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ARLEM Award 2021

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Are you a young entrepreneur running a local business in the Mediterranean region and collaborating with your regional or local community? Then you may be eligible for the ARLEM Award 2021.

The Assembly of the European Regions is pleased to present this initiative launched by the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) to award a young innovative entrepreneur addressing their local needs. Created in 2010 by the Committee of the Regions (CoR), ARLEM aims to give a territorial dimension to the Union for the Mediterranean; promote local democracy, multi-level governance and decentralized cooperation around the three shores of the Mediterranean; encourage North-South and South-South dialogue; promote exchange of best practices; and promote regional integration and cohesion.

In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of the local economy and the realisation of the limits of globalisation came to the forefront. Now more than ever before, young local entrepreneurs need support to develop their businesses and address local communities’ needs. With this award, ARLEM focuses on stimulating local business, supporting young entrepreneurs and encouraging collaboration between local public authorities and the private sector. 

Deadline for this award is 20 September 2020. More information and the application can be found here.

The winning enterprise and local/regional authority will be announced at the 12th ARLEM Plenary Session at the beginning of 2021 (#ARLEMaward).

Eligibility Requirements:

  • Young Entrepreneur (under 35)
  • Supported by her/his regional or local community
  • Enterprise has been registered and running for at least 3 years
  • Headquartered in a country on the three shores of the Mediterranean (Albania, Algeria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Turkey

Take a look below at the previous winners:
Arlem Award 2020
Arlem Award 2019

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A youth voluntary response to COVID-19!

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On the 14th of May, AER participated in the webinar Euro-Mediterranean Youth Voluntary responses to the COVID-19 hosted by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). AER programmes coordinator, Andrés Muñoz, joined a discussion panel on the role of regions and municipalities mobilising young volunteers to contain the spread of the virus. Two examples from AER member regions were featured in the discussions: Lepoglava municipality in Varazdin County (HR) and Ajara region (GE).

Regions mobilising youth voluntary work!

Regional and local authorities are at the frontline of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic engaging with communities to avoid the spread, delivering healthcare and other essential services and supporting the most vulnerable population, including young people. But youth has also proven to be a highly effective partner to respond to such sanitary emergencies and a valuable asset to the frontline actors for vital livelihood support.

Regional and local authorities rely on the contribution of the organised civil society and community groups, including young volunteers, together with international or private organisations to respond to the challenges of the pandemic. Many young activists and volunteers across the globe have embarked on exemplary initiatives and are generating innovative ideas to save countless lives within their communities and help in the longer-term recovery process.

AER examples of youth voluntary work

Lepoglava, Varazdin County (HR): 

The region allocated resources and organized lots of young volunteers for food and medicines delivery, prioritising the most vulnerable segments of the population. Starting from helping the elderly people in bringing them groceries, medicine and other essential goods to include people in self-isolation into such a solidarity campaign. Special attention was paid to very poor communities who were delivered free warm lunch every second day.

The organised youth took also an active part in “patrolling” the streets to inform the local stores, retailers and businesses about the distancing rules, disinfection and hygiene measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Besides that, during the “patrolling” the young volunteers distributed free masks and gloves to those citizens in need of prevention equipment.

Regional Youth Centre of Ajara (GE)

With the pandemic outbreak, activities of the Regional Youth Center of Ajara region (GE) shifted from planning and executing youth projects to coordinating young volunteers in the crisis management strategies to respond to the COVID-19.

The youth centre launched a call to recruit volunteers and, in cooperation with the Georgian Red Cross Society, trained over 400 volunteers who delivered food and medicines to over 10.000 families. As a result, the Ajara’s Youth Regional Centre has successfully acquired new skills in the field of crisis management. This solidarity youth response reaffirms the commitment of the Ajara region towards young people’s inclusion in public life.

The Eurodyssey example:

Eurodyssey’s joint actions to contain the COVID-19 crisis were also featured in the discussions as an example of interregional response to protect young people in mobility.

Share your success story!

AER is mapping further youth voluntary initiatives from member regions to give visibility to the role being played by young activists in addressing the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The main goal is to showcase more success stories and, ultimately, organise an online workshop to exchange lessons learnt and best practices in this area.

Please, just answer a brief survey to share your story and upload any relevant pictures or files for social media purposes:

FILL IN SURVEY



Thanks in advance for contributing to this initiative!

Photo credits: @Lepoglava municipality / @Ajara

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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 ...
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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 ...
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Mersin Metropolitan Municipality (TR) is eager to join projects!

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European Youth Together 2019 is a call for proposals within Erasmus+ Key Action 3, Support for Policy Reform. The main objective of this call is to promote young people’s participation in European civic life by encouraging them to create networks aimed at organising exchanges, promoting trainings and allowing them to set up joint projects.

In this context, Mersin Metropolitan Municipality is looking to join projects as a local public body partner.

Charming open-air museum!

Mersin is a large city and port on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey.

It does not only offer 321 km long sea shore with unique natural beauties like sea, sand and sun trio but also offers variety of tourism opportunities such as: culture, faith, congress, uphill, tracking, rafting, paragliding and mountain climbing.

Often called “the Pearl of the Mediterranean”, Mersin is an important economic center as well as an open-air museum, a home with many historical and touristic places like numerous ruin sites and magnificent ancient castles.

Get in touch with this partner!

Mersin Municipality has previous significant experiences in European funded projects, particularly within the IPA, Capacity Building in the field of Climate Change in Turkey Grant Scheme (CCGS) and Town Twinning.

As the deadline of the European Youth Together Call is 18th July 2019, don’t hesitate to contact AER Secretariat which is happy to liaise you with Mersin Metropolitan Municipality.

This active institution is opened to cooperate also in other calls of proposals, as their experience in project management is diverse and their interests are addressed to different fields.

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

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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SUMMER ACADEMY 2019: AMiD workshop on Migrants with Disabilities

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“Opportunities for all abilities”

The AMiD-Access to services for Migrants with Disabilities project is landing in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS) for the 2019 Summer Academy with the aim to raise awareness among regional and local authorities and young representatives about one of the most fragile within the disadvantaged groups: migrants with disabilities. The AMiD official video, testimonies of migrants with disabilities, the human rights-based approach of the UN CRPD- Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities are ingredients of the cocktail to showcase how better services lead to more inclusive societies.

Costs of participation can be reimbursed from the European Union’s AMIF – Asylum Migration and Integration Fund programme by signing up to this AMiD workshop taking place on Wednesday 3rd of July! How? Keep reading below…

Migrants with disabilities in the spotlight

Over the past few years, Europe has been facing an unprecedented influx of migrants and refugees since the end of the Second World War. The risks for refugees and migrants travelling to Europe remain very high today with more people dying at sea or along land routes while travelling to or crossing a border. In this context, the integration of migrants has become one of the most salient topics in the European political agenda.

When it comes to migrants and refugees with disabilities, the European Council and Parliament Directive 2013/32/EU states that “the reception of persons with special needs should be a primary concern for national authorities in order to ensure that such reception is specifically designed to meet their special reception needs.”

Furthermore, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), ratified by the EU and all the EU member states, requires States Parties to put in place structures that enable the full participation of persons with disabilities in society and to ensure their protection in situations of risk, including armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters.

However, there are multiple obstacles migrants and refugees with disabilities have to face, such as fails to assess their disabilities or the lack of access to social services that address their specific needs. One of the reasons is the lack of a common approach among different actors and the lack of cohesion among Local Authorities concerning the migrants and refugees situation.

Inclusion at the forefront

AER is at the front side when it comes to migration. In 2008, the AER General Assembly adopted the “Tampere Declaration on Migration and Integration”. A political statement on “Facing the migration and refugee challenges” was also adopted by the Bureau in 2015. Furthermore, AER is a partner in a project to support efficient management of the reception and integration of asylum seekers and refugees with disabilities in the EU, the AMiD project. Värmland (SE), Timis (RO) and Valencia (ES) are members of the AMiD – Community Advisory Board. Just last week, the AER Task Force on migration adopted a position “Towards an intercultural Europe”.

An AMiD workshop to stand-up for equal opportunities!

The Summer Academy participants attending this workshop will take-away the following message: migrants with disabilities are in need of welfare support and integral services to fulfil their right to equal opportunities. One expert from the AMiD consortium will conduct this session where the participants will be invited to reflect on the challenges that migrants with disabilities face on a daily basis.

Following this, the AMiD official video and some video-testimonials will be screened in order for the participants to get acquainted with the campaign and the ways they can collaborate to spread the word. The participants will also have the chance to share their experiences when accessing welfare services in a foreign country. The last part of the session will be dedicated to introducing the human rights-based approach and the AMiD’s Needs Assesment Tool (NAT).

Get reimbursed for your participation!

By signing up to this workshop, the participants can benefit from the reimbursement of their trip expenses, accommodation for 2 nights and 3 meals per day at the AER 2019 Summer Academy in Novi Sad, Vojvodina.

Please, read very carefully HERE the guidelines to make sure you meet the requirements and your expenses are eligible for reimbursement! Please, note that you will need a mandate signed by the relevant public authority:

Expenses must be claimed after the Summer Academy and sent to the AER Secretariat until the 15th of July!

For any inquiries regarding the AMiD project or reimbursements, please contact Luca Magri ([email protected]) at the AER Secretariat.

How to participate?

This workshop takes place in the context of the AER Summer Academy 2019.

If you are already registered for the AER Summer Academy and would like to participate in this workshop, you have the possibility to have two nights accommodation and your travel costs reimbursed. Please send an expression of interest to [email protected] via email with the Subject Line “AMiD workshop 2019 Summer Academy – Expression of Interest”.

If you are not already registered for the Summer Academy and wish to participate in this workshop and in many other activities, please visit the event page of the Summer Academy and discover the full programme. 

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to join the Novi Sad 2019 European Youth Capital!

Register for the Summer Academy Now!

If you would like to register for the AMiD workshop only – please email [email protected] with the Subject Line “AMiD workshop 2019 Summer Academy – Expression of Interest”

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Building Intercultural Regions

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AER’s General Assembly and Spring Bureau Meeting in Larnaca (CY) on 5-6 June 2019 brought together regional leaders from across Europe to discuss how to harnesses the benefits of migration and diversity for a more inclusive and democratic Europe.

Round Table “Connecting the dots – Multi-level, Multi-actor Migration”

During the Round Table “Connecting the dots – Multi-level, Multi-actor Migration” on 5 June, representatives of local and regional authorities, civil society organisations and European Institutions shared experiences and methodologies on how to achieve a common approach among different stakeholders and better multilevel coordination on welcoming migrants and refugees. The event was held in the framework of the “AMiD – Access to Services for Migrants with Disabilities“ project, supported by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) of the European Union.

Breakfast Briefing on Intercultural Regions

At the Breakfast Briefing on 6 June, moderated by the AER Vice President for Democracy, Nina Björby, AER members discussed approaches to more effectively managing migration and diversity for more inclusive communities.  

Albert Castellanos, AER Vice President for Interregional Cooperation and Mediterranean Affairs and Chair of the AER Task Force on Migration, highlighted the importance of interculturalism as a policy approach in our increasingly diverse societies. Projecting a positive attitude towards migration and diversity, interculturalism offers a more valuable narrative for public action, he stated.  

Irena Guidikova, Head of Division Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Programmes of the Council of Europe, presented the Intercultural Cities Programme. This flagship programme of the Council of Europe assists local authorities in designing policies based on the intercultural integration policy model. Implemented in more than one hundred cities in Europe, it aims to foster connections and inclusive collective identity, managing diversity as an opportunity, while also ensuring equal access to rights and opportunities for all. Introducing the intercultural approach to regional level is key to increasing the impact of intercultural integration on managing migration and diversity in Europe, proclaimed Irena Guidikova.

Member of Limassol Municipal Council, Neophytos Charalambides, presented the experience of the Limassol Intercultural Council. This multi-stakeholder consultative body is based on the Council of Europe Intercultural Cities programme and aims to advise local authorities on the integration challenges faced by migrants. 

AER member regions committed to work even more closely together and exchange on migration, diversity and inclusion policies, governance and practices within a European informal network of intercultural regions.

Bureau Position on Intercultural Regions 

During the AER Bureau Meeting on 6 June, Bureau Members adopted a Position “Towards an Intercultural Europe”, proposed by the Chair of the AER Task Force on Migration, Albert Castellanos, Catalonia (ES). The position calls for European institutions and national governments to adopt a proactive agenda when managing migration, building a comprehensive approach that goes beyond security-driven measures. Regional leaders urged the Council of Europe, the European Union and their Member States to make inclusion a priority and to provide increased funding and resources for the integration of migrants, using a multi-level and multi-actor approach. 

What’s next?!

On 25 June 2019, The Regions for Integration Initiative will host a seminar “Integration of Migrants and Refugees in Small Territories: A factor for local development” in Brussels at the European Committee of the Regions. See the Draft Agenda and register HERE.

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Committee 1 Annual Report June 2018 – May 2019

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The General Assembly is the highest authority of AER and convenes
representatives of all its full members at least once a year. The
General Assembly adopts among other things, the annual reports of the
Thematic Committees.

This report is the compilation of actions developped and implemented within Committee 1 between the 2018 General Assembly in Lillehammer, Oppland (NO) and the 2019 General in Larnaka (CY).

Activities are organised in 3 categories:

  • Projects
  • Good practice sharing
  • Advocacy/ Lobbying

The AER Action plan, which brings together all the activities carried out within AER, is constantly updated.

Projects

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

This project is funded by DG REGIO. It will:

  • raise awareness on the importance of programmes, projects and services funded by Cohesion Policy funds
  • encourage the participation of citizens and stakeholders to ensure they are active players in the dialogue on cohesion policy.

The project officially started on 1st of April 2019 and will last for 12 months. The following regions, which have sent a letter of support for this project will be involved in different actions funded by the project to engage citizens and communicate about Cohesion Policy in their territories:
Trento (IT), Alba (RO), Timis (RO), Catalonia (ES), Varazdin (HR) and potentially Csongrad (HU).
All AER members are invited to share examples of communication campaigns on Cohesion Policy and to participate in the launching event of the project on 5 June 2019 in Larnaka on the occasion of the AER General Assembly.

Silver Economy Awards (SEED): finished

The Silver Economy Awards aimed to catalyse a sustainable European digital Silver Economy movement by promoting and rewarding innovative solutions to improve the quality of life for over 50s. The Awards were an opportunity to raise awareness around the lesser-known notion of the Silver Economy. They illustrate the breadth of the consumer markets and the public spending involved and the size of the opportunities available for entrepreneurs, investors, public authorities and civil society. Last year the Silver Economy Awards replaced the traditional AER Regional Innovation Award. The first Awards Ceremony took place on May 2018 in Brussels. SEED was a two-year project: 10/2016 to 09/2018

ARLEM project – Capacity building for an integrated and sustainable urban development: canceled

This is a joint project of the Committee of the Regions regional and local authorities focused on the Mediterranean. In this context, AER answered to the call of ARLEM – Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly in order to provide technical expertise and political support. AER expressed its interest to focus piloting actions in Turkey, Tunisia, and Morocco. This project aims to reinforce the capacities of local and regional authorities from the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean both in terms of urban management and integrated urban development. AER will contribute in the capacity building activities as well as the organisation of regional conferences. It is funded by the Finnish Development Agency and activities are planned for 2 years and six months.

REFIT Project – New regulative frameworks to foster innovation in the transport sector: not accepted

The REFIT project, under the Horizon 2020 Programme, will improve the regulatory framework to make it consistent with the development of new forms of mobility, including shared used mobility, having in mind to safeguard the interest of the users and to attend societal goals. The main result will be the creation of a user-friendly governance tool facilitating regulatory processes to support the deployment of innovative transport technologies and services in the EU.

Event: EU funding for Croatian & Albanian regions: finished

The event on EU funding for Croatian regions, hosted by Varaždin (HR) and Committee 3 President Radimir Čačić, and the event on EU funding for Albanian regions,
hosted by Korcë (AL) and MEG member Ana Verushi brought together about
70 participants, both members and non members of AER to:
-hear about AER’s activities
-learn more on AER services for projects and services
-obtain information on the areas of cooperation with EU
-get a relevant update on the current and forthcoming EU funding opportunities
-become aware of the successful experiences of project applicants

Good Practice Sharing

Breakfast seminar “The Sustainable Development Goals and regional growth – Is it possible?” finished

On 15 May 2019, AER and Oppland (NO) co-organised a seminar entitled “The Sustainable Development Goals and regional growth – Is it possible?“ in Brussels on integrated regional policymaking with the OECD and regional examples.

The Sustainable Development Goals as a policy framework: ongoing

  1. The Working Group on Energy and Climate Change organised a workshop on using the Sustainable Development Goals as a policy framework on September 26th in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS). Many regions are very active in this space. Oppland (NO), Värmland (SE) and the UNDP in Belgrade provided case studies.
  2. On the occasion of the Joint Plenary session in Örebro (SE), the the role of regions with respect to the Sustainable Development Goals were discussed by Ida Texell, Member of the Swedish delegation Agenda 2030
  3. The Working Group on Energy and Climate Change organised a workshop on ambitious regional planning with views to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals on March 27th in Örebro (SE)

Using the SDGs to communicate AER activities: ongoing

Oppland suggested that as many of the AER activities are contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, AER should promote the 2030 Agenda, raising visibility of how AER and its member regions are contributing to reach goals. AER is further developing its collaboration with UCLG and other networks and organisations around this topic and will organise a major event on this topic in 2020 in Grand Est (FR)

Supporting members to use the TAIEX-Environmental Implementation Review: ongoing

  • The AER Secretariat disseminated information about the TAIEX-EIR peer to peer learning programme and supporting members to use this programme to gain or provide knowledge on environmental policies on topics as diverse as air quality, waste management, water management, the circular economy. This programme which is relatively easy and quick to access is a good complement to activities carried out within AER and an opportunity to access support from the Commission to carry out exchanges with other regions.
  • The TAIEX-EIR programme was presented at the Autumn plenaries in the workshop of the AER Working group on rural development.
  • The AER Project Unit will also organise a webinar in May or June 2019 to help members use the programme.
  • The region of Gelderland is organising a TAIEX-EIR workshop on ecosystem services, which is open (and financed by the European Commission) on 4 – 5 July 2019

Workshop on Life Cycle Approaches to Regional Sustainable Development: finished

Following the September 2017 workshop on life cycle approaches for renewable energy, circular economy and regional development, members of the working group on energy and climate change were invited to participate in a workshop in Bordeaux, France in 4 and 5 March 2019.
This workshop was intended as a consultative forum to gather advice, experience and further case studies to facilitate this move. It will help to develop an outreach programme on Life Cycle approaches to sustainable regional development.

Study visit on the energy transition: finished

The main focus of the study visit, was the bottom-up approach for the energy transition, which was implemented in the region. This multi-stakeholder cooperation was materialised by the Gelders’ Energy agreement (GEA). The shared goal is to make the province energy-neutral by 2050. Local and regional industries, governments and NGOs’ in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands, have pledged for the province to become energy-neutral by 2050. It facilitates a co-creative process where initiatives, actors, and energy are integrated into society. Participants shared good practice and experience, and in particular:

-observed Gelders’ Energy agreement working process
-met with Gelders’ Energy agreement regional partners
-carried out visits to observe regional results
-participated in a serious game on energy and the diverging interests of stakeholders to exchange about challenges.

Open data and blockchain in transports, Working group meeting: finished

The AER working group on Transports and Mobility, which is chaired by Martin Tollén, member of the Transport and Urban Planning Committee of Östergötland (SE), met on 28 March 2019, on the occasion of the Spring Committee Plenaries in Örebro.
Members discussed the following topics:

New mobility services: ongoing

Good practice exchange on electric cars (production of batteries) and infrastructure. Participation of the working group in the REFIT H2020 project on policies to support New Mobility Services. Exchnages around the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities.

Seminar “Food for thought action”: finished

AER organised a seminar on the topic of food and innovation on the occasion of the Örebro Spring Plenaries on 27 March 2019. Speakers shared examples from the regions and showed how central food and innovation is to regional development.

Food: short supply chains & quality food: ongoing

The Working Group on rural development organised a side event on the occasion of Smart City Expo World Congress on the topic of food. Findings of this side event aim to feed the work of the Bureau Task Force on food.

Study visit on food production: canceled

The idea was to focus the study visit on the approach to food production in order to see how microfirm became large company, which was implemented in the Norrbotten region. The initiative could potentially have been linked with the TAIEX EIR peer learning opportunity of the European Commission. This idea was not implemented.

Youth entrepeneurship: ongoing

Members expressed the wish to develop youth entrepreneurship actions in link with Committee 3. EMAX, a Swedish organisation, which organises innovation camps presented their work on the occasion of the Autumn Committee 3 plenary meeting. They also organise a Breakfast Debate on youth entrepreneurship on the occasion of the Spring 2019 plenary meetings in Örebro (SE).

International Migrants Day: Promoting Diversity in Regions: finished

The three AER committees and the AER Task Force on Migration worked closely together to develop messaging ahead of the International Migrants Day: Promoting Diversity in Regions event in Barcelona on Tuesday 18 December 2018.
Participants shared their experiences and good practices in diversity management at regional level, including examples of policies, programmes and was implemented inclusion, participation in civic, economic and political life, positive intercultural interaction and the sense of belonging.

Meeting of the Working Group for Equal Opportunities: finished

The AER Group on Equal opportunities has regular phone meetings and met as well in Novi Sad to discuss the development of a Code of Conduct for AER.

Spring Plenary meeting Committee for Economy and Regional Development: finished

Committee 1 gathered on the occasion of the Spring Committee Plenaries in Örebro (SE) to assess progress, define their 2019-2020 work programme and elect new representatives. The results of the elections are the following:

  • Committee President: Kenneth Backgård, Norrbotten (SE)
  • Vice-President for Economic Development and Mobility: Michiel Scheffer, Gelderland (NL)
  • Chair of the Working Group on Investment, Business & SMEs: Maricel Popa, Iași (RO)

Autumn Plenary meeting Committee for Economy and Regional Development: finished

The 2018 Autumn Committee Plenaries were hosted by Vojvodina in Serbia from 25 – 27 September 2018. A detailed recap of all the meetings that took place is available here. The Committee on Economy and Regional Development members decided that the Task Force on Cohesion Policy, which for historic reasons was under the responsibility of this Committee, should be transferred to the Bureau for coherence purposes, as it is the Bureau which is in charge of the identification of policy messages and advocacy activities.

Sustainable Urban Mobility, Working group meeting: finished

The Working Group on Transports and Mobility decided in Spring 2018
to work on sustainable urban mobility. At the Autumn Committees Plenary
meetings, Miroslav Tadic, UNDP Climate Change Portfolio Manager shared
the experience of UNDP in Serbia.

Waste management in rural areas, Working Group on Rural development meeting: finished

The Working Group on rural development organised a workshop on waste management in rural areas on September 27th in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS). Svetlana Marusic presented the situation in Vojvodina (RS) and Olimpia Neagoe, Chair of the Working Group, presented a project which is being implemented in Dolj (RO) and which is substantially supported by EU funding. Sustainable Waste Management involves both considerable investments in infrastructure and a lot of work on behavioural changes.

Webinar on New Mobilities: canceled

The Working Group on Transports & Mobility will organise a
webinar on New Mobilities for all AER members. Date & topic tbc.

International event on Biomass: canceled

Organisation of an international event on Biomass in Vojvodina (RS) in collaboration with AER members. It was replaced by an International Business Summit on the occasion of the 2018 Autumn Committee plenaries in Vojvodina.

International Business Summit: finished

The Regional Business Forum co-organised by AER and Vojvodina gathered 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. It wass an opportunity for regions to promote their business potentials and achievements through both dialogue and bilateral meetings. The programme included 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.

Panel discussion on Open data for regional development: finished

On the occasion of the Autumn plenaries in Vojvodina, the panel discussion “Open data for regional development: governance, start-ups and innovation” took place.

The discussion focused on how public institutions collect and generate enormous quantities of data in areas as varied as unemployment, air pollution, hospital consultations etc and how this data can best be re-used to create or improve both public and private services. There is a need to change the political perception of Open Data and instead view it as opportunity for policy-making.

Mutual learning event on the Sharing Economy: finished

Each year Brussels Capital proposes a mutual learning event on a
current and transversal topic. On December 4th 2018, Brussels Capital
organised a mutual learning event on the sharing Economy
together with Catalonia, in Brussels, Brussels Capital Region (BE).
This event organised upon the invitation of Committee 1 President Jean
Luc Vanraes, aimed to gather experiences from all three AER Committees
and regions were welcome to share inputs and regional examples.

The event brought together policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics and representatives of the third sector for vivid exchanges. A follow up article with updates on what happened in Brussels was published.

Explore collaboration opportunities on European certification initiative for SMEs

An innovative European certification initiative for regional small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could represent leverage for growth and improved cross-border economic relations.

It is in this context that Mr Vanraes, met with with a delegation from CAC en mouvement. CAC en mouvement is a think tank representing around 70% of the French statutory auditors. It has initiated a deep reflexion on how to modernise the profession to make it more useful to local businesses in France and around Europe. One possibility which was mentioned during the meeting was to potentially invite CAC en mouvement to present its European platform of certified regional SMEs to the Committee for Economy and Regional development during its autumn working session. The ultimate goal is to develop synergies with the interested in the project. This will be further discussed with the new Committee 1 Presidium after the AER General Assembly in Larnaka.

Advocacy/ Lobbying

Mobility: engagement in the EIP-SCC: ongoing

The AER Working Group on Transports and Mobility is involved in the
European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities. It
shares regular updates on the work of the EIP-SCC with members

Cohesion Policy Activities: ongoing

Members agreed in September 2018 that the Task Force on Cohesion will
now be under the responsibility of the Bureau, which is also in charge
of the other Task Forces. Joint actions include:
– Convene joint advocacy: Bureau Members adopted an updated position
on the European Commission legislative proposals for the future EU
cohesion policy, setting out the specific changes European regions
propose to make to the new framework.
– Advocate towards the European Union and Member States
– Work in alliance with other relevant stakeholders and European associations
Flevoland (NL) is coordinating the implementation of the action and the cohesion policy task force help implement the action.

Financing climate action: ongoing

AER works alongside R20, Blue Orchard and Leonardo Di Caprio Foundation to set up a 350 million $ Subnational Climate Fund to finance climate projects in European regions. In August AER met the European Investment Bank to pursue negotiations.

AER was present at this year’s UN climate meeting, which took place
in Katowice, Poland. The highlight of AER’s involvement was when AER
President Magnus Berntsson spoke at the high-level segment 12 December
on behalf of all the regions and municipalities of the world.

AER at the OECD Roundtable on Cities and Regions for the SDGs: finished

Eva Hallström from Värmland, chairing the AER working group on energy
and climate change, represented AER while speaking at the 1st OECD Roundtable on Cities and Regions for the SDGs, which took place at the OECD Headquarters in Paris.

The Roundtable brought together cities, regions, national
governments, international organisations, private sector and other key
stakeholders to identify trends and challenges in the localisation of
the SDGs, including the experiences and key findings from the pilots of
the programme “A Territorial Approach to the SDGs”.

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
  • Task force on Digitalisation
  • Task Force on Migration
  • Task Force on Social Innovation
  • Task Force on Cohesion

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 which add value for 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 Committees‘ work programmes. The work programmes are developed in Spring each year.

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

Members can propose new joint initiatives at any time during the
year, these are then approved by the Executive Board and included in the
AER Action Plan

Committee 1 Coordination & implementation of the work programme

The new Presidium of the AER Committee on Economy and Regional Development met on 3 May 2019 in Brussels, to discuss the implementation of the Committee’s work programme for 2019-2020. They agreed on a series of actions to support the actions proposed by members on the occasion of the Spring Plenaries. This work is coordinated by Per Erik Andersson, the seconded officer supporting Committee 1 President Kenneth Backgård, Norrbotten (SE).

Photo by Christian Fregnan on Unsplash

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Committee 1 Progress Report Spring 2019

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Twice a year the members of the AER Committee on Regional Development and Economy gather in plenary meeting. This is the opportunity to set goals for cooperation through the elaboration of a joint work programme and to evaluate progress every six months.

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

Evaluating progress

During the elaboration of the work programme in Arad, planned activities were organised in 3 categories:

Projects
Good practice sharing
Lobbying

The below progress report was compiled for the spring 2019 plenary meeting in Örebro. It gives an overview of the situation, a year after the adoption of the work programme.

Projects

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 second hand, the project will encourage the participation of citizens and stakeholders to turn them in active players in the dialogue on cohesion policy.

Silver Economy Awards (SEED): finished

The Silver Economy Awards aim to catalyse a sustainable European digital Silver Economy movement by promoting and rewarding innovative solutions to improve the quality of life for over 50s. The Awards are an opportunity to raise awareness around the lesser-known notion of the Silver Economy. They illustrate the breadth of the consumer markets and the public spending involved and the size of the opportunities available for entrepreneurs, investors, public authorities and civil society.

Last year the Silver Economy Awards replaced the traditional AER Regional Innovation Award. The first Awards Ceremony took place on May 2018 in Brussels.

SEED was a two-year project: 10/2016 to 09/2018
After two years of dedicated work, the SEED project has met its objectives.

ARLEM project – Capacity building for an integrated and sustainable urban development: canceled

This is a joint project of the Committee of the Regions regional and local authorities focused on the Mediterranean. In this context, AER answered to the call of ARLEM – Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly in order to provide technical expertise and political support. AER expressed its interest to focus piloting actions in Turkey, Tunisia and Morocco having already implemented several actions in these geographical areas.

This project aims to reinforce the capacities of local and regional authorities from the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean both in terms of urban management and integrated urban development. AER will contribute in the capacity building activities as well as the organisation of regional conferences.

It is funded by the Finnish Development Agency and activities are planned for 2 years and six months.

REFIT Project – New regulative frameworks to foster innovation in the transport sector: not accepted

The REFIT project, under the Horizon 2020 Programme, will improve the regulative framework to make it consistent with the development of new forms of mobility, including shared used mobility, having in mind to safeguard the interest of the users and to attend societal goals.

The main result will be the creation of a user-friendly governance tool facilitating regulatory processes to support the deployment of innovative transport technologies and services in the EU.

Event: EU funding for Croatian & Albanian regions: finished

The event on EU funding for Croatian regions, hosted by Varaždin (HR) and Committee 3 President Radimir Čačić, and the event on EU funding for Albanian regions, hosted by Korcë (AL) and MEG member Ana Verushi brought together about 70 participants, both members and non members of AER to:
-hear about AER’s activities
-learn more on AER services for projects and services
-obtain information on the areas of cooperation with EU
-get a relevant update on the current and forthcoming EU funding opportunities
-become aware of the successful experiences of project applicants

Good Practice Sharing

Open data and blockchain in transports, Working group meeting: ongoing

The AER working group on Transports and Mobility, which is chaired by Martin Tollén, member of the Transport and Urban Planning Committee of Östergötland (SE), will meet on March 28th, on the occasion of the 2019 Spring Committee Plenaries in Örebro.
The content will be the following:

The Sustainable Development Goals as policy framework: ongoing

The Working Group on Energy and Climate Change planned to organise a workshop on using the Sustainable Development Goals as a policy framework on September 26th in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS).

New mobility services: ongoing

Good practice exchange on electric cars (production of batteries) and infrastructure. Participation of the working group in the REFIT H2020 project on policies to support New Mobility Services.

Supporting members to use the TAIEX-Environmental Implementation Review: ongoing

The AER Secretariat disseminated information about the TAIEX-EIR peer to peer learning programme and supporting members to use this programme to gain or provide knowledge on environmental policies on topics as diverse as air quality, waste management, water management, the circular economy. This programme which is relatively easy and quick to access is a good complement to activities carried out within AER and an opportunity to access support from the Commission to carry out exchnages with other regions.

The TAIEX-EIR programme was presented at the Autumn plenaries in the workshop of the AER Working group on rural development.

The AER Project Unit will also organise a webinar in May or June 2019 to help members use the programme.

Food: short supply chains & quality food: ongoing

The Working Group on rural development organised a side event on the occasion of Smart City Expo World Congress on the topic of food. Findings of this side event will feed the work of the Bureau Task Force on food.

Youth entrepeneurship: ongoing

Members expressed the wish to develop youth entrepreneurship actions in link with Committee 3. EMAX, a Swedish organisation, which organises innovation camps presented their work on the occasion of the Autumn Committee 3 plenary meeting. They will also organise a Breakfast Debate on youth entrepreneurship on the occasion of the Spring 2019 plenary meetings in Örebro (SE).

Mutual learning event on the Sharing Economy: finished

Each year Brussels Capital proposes a mutual learning event on a current and transversal topic. On December 4th 2018, Brussels Capital organised a mutual learning event on the sharing Economy together with Catalonia, in Brussels, Brussels Capital Region (BE). This event organised upon the invitation of Committee 1 President Jean Luc Vanraes, aimed to gather experiences from all three AER Committees and regions were welcome to share inputs and regional examples.

The event brought together policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics and representatives of the third sector for vivid exchanges. A follow up article with updates on what happened in Brussels was published.

International Migrants Day: Promoting Diversity in Regions: finished

The three AER committees and the AER Task Force on Migration worked closely together to develop messaging ahead of the International Migrants Day: Promoting Diversity in Regions event in Barcelona on Tuesday 18 December 2018.
Participants shared their experiences and good practices in diversity management at regional level, including examples of policies, programmes and projects promoting inclusion, participation in civic, economic and political life, positive intercultural interaction and the sense of belonging.

Workshop on Life Cycle Approaches to Regional Sustainable Development: finished

Following the September 2017 workshop on life cycle approaches for renewable energy, circular economy and regional development, members of the working group on energy and climate change were invited to participate in a workshop in Bordeaux, France in 4 and 5 March 2019.
This workshop was intended as a consultative forum to gather advice, experience and further case studies to facilitate this move. It will help to develop an outreach programme on Life Cycle approaches to sustainable regional development.

Autumn Plenary, Vojvodina: finished

The 2018 Autumn Committee Plenaries were hosted by the region of Vojvodina in Serbia from 25 – 27 September 2018. A detailed recap of all the meetings that took place is available here.

Plenary meeting: Committee for Economy and Regional Development: finished

On the occasion of the 2018 Autumn the Committees Plenary meetings in Vojvodina, the Committee on Economy and Regional Development members decided that the Task Force on Cohesion Policy, which for historic reasons was under the responsibility of this Committee, should be transferred to the Bureau for coherence purposes, as it is the Bureau which is in charge of the identification of policy messages and advocacy activities.

Panel discussion at the Vojvodina plenaries on Open data for regional development: finished

On the occasion of the Autumn plenaries in Vojvodina, the panel discussion “Open data for regional development: governance, start-ups and innovation” took place.

The discussion focused on how public institutions collect and generate enormous quantities of data in areas as varied as unemployment, air pollution, hospital consultations etc and how this data can best be re-used to create or improve both public and private services. There is a need to change the political perception of Open Data and instead view it as opportunity for policy-making.

Sustainable Urban Mobility, Working group meeting: finished

The Working Group on Transports and Mobility decided in Spring 2018 to work on sustainable urban mobility. At the Autumn Committees Plenary meetings, Miroslav Tadic, UNDP Climate Change Portfolio Manager shared the experience of UNDP in Serbia.

Meeting of the Working group on Energy and Climate Change: finished

The Working Group on Energy and Climate Change met in September 2018 on the occasion of Autumn the Committees Plenary meetings. On this occasion, the workshop “The SDGs as a policy framework” took place. Many regions are very active in this space. Oppland, Norway and Varmland, Sweden provided case studies.

Meeting of the Working group on Rural development: finished

The Working Group on Rural Development met in September 2018 on the occasion of Autumn the Committees Plenary meetings. On this occasion, the workshop “Waste management in rural areas” took place. Svetlana Marusic presented the situation in Vojvodina (RS) and Olimpia Neagoe, Chair of the Working Group, presented a project which is being implemented in Dolj (RO) and which is substantially supported by EU funding. Sustainable Waste Management involves both considerable investments in infrastructure and a lot of work on behavioural changes.

Webinar on New Mobilities: canceled

The Working Group on Transports & Mobility will organise a webinar on New Mobilities for all AER members. Date & topic tbc.

International event on Biomass in Vojvodina: canceled

Organisation of an international event on Biomass in Vojvodina (RS) in collaboration with AER members. It was replaced by an International Business Summit

Using the SDGs to communicate AER activities: planned

Oppland suggested that as many of the AER activities are contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, AER should promote the 2030 Agenda, raising visibility of how AER and its member regions are contributing to reach goals.

Study visit on the energy transition: finished

The main focus of the study visit, was the bottom-up approach for the energy transition, which was implemented in the region. This multi-stakeholder cooperation was materialised by the Gelders’ Energy agreement (GEA). The shared goal is to make the province energy-neutral by 2050. Local and regional industries, governments and NGOs’ in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands, have pledged for the province to become energy-neutral by 2050. It facilitates a co-creative process where initiatives, actors, and energy are integrated into society.

Participants shared good practice and experience and in particular:

observe Gelders’ Energy agreement working process
meet with Gelders’ Energy agreement regional partners
carry out visits to observe regional results
participate in a serious game on energy and the diverging interests of stakeholders to exchange about challenges.

Waste management in rural areas: finished

The Working Group on rural development organised a workshop on waste management in rural areas on September 27th in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS).

Study visit on food production: cancelled

The idea was to focus the study visit on the approach to food production in order to see how microfirm became large company, which was implemented in the Norrbotten region. The initiative could potentially have been linked with the TAIEX EIR peer learning opportunity of the European Commission. This idea was not implemented.

Advocacy/ Lobbying

Mobility: engagement in the EIP-SCC: ongoing

The AER Working Group on Transports and Mobility is involved in the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities. It shares regular updates on the work of the EIP-SCC with members

Cohesion Policy Activities: ongoing

Members agreed in September 2018 that the Task Force on Cohesion will now be under the responsibility of the Bureau, which is also in charge of the other Task Forces. Joint actions include:
– Convene joint advocacy: Bureau Members adopted an updated position on the European Commission legislative proposals for the future EU cohesion policy, setting out the specific changes European regions propose to make to the new framework.
– Advocate towards the European Union and Member States
– Work in alliance with other relevant stakeholders and European associations
Flevoland (NL) is coordinating the implementation of the action and the cohesion policy task force help implement the action.

Financing climate action: ongoing

AER works alongside R20, Blue Orchard and Leonardo Di Caprio Foundation to set up a 350 million $ Subnational Climate Fund to finance climate projects in European regions. In August AER met the European Investment Bank to pursue negotiations.

AER was present at this year’s UN climate meeting, which took place in Katowice, Poland. The highlight of AER’s involvement was when AER President Magnus Berntsson spoke at the high-level segment 12 December on behalf of all the regions and municipalities of the world.

AER at the OECD Roundtable on Cities and Regions for the SDGs: finished

Eva Hallström from Värmland, chairing the AER working group on energy and climate change, represented AER while speaking at the 1st OECD Roundtable on Cities and Regions for the SDGs, which took place at the OECD Headquarters in Paris.

The Roundtable brought together cities, regions, national governments, international organisations, private sector and other key stakeholders to identify trends and challenges in the localisation of the SDGs, including the experiences and key findings from the pilots of the programme “A Territorial Approach to the SDGs”.

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

-Task force on Digitalisation

-Task Force on Migration

-Task Force on Social Innovation

-Task Force on Cohesion

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

The developement of the Action Plan is a collective process to enable all participants to specify needs and decide to initiate activities which add value for 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 Committees work programmes. The work programmes are developped in Spring each year.

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

Members can propose new joint initiatives at any time during the year, these are then approved by the Executive Board and included in the AER Action Plan.

Photo by Ryan Yao on Unsplash

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Join Marche Region’s (IT) Interreg Med project on Acquaculture

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Marche Region (IT) and the University of Camerino (UNICAM) are looking for partners to express interest in a proposal for a project to push forward Blue Growth. They are applying under Interreg Med’s Third Call for Multi-Modular Projects (M2 Testing + M3 Capitalization). Their proposal focuses on Acquaculture, aiming to contribute to the transnational development, transfer and capitalization of innovative and sustainable technologies and know-how for aquaculture sector MSMEs throughout the involved Mediterranean maritime ecosystems.

The Vision

The lead partners hope to  build a broad multi-sector consortium, including public authorities, research institutions and businesses. Partners should be interested in testing tools for Micro- Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) operating in the acquaculture sector in their regional / national ecosystems and then transfer results to the institutional actors and policy makers involved in the planning of the next agendas 2021-2027 on Blue Growth.

Project partners will apply the best practices and operational instruments from previous or ongoing INTERREG projets (ADRION, ATLANTIC AREA, SOUTH BALTIC and MED) tailored to aquaculture sector MSMEs (aqua-hackathons, trans. matchmaking/brokerage events, cross-field visits, forward looking/scenario workshops, etc) and cooperate with local institutional stakeholders to embed them in local operational programmes. They will then capitalise project results at national, macro-regional, European and international levels, embedding them into the forthcoming 2021-2027 programmes and Blue Growth agendas.

The project will last 32 months from November/December 2019 to June 2022.

How to Join

The Blue Growth call involves a two-step application process. The first deadline is quickly approaching. Partners interested in joining should submit an expression of interest to UNICAM by the end of the day Monday, 21 January.  UNICAM and Marche Region (IT) will present a concept note supported by expressions of interest from potential and associated partners. In April, applicants will be informed whether their proposal has been pre-selected. If it has been, they must submit a detailed work plan and budget by June 2019.

Act quickly to take advantage of this great opportunity. For more information, contact the AER Project Unit.

Photo by Alex Antoniadis on Unsplash

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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AER President speaks at the UN climate conference on behalf of the world’s regions and municipalities

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AER was present at this year’s UN climate meeting, which took place in Katowice, Poland. The highlight of AER’s involvement was when AER President Magnus Berntsson spoke at the high-level segment 12 December on behalf of all the regions and municipalities of the world. 

Setting the scene

AER has been building a strong voice on how regional climate action can advance global climate goals, convening the engagement of its member regions with the international development policy processes, notably the climate change agenda and its Conferences held in the frame of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Stretching from the 3 of December to 12 of December, this year’s Conference of Parties (COP) is expected to have gathered around 30 000 participants, among them environment and climate ministers from around 196 countries. COP24 Katowice is viewed as one of the most important COPs since COP21 in Paris, 2015, when the Paris agreement was adopted. On the agenda for this meeting was an attempt to adopt a rulebook for the Paris agreement.

A week of many meetings

During these weeks there are many meetings taking place, both in connection to the negotiations but also as side-events. As one of the largest independent regional networks in Europe AER was invited to speak at many venues.

The highlight of AER’s involvement at COP being AER President, Magnus Berntsson’s, speech at the high-level segment of COP24. In his speech emphasised that regions play an important role in implementing the climate goals, arguing that it is on the local and regional level that the practical work on climate action is taking place. By cooperating with other regions, through networks such as AER, the voice of subnational actors become stronger and national and international levels must listen.

Besides speaking at the high-level segment Magnus Berntsson had week full of meetings and conferences. On 10 December he participated at the ICLEI Local and Regional Leaders meeting, named “Accelerating transitions to delivery of the Paris Agreement through multilevel Climate Action.”

Magnus Berntsson speaking at the UfM-event (left), Magnus Berntsson at COP24 (right)

On 11 December Magnus Berntsson held the key note speech at the Union for Mediterranean on “The involvement of sub-national Euro-Mediterranean governments”. During his key note speech Magnus talked about the importance of creating partnerships with actors from both the public and the private sector as well as the civil society. He exemplified with Region Västra Götaland climate strategy developed in broad cooperation with stakeholders from all over the region.

Followed by participating in a panel on the World Climate Summit- The investment COP ‘Creating the Right Policy Environment for Deployment of Innovations & Business-Driven Solutions’. During this session Magnus Berntsson highlighted that the public sector plays an important role in providing the right policy framework that will enable society’s transition to a low carbon economy.

He also paid a visit to the Austrian pavilion on the 13 of December, where he spoke on mitigation and adaption of climate change as well as the work of R20 – Regions of Climate Action.

The President of AER was not the only representative from AER present at COP24, Eva Hallström from Värmland, Sweden, chairing the AER working group on energy and climate change was also in Katowice, Poland sharing good practices and attending negotiations.

The work goes on

With COP24 concluding last week, the delegates finally reached an agreement on how to implement the Paris Climate accord, walking away from Katowice with a rulebook that will ensure the world’s countries are doing what they claim to be doing when it comes to climate action.

However, this does not mean that we are done working. AER will remain an active partner in climate work and we invite all our member regions to cooperate with us on this important societal challenge. Closing this article with the words of AER president at COP24:

“No country, no region, is immune to effects of climate change and we must cooperate across borders, be it geographical and sectorial, in order to deliver and follow through on the commitments of the Paris agreement.”

 

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AER discusses food sustainability and governance in the digital age

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On the occasion of the elaboration of the AER Committee 1  work programme for 2018-2019, members decided to develop activities around quality food, short supply chains and sustainable development. In parallel, on the occasion of the Spring Bureau, members decided to initiate a Task Force on Food to develop policy messages on food for advocacy. The approach of the Task Force was from the beginning very holistic, including health, innovation and education. In this context AER decided to seize the opportunity to organise a side event at Smart City Expo World Congress to prepare a session on Food, Sustainability & Governance in the Digital Age.

Complex challenges

Food lays at the core of sustainable regional development as it touches upon topics as diverse as the densification of cities, the digital transformation of all sectors, food supply chains and waste management, multilevel governance and citizens participation. The challenge of providing the inhabitants of cities with affordable, safe and nutritious food is both urgent and complex. Moreover, the health and wellbeing of citizens and consumers are directly affected by the way cities and regions themselves are shaping a sustainable food environment. Globally over 50% of the world’s population lives in urban areas. According to the United Nations, by 2050, over six billion people will be living in cities.

The supply of food is still highly dependent on transport, which is heavily dependent on burning fossil fuels. The impacts on the environment and the climate are dire. Food, mobility and housing are responsible for almost 80% of the environmental impacts of consumption. Sustainable food systems have therefore a major role to play in making cities and regions better places to live in.

The AER session at Smart City Expo World Congress looked therefore at governance and citizens participation in the Digital Age to support sustainable food production and consumption. Reflecting about food supply chains as well, experts discussed how territorial approaches lead to more sustainable food systems.

Bringing together different voices

Three experts, representing regional governments, academia and civil society, shared their experience and perspectives on food. The session was organised in an interactive way, where regular inputs from the public helped move forward with the discussion.

Raimondo Mandis, Member of staff of the President of Sardinia as expert in agriculture, Member of the national council of Slow Food and President of Slow Food Cagliari, presented the experience of his region. Key success factors to increase the sustainability of food systems and lower the climate impact of food in Sardinia haved been:

  • Transversal approaches: when different sectors work together they realise that what is waste for one sector is raw material for another. The example of artichokes
  • Awareness raising and education are key elements to engage citizens and help them generate a positive impact on more sustainable food supply chains and food waste reduction
  • Innovation in terms of processes and products

Samuel Féret, Senior project manager at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Montpellier (CIHEAM IAM) and project manager of the Interreg Europe project ECOWASTE4FOOD shared findings from this project which looks in depth at how to minimise food waste at user level, indeed around half of food waste in developped countries originates at end-user level. This project found that many initiatives exist at regional and local level to close the loops:

  • Donation of food surpluses and redistribution to less privileged people is very developed in almost all EU countries, regardless support from public authorities. These practices are rooted in local charity and solidarity networks that involve food processors, retailers, food banks and local charities.
  • Innovative solutions arise from new interactions among the food system at local level. Food residues from the industry of leftovers rescued by gleaners can be re-processed into new food products.
  • A more circular food economy is emerging from bottom-up solutions to reduce food waste.

Elisa Bodenstab, Founder of international youth exchange project “Perpetuum Mobility Germany” and representative of citizens initiative “Verwenden statt verschwenden” shared the experience of her organisation, which collects food which is still good but can no longer be sold and redistributes it. Elements which help the emergence of citizen-led initiatives for sustainable food systems are:

  • empowerment: most initiatives arise from peoples’ needs. They identify a problem and try to find a solution. The main obstacle for many is the lacking belief in themselves. They have an idea, but don’t dare to realize it, because their knowledge might not be sufficient. The belief that they can change something is the basis to start social enterprises, which tackle problems in society.
  • mutual encouragement: when stakeholders start an initiative, others who share the same mindset, start noticing and join. ‘Verwenden statt Verschwenden’ for example arose when a couple of people, who noticed how much food is being wasted everyday, started talking, made a plan and put it into action.
  • multilevel cooperation between stakeholders: if governments, businesses, NGOs and communities work hand in hand, the probability to succeed is way higher.

Governments can think their action in this context and encourage initiatives by raising awareness on the topic, showing support, increasing the legitimacy of initiatives and developping multi level cooperation to share common aims at different levels.

Identifying areas for action

Samuel Féret shared that, based on his experience, in the very short term, it is urgent to implement harmonised measurements of quantities lost on the farm and wasted in the food supply chain, both at regional and national levels. It is also urgent to coordinate an annual reporting which will help to diagnose the critical areas for actions as well those where progress reach encouraging milestones, so to identify good practices that should be replicated.

Raimondo Mandis underlined the need for awareness raising and citizens participation as well as support to innovation in the sector.

Elisa Bodenstab insisted on the need for a holistic approach to food systems. One point of focus sector is the food waste management and overproduction. 18 Million tons of food are being thrown out in germany each year, which is 1/3. Instances should be motivated to waste as little food as possible or also being fined for doing the opposite. Another area is food packaging. It is not only responsible for a huge amount of waste, but also not always economically reusable. Finding alternative ways of packaging or also just packaging less already has the potential for a big impact.

 

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Committee 1 Progress report Autumn 2018

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Twice a year the members of the AER Committee on Regional Development and Economy gather in plenary meeting. This is the opportunity to set goals for cooperation through the elaboration of a joint work programme and to evaluate progress every six months.

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

Evaluating progress

During the elaboration of the work programme in Arad, planned activities were organised in 3 categories:

Projects
Good practice sharing
Lobbying

The below progress report was compiled for the autumn 2018 plenary meeting in Novi Sad. It gives an overview of the situation, 6 months after the adoption of the work programme.

Projects

  • Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite! project

“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 second hand, the project will encourage the participation of citizens and stakeholders to turn them in active players in the dialogue on cohesion policy.

  •  Silver Economy Awards (SEED): ongoing

The Silver Economy Awards aim to catalyse a sustainable European digital Silver Economy movement by promoting and rewarding innovative solutions to improve the quality of life for over 50s. The Awards are an opportunity to raise awareness around the lesser-known notion of the Silver Economy. They illustrate the breadth of the consumer markets and the public spending involved and the size of the opportunities available for entrepreneurs, investors, public authorities and civil society.

This year the Silver Economy Awards replaced the traditional AER Regional Innovation Award. The first Awards Ceremony took place on May 2018 in Brussels.

SEED is a two-year project: 10/2016 to 09/2018

  • ARLEM project – Capacity building for an integrated and sustainable urban development: planned

This is a joint project of the Committee of the Regions regional and local authorities focused on the Mediterranean. In this context, AER answered to the call of ARLEM – Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly in order to provide technical expertise and political support. AER expressed its interest to focus piloting actions in Turkey, Tunisia and Morocco having already implemented several actions in these geographical areas.

This project aims to reinforce the capacities of local and regional authorities from the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean both in terms of urban management and integrated urban development. AER will contribute in the capacity building activities as well as the organisation of regional conferences.

It is funded by the Finnish Development Agency and activities are planned for 2 years and six months

  • REFIT Project – New regulative frameworks to foster innovation in the transport sector: not accepted

The REFIT project, under the Horizon 2020 Programme, will improve the regulative framework to make it consistent with the development of new forms of mobility, including shared used mobility, having in mind to safeguard the interest of the users and to attend societal goals.

The main result will be the creation of a user-friendly governance tool facilitating regulatory processes to support the deployment of innovative transport technologies and services in the EU.

  • Event: EU funding for Croatian & Albanian regions

The event on EU funding for Croatian regions, hosted by Varaždin (HR) and Committee 3 President Radimir Čačić, and the event on EU funding for Albanian regions, hosted by Korcë (AL) and MEG member Ana Verushi brought together about 70 participants, both members and non members of AER to:

-hear about AER’s activities
-learn more on AER services for projects and services
-obtain information on the areas of cooperation with EU
-get a relevant update on the current and forthcoming EU funding opportunities
-become aware of the successful experiences of project applicants

 

Good Practice Sharing

  • Mutual learning event on the Sharing Economy (ongoing)

Each year Brussels Capital proposes a mutual learning event on a current and transversal topic. On December 4th 2018, Brussels Capital will organise a mutual learning event on the sharing Economy together with Catalonia, in Brussels, Brussels Capital Region (BE)

  • New mobility services (planned)

Good practice exchange on electric cars (production of batteries) and infrastructure

Participation of the working group in the REFIT H2020 project on policies to support New Mobility Services

  • Meeting of the Working Group on Transports and Mobility (ongoing)

The Working Group on Transports and Mobility plans to meet in Autumn 2018 and Spring 2019 on the occasion of the Committees Plenary meetings

  • Webinar on New Mobilities (planned)

The Working Group on Transports & Mobility will organise a webinar on New Mobilities for all AER members. Date & topic tbc

  • International event on Biomass in Vojvodina (tbc)

Organisation of an international event on Biomass in Vojvodina (RS) in collaboration with AER members

  • The Sustainable Development Goals as policy framework (ongoing)

The Working Group on Energy and Climate Change is organising a workshop on using the Sustainable Development Goals as a policy framework on September 26th in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS)

  • Using the SDGs to communicate AER activities (planned)

Oppland suggested that as many of the AER activities are contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, AER should promote the 2030 Agenda, raising visibility of how AER and its member regions are contributing to reach goals.

  • Study visit on the energy transition (finished)

The main focus of the study visit, was the bottom-up approach for the energy transition, which was implemented in the region. This multi-stakeholder cooperation was materialised by the Gelders’ Energy agreement (GEA). The shared goal is to make the province energy-neutral by 2050. Local and regional industries, governments and NGOs’ in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands, have pledged for the province to become energy-neutral by 2050. It facilitates a co-creative process where initiatives, actors, and energy are integrated into society.

Participants shared good practice and experience and in particular:

observe Gelders’ Energy agreement working process
meet with Gelders’ Energy agreement regional partners
carry out visits to observe regional results
participate in a serious game on energy and the diverging interests of stakeholders to exchange about challenges.

  • Supporting members to use the TAIEX-Environmental Implementation Review : ongoing

The AER Secretariat is disseminating information about the TAIEX-EIR peer to peer learning programme and supporting members to use this programme to gain or provide knowledge on environmental policies on topics as diverse as air quality, waste management, water management, the circular economy. This programme which is relatively easy and quick to access is a good complement to activities carried out within AER and an opportunity to access support from the Commission to carry out exchnages with other regions.

The TAIEX-EIR programme will be presented at the Autumn plenaries in the workshop of the AER Working group on rural development.

The AER Project Unit will also organise a webinar to help members use the programme.

  • Food: short supply chains & quality food (ongoing)

The Working Group on rural development is organising a side event on the occasion of Smart City Expo World Congress on the topic of food. Findings of this side event will feed the work of the Bureau Task Force on food.

  • Waste management in rural areas (ongoing)

The Working Group on rural development is organising a workshop on waste management in rural areas on September 27th in Novi Sad, Vojvodina (RS)

 

Advocacy/ Lobbying

  • Mobility: engagement in the EIP-SCC (ongoing)

The AER Working Group on Transports and Mobility will organise a workshop or a seminar to share the work of the EIP-SCC with other AER members.

Related activity: Mapping exercise what is going on the field of new mobility services and test locations in general transports.

  • Cohesion Policy Activities: ongoing

Building on AER’s role in advocating for a strong cohesion policy, and following the adoption of a position paper on the future of cohesion policy post 2020 at the Bureau meeting in Sankt Pölten, Lower Austria (AT) on 1 June 2017, AER will continue to convene and deliver joint policy influencing work for the future cohesion policy by:

  • Holding regular debates on cohesion policy among members and between members and relevant stakeholders, such as the “Cohesion Policy: are you getting anything out of it?” debate during the AER Committees’ Autumn Plenary Meeting in Nancy on 12 September.
  • Gathering facts and figures on cohesion investments results and impact for a evidence-based advocacy.
  • Disseminating the AER position on future cohesion policy to key stakeholders and decision-makers in-country (in coordination with member regions) and in Brussels.
  • Working together with other European associations of regions, municipalities and cities and the Committee of the Regions to generate broader support for regions interests and policy proposals, including #CohesionAlliance created to demand that the EU budget after 2020 makes cohesion policy stronger, more effective, visible and available for every region in the European Union.

The Task Force on Cohesion Policy post 2020 will continue to support the work of AER in this field, providing strategic direction and oversight.

These actions aim to ensure European regions engage in the future cohesion policy discussions at regional, national and European level, and meaningfully contribute to the design and implementation of a stronger and more effective reformed policy.

  • Financing climate action: ongoing

AER works alongside R20, Blue Orchard and Leonardo Di Caprio Foundation to set up a 350 million $ Subnational Climate Fund to finance climate projects in European regions. In August AER met the European Investment Bank to pursue negociations.

  • 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 & Institutionnal Relations Vania Freitas

-Task Force on Food

-Task force on Digitalisation

-Task Force on Migration

-Task Force on Social Innovation

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

The developement of the Action Plan is a collective process to enable all participants to specify needs and decide to initiate activities which add value for 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 Committees work programmes. The work programmes are developped in Spring each year.

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

Members can propose new joint initiatives at any time during the year, these are then approved by the Executive Board and included in the Committees work programmes and the AER action plan.

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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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Committee 1 Annual Report June 2017 – May 2018

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The General Assembly is the highest authority of AER and convenes representatives of all its full members at least once a year. The General Assembly adopts among other things, the annual reports of the Thematic Committees.

This report is the compilation of actions developped and implemented within Committee 1 between the 2017 General Assembly in Sankt Pölten, Lower Austria (AT) and the 2018 General Assembly in Lillehammer, Oppland (NO).

Activities are organised in 3 categories:

  • Projects
  • Good practice sharing
  • Advocacy/ Lobbying

The AER Action plan, which brings together all the activities carried out within AER, is constantly updated.

  • Silver Economy Awards (SEED): ongoing

The Silver Economy Awards aim to catalyse a sustainable European digital Silver Economy movement by promoting and rewarding innovative solutions to improve the quality of life for over 50s. The Awards are an opportunity to raise awareness around the lesser-known notion of the Silver Economy. They illustrate the breadth of the consumer markets and the public spending involved and the size of the opportunities available for entrepreneurs, investors, public authorities and civil society.

This year the Silver Economy Awards replace the traditional AER Regional Innovation Award. The first Awards Ceremony took place on May 2018 in Brussels under the moral patronage from Commissioner Mariya Gabriel.

SEED is a two-year project: 10/2016 to 09/2018

  • ARLEM project – Capacity building for an integrated and sustainable urban development: planned

This is a joint project of the Committee of the Regions regional and local authorities focused on the Mediterranean. In this context, AER answered to the call of ARLEM – Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly in order to provide technical expertise and political support. AER expressed its interest to focus piloting actions in Turkey, Tunisia and Morocco having already implemented several actions in these geographical areas.

This project aims to reinforce the capacities of local and regional authorities from the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean both in terms of urban management and integrated urban development. AER will contribute in the capacity building activities as well as the organisation of regional conferences.

It is funded by the Finnish Development Agency and activities are planned for 2 years and six months

  • Citizens for Cohesion. 351 times closer to Europe: cancelled

Building on the work previously done by AER on cohesion policy, the regions of Catalonia (ES), South Ostrobothnia (FI), Trentino (IT) and West Slovenia, together with AER Cohesion Policy Task Force lead on a project on awareness raising. While the project received a very good evaluation it was not accepted.

  • Brokerage event in Partnership with ERRIN on health innovation: finished

After the success of the brokerage event on the green economy and innovation early 2017, we collaborated with ERRIN to stimulate project development. This resulted in the organisation of the Horizon 2020 Project Development Week.

  • Development of an environment project based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): in progress

YRN representatives met with AER Coordinator for European Projects & Private Partnerships Agnese Pantaloni to learn about project development steps and potential funding opportunities. The YRN will work on the definition of an EU project. The AER Secretariat Project Unit will explore calls for projects if there is still interest in developping such a project.

  • MULTIPLE, MULTI-layer Governance PoLicy-making for the Environment: cancelled

MULTIPLE aimed to build an ecosystem of policy-support tools and methods for a more effective, efficient policy making in the field of environmental policies. Its aim was to support the entire policy cycle from issue identification to policy implementation, monitoring and evaluation by the use of open data systems. The project was not accepted.

  • Migrant Entrepreneur Support Scheme Against Gap of Economic System: cancelled

This project proposal aimed to share approaches and lessons learnt for migrant entrepreneurship support schemes. Migrant entrepreneurship had been raised in specific during the 2016 Spring plenary meetings in Timis. The proposal brought together public administrations, business support organizations, non-profit organisations and NGOs, educational institutions and other organisations active in the field across cities, regions and countries. The project was not accepted.

  • From local to global: Connecting the Dots in the EU’s 2030 energy transition: cancelled

The theme of this project proposal was to contribute to a coherent energy transition across the EU and support progress towards a low-carbon economy in light of the EU’s 2030 climate and energy targets and policy framework. The consortium was led by EURACTIV.

The AER Secretariat collected letters of support from member regions: Abruzzo (IT), Catalonia (SP), Gelderland (NL), Trentino (IT). The aim was to highlight, compare and contrast Member States’ initiatives to achieve the EU’s 2030 climate and energy targets, supporting the energy transition as well as the transition towards a competitive and low-carbon economy, by sharing information on best practice at the local level (regions, cities, towns) and the connection with global agreements. The project was submitted under the LIFE+ programme but was not accepted.

  • RAINBOW project – Raising Awareness INitiative for a Beautiful Open World: cancelled

RAINBOW aimed to transform the 2030 Agendas into policies and to launch concrete actions at local level, in order to improve the management of the territories, whilst continuing innovating and learning from one another. It focused on interdependencies between developing countries and the European Union, with focus on the neighbouring areas. ALDA was the initiator of the project. The project was not accepted

 

  • Committees Autumn Plenaries in Nancy: finished

This Autumn’s committees’ plenary took place in Nancy (FR) from the 12th to the 14th of September. The events featured a debate on culture in the digital age, a workshop on the value of data, a workshop on transport & mobility, a workshop on life-cycle approaches and the Committees Plenary meetings.

A discussion on Cohesion Policy and its advantages also took place in Nancy.

  • Committees Spring Plenaries in Arad: finished

The 2018 Spring Committees’ Plenaries took place in Arad (RO) on 20-22 March. The events featured a debate on innovation ecosystems, a workshop on integrated care systems, a lounge meeting on equal opportunities, a meeting of the working group on transports, a Breakfast Briefing on implementing democracy in regional policy making, a presentation of the social inclusion policies in Arad, a meeting of the Summer Academy Organising Committee and the Committees Plenary meetings.

The Committees’ Plenaries were an opportunity to develop the Committees’ work programmes.

  • INTERREG Europe Policy Learning Platform (IEPLP): finished

AER was a partner of the Policy Learning Platform (PLP) which is the second action of the Interreg Europe programme established to boost EU-wide policy learning and capitalisation of practices from investments on growth and jobs. The Platform aims to be a space for continuous learning where regional actors in Europe can tap into the know-how of experts and peers. The PLP was present at the European Week of Regions and Cities (formerly Open Days).

  • Study visit on the Energy transition: finished

The main focus of the study visit, which took place from 17-19 April, was the Gelders’ Energy agreement (GEA). This collaboration between local and regional industries, governments and NGOs’ in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands, has pledged for the province to become energy-neutral by 2050. It facilitates a co-creative process where initiatives, actors, and energy are integrated into society. See the event page.

  • Event on a current transversal topic: finished

Jean-Luc Vanraes, President of the AER Committee on Regional Development and Economy invited AER members to contribute to the organisation of a mtual learning event on artificial intelligence held in Brussels, on November 30th 2017. A debate at the Committee 1 Plenary meeting paved the way for this event. This event, “Artificial Intelligence: are regions up to the challenge” was organised on the same format as the event “E-health let’s find a common language” which took place in December 2016 with the contribution of very diverse stakeholders. At the event, group discussions adressed the following topics:

  1. Supporting innovation, attracting innovators
  2. The Health Revolution
  3. Culture In a Digital World
  4. Skills and Competences: racing with machines
  5. AI: Towards a Soulless World?

The event lead also to the publication of a series of articles on artificial intelligence and its implications for different policy areas.

  • Follow up on photonics: finished

On the occasion of the Timis Spring Plenaries Professor Hugo Thienpont presented the ACTPHAST programme on photonics innovation for SMEs. The information and opportunities regarding this European programme were further disseminated via the AER website. The ACTPHAST programme for photonics. See the results as at September 2017.

  • Conference on biomass: finished

In London AER members agreed to collaborate for the organisation of a conference on Biomass in Vojvodina. The objective was to share practices and expert lectures to show the practical possibilities of production and usage of biomass in Europe, with a preview insight in the production in Vojvodina. The event also aimed to awaken the interest of individual agricultural farms, agricultural cooperatives and clusters and regional and local governments.

Partners this year were the OECD Mission in Serbia and the Central European Initiative, with expert lectures from representatives from World Bioenergy Association, State Ministries in Serbia, University in Novi Sad, the Environment Agency Austria, GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and KfW (German government-owned development bank, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau).

  • Cooperation with the World Sustainable Energy Day: finished

On the occasion of the AER Committees plenary meetings in London, members highlighted their interest in participating to the World Sustainable Energy Days in a meaningful way. A delegation of AER representatives from across Europe was able to attend the World Sustainable Energy days for free on behalf of AER.

  • Workshop on Public procurement for green innovation: finished

This workshop was advertised in the AER network by Oppland and was organised in the framework of the INTERREG Sweden-Norway the Bioeconomy Region project involving 4 AER members: Hedmark, Värmland, Østfold and Oppland. It aimed to address the following questions:
• How can innovative public procurement accelerate take-up of green technologies and stimulate innovation?
• How is innovative public procurement adopted in regional and local authorities to implement bioeconomy?
• How are public authorities cooperating with clusters, SMEs, industry and companies?
• What are the greatest challenges to implementing large scale innovative public procurement?
The AER Secretariat provided support with the identification of potential speakers and connected them with the organisers.

  • Supporting members to use the TAIEX-Environmental Implementation Review : ongoing

The AER Secretariat is disseminating information about the TAIEX-EIR peer to peer learning programme and supporting members to use this programme to gain or provide knowledge on environmental policies on topics as diverse as air quality, waste management, water management, the circular economy. This programme which is relatively easy and quick to access is a good complement to activities carried out within AER and an opportunity to access support from the Commission to carry out exchanges with other regions.

  • Awareness raising on sustainable mobility: ongoing

AER is continuing to highlight regional good practices on sustainable mobility. In this context an AER article was published in the Autumn 2017 edition of Revolve Magazine.

AER Chair of the working group Martin Tollen contributed to the Smart Airports event in Germany

  • Meeting of the AER working group on transports and mobility in Nancy: finished

Good practices from the host region were  presented on smart mobility and policies aimed at supporting green innovation in the field of transports. Discussion about regulatory framework, challenges for regions and opportunities for cooperation

  • Digitalisation of transports: ongoing

Promote the digitalisation of transports networks both in urban and rural areas (see below as well)

  • Promotion of knowledge about innovative technologies in transports: ongoing

The sharing of knowledge is being carried out via:

–Workshop on the digitalisation of transports & information about the European Strategy on Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS), a milestone on the path towards cooperative, connected and automated mobility (COM(2016) 766)
–cooperation with Revolve Media to highlight regional good practices in the field of transport and provide visibility to active AER members
–contribution on new mobilities & artificial intelligence at the AER event on Nov 30th “Artificial Intelligence: are regions up to the challenge?”
–New Mobility Services of the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities & Communities: involvement in the European Innovation Partnership on Sustainable Cities and Communities: within the the Action Cluster Sustainable Urban Mobility, AER is involved in the New Mobility Services initiative. AER Chairman of the Working Group on Transports and Mobility, Martin Tollén attended the first meeting of this Action Cluster.

The New Mobility Services initiative is a cooperation between private and public partners (quadruple helix type of cooperation, brings together companies, NGOs, research centers & universities, and policy makers). The purpose is to establish strategic partnerships between industry and European cities & regions to develop the urban systems and infrastructures of tomorrow. It is mainly focused on urban mobility. It is open for all European regions and cities to join or to send their stakeholders

AER AT THE EUROPEAN WEEK OF CITIES AND REGIONS

  • Workshop on climate and energy transition: finished

Led by the region of Abruzzo, AER co-organised a climate side-event during the European Week of Regions and Cities 2017.

  • Workshop on the Silver Economy: finished

Led by the SEED consortium. This workshop took participants through four inspiring examples of how a Silver Economy can help regions and cities to better match the needs of their ageing population while supporting local businesses and solution providers. It was the opportunity to discuss the complementarity between these examples and the initiatives at EU level. The networking session that followed brought together potential partners around issues related to the Silver Economy.

  • Workshop of the INTERREG Europe Policy Learning Platform: finished

The workshop aimed at helping regions learn from the project outputs from their peers in Europe.

 

  • Cohesion Policy Activities: ongoing

Building on AER’s role in advocating for a strong cohesion policy, and following the adoption of a position paper on the future of cohesion policy post 2020 at the Bureau meeting in Sankt Pölten, Lower Austria (AT) on 1 June 2017, AER will continue to convene and deliver joint policy influencing work for the future cohesion policy by:

  • Holding regular debates on cohesion policy among members and between members and relevant stakeholders, such as the “Cohesion Policy: are you getting anything out of it?” debate during the AER Committees’ Autumn Plenary Meeting in Nancy on 12 September.
  • Gathering facts and figures on cohesion investments results and impact for a evidence-based advocacy.
  • Disseminating the AER position on future cohesion policy to key stakeholders and decision-makers in-country (in coordination with member regions) and in Brussels.
  • Working together with other European associations of regions, municipalities and cities and the Committee of the Regions to generate broader support for regions interests and policy proposals, including #CohesionAlliance created to demand that the EU budget after 2020 makes cohesion policy stronger, more effective, visible and available for every region in the European Union.

The Task Force on Cohesion Policy post 2020 will continue to support the work of AER in this field, providing strategic direction and oversight.

These actions aim to ensure European regions engage in the future cohesion policy discussions at regional, national and European level, and meaningfully contribute to the design and implementation of a stronger and more effective reformed policy.

Following the publication of the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework on May 2nd, AER’s reaction can be found here

  • AER Report on Regionalisation: ongoing

More than 40 academic experts accepted to give their contribution to this work, by delivering detailed reports about the state of regionalisation and multilevel governance in chosen European countries. The study covers 41 countries, and each country report is based on a similar structure, thereby allowing a comparative approach among all studied countries.

  • COP23 Local and Regional governments Leaders´ Summit: finished

AER was a partner to the Climate Summit of Local and Regional Leadersat the UN climate change conference (COP23) held from 6 to 17 November in Bonn, Germany, under the Presidency of Fiji. The event gathered more than 330 political leaders and 1000 delegates. At the Summit, local and regional leaders adopted the Bonn-Fiji Commitment to Deliver the Paris Agreement at All Levels, a pledge that signals their commitment to bring forward a critical shift in global development.

AER also contributed to a number of other events, including:
-8th Annual Sustainable Innovation Forum, organised by UNEP and Climate Action.
-World Climate Summit 2017, organised by R20 and BlueOrchard, in collaboration with World Climate.
-Side Event
 “Mountains in motion: Climate Action in the Alps, the Carpathians and the Pyrenees”, co-organised by the Region of Abruzzo.

  • R20 Summit: finished

In presence of AER and R20 President, Magnus Berntsson, R20 founding chair, Arnold Schwarzenegger and all key people playing a part in climate change (private partners, NGOs, officials). R20 is a winning alliance for AER, but where do we stand?

  • Financing climate action: ongoing

AER works alongside R20, Blue Orchard and Leonardo Di Caprio Foundation to set up a 350 million $ Subnational Climate Fund to finance climate projects in European regions. In August AER met the European Investment Bank to pursue negociations. AER is now providing members with privileged access to a training on the SOURCE system which allows stakeholders to access funding for their climate action.

  • 33rd Session of the Congress Local and Regional Authorities: finished

AER has a partnership status with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. It sends high-level representatives to the meetings of the Congress and sits in the Chamber of Regions Bureau. On 19 October, the AER President, Magnus Berntsson, took part in the 33rd Session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and addressed the Chamber of Regions during the debate on “Regional Co-operation and democracy in Europe: the role of European regional associations and organisations”. At the Session, the AER and the Congress expanded their existing collaboration by signing a Joint Action Plan for 2018-2020. The document reiterates the commitment to work together on various issues of mutual interest, notably regional democracy, youth participation and cultural diversity.

  • ERDF Funding for Regional Airports & State Aid for regional airports: ongoing

AER members get regular updates from the Working Group on transports and mobility’s Regional Airports expert Roger Estefors at meetings of the group. The Nancy meeting featured an update on the topic too.

  • Sustainable biofuels: finished

AER member regions have been exchanging experiences on the topic of sustainable energy for many years and developped different projects on the topic, such as for instance the MORE4NRG and R4GG projects or the global engagement with the R20

The region of Oppland is very active in AER on the topics of energy and the circular economy. In 2016 the YRN Spring Plenary was hosted by Oppland and delegates visited a recycling plant which produces biogas was also featured in the Autumn 2017 edition of Revolve Magazine as an outstanding regional good practice.
Description of the action. The region of Oppland proposed to exchange experiences on the topic of 2nd generation sustainable biofuels, for example from waste and forest resources.

  • Legislation on biogas: finished

The AER secretariat connected regions which were interested in initiating a lobbying action. Regions had diverging priorities, the connection therefore did not result in a joint action.

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Committee 1 Progress Report Spring 2018

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Twice a year the members of the AER Committee on Regional Development and Economy gather in plenary meeting. This is the opportunity to set goals for cooperation through the elaboration of a joint work programme. Progress is evaluated, achievements are celebrated and experiences shared.

Evaluating progress

During the elaboration of the work programme in London, planned activities were organised in 3 categories:

  • Projects
  • Good practice sharing
  • Advocacy/ Lobbying

The below progress report was compiled for the Spring 2018 plenary meeting in Arad. It gives an overview of the situation, a year after the adoption of the work programme. The 2018 Committee 1 work programme will be jointly developed and adopted on March 21st at the Committee 1 Plenary meeting. Activities which are still ongoing will be integrated in the 2018 work programme too if still relevant for the Committee.

Projects

  • Silver Economy Awards (SEED): ongoing

The Silver Economy Awards aim to catalyse a sustainable European digital Silver Economy movement by promoting and rewarding innovative solutions to improve the quality of life for over 50s. The Awards are an opportunity to raise awareness around the lesser-known notion of the Silver Economy. They illustrate the breadth of the consumer markets and the public spending involved and the size of the opportunities available for entrepreneurs, investors, public authorities and civil society.

This year the Silver Economy Awards replace the traditional AER Regional Innovation Award. The first Awards Ceremony will be on May 2018 in Brussels.

SEED is a two-year project: 10/2016 to 09/2018

  • ARLEM project – Capacity building for an integrated and sustainable urban development: planned

This is a joint project of the Committee of the Regions regional and local authorities focused on the Mediterranean. In this context, AER answered to the call of ARLEM – Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly in order to provide technical expertise and political support. AER expressed its interest to focus piloting actions in Turkey, Tunisia and Morocco having already implemented several actions in these geographical areas.

This project aims to reinforce the capacities of local and regional authorities from the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean both in terms of urban management and integrated urban development. AER will contribute in the capacity building activities as well as the organisation of regional conferences.

It is funded by the Finnish Development Agency and activities are planned for 2 years and six months

  • Citizens for Cohesion. 351 times closer to Europe: cancelled

Building on the work previously done by AER on cohesion policy (l), the regions of Catalonia (ES), South Ostrobothnia (FI), Trentino (IT) and West Slovenia, together with AER Cohesion Policy Task Force lead on a project on awareness raising. While the project received a very good evaluation it was not accepted.

  • Brokerage event in Partnership with ERRIN on health innovation: finished

After the success of the brokerage event on the green economy and innovation early 2017, we collaborated with ERRIN to stimulate project development. This resulted in the organisation of the Horizon 2020 Project Development Week.

  • Development of an environment project based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): in progress

YRN representatives met with AER Coordinator for European Projects & Private Partnerships Agnese Pantaloni to learn about project development steps and potential funding opportunities. The YRN will work on the definition of an EU project. The AER Secretariat Project Unit will explore calls for projects if there is still interest in developping such a project.

  • MULTIPLE, MULTI-layer Governance PoLicy-making for the Environment: cancelled

MULTIPLE aimed to build an ecosystem of policy-support tools and methods for a more effective, efficient policy making in the field of environmental policies. Its aim was to support the entire policy cycle from issue identification to policy implementation, monitoring and evaluation by the use of open data systems. The project was not accepted.

  • Migrant Entrepreneur Support Scheme Against Gap of Economic System: cancelled

This project proposal aimed to share approaches and lessons learnt for migrant entrepreneurship support schemes. Migrant entrepreneurship had been raised in specific during the 2016 Spring plenary meetings in Timis. The proposal brought together public administrations, business support organizations, non-profit organisations and NGOs, educational institutions and other organisations active in the field across cities, regions and countries. The project was not accepted.

  • From local to global: Connecting the Dots in the EU’s 2030 energy transition: cancelled

The theme of this project proposal was to contribute to a coherent energy transition across the EU and support progress towards a low-carbon economy in light of the EU’s 2030 climate and energy targets and policy framework. The consortium was led by EURACTIV.

The AER Secretariat collected letters of support from member regions: Abruzzo (IT), Catalonia (SP), Gelderland (NL), Trentino (IT). The aim was to highlight, compare and contrast Member States’ initiatives to achieve the EU’s 2030 climate and energy targets, supporting the energy transition as well as the transition towards a competitive and low-carbon economy, by sharing information on best practice at the local level (regions, cities, towns) and the connection with global agreements. The project was submitted under the LIFE+ programme but was not accepted.

  • RAINBOW project – Raising Awareness INitiative for a Beautiful Open World: cancelled

RAINBOW aimed to transform the 2030 Agendas into policies and to launch concrete actions at local level, in order to improve the management of the territories, whilst continuing innovating and learning from one another. It focused on interdependencies between developing countries and the European Union, with focus on the neighbouring areas. ALDA was the initiator of the project. The project was not accepted

 

Good Practice Sharing

  • Committees Autumn Plenaries in Nancy: finished

This Autumn’s committees’ plenary took place in Nancy, France, from the 12th to the 14th of September. The events will feature a debate on culture in the digital age, a workshop on the value of data, a workshop on transport & mobility, a workshop on life-cycle approaches and the Committees Plenary meetings.

A discussion on Cohesion Policy and its advantages also took place in Nancy.

  • INTERREG Europe Policy Learning Platform (IEPLP): finished

AER was a partner of the Policy Learning Platform (PLP) which is the second action of the Interreg Europe programme established to boost EU-wide policy learning and capitalisation of practices from investments on growth and jobs. The Platform aims to be a space for continuous learning where regional actors in Europe can tap into the know-how of experts and peers. The PLP was present at the European Week of Regions and Cities (formerly Open Days).

  • Study visit on the Energy transition: planned

The main focus of the study visit, which will take place from 17-19 April, will be the Gelders’ Energy agreement (GEA). This collaboration between local and regional industries, governments and NGOs’ in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands, has pledged for the province to become energy-neutral by 2050. It facilitates a co-creative process where initiatives, actors, and energy are integrated into society. See the event page.

  • Event on a current transversal topic: finished

Jean-Luc Vanraes, President of the AER Committee on Regional Development and Economy invited AER members to contribute to the organisation of a mtual learning event on artificial intelligence held in Brussels, on November 30th 2017. A debate at the Committee 1 Plenary meeting paved the way for this event. This event, “Artificial Intelligence: are regions up to the challenge” was organised on the same format as the event “E-health let’s find a common language” which took place in December 2016 with the contribution of very diverse stakeholders. At the event, group discussions adressed the following topics:

  1. Supporting innovation, attracting innovators
  2. The Health Revolution
  3. Culture In a Digital World
  4. Skills and Competences: racing with machines
  5. AI: Towards a Soulless World?

The event lead also to the publication of a series of articles on artificial intelligence and its implications for different policy areas.

  • Follow up on photonics: finished

On the occasion of the Timis Spring Plenaries Professor Hugo Thienpont presented the ACTPHAST programme on photonics innovation for SMEs. The information and opportunities regarding this European programme were further disseminated via the AER website. The ACTPHAST programme for photonics. See the results as at September 2017.

  • Conference on biomass: finished

In London AER members agreed to collaborate for the organisation of a conference on Biomass in Vojvodina. The objective was to share practices and expert lectures to show the practical possibilities of production and usage of biomass in Europe, with a preview insight in the production in Vojvodina. The event also aimed to awaken the interest of individual agricultural farms, agricultural cooperatives and clusters and regional and local governments.

Partners this year were the OECD Mission in Serbia and the Central European Initiative, with expert lectures from representatives from World Bioenergy Association, State Ministries in Serbia, University in Novi Sad, the Environment Agency Austria, GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and KfW (German government-owned development bank, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau).

  • Cooperation with the World Sustainable Energy Day: finished

On the occasion of the AER Committees plenary meetings in London, members highlighted their interest in participating to the World Sustainable Energy Days in a meaningful way. A delegation of AER representatives from across Europe was able to attend the World Sustainable Energy days for free on behalf of AER.

  • Workshop on Public procurement for green innovation: finished

This workshop was advertised in the AER network by Oppland and was organised in the framework of the INTERREG Sweden-Norway the Bioeconomy Region project involving 4 AER members: Hedmark, Värmland, Østfold and Oppland. It aimed to address the following questions:
• How can innovative public procurement accelerate take-up of green technologies and stimulate innovation?
• How is innovative public procurement adopted in regional and local authorities to implement bioeconomy?
• How are public authorities cooperating with clusters, SMEs, industry and companies?
• What are the greatest challenges to implementing large scale innovative public procurement?
The AER Secretariat provided support with the identification of potential speakers and connected them with the organisers.

  • Supporting members to use the TAIEX-Environmental Implementation Review : ongoing

The AER Secretariat is disseminating information about the TAIEX-EIR peer to peer learning programme and supporting members to use this programme to gain or provide knowledge on environmental policies on topics as diverse as air quality, waste management, water management, the circular economy. This programme which is relatively easy and quick to access is a good complement to activities carried out within AER and an opportunity to access support from the Commission to carry out exchnages with other regions.

  • AER event on EFSI: finished

AER organised a conference on sustainable financing for regions, which presented political issues related to impact investments, green investments and long term investments. These strategic aspects of regional development are not mere tools but are part of a regional development plan, which looks at private funding to leverage public resources.  AER series on investments – Episode 1, AER series on investments – Episode 2

  • Nudging: finished

The “Towards New Urban Mobility” paper presented on the occasion of the AER Breakfast Briefing on Urban mobility in London adresses the ways in which policies are set up to change behaviour. This report argues that policy interventions sensitive to group attitudes are more likely to result in behavioural change towards transport alternatives. This includes understanding which transport alternatives are more acceptable to each group and how best to target communication.

  • Awareness raising on sustainable mobility: ongoing

AER is continuing to highlight regional good practices on sustainable mobility. In this context an AER article was published in the Autumn 2017 edition of Revolve Magazine.

AER Chair of the working group Martin Tollen contributed to the Smart Airports event in Germany

  • Meeting of the AER working group on transports and mobility in Nancy: finished

Good practices from the host region were  presented on smart mobility and policies aimed at supporting green innovation in the field of transports. Discussion about regulatory framework, challenges for regions and opportunities for cooperation

  • Digitalisation of transports: ongoing

Promote the digitalisation of transports networks both in urban and rural areas (see below as well)

  • Promotion of knowledge about innovative technologies: ongoing

The sharing of knowledge is being carried out via:

–Workshop on the digitalisation of transports & information about the European Strategy on Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS), a milestone on the path towards cooperative, connected and automated mobility (COM(2016) 766)
–cooperation with Revolve Media to highlight regional good practices in the field of transport and provide visibility to active AER members
–contribution on new mobilities & artificial intelligence at the AER event on Nov 30th “Artificial Intelligence: are regions up to the challenge?”
–New Mobility Services of the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities & Communities: involvement in the European Innovation Partnership on Sustainable Cities and Communities: within the New Mobility Services initiative, AER is involved in the Action Cluster Sustainable Urban Mobility. AER Chairman of the Working Group on Transports and Mobility, Martin Tollén attended the first meeting of this Action Cluster.

The New Mobility Services initiative is a cooperation between private and public partners (quadruple helix type of cooperation, brings together companies, NGOs, research centers & universities, and policy makers). The purpose is to establish strategic partnerships between industry and European cities & regions to develop the urban systems and infrastructures of tomorrow. It is mainly focused on urban mobility. It is open for all European regions and cities to join or to send their stakeholders

AER AT THE EUROPEAN WEEK OF CITIES AND REGIONS

  • Workshop on climate and energy transition: finished

Led by the region of Abruzzo, AER co-organised a climate side-event during the European Week of Regions and Cities 2017.

  • Workshop on the Silver Economy: finished

Led by the SEED consortium. This workshop took participants through four inspiring examples of how a Silver Economy can help regions and cities to better match the needs of their ageing population while supporting local businesses and solution providers. It was the opportunity to discuss the complementarity between these examples and the initiatives at EU level. The networking session that followed brought together potential partners around issues related to the Silver Economy.

  • Workshop of the INTERREG Europe Policy Learning Platform: finished

The workshop aimed at helping regions learn from the project outputs from their peers in Europe.

 

Advocacy/ Lobbying

  • Cohesion Policy Activities: ongoing

Building on AER’s role in advocating for a strong cohesion policy, and following the adoption of a position paper on the future of cohesion policy post 2020 at the Bureau meeting in Sankt Pölten, Lower Austria (AT) on 1 June 2017, AER will continue to convene and deliver joint policy influencing work for the future cohesion policy by:

  • Holding regular debates on cohesion policy among members and between members and relevant stakeholders, such as the “Cohesion Policy: are you getting anything out of it?” debate during the AER Committees’ Autumn Plenary Meeting in Nancy on 12 September.
  • Gathering facts and figures on cohesion investments results and impact for a evidence-based advocacy.
  • Disseminating the AER position on future cohesion policy to key stakeholders and decision-makers in-country (in coordination with member regions) and in Brussels.
  • Working together with other European associations of regions, municipalities and cities and the Committee of the Regions to generate broader support for regions interests and policy proposals, including #CohesionAlliance created to demand that the EU budget after 2020 makes cohesion policy stronger, more effective, visible and available for every region in the European Union.

The Task Force on Cohesion Policy post 2020 will continue to support the work of AER in this field, providing strategic direction and oversight.

These actions aim to ensure European regions engage in the future cohesion policy discussions at regional, national and European level, and meaningfully contribute to the design and implementation of a stronger and more effective reformed policy.

  • AER Report on Regionalisation: ongoing

More than 40 academic experts accepted to give their contribution to this work, by delivering detailed reports about the state of regionalisation and multilevel governance in chosen European countries. The study covers 41 countries, and each country report is based on a similar structure, thereby allowing a comparative approach among all studied countries.

  • COP23 Local and Regional governments Leaders´ Summit: finished

AER was a partner to the Climate Summit of Local and Regional Leadersat the UN climate change conference (COP23) held from 6 to 17 November in Bonn, Germany, under the Presidency of Fiji. The event gathered more than 330 political leaders and 1000 delegates. At the Summit, local and regional leaders adopted the Bonn-Fiji Commitment to Deliver the Paris Agreement at All Levels, a pledge that signals their commitment to bring forward a critical shift in global development.

AER also contributed to a number of other events, including:
-8th Annual Sustainable Innovation Forum, organised by UNEP and Climate Action.
-World Climate Summit 2017, organised by R20 and BlueOrchard, in collaboration with World Climate.
-Side Event
 “Mountains in motion: Climate Action in the Alps, the Carpathians and the Pyrenees”, co-organised by the Region of Abruzzo.

  • R20 Summit: finished

In presence of AER and R20 President, Magnus Berntsson, R20 founding chair, Arnold Schwarzenegger and all key people playing a part in climate change (private partners, NGOs, officials). R20 is a winning alliance for AER, but where do we stand?

  • Financing climate action: ongoing

AER works alongside R20, Blue Orchard and Leonardo Di Caprio Foundation to set up a 350 million $ Subnational Climate Fund to finance climate projects in European regions. In August AER met the European Investment Bank to pursue negociations. AER is now providing members with privileged access to a training on the SOURCE system which allows stakeholders to access funding for their climate action.

  • 33rd Session of the Congress Local and Regional Authorities: finished

AER has a partnership status with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. It sends high-level representatives to the meetings of the Congress and sits in the Chamber of Regions Bureau. On 19 October, the AER President, Magnus Berntsson, took part in the 33rd Session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and addressed the Chamber of Regions during the debate on “Regional Co-operation and democracy in Europe: the role of European regional associations and organisations”. At the Session, the AER and the Congress expanded their existing collaboration by signing a Joint Action Plan for 2018-2020. The document reiterates the commitment to work together on various issues of mutual interest, notably regional democracy, youth participation and cultural diversity.

  • ERDF Funding for Regional Airports & State Aid for regional airports: ongoing

AER members get regular updates from the Working Group on transports and mobility’s Regional Airports expert Roger Estefors at meetings of the group. The Nancy meeting will feature an update on the topic too.

  • Sustainable biofuels: finished

AER member regions have been exchanging experiences on the topic of sustainable energy for many years and developped different projects on the topic, such as for instance the MORE4NRG and R4GG projects or the global engagement with the R20

The region of Oppland is very active in AER on the topics of energy and the circular economy. In 2016 the YRN Spring Plenary was hosted by Oppland and delegates visited a recycling plant which produces biogas was also featured in the Autumn 2017 edition of Revolve Magazine as an outstanding regional good practice.
Description of the action. The region of Oppland proposed to exchange experiences on the topic of 2nd generation sustainable biofuels, for example from waste and forest resources.

  • Legislation on biogas: finished

The AER secretariat connected regions which were interested in initiating a lobbying action. Regions had diverging priorities, the connection therefore did not result in a joint action.

 

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