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Lead experience exchange: propose a new working group!

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An AER working group provides a space for experience and knowledge exchange. The ground for mutual learning is the community the AER creates between member regions that have very diverse contexts and shared objectives. The AER community is one of its main added values when joining projects or developing advocacy activities.

As the mandates of current Working Groups have all come to an end, AER is offering the possibility to all members to propose to lead knowledge and experience exchange on a regional policy area that is important for them.

So… how to start a working group?

Contact the AER Secretariat and tell us what you are looking for!

If you’re not yet sure exactly about the activities or the specific focus of the working group you would like to lead, but you know you want to be engaged and lead a working group, contact us!

We’ll schedule a meeting to specify needs. We’ll help you identify the topic and main objective of the working group you’d like to set up and make sure this will indeed create value for you. We’ll help you to develop a draft proposal on the focus of the Working Group and identify a few potential activities, which you will then be able to share with other AER members.

What kind of topics?

At the AER we like to say that everything is possible!

Topics need to be in line with the Mission and Objectives of the AER, as defined in the AER Statutes

They need to be in line with the basic fundamental principles of the Council of Europe.

Who will be in the working group?

You may already know with which regions you would like to specifically cooperate with, in that case let us know and when needed we can facilitate the connection.

Working groups are open to all AER members. In order to propose a new working group, a core group of 1 leading region and at least 3 supporting regions are needed for the creation of a working group.

If you don’t yet know which regions you’d like to work with, let’s discuss! Together with the AER Secretariat you’ll be able identify peers in other regions who could be interested to work with you.

What kind of activities?

As per the AER Statutes, working groups are responsible for

  • Promoting networking and knowledge exchange between AER members on specific issues related to regional development; (8.3a)
  • Identifying and disseminating good practices. (8.3.b)

In this context, and depending on what you would like to achieve, activities can include activities to raise awareness on a topic and share existing practices, experience sharing, workshops to identify how to address shared challenges and societal changes, information sessions on funding opportunities, project development workshops…

The process to create a working group is detailed on this page.

There are many ways in which the AER offer and synergies with other activities can match your expectations. Contact us!

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Join our Bureau Debate on Sustainable Mobility & Connectivity — the Road to Recovery and the Green Transition

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Want to join online?*

***UPDATE*** — we are delighted to announce that completing our panel will be Mr Ciarán Cuffe, Member of the European Parliament’s Committees on Transport and Tourism and Industry, Research and Energy!

According to the European Parliament, transport accounts for 30% of the EU’s total emissions. If we are to keep global temperatures below 1.5C and achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, a change of gears is required to make our transport systems more efficient, less polluting and better value for money.

Local and regional authorities have a clear and important role in making mobility more sustainable and inclusive through their strategic planning, provision of transport infrastructure and services, support to technological innovation and incentives for green transport options. Yet, there is still a lack of financial and technical support to fulfil their potential in advancing sustainable mobility and connectivity.

That’s why as part of our Bureau meeting on 2 December, the AER is organising a debate on the role of local and regional authorities in building sustainable mobility systems.

The aim is to explore how local and regional authorities can help achieve the objectives set out in the the European Green Deal, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Accords. At the same time, this debate will be a chance to discuss how these ambitious goals can be aligned with Europe’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

This debate will feed into to an AER position paper on sustainable mobility and connectivity by developing recommendations to improve regions’ contribution to economic growth, inclusive and sustainable development across Europe.

The debate will consider two key questions:

  • How to make mobility more sustainable and improve connectivity across Europe, focusing on prosperity and environment?
  • What is the role of local and regional authorities in making the transition to green, fair and sustainable mobility systems?

This interactive debate will bring together regional and European policymakers and experts. It includes an extended thirty-minute Q & A where participants will have the opportunity to share their views and insights with our expert panel. Don’t miss the chance to help shape AER’s work on sustainable transport!

Share your views with our expert panel!

Our line-up has been announced — check out our expert panel below!

Moderator: Martin Tollén, Chair of the AER Working Group on Transport & Mobility, County Councillor in Östergötland (SE)

Alessandra Zedda, AER Vice President and Chair of the AER Task Force on Sustainable Mobility and Connectivity, and Vice President and Regional Minister for Labour, Vocational Training, Cooperation and Social Security, Autonomous Region of Sardinia (IT)

Ciarán Cuffe MEP, Member of the European Parliament’s Committees on Transport and Tourism and Industry, Research and Energy

Yuwei Li, Director of the UNECE Sustainable Transport Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Axel Volkery, Deputy Head of Unit Sustainable and Intelligent Transport, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission

Robert van Asten, Member of the European Committee of the Regions and Rapporteur of the Opinion “Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy”

*Note: Those who have registered for the AER Bureau already have the Zoom link and do not need to register.

*Note: Those who have registered for the AER Bureau already have the Zoom link and do not need to register.

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Agenda 2030 Conference: Transforming Regions, Changing the World

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On 28-29 October, the Assembly of European Regions held our long-awaited Agenda 2030 Conference in Strasbourg, in partnership with Region Grand Est and the City of Strasbourg.

Against the backdrop of the hugely consequential COP26 Conference in Glasgow and the IPCC’s recent “Code red” report on global emissions, ‘Transforming Regions, Changing the World’ came at a crucial time where difficult decisions need to be made to save our planet for future generations. Now more than ever, regions, alongside cities, must have a key role in implementing and achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set out in the 2030 Agenda.

Having entered the decade of action, this conference represented an opportunity to set out how regions can deliver on the commitments that were made six years ago. Over two days at the Regional Council of Grand Est, policymakers, civil society and AER members gathered in person and tuned-in online to discuss how to achieve the 2030 Agenda, and guarantee a sustainable and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

2030 Agenda: Europe’s ambitious goals for the next decade

“I think Archimedes once said ‘Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world’. Well, I think that the Sustainable Development Goals are the lever and the regions of Europe are the fulcrum which the lever must be applied to, and we will go a long way towards changing our reality for the better.”

With these words European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, opened the first session of the conference, “Sustainable Development,” Commissioner Ferreira continued, “must be put in practice on a local and regional level, it can not remain on a theoretical level.”

The same principles were embraced by AER President, Magnus Berntsson, who addressed the key role of local authorities and the business community in fighting against social and economical inequalities, and accelerating the transition process towards an inclusive economy.

In her keynote address, Member of European Parliament, Anne Sander, pointed to the host city of Strasbourg as a proof of the effectiveness of a local, regional, and and multi-stakeholders approach in the policy-making process, as ‘a city where the voices of citizens are heard.’

Localisation and strong engagement of regions and cities were also the main topics addressed by Executive Secretary of UNECE, Olga Algayerova; who reminded participants that time is running short, and we must facilitate the creation of a circular economy through cohesion policy, digitalisation, community investments and the transition to a green economy.

To achieve the SDGs, it is essential to promote partnership among national, regional and local governments, as the most proximate representatives of citizens’ needs. In this regard, European Commission Vice-President Dubravka Šuica, had an encouraging message, affirming that “regions and cities are the places where the inter-linkages among SDGs are boosted and where innovative green solutions can genuinely be implemented.”

Indeed, getting buy-in from citizens in their own communities is a core building block of a more sustainable Europe. Sharing the results of a recent AER Survey of more than 6,000 Europeans in six countries, AER Secretary General, Christian Spahr explained that among the different levels of government, regional and local authorities enjoy the highest level of public trust; giving them credibility to implement the SDGs in a way that meets the needs of citizens. Regional and local government were trusted by 52% of respondents, compared with 49% for European institutions and 41% for national governments.

Cohesion & Cooperation: sharing expertise on a regional level

How can we actually put SDG policies into practice on a regional and local level? Some noteworthy examples were shared by our guest-speakers during the high-level panel debate ‘Agenda 2030: Transforming Regions, Changing the World’ . Mohamed Boudra, President of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), stressed the importance of localisation and building permanent and constructive cooperation among different levels of government. The existence of UCLG’s ‘Global Taskforce‘, whose goal is the coordination of local governments internationally, is a model of how this can be done.

Indeed, when it comes to the SDGs, it is crucial to prevent siloed implementation. Multi-level governance must avoid a “strictly sectoral approach”, said Regions4‘s representative, Iker Atxa Zaitegi, stressed the need to boost cooperation within regions by taking advantage of the interlinkages among the Sustainable Developments Goals.

In his contribution, AER Vice President for Sustainability, Albert Castellanos, emphasised the importance of building towards a “fair, balanced and equal labour market” which will reduce social inequalities and improve economic stability in regions and cities, in line with Goal 8, “Decent Work and Economic Growth”. The idea of equality must be also applied to safeguarding our environment. In her speech, Prof. Dr. Daniela Kleinschmit shed light on the urgency of bridging the gap between rural and urban areas and ensuring real opportunities for the generations to come.

In this regard, Deputy Mayor of Strasbourg, Julia Dumay, explained how promoting a “culture of equality” throughout the city made possible to put human rights, citizens’ participation and the fight against discrimination on top of the local government’s priorities. This sense of community cooperation clearly came to light when, thanks to the help of City and Eurometropolis of Strasbourg, conference participants were able to visit the city “Eco-Quartier Danube“, where the local authorities promote living together within the neighbourhood and where sustainable innovative buildings meet the traditional port identity of the site.

From theory to action: how to put SDGs principles into practice

The second day of the conference started with a series of workshops focused on five main topics: peace, planet, partnership, people and prosperity. The aim of each session was to share knowledge on how to concretely implement the SDGs policies involving regions and cities.

In our workshop on Planet: ‘Biodiversity for Sustainable Development’, in partnership with Regions4, speakers discussed the key role of regions in protecting biodiversity by ensuring a green and resilient recovery from the pandemic; Renata Gómez, Biodiversity Programme Manager at Regions4, remarked on the need to ‘mainstream biodiversity’ by communicating it and creating public awareness. Citizens’ participation and engagement were also a central focus of the workshop on Peace: ‘The Future is Yours–Inclusive & Participatory Institutions for All‘. Lia Montaldi, Councillor of EmiliaRomagna Region, highlighted the essential features of good governance: an open and transparent government, where citizens’ participation and accountability are paramount to policymakers.

Participation and cooperation also requires encouraging regions to develop strategies and plans for the implementation of the SDGs on a local level; our workshop on Partnership: ‘How can regions deliver on voluntary reviews?’, organised with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (CoE), showcased how through regionalisation and the use of regional reviews this objective can be successfully accomplished.

In the second part of the day, the discussion moved to the topics of people and prosperity. During the workshop on People: ‘Hate Speech: Towards a Comprehensive Approach’ (co-organised by Intercultural Cities Programme, CoE, and our Includ-EU Project), participants discussed effective management of diversity as an integral part of good and inclusive governance. Our moderator, Irena Guidikova, Head of Inclusion and Anti-discrimination at the Council of Europe, stressed that “when Hateful expressions jeopardise other rights such as the right to life or privacy, then those rights take precedence over freedom of expression”. One way to combat hate speech is through the WE CAN tools “to identify hate speech, monitor it, launch responses and evaluate their impact”.

Finally, our workshop on Prosperity: ‘Leaving No Youth Behind: Building resilient, sustainable, and prosperous cities and regions’ shed light on the great input that young people can have to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals — if they are given the right tools to do so. One of our guest speakers, Stefanie De Bock, co-spokesperson for Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG), noted the impact of climate change on young people and the need for greater involvement for them in decision-making, “young people suffer disproportionally from climate change”, yet the political system at present “does not create enough spaces for young people to be policymakers”.

The way forward – Achieving sustainable and resilient regions in a post-pandemic world

A huge challenge going forward will be aligning our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic with the Sustainable Development Goals. The daunting question of “How?” was put to the speakers in our conference’s closing panel.

“There are no universal solutions. The reality of each region should design the changes that need to happen” said Gonzalo Pizarro, Regional Policy Adviser on SDG Integration for UNDP. Policymakers must consider local and regional specificities to guarantee a green and inclusive recovery from the pandemic, starting with ensuring equal access to vaccinations and new social protection measures.

Leen Verbeek, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, shared Pizarro’s view, and underlined the critical importance of supporting regions — especially the poorest ones — in creating plans of action. He further underlined the need to mainstream and increase the visibility of the SDGs in policy development, “we need to integrate the SDGs in every proposal and every paper to increase awareness and motivation” around their implementation.

Ricardo Rio, Mayor of Braga, Portugal and Member of the European Committee of the Regions, reminded participants of the necessity of adopting a holistic and subsidiary approach to meet the global goals, by “strengthening the capacity of regions”.

Closing the debate, AER President, Magnus Berntsson, reaffirmed the hope that the recovery from the pandemic could give us the opportunity to empower partnership and knowledge sharing on a local and regional level, especially regarding the connection between rural and urban areas: “We have this connection between rural and urban areas and if we do not want to leave anyone behind, we need to make this connection work”, concluding that “to not leave anyone behind, we also need to make sure that we do not hold anyone back.”

Agenda 2030 Conference Manifesto: a shared commitment to action

Closing the Conference, the Assembly of European Regions and our partners reaffirmed our shared commitment to deliver Agenda 2030 and achieve the Sustainable Developments Goals by co-signing a Manifesto.

This was co-signed by AER President, Magnus Berntsson and Vice President — Treasurer, Christian Debève on behalf of Region Grand Est — and endorsed by our partners, Regions4 and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). The manifesto enshrines the principle of “thinking globally, but acting locally”. As Vice President Debève said in signing the manifesto, “we are humbly contributing to making the 2030 Agenda a framework for trans-border, international and European cooperation.”

You can find the conference Manifesto at this LINK. If your organisation is interested in endorsing it, please contact AER Institutional Relations & Advocacy Officer, Gisela Guari Cañada at [email protected].

We want to thank our co-organisers, partners, member regions and attendees for making such a success of the Agenda 2030 Conference. We look forward to continuing the journey towards 2030 together in a renewed spirit of partnership among all our member regions.

Co-Organisers

Event Partners

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Autumn Digest 2021: Funding Opportunities for EU and Non-EU Member Regions

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Are you in pursuit of some new EU project funding opportunities? Here are some openings worth looking into!

In line with the new Multiannual Financial Framework programme 2021-2027 which aims for more inclusivity and to support green and digital transitions, the AER Project Unit has mapped EU funding opportunities and calls for project proposals that are linked to green issues, digitalisation, and democracy & citizens participation.

Green Transition

Climate change and environmental degradation are an existential threat to Europe and the world. Among the 6 priorities the European Commission proposed for the years 2019-2024 Climate Action is at their top concern. According to the Commission, “EU policy protects the environment and seeks to minimise risks to climate, human health and biodiversity. The European Green Deal aims to make Europe the world’s first climate-neutral continent, in part by developing cleaner sources of energy and green technologies.”

Recovery of coastal and maritime tourism in the Western Mediterranean
Programme: European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF)
Deadline: 12 January 2022
Eligibility: EU and eligible non-EU member states
In line with the priorities of the European Commission, this call topic aims to strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of the coastal and maritime tourism ecosystem in the Western Mediterranean, as part of a smart and resilient blue economy. Moreover, it aims at preserving the marine and coastal environment and marine cultural heritage and contributing to the attractiveness of coastal areas as a unique asset for competitiveness in the Mediterranean. The action particularly looks at supporting tourism stakeholders to tap into the growing ecotourism niche tourism market and boosting innovation and digitalisation in the tourism sector, thus increasing its contribution to economic growth and jobs in the Mediterranean.

Local Green Deals
Programme: Single Market Programme (SMP)
Deadline: 24 November 2021
Eligibility: EU and eligible non-EU member states
The new The Single Market Programme (SMP) was adopted on 28 April 2021 and provides an integrated package to support and strengthen the governance and functioning of the Single Market. 

The call within this programme contributes to the European Green Deal objectives of climate-neutrality, sustainability, prosperity and inclusiveness and in parallel to develop more sustainable regional or local strategies and resilient business models. The general objective of this topic is to provide support to SMEs, regional and local economic operators to lead the twin green and digital transition and implement actions aiming to direct the local economy towards a sustainable and inclusive pathway, create new jobs, mitigate the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis and accelerate a new, green and fairer recovery. To achieve this, this call will support projects that boost transnational and cross border cooperation among local administrations and local businesses to co-create, co-design and deliver Local Green Deals.

Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction for extreme climate events: from early warning systems to long term adaptation and resilience building
Programme: Horizon Europe
Deadline: 23 November 2021
Eligibility: EU Member States and eligible non-EU countries
The focus of this call is to improve dialogue and cooperation among scientific and technical communities, stakeholders, policy-makers and local communities in the field of extreme climate events and associated events (e.g. forest fires, droughts, floods, heatwaves and storms) and disaster risk reduction. It aims to enhance community engagement for prevention, preparedness, response, recovery and learning to extreme climate events by strengthening knowledge and involvement of volunteers linked to recognised organisations into the planning, design, and implementation of prevention, including building with nature, preparedness, and emergency response activities.

Sustainability and educational aspects for renewable energy and renewable fuel technologies
Programme: Horizon Europe
Deadline: 5 January 2022
Eligibility: EU Member States and eligible non-EU countries
This funding calls for a framework to be established where sustainability and educational aspects for renewable energy and fuel technologies are addressed in the context of the current climate crisis. In this context, and taking into consideration circularity and sustainability, projects should aim to enhance and promote sustainability by addressing social and environmental aspects (air pollution, waste management, job opportunities, wildlife concerns, etc.) of renewable energy and renewable fuel technologies at a global level, thus ensuring the European Green Deal priorities are met.

Technical support to clean energy transition plans and strategies in municipalities and regions
Programme: Programme for Environment and Climate Action (LIFE)
Deadline: 12 January 2022
Eligibility: EU Member States and eligible non-EU countries (associated with LIFE programme)
The call aims to provide local and regional authorities with the necessary capacity to deliver sustainable plans and strategies for the energy transition. To successfully support the achievement of energy and climate targets, transition strategies and plans need to be institutionalised, cross-sectoral and tailored to the level of innovation, ambition and specific geographic context of the involved authorities. Local and regional authorities are a decisive lever for the EU to achieve its carbon neutrality target by 2050. Policy-makers and administrations at all sub-national levels need to commit to and effectively plan the clean energy transition of their respective territory, energy systems and infrastructures at an unprecedented level of ambition and pace with a long-term time horizon.

Community-driven clean energy transition in coal, peat and oil-shale regions
Programme: Programme for Environment and Climate Action (LIFE)
Deadline: 12 January 2022
Eligibility: EU Member States and eligible non-EU countries (associated with LIFE programme)
This call aims to empower coal, peat and oil-shale regions to advance the clean energy transition in their territories by developing and implementing the sustainable energy-related elements of their territorial just transition plans and effectively combining the support provided by the Just Transition Mechanism and/or and other sources of available funding.

Digital Transition

Over the last years, digital technology has played an increasingly important role in the lives of many around the world. This is why the Commission adopted the EU’s digital strategy as one of its top priorities in the upcoming years. The strategy aims to make this transformation work for people and businesses, while helping to achieve its target of a climate-neutral Europe by 2050.

The Commission is determined to make this Europe’s “Digital Decade”. Europe must now strengthen its digital sovereignty and set standards, rather than following those of others – with a clear focus on data, technology, and infrastructure. Under this priority falls Digital Europe (DIGITAL), a new funding programme adopted by the European Commission and will be focused on bringing digital technology to businesses, citizens and public administrations.

Reinforcing digitalisation related know how of local energy ecosystems
Programme: Horizon Europe
Deadline: 5 January 2022
Eligibility: EU Member States and non-EU countries
This call aims to increase the autonomy of local ecosystems to participate in the decentralisation of energy systems and energy transition and the number of participants in flexibility markets. It also wants to cover the gap on knowledge around digitalisation of energy services and contribute to the reskilling & upskilling of individuals and organizations. Furthermore, it will facilitate the creation of a network of parties interested in joining forces for public procurement of energy related digital services.

Democracy & Citizens Participation

The European elections of 2019 have shown a record-high turnout and with that demonstrate a new vibrancy of European democracy. Yet, the Commission feels that Europeans need a stronger role in the decision-making process and a more active role in setting their priorities. In that light, in order to protect our democracy from external interference, a joint approach is considered necessary to tackle issues such as disinformation and online hate messages. This makes for democracy and citizens participation to go hand in hand regarding the approach of the Commision for the coming years.

Social Economy Missions for community resilience
Programme: Single Market Programme (SMP)
Deadline: 24 November 2021
Eligibility: EU Member States and eligible non-EU countries
The objective of this call within the new SMP programme is to co-fund projects, which will build resilience and increase the capacity of regional or local public administrations, social economy SMEs and civil society to overcome difficulties and crises. The call will support building local resilience through transnational and inter-regional peer-learning and collaboration in the field of social economy, also, developing social economy local action plans with the cooperation of social economy stakeholders and formulating recommendations to be potentially replicable in other parts of Europe.

Smart solutions for smart rural communities: empowering rural communities and smart villages to innovate for societal change
Programme: Horizon Europe
First deadline: 15 February 2022 
Second deadline: 6 September 2022
Eligibility: EU Member States and non-EU countries
The successful proposal will contribute to fostering a sustainable, balanced and inclusive development of rural areas, supporting the implementation of the European Green Deal, in particular its fair and just transition component, the European digital strategy, the European pillar of social rights and the EU long-term vision for rural areas. It will do so by supporting digital, social and community-led innovations and by equipping rural communities with innovative and smarter solutions that increase access to services, opportunities and adequate innovation ecosystems, including for women, youth and the most vulnerable groups, improve attractiveness and reduce the feeling of being left behind, even in the most remote locations.

Support for information measures relating to the EU Cohesion policy
Programme: DG Regio
Deadline: 11 January 2022
Eligibility: EU Member States
The main aim is to provide support for the production and dissemination of information and content linked to EU Cohesion policy, including inter alia the Just Transition Fund and the recovery plan for Europe, while respecting the complete editorial independence of the actors involved. The specific objectives of this call are to promote and foster a better understanding of the role of Cohesion policy in supporting all EU’s regions and to increase awareness of projects funded by the EU – through Cohesion policy in particular – and of their impact on people’s lives. Moreover, it aims to encourage civic participation in matters related to Cohesion policy and to foster citizens’ participation in setting priorities for the future of this policy.

Assessing the socio-politics of nature-based solutions for more inclusive and resilient communities
Programme: Horizon Europe
Deadline: 15 February 2022
Eligibility: EU Member States and non-EU countries
The objective of this call is to contribute to the EU’s goal of leading just digital, economic and ecological transitions that will leave no one behind, supporting, in particular, European Green Deal priorities such as the biodiversity strategy for 2030. R&I will contribute to developing rural, coastal and urban areas in a sustainable, balanced and inclusive manner thanks to the deployment of nature-based solutions and to a better understanding of the environmental, socio-economic, behavioural and cultural drivers of change. R&I will also further support the empowerment of communities to deploy nature-based solutions to adapt to climate change and turn digital and ecological transitions into increased resilience, well-being and positive long-term prospects, such as jobs for all (including for women, young people and vulnerable groups).

Strengthening European coordination and exchange for innovation uptake towards sustainability, quality, circularity and social inclusion in the built environment as a contribution to the new European Bauhaus (Built4People)
Programme: Horizon Europe
Deadline: 25 January 2022
Eligibility: EU Member States and non-EU countries
In line with the New European Bauhaus, this proposal aims to better acknowledgement and integration of quality architecture and design principles, blending design and sustainability in innovative solutions to improve the sustainability of the built environment, including, if appropriate, cultural heritage, also ensuring compliance with the principles of circular economy, with due consideration of relevant aspects such as style, human-centric inclusivity and accessibility for persons with disabilities.

For more information on EU funding programmes and calls for proposals, please take a look at the funding and tender portal of the European Commission. Additionally, you can find further information by consulting our series of webinars “Unboxing the Multiannual Financial Framework” available on the AER website.

If you require any further information or assistance in finding partners or putting together a project proposal, please do not hesitate to contact the AER Project Unit.

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2021 Eurodyssey call for elections: Steering Committee Chair and Members

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At the 2021 Eurodyssey Assembly, which will take place online and in Brussels (BE) on 2 December 2021, the incumbent Steering Committee members and President are expected to be re-elected. However, there is a vacancy available to be filled by a new member region!

When?

The elections will be celebrated on the 2nd of December within the 2021 AER Eurodyssey Forum. The deadline to submit your application to the Eurodyssey Steering Committee is the 26th of November 2021!

What?

If you think this might be of interest to your region, please consult the available vacancies of the Eurodyssey Steering Committee. You will find the list of current vacancies HERE.

For further specificities on the roles and expectations for all the members taking part in the Steering Committee, please refer to this document.

How?

To present your candidacy send a copy of your Curriculum Vitae and a Cover letter to the AER Secretariat ([email protected]), before the 26th of November 2021.

Image credits: Unsplash.com

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Technical Vocational Education & Training and Civic Participation

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Civic participation is a process in which people take collective action to address issues of public concern and can adopt many forms: from individual volunteering, community engagement efforts and organisational involvement to governmental support. With regard to governments, effectively engaging with stakeholders translates into better services, source ideas and knowledge, co-creation solutions and seizing new opportunities.

In the context of its participation in the Skillnet project, AER organised a webinar on the ways in which societies can improve civic participation in a qualitative way, by involving young people from more diverse backgrounds

High-quality civic participation is inclusive by design

To achieve high-quality civic participation, it is crucial to make sure to involve all regional stakeholders. Research shows there is a large participation gap between college students and other young people.

This webinar was facilitated by Aurora Carrasco Minguez, VET programmes Manager at Acción contra el Hambre. The event focused on the factors that can improve the civic participation of people in technical and vocational education.

Civic competences and lifelong learning

To provide insights on how to bridge civic participation and various forms of education Andrei Frank, Policy Officer SOLIDAR Foundation, shared the results of the 2020 Solidar Monitor, a research report on the topic of policy developments in the field of attainment of skills, through lifelong learning, for active participation in society.

This report looked at green and digital citizenship in Europe and beyond. It examined in particular how multistakeholder partnerships are beneficial to develop policies linked to this type of competences. Indeed both green and digital competences imply lifelong and holistic elements. These competences need to be constantly updated.

In order to ensure more inclusive and wider civic participation, multistakeholder partnerships across ministries and across society are needed to ensure this constant updating of civic competences. Partnerships between formal and non-formal education are needed

Good learning environments for all for better participation

Simon Johnson, Chair of the AER Working Group on Education and Acting Mayor of Nordland County (NO) shared the experience of his region. He explained that offering the possibility to all to participate in society is part of the political guidelines underpinning Nordland’s policymaking and which are based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Simon Johnson presented the way in which politcal goals are translated into strategy making processes and result in practices, which aim to provide all students, apprentices and trainees with a good learning environment. This entails measures aimed at promoting good health, wellbeing and learning and leads to building great life skills. Nordland is specifically targetting young people who are not enrolled in ordinary upper secondary education. One of the ways in which the region does this, is through the development of partnerships with businesses.

In order to foster civic participation skills such as critical thinking and ethical acting together with environmental awareness are embedded in the Norwegian Education Law. This means pupils have the possibility to participate in the classroom, at the level of the school as well as at local and national level. Other measures specifically target bullying.

This practice shows how building inclusive learning environments for all, with an approach that includes health and wellbeing, as well as providing structures for young people to participate in decision making -thus providing a space to build civic participation competences- contribute to foster more inclusive civic participation.

Building the TVET voice through the Peer Learning Clubs

In the context of the Skillnet project, TVET stakeholders are invited to share their views and experiences in the Peer Learning Clubs, in order to shape policy recommendations.

Maria Elena Romanini, Project Manager for the Skillnet project presented the Peer Learning Clubs. These four focus groups bring together experts from different backgrounds (TVET providers, companies, government representatives, and individuals) who engage regularly in the discussion of four TVET-related topics through online and on-site activities, with a bottom-up approach.

The four topics are:

PLC1 – Advanced Manufacturing Sector (sectoral dimension)
PLC2 – Advocacy & Policy Influencing (empowerment and social equity dimension)
PLC3 – Work-based learning and standards (QA and curricular dimension)
PLC4 – Train the trainers (operational dimension)

These Peer Learning Clubs are open to all interested stakeholders (see Skillnet website to join)

EU opportunities related to multistakeholder partnerships, civic participation and TVET

Get involved in the Conference on the Future of Europe!

Register to the European Week of Regions and Cities (11-14 October 2021)

Join the 2021 SKILLMAN INTERNATIONAL FORUM (15-18 November 2021)

The EU Youth Strategy: https://europa.eu/youth/strategy_en

The European Training calendar (ETC): Trainings within the Erasmus+ Youth in Action Programme, European Solidarity Corps and beyond: https://www.salto-youth.net/tools/european-training-calendar/

SALTO-Youth, Support, Advanced Learning and Training Opportunities for Youth: https://www.salto-youth.net/about/

European Solidarity Corps: https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity

Erasmus+ Programme Guide: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/node_en

Erasmus+ Programme Guide, Youth Participation Activities: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/programme-guide/part-b/key-action-1/youth-participation-activities_en

[FORTHCOMING – January 2022] HORIZON EUROPE Call for Grants ‘The Future of Democracy and Civic Participation‘

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PRESS RELEASE: Innovating Cultural Heritage, a Workshop by AER and CUBES

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Cultural heritage has an inspiring and creative role in present European societies and communities. It has a positive impact on social cohesion as well as regional development and sustainable tourism. In the context of cultural heritage, innovation has a key role to play in the field of technology, social impact, policymaking, administration, and entrepreneurship.

The workshop “Innovating Cultural Heritage”, jointly organised by the AER working group on culture and the CUBES Project, brings together practitioners, policymakers and experts. It will discuss current challenges and opportunities for European regions to invest in cultural heritage innovation and learn about sustainable and participatory cultural management practices. The workshop will be an opportunity to showcase and guide participants through the new digital platform produced by CUBES and invite stakeholders to get involved in the project.

Speakers include:

  • Snezhina Petrova, Member of Gabriel’s Cabinet, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth;
  • Viktor Negrescu, Vice-chair, CULT Committee, European Parliament;
  • Anne Grady, Cultural Heritage National Expert, European Commission;
  • Patrick Torrent, President, NECSTouR: The Voice of European Regions for Sustainable Tourism;
  • Fereshteh Jalayer Hess, Regional Council Member, Värmland (SE);
  • Chiara Dall’Aglio, Responsible for EU projects and Pl Interreg Europe SHARE, Sviluppumbria;
  • Maria Kouri, Lecturer in Cultural Management & Local Community Development, University of Peloponnese, and CUBES Project Manager.
REGISTER HERE

Regions and Cultural Heritage

AER Member regions are committed to promoting democracy and good governance, nurturing territorial cohesion, ensuring a liveable future for citizens, and fostering a Europe of equality. Culture is inherent and an enabler of all of the above priorities, if optimized as a driver for sustainable development. Regions are often called to implement or co-design policies in this field and it is therefore paramount to understand their needs in order to advocate at national and European level. AER Secretariat involvement in CUBES project resulted in acknowledging the below considerations:

  • Heritage covers a broad range of occupations with a variety of roles and levels of skills and qualifications. It creates many cross sectoral jobs, especially related to tourism, trade, research and education, in the public, private and voluntary spheres.
  • In relation to skills and lifelong learning: it is necessary to move to a greater degree of convergence at European scale, based on the analysis of its best practices and contextualizing the different strategies in each local and disciplinary ambit, in order.
  • Digitisation and ICT skills complement the traditional skills essential to care for cultural heritage. In line with the EU priority on advancing cooperation on digitising cultural heritage, skills and creation of training modules need to include core and transversal digitisation and digital preservation skills.

If you have any questions or would like to be involved in the event, please contact our Project and Policy Officer, Anna Comacchio ([email protected])

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Partner Search: New Project on Cultural Planning & Rural Development

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The region of Örebro County and the Coompanion Mälardalen in Sweden are looking for partners for a new project they are preparing within the Creative Europe programme, call for proposals CREA-CULT-2021-COOP-2 “European Cooperation projects (medium scale)”.

The project will focus on cultural planning and rural development. Cultural planning is a broad, interdisciplinary approach that weaves cultural perspectives into community planning. It is a geographical rather than sectoral concept that includes both tangible and intangible cultural resources, and is becoming increasingly important in sustainably society planning.

Cultural planning will form the starting point of this project. It takes the view that culture should not be treated solely as a sectoral theme, but as a cross-cutting/transversal dimension of all high-level EU policy initiatives, and indeed of cohesion policy more broadly. Therefore, culture needs to be recognised and incentivised as part of a place-based approach to the regional development of EU territories.

The purpose of this project then, will be to test and develop methods of cultural planning in rural development, and show how cultural planning can have a better impact in different national planning contexts. This will be based on international knowledge-gathering and exchange of experiences using cultural planning models.

The consortium is currently composed of partners from different countries in Europe representing both the public sector and social economy entities. In order to complete it, the Lead Partner is searching for a public sector partner from Eastern or Central Europe primarily (but also other countries) with an interest and experience in the cultural and creative sectors.

If you are interested in joining this project, please send your expression of interest by 15 July h 12:00 pm CEST and don’t hesitate to get in touch with us in case you would need additional information.

Contact:

Agnese Pantaloni, European Projects Coordinator ([email protected])

Photo by MUILLU on Unsplash

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Skillnet Training Session – Making the Most of Cohesion & Rural Development Funds

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MFF, ERDF, ESF, EFRD, EAGF…navigating the sea of acronyms in the EU funding lexicon can be a daunting task for would-be applicants. Yet, unlocking these funds will be crucial for regions if they are to bounce back from the pandemic. What can be done to help regions access the crucial funding they need to support their recovery?

The AER recognises these challenges members face when it comes to accessing EU funding. That’s why on 26 May, as part of our Skillnet Project on European funding opportunities, the AER held a training session for regions and their stakeholders looking to make the best of new EU funding opportunities.

Featuring presentations and an extended Q & A with experts from the European Commission, the first webinar in our “Unboxing the MFF (Multiannual Financial Framework)” series took attendees through Cohesion & Rural Development funds, and the EU’s Next Generation EU Recovery Package.

Cohesion Policy and Next Generation EU – What’s New?

Our first speaker, Ms Tereza Krausová from DG REGIO gave an overview of the 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy and Next Generation EU packages, and provided insights on how regions can benefit under the new frameworks. She noted that while NextGenEU is “at its core” a crisis-repair instrument, the Commission wants it to compliment the EU’s climate goals and facilitate the digital transition – important aspect to bear in mind.

Also of note are the substantial sums allocated to bolster programmes of key interest to regions. There is EUR 47.5 billion allocated to Cohesion programmes 2014-2020, like the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF+), and cross-border programmes like the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) and Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD). (Note – AER members are invited to request more information on these and all instruments discussed from the AER Secretariat).

Ms Krausová also set out the features of these shared management funds, which have a strong territorial dimension. While the partnership agreements for programmes under these funds are set up nationally with the Commission, local and regional authorities are strongly encouraged to engage themselves fully in the process by meeting with and setting out their priorities to their national authorities. Most notably, Policy Objective 5: ‘Territorial Tools’, underlines that all investments have to be based on local strategies. These should empower cities and local communities “to identify their own priorities and projects in a participatory way.” Possible tools available include integrated territorial investments (ITIs), community-led local development (CLLD) and other territorial tools designed by member states.

In terms of priority themes, as mentioned, under the ERDF there is a “thematic concentration” on improvement of the economy and meeting the EU’s climate reduction targets. Of particular interest to regions will be the thematic concentration on sustainable urban development. 8% of the ERDF is allocated towards integrated urban development delivered through local development partnerships. There are also new funding streams available for interregional innovation, and Ms Krausová again emphasised that these local development strategies must have true “local ownership”. Within the INTERREG programme, there is a bigger emphasis on cross-border programmes – including a new European cross-border Mechanism, a specific component for outermost regions, and the incorporation of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) and the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI), which supports co-operation outside the EU.

Ms Krausová also touched on the EU’s Just Transition Fund (JTF), which provides over EUR 19 billion in tailored support to territories to help them achieve climate neutrality by 2050. This money aims to galvanize green investment in areas like waste reduction, resource efficiency, recycling, etc, as well as encourage SME growth in the green economy. Coal and peat intensive regions in transition will be key beneficiaries of this fund.

European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) – driving a Fair Recovery

Our second speaker, Ms Louise Reid from DG EMPL gave insights on the new European Social Fund Plus (ESF+). The ESF+ supports employment, education and social inclusion through EUR 99.3 billion of investments in different programmes.

As with other funds, there are specific “thematic concentrations requirements” for member states relating to tackling youth unemployment, eradicating child poverty, and capacity building of social partners and civil society. Of note is that there is EUR 531 million and EUR 197 million available to support Outermost Regions and Transnational cooperation respectively under shared management. With regard to REACT-EU funds distributed under ESF+, Ms Reid said these will be directed towards short-term work schemes and youth employment, as well as ensuring equal access to health services. Echoing Ms Krausová, she underlined that “regions should now take the opportunity to be involved” in the national planning processes, and contact their local management authority for more information on accessing REACT-EU funding.

The Common Agricultural Policy – the importance of Partnership

Our final speaker, Mr Stefan Jensen from DG AGRI updated attendees on the reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and how regions can make the most of the EU instruments available to support rural development. While still under negotiation, from 2023 the National CAP Strategic Plans will integrate “direct payments and market funds” – the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF), with the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). Between 2021-22 there will be a transition period where the current framework will be extended, and there is an additional EUR 8 billion earmarked from the Next Generation EU recovery programme to support rural development. As with the other funds under discussion, there is “a strong focus on Green Deal ambitions”, with 30% of the EAFRD concentrated on helping rural areas meet climate and environmental objectives.

Mr Jensen underlined the essential role that regional stakeholders will have in the administration of the new CAP. Members should note that regions are very much embedded in the design of these instruments, and are expected to be involved in the design and implementation of the National Strategic plans. More concretely, the Commission expects these plans to be able to identify regional specificities and needs, and it is therefore vital that all levels of government are involved in elaborating these strategies.

The Commission equally recognises the need for local approaches to fulfill broader Green ambitions. To this end, Mr Jensen encouraged local organisations to “take ownership” to ensure that “the green transition takes place on the ground.” He also advised regions “to look across different EU funds that will help you on the ground,” noting provisions in the Common Provisions Regulations (CPR) that can help regions identify funding opportunities.

There were several noteworthy takeaways for the 100+ participants who took part in this training session. Firstly, for regions to make sure they can access the funding they need, it is essential that they reach out to their member states and involve themselves in the process of designing the National Strategic Plans. Having an awareness of which streams in each instrument have a strong territorial focus (some noted above) can help regions guide such discussions, as will keeping in mind the wider political focus at EU level on delivering the Green and Digital Transitions.

Still not sure where to start? Want a more detailed briefing on this Training Session and other funding opportunities? The AER is on-hand to give one-to-one guidance on how to make the most of EU Funding opportunities. For more information, please contact our European Projects Coordinator, Ms Agnese Pantaloni via email at [email protected]

In the meantime, you can find our speakers’ slides at this link. Make sure to keep an eye on our website to find out when the next webinar in our “Unboxing the MFF” series is announced!

***

This training session was organised as part of the Skillnet Project, which is funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission. Skillnet aims to strengthen the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system’s role and capacity to design high-quality VET programmes tailored to current societal needs through enhanced transnational and cross-sectoral partnerships. To learn more about funding opportunities within the Skillnet Project, visit our dedicated Partnerships in Focus Hub.

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Mobility as a Service: registrations are open!

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On 17 June 2021 the Chair of the AER Working Group on Transports and Mobility, Martin Tollén, Östergötland (SE) is organising a webinar on Mobility as a Service, also known as MaaS.

MaaS… I beg your pardon?

There is an increasing demand for innovative services supporting seamless mobility combining on-demand transport modes in conjunction with public transport, leading to the Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) concept:

MaaS is a user-centric, intelligent mobility distribution model, in which users’ needs are met via a single platform and are offered by a service provider, the mobility operator.

Source: http://www.maas4eu.eu/project/

This user-centricity shifts the focus from providers to users, which also means re-evaluating the role of the public sector, defining what matters, what stakeholders want to achieve, who needs to be involved and how. This is why the topic is relevant for all European regions: the issue indeed goes much farther than mobility only. It is linked to regional development, innovation, governance, access to services and territorial cohesion, to name a few.

Mobility & the digital transformation

The digital transformation is central in the concept of MaaS, it both pushes the demand and supports the offer. Users generally expect public services to be as easy to access as any service provided by the Five Tech Giants (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft) or Wallmart for instance. Which means the public sector is also re-inventing how it sees its role, and mobility is no exception to this general trend.

The webinar on MaaS organised on 17 June 2021 will strive to address questions such as:

  • What are the lessons learnt and success factors for MaaS?
  • What is the role of public organisations in the development of concepts and in terms of governance?
  • How should private and public stakeholders cooperate? Who should do what?
  • How to apply a city model of MaaS in rural areas?

Transport & the digital transformation at EU-level

For the 2021-2027 programming period, digital transformation is in focus and the European Commission has recently launched the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy.

The webinar will also provide an update on the European Commission’s New mobility strategy, the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) policy, and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF2) Digital programme. The information provided will be linked to the Green Deal and the wider topic of digital transformation.

For more information on the event and the draft agenda, please check the event webpage

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Mobility as a Service: low carbon mobility & improved accessibility

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For the 2021-2027 programming period, digital transformation is in focus and the European Commission has recently launched the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy. The Chair of the AER Working Group on Transport & Mobility, Martin Tollén from Region Östergötland (SE) is pleased to invite AER members and partners to a webinar focusing on Mobility as a Service (MaaS).

Focus: Mobility as a Service (MaaS)

The aim of the webinar is to share experiences on the topic of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) from urban and rural perspectives, as well as from different geographical contexts.

The webinar will also provide an update on the European Commission’s New mobility strategy, the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) policy, and the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF2) Digital programme. The information provided is linked to the Green Deal and the wider topic of digital transformation.

Draft Agenda & Presentations

10:00 Welcome words

Martin Tollén, Chair of the AER Working Group on Transports & Mobility
10:03 Update on transport & the digital transformation at EU-level

Ebba Bjerkander, EU Policy Advisor, Central Sweden European Office

Presentation
10:15 Examples of MaaS implementation in European regions

Moderation: Edwin Mermans, Senior advisor international affairs Province of Noord-Brabant

  • John Kuijs, Strategical advisor mobility Province of Noord-Brabant (NL) Presentation
  • Siri Vasshaug, Project Manager, Nordland (NO) Presentation
  • Jean Pascal Klipfel, Project Manager, Grand Est (FR) Presentation
  • Katarina Jonsson Bratu, Senior Adviser Sustainable Mobility, Östgötatrafiken, Östergötland (SE)
  • Sandra Viktor, Senior Environmental Officer, Linköping municipality (SE) Presentation
  • Eleonora Sottile, Senior Research Fellow presso CRiMM – Research Center On Mobility Models, Sardinia (IT) Presentation
  • Marko Javornik, Founder M8Lab, Ljubljana (SI) Presentation
11:15 Panel debate between regional representatives

  • MaaS, lessons learnt and success factors?
  • The role of public organisations in terms of development of concepts and governance?
  • How to apply a city model of MaaS in rural areas?
11:30  Conclusion

EU4Health 2021-2027 is Adopted: Resilience, Innovation and Accessibility

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On March 26, the European Commission announced the entry into force of the new EU4Health Programme to support the resilience and innovation of health systems across Europe throughout the period 2021-2027. With a budget of EUR 5.1 billion for investments in the health sector, the EU4Health 2021-2027 programme is financially the largest health programme ever launched!

The adoption of the new EU4Health programme comes at a time when health systems and industries across the world have faced unparalleled threats, and it embodies the EU’s long-term response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As stated by the European Commission Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides: “The entry into force of our EU4Health Programme will give us the tools at hand to make long-standing changes in public health. This unprecedented budget of €5.1 billion will enable us to make targeted investments to enhance our crisis preparedness and build stronger, more resilient and more accessible health systems. This is what our citizens rightfully expect from a European Health Union” (European Commission – Press Release, Brussels, 26/03/2021).

Key actions under the new EU4Health programme

EU4Health 2021-2027 will provide investments for ambitious actions that will contribute to the development of resilient, unified, innovative and accessible healthcare across Europe.

  1. Boost EU’s preparedness for major cross-border health threats, by creating
    • reserves of medical supplies for crises
    • a reserve of healthcare staff and experts that can be mobilised to respond to the crises across the EU
    • Increased surveillance of health threats
  2. Strengthen health systems so that they can face epidemics as well as long-term challenges by stimulating
    • disease prevention and health promotion in an ageing population
    • digital transformation of health systems
    • access to health care for vulnerable groups
  3. Make medicines and medical devices available and affordable, advocate the prudent and efficient use of antimicrobials as well as promote medical and pharmaceutical innovation and greener manufacturing

(EU4Health 2021-2027 – A vision for a healthier European Union)

To implement the new health programme, the EU established a dedicated new executive agency, the Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) operating since April 1.

Future Calls

Calls for projects under the new EU4Health Programme have not been published yet. Updates will be made available by the European Commission in the dedicate webpage. The AER will inform its members and other stakeholders whenever a call for project is launched and will provide support for partner searches. Additionally, the AER is willing to continue its work and contribute with its expertise in the health sector by joining a consortium as partner with particular regard to digital health, management and capacity-building in the healthcare sector.

Additional Funding

Additional funding for health policies will be provided through other programmes making the total funding amount up to 9.4 billion. Funding programmes are:

Don’t hesitate to get in touch with the AER project Unit!

Contact: Birgit Sandu ([email protected])

Photo from Unsplash @nci

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Why Innovative Skills are the Catalyst for Rural Areas

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On 25 March, the Assembly of European Regions hosted the “Ambitious Skills and Innovation Strategies: A Territorial Approach” webinar. The event was part of the series of webinars on EU funding opportunities organised within the Skillnet project (co-founded by the Erasmus+ Programme) to bring together experts in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and to establish collaborations for future EU project proposals.

We are now living in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, where machines and artificial intelligence play a significant role in enhancing productivity and wealth. These changes have given rise to new skills requirements and a growing skills shortage among businesses and especially SMEs, which often struggle to find the talent they require. The new skills requirements are not only limited to high-tech and manufacturing competences but also cover interpersonal skills, as well as competences related to sales, human resources, care, and education.

In the context of regional innovation strategies, rural areas should play an essential role, not just as a source of raw material and places to locate space-intensive activities, but as genuine partners and drivers of innovation. Additionally, increasing attention should be addressed to the many interdependencies between regional development policies and the skills required to sustain innovation strategies.

Interreg EU Policy Learning Platform – Support for regions in delivering better place-based policies

Existing networks and platforms offer increasing support to regional authorities across Europe to develop and deliver better policies through a territorial approach. Among these, Elena Ferrario, Thematic Manager of the Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform (PLP), presented the services of the PLP as online learning, events, and personalised policy advice through a free on-demand peer review service. The latter is a service offered to local, regional, and national policy makers who seek advice on a specific policy framework through the design of a two-day knowledge-exchange experience with experts and peers. The cooperative approach within the Interreg community allows to identify the thematic experts who will set the to-do-list of actions within two working days (online or onsite), and after 12 to 18 months they will follow-up with the implementation results.

The application for the peer review service is open permanently and is an easy process. Interested regions can access the Terms of References and/or contact Elena Ferrario [[email protected]] to apply.

Additionally, the PLP outlines policy briefs, concise and to-the-point documents outlining recommendations and best practices for regional and local authorities and policymakers. In this context, Katharina Krell, Thematic Expert of the Interreg Europe PLP, highlighted the Skills for Innovation and Skills for Energy Transition briefs, which feature policy recommendations that draw on Interreg Europe’s experience with projects on the development of skills for innovation, and which aim to show regions a path towards better regional innovation policymaking.

Good practice from the Donegal County – Education and training for high tech skills

The ICT FinTech and engineering industries are key sectors within the Donegal County, contributing to regional development and boosting place-based innovation. To this aim, Mr. Vinny McGroary, Area Training Manager at the Donegal Education & Training Board (ETB), stated that the County encourages the continuous development of new skills through Donegal ETB. The latter provides second-level education programmes and Further Education Training which include a partnership of collaborations within the community, voluntary and private sectors, as well as with businesses.

The national strategy is focused on promoting growth through the improvement of working skills from the beginning of apprenticeships right up to the professional level. Additionally, Donegal ETB provides a number of full-time and part-time programmes for the development of skills tailored to the industry’s needs, and many of these courses are industry certified and endorsed by employers. Among these, the Skills to Advance and Skills for Work programmes are tailored to upskill people with a lower skill set and who need more opportunities to make progress in their professional careers. The Apprenticeship programme enables close collaboration with industries through a combination of learning in the workplace and education in the training centre.

The provision of these trainings focusing particularly on the ICT, FinTech, and Engineering sectors has been of core relevance to address the high rates of school drop-out. Additionally, it contributed to boost solid partnerships between people, businesses, and local organisations.

Funding incentives for territorial development

As presented by Agnese Pantaloni, EU Projects Coordinator at the Assembly of European Regions, the EU has deployed several means to support territorial development in rural areas. Among these we find:

  • The Common Agricultural Policy 2021-2027 (CAP) will be supported by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development which is designed to reduce economic, environmental, and social constraints in urban areas and outermost regions, fostering knowledge transfer and innovation while promoting social inclusion, and economic development.
  • Additionally, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) supports Technical Vocational Education and Training systems through investment on skills development for smart specialisation, employability, and adaptation to labour market changes.
  • The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) brings together the existing European Social Fund with the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI), the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) and the Fund for Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD). Initiatives supported through this newly established fund will likely focus on the acquisition of digital skills through schooling and education, support measures to improve the recruitment, and promote the socio-economic integration of newcomers from third countries.
  • Interreg Programmes aim at fostering a more competitive, smarter, greener, resilient and connected Europe. Interreg Programmes include cross-border, transnational, and interregional.
  • With a budget of over €28 billion, the ERASMUS+ Programme supports mobility and learning for all across the European Union and beyond. It provides opportunities for study periods abroad, traineeships, apprenticeships, and staff exchanges in all fields of education, training, youth and sport.
  • Horizon Europe finances research and innovation projects in thematic areas such as climate change, transport, health, food, agriculture, rural development, energy efficiency. Participating in Horizon Europe is open to all types of organisations based in the EU and all over the world, both public and private sector organisations, working on individual and collaborative based projects.

Where to find resources & support?

LEADER/ CLLD: European initiative that supports development projects to revitalise rural areas through bottom-up approaches.
European Network for Rural Development: Hub for sharing ideas & experiences on how rural development policies work in practice, facilitating knowledge sharing and networking among all rural stakeholders in the EU.
Smart Specialisation Platform: The platform that provides guidance and good practice examples, tools to facilitate strategy formation & mutual learning of the smart specialisation strategy (S3).
EIP-AGRI: European Innovation Partnerships that build bridges between science and practice, collecting knowledge and best practices for farmers, foresters, advisers, and others.
Policy Learning Platform: The second action of Interreg Europe programme that provides a space for continuous learning, where a network of policy makers can benefit from personalised expert advice, updated news and examples of peer-reviewed good practices.

Open and Future EU Funding Opportunities and Initiatives

To learn more, you can download the presentations from the webinar on the event webpage, and join discussions through the Peer Learning Clubs!

Photo from Unsplash @jeshoots

This webinar was organised as part of the SKILLNET series of webinars on EU funding opportunities. SKILLNET is a project funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission. Through building transnational and cross-sectional partnerships, SKILLNET aims to strengthen the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system’s capacity to design high-quality VET programmes tailored to current societal needs. To this end, after each webinar, a bulletin with open and upcoming EU opportunities is circulated among relevant stakeholders.

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BRIGHT IDEAS – The Role of Regions in Improving Energy Efficiency

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Eva Hallström, Chair of the AER Working Group on Energy and Climate Change invites all AER members and friends to join an event on the role of regions in improving energy efficiency. Regions will share their experience, challenges, and enablers. This event is co-organised by Värmland (SE) and Viken (NO)

Energy Efficiency: how to achieve the transition in the industry?

This webinar aims to build a platform for discussions regarding the EU’s work on energy efficiency, focusing on the green transition within the industry. It will be an opportunity to share ideas, experiences, and best practices.

Experiences from the Bioeconomy Region

Värmland and Viken are both members of the “Bioeconomy Region”, a leading region of the forest bioeconomy.

To achieve climate goals while making use of the full potential of the forest bioeconomy, the rate of development and innovation needs to be faster. This is why the Interreg project «The Bioeconomy Region» was created in 2017 by a number of actors in inner Scandinavia

Both regions will share how they support improved energy efficiency in fields as diverse as production, construction or logistics.

Synergies with the Green Deal

The industry will play a central role in the transition to improved energy efficiency and carbon neutrality in Värmland, Viken, and in Europe as a whole. this is why synergies between the European Green Deal and the EU’s Industrial Strategy are needed.

This webinar on energy efficiency will also be an opportunity to gather inputs and testimonies, which will contribute to the work being developed by the AER Task Force on Climate.

Programme:

13:00 Welcome by Eva Hallström, Chair WG on Energy and Climate change, AER
13:10 Regional perspectives on Energy Efficiency

 

Stina Höök, Regional Councillor, Region Värmland, SE

Johan Edvard Grimstad, Regional Councillor Region Viken, NO
13:30 Projekt BIS – Climate measures and energy efficiency through Regional cooperation and innovation 

 

Sandra Svennberg, Head of Unit, Department of regional development, Region Värmland, SE

Janne Buhaug, Head of rural and regional business development Region Viken, NO
13:50 Digitisation as method to achieve Energy Efficiency

 

Charlotta Kullander Hedbom, Energy and Climate Advisor
14:00 Panel discussion
14:20 The AER Task Force on Climate: how the findings of this webinar will be used for joint advocacy work

 

Magnus Berntsson, AER President, Chair of the AER Task Force on Climate
14:30 Conclusion

 

 

Tourism & Remote Areas: A New Competitive Advantage after the Pandemic?

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The Assembly of European Regions is delighted to share a unique peer-learning opportunity aimed at regional representatives responsible for cultural tourism offered by the European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN)

In the framework of the recently launched Horizon 2020 funded project “Beyond Cultural Tourism (Be.CulTour)”, ERRIN is opening a call for regional representatives to join the Be.CulTour Community. Cultural tourism, including heritage assets, will be at the heart of the peer-learning programme.

Innovation Ecosystems & Circular Cultural Tourism

12 selected applicants representing their local and regional innovation ecosystems will have the opportunity to benefit from a fully funded peer-learning scheme which will follow a pilot / mirror approach.

Via quarterly community conversations, dedicated interviews, tailored webinars, and offline learning labs (travel and accommodation costs are covered to participate in the learning labs organised in Brussels in September 2022 and in Naples in December 2023), the community members will interact closely with six pilot ecosystems (Aragón (ES), Larnaca (CY), Basilicata (IT), Västra Götaland (SE), Vojvodina (RS) and the cross-border area between North-East Romania and Moldova) committed to fostering regional development through circular cultural tourism.

How to join the programme

The open call will be presented on Tuesday, 13th April, between 14.00-16.15 CET, in the frame of a webinar on “Creating destinations after a global pandemic: The new competitive advantage of remote areas” featuring inspiring keynote speakers and panelists.

Photo by Liviu Florescu on Unsplash

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