local government with the project “1000 PhD students for territories” (winner of the call for expression of interest of the Ministry of Higher Education on the professional integration of graduates in SSH). Its purpose is to connect communities (town halls, councils, departments, etc.) or local NGOs with PhD students under a national research scheme, known as “thèses CIFRE”. The application of the CIFRE scheme – initially developed for research and industry partnerships – to local government / research partnerships gained speed with several experiments in the Burgundy-Franche-Comté region, and is one of the good practices the Lead Partner would propose to share along this new project, and confront to other regional initiatives.

Lear more about the partner searched to complete the consortium

The new partners should be European Regions that are managing authorities in terms of European funds, and which have a strong rural component and varied experiences (both in terms of volume and type of experience) on communities and researchers’ cooperation.

If you are interested to learn more about this project opportunity or to join the consortium, please come back to us before 26ht April.

Contact

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

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

Articles by Agnese

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

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Interreg Europe launches its 4th call for proposals: useful information & tips!

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We are happy to share with you that the Interreg Europe has launched its 4th call for proposals. A webinar took place on the 13 April and various national info days will be conducted. For those of you who are interested but cannot attend the info days, here are some useful information and tips.

What is it about?

The 4th call for proposals concerns the 4 issues tackled by the programme, namely:

  • Research and innovation
  • SME competitiveness
  • Low-carbon economy
  • Environment and resource efficiency

This is the 4th call, which means that already a lot of projects have been approved and are implemented or are to be implemented. In order to maximise your chances to have your project selected, look at what has been done and distinguish yourself.

Plus, some areas have not been well covered so far and could be interesting to take into consideration : water quality, waste management and renewable energy. From the networking session following the webinar, there is an interest for these topics, as well as for heritage, both cultural and industrial. Here you can look for ideas and partners.

Useful information

The call opens on the 7 May 2018 and the deadline to submit project proposal is 22 June 2018, noon.

The application pack has been published as well as instructions on the procedures, please refer to them in order to well prepare and submit your project proposal.

The project implementation has to take place in two distinct phases. The first phase must focus on the interregional learning process, through exchange of experience, communication and dissemination and management and coordination. The second phase must monitor the action plan implementation, that is to say checking the extent to which the measures described in the action plans are implemented or gathering evidence of success for example.

More useful information for those who are ready to apply

In March 2023 all projects have to be closed. As a result, phase 2 will last only one year.

A proper geographic coverage is necessary. Regions have been divided in 4 zones. Each partnership needs to consist of partners from at leat 3 zones. Moreover, regions who have not taken part in projects so far are more than welcomed. A list of these regions is available on the Interreg Europe website.

For further information, please check the call for proposals.

If you are interested by the call and want to get engaged in projects, do not hesitate to contact the AER Secretariat.

Contact

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

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

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

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Interreg Adrion: 2nd call for proposals is open

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AER continues its effort in looking for opportunities within the Adriatic Ionian area having many regions that belong to this territory. After providing information on the first call for proposals of the Interreg Adrion, we are now happy to share with you that the Interreg Adrion has launched its new call for proposals.

What is it about?

The second call for proposals will focus on the second priority axis, namely “Sustainable regions“, which encompasses:

  • the promotion of the sustainable valorisation and preservation of natural and cultural heritage as growth assets in the Adrion area
  • the enhancement of the capacity in transnationally tackling vulnerability, fragmentation and safe-guarding of ecosystems services in the Adrion area.

Practical information

The second call is open from 26 March 2018 to 26 June 2018.

A launch event will take place in Zagreb (HR) on 24 April 2018. We strongly advice all of you who are interesting to submit a project proposal to take part in it. Registration is open until 19 April 2018. The event will give you valuable information about the call and the submission process. On top of that there will be national info days organised by the programme.

The eligible areas are regions belonging to Croatia, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia.

For further information, please check the call for proposal.

If you are interested by the call and want to get engaged in projects, do not hesitate to contact the AER Secretariat.

Contact

European Projects

Agnese Pantaloni

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

Articles by Agnese

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

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Internship: Support AER’s member relations and events! (CLOSED)

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Internship: how would you like to support our member relations and events coordinators?

Are you interested in interning in events and member relations for the largest independent political network of regions in Europe.

We are looking for an intern to work with us in the AER Brussels office to support our membership and events coordinators.

NB: In order to apply, you must be in a position to sign a three-way agreement (convention de stage), with the university that you are registered to. 

What you would do:

  • Support the member relations and events coordinators in their day-to-day work.
  • Ensure that the membership database up-to-date;
  • Provide support in updating members about AER’s main activities, projects and campaigns;
  • Research on European regions’ priorities and needs;
  • Contribute to drafting events programmes;
  • Provide support in research for host regions for AER events;
  • Promote events on social media.

Finally, the intern will assist the entire team in general office management tasks.

This is who we are

Here are the things that are great about this workplace:

  • We’re a very small team, so everybody is important
  • We’re also a very great team, with awesome people on board
  • We share strong values of open-mindedness, honesty, responsibility and a positive-attitude
  • The thing we work for is super cool: who could be against helping people across Europe to work together?
  • We use cloud-based team collaboration tools, which allows us to keep in close contact with our team and members that are spread across Europe.

If this is you…

We need someone who is outgoing, flexible and eager to learn, with attention to detail. In this position, you will be expected to multitask and work with two different coordinators.

You should speak and write fluently in English, be interested in the regional dimension in Europe, be comfortable with Mac OS, the Office Suite, and WordPress.

AER is happy to offer you the opportunity to:

  • Gain practical experience in the field of membership and events in a European association;
  • Be in contact with high ranking politicians, opinion-leaders and European partners;
  • Learn about regions and related current European political issues;
  • Work in a dynamic, multinational and multicultural environment;
  • Develop personal responsibility and initiative;
  • Gain invaluable experience in an international professional environment.

The internship period will be 6 months, starting ASAP.

From your arrival onward, you will be considered as full team member.

Financial, administrative and insurance conditions

For all internships within AER, a contract must be signed by AER and the intern’s home University/School/Institute. Please note that this is a non-negotiable condition.

You will receive a monthly financial compensation of 150 EUR for this training period. Travel and living costs must be met by yourself.

If you are not citizen of an EU country, you must make sure that you fulfil all legal requirements (residence permit, visa etc.) as specified by Belgian law for foreigners. You must also ensure that you are correctly insured during your stay in Brussels.

Apply

If we have sparked your interest and you are interested in making AER your next professional challenge, here is how to apply:

Please send a short cover letter with your CV in English to [email protected] with “AER internship – membership and events“ as subject line.

Deadline for application: 07 May 2018
Starting date: ASAP

 

Connecting regions – inspiring Europe

Set up in 1985, The Assembly of European Regions is the largest independent political network of regions in wider Europe, bringing together regions from 35 countries – from Norway to Turkey and from Russia to Portugal.

AER is present everywhere on the European continent, inside and outside the European Union. It is the political voice of its members, as well as a forum for interregional cooperation. AER has offices in Strasbourg (FR) and Brussels (BE) as well as representations in Alba (RO) and Dnipropetrovsk (UA).

 

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