Regional development Archives - Page 3 of 32 - Assembly of European Regions

This tag is for all posts relating to Regional development.

Registrations are open! Creating Effective Innovation Ecosystems

24 March, 2021 By Valeria Simonte

We are pleased to invite you to the webinar “Creating Effective Innovative Ecosystems” which will take place on 19 April 2021 at 10:00 CET.

Innovation ecosystems: a complex set of relationships

The term innovation ecosystem derives from the analogy with biological ecosystems. These are a complex set of relationships among the living resources, habitats, and residents of an area. Their functional goal is to reach sustained equilibrium.

An innovation ecosystem describes the complex set of relationships among very diverse actors and entities, which work for technology development and innovation in a territory. Amongst others, this includes the material resources and human capital of universities, colleges of engineering, business schools, business firms, venture capitalists, industry-university research institutes, state or regional economic development agencies and chambers of commerce, funding agencies and policymakers.

Partnerships, competences and talent

Regions are facing a paradigm shift from closed innovation and linear subcontracts to open innovation ecosystems. Value chains are becoming more interregional and a wider spectrum of stakeholders is necessary. In this context, communication, collaboration and engagement on all sides are essential to attain effective innovation ecosystems.

Ecosystems are smart when all segments of society take part to build a culture of co-design and co-creation in their area. The participation and integration of diverse collaborative partnerships is a key enabler to support and foster innovation ecosystems.

In this context, facilitating the involvement of Technical Vocational Education & Training centres (TVET) in innovation ecosystems is imperative to increase the availability of competences and talent.

The webinar will look at:

The elements that enable an effective innovation ecosystem;
how regional ecosystems involve different levels of education, and in particular whether TVET stakeholders are involved.

How to join the webinar

Click on the “register here” button below

or go to the Skillnet events page and choose:

E 421 – Creating Effective Innovation Ecosystems | @: Online () 19.04.2021 10:00 CET

Speakers and the agenda of the event will be announced soon.

This webinar is 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 aiming 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.

Follow AER!

A peer review service tailor-made for regions

22 March, 2021 By Johanna Pacevicius

The Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform offers a free on-demand peer review service, where a two-day knowledge-exchange experience can be designed to advise on a region’s policy frameworks. This service will be presented in detail on 25 March at the webinar “Ambitious Skills and Innovation Strategies: A territorial Approach” as one of the opportunities regions can use to implement bold regional development strategies.

Peer feedback & insights for regional policymaking

Policymakers and practitioners of regional development policies can face a number of challenges related to the design, implementation, and monitoring of the regional policies that they oversee. When faced with such challenges, one of the best solutions is to reach out for help to those who have relevant experience to share. This is why the Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform’s peer review service offers policymakers to meet and exchange with peers from other parts of Europe. Sharing about challenges and enablers of other policy initiatives is deemed to bring new insights to their work.

What is a peer review?

The Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform can organise 2-day meetings in the region of the beneficiary organisation or online. Going deep into the issues and challenges of a specific territory, this peer review service allows its beneficiary to exchange, learn and brainstorm with a carefully selected group of practitioners from other European regions.

The below 3 minutes video shows how the peer reviews work in practice.

Topics addressed are the following:

Research and Innovation
Low-carbon Economy
Environment and Resource Efficiency
SME competitiveness

3 reasons to apply

Find the best solution for your regional challenge through exchanging with peers
Meet in person or online; the format will be adapted to your needs
Easy application process, online, no supporting documents

What do regional representatives think about it?

The peer review allows you to show that new ideas and approaches work elsewhere, a powerful tool.
Jan Nylander, host of a peer review for Region Gävleborg, Sweden

It is nice that we can use quick and efficient instruments [like the peer review] because, very often, the framework programmes are impressive and important instruments but sometimes they can’t provide quick or practical solutions to what one is looking for. I was very impressed that the selected peers provided advice relevant to the Bulgarian environment. And this is, of course, very important because we can’t accept any solutions, they have to be adapted to our regional/national context.
Karina Angelieva, host of a peer review in Sofia, Bulgaria

For more information on the peer review service of the Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform, and have the opportunity to ask questions, join the webinar on 25 March at 10:00 CET!

Follow AER!

The Long Road to Recovery – working in Renewed Partnership with Regions

11 March, 2021 By Justin Sammon

Europe’s local and regional authorities have been on the frontline of the pandemic; working tirelessly on the ground in villages, towns and cities across the continent to shield citizens from the worst impacts of the crisis.

Yet, as member states prepare their national plans to access funding from the EU’s Recovery & Resilience Facility (RRF), local and regional authorities have found themselves largely frozen out of discussions, or in some cases excluded entirely. With the April deadline for submitting the national plans looming, what can be done to make sure regions have their say in Europe’s post-pandemic future?

On the evening of Thursday 4 March, the AER and the Government of Catalonia brought together representatives from the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) along with AER member regions to share experiences and ideas on what needs to be done to fully embed regional perspectives in the national recovery plans.

The Recovery & Resilience Facility – a bold new step together?

*European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen has stressed that achieving Europe’s ambitious digital, economic and environmental agenda is only possible “if we all do it together”.*

What became immediately apparent is that there is a lot more at stake with the RRF than the bloc’s immediate post-Covid recovery. As moderator and AER Vice President for Sustainability, Albert Castellanos, set out in his opening remarks, “the RRF represents fifty times the amount of the Marshall Plan, which is a measure of its importance for the development of regions over the next decade.” Only through cooperation between all levels of government is a sustainable, resilient and long-term recovery possible.

This is a view shared by the European Commission, who from the outset of the pandemic have emphasised the need for ‘European solidarity’ to pull the bloc out of the crisis. As President Ursula von der Leyen underlined in her speech announcing NextGenerationEU at the European Parliament plenary last May, a fragmented recovery benefits no one, “We either go it all alone; leaving countries, regions and people behind, and accepting a Union of haves and have-nots, or we walk that road together.”

Our moderator and AER Vice President, @albertcaste welcomes our speakers and underlines it is important to involve #regions in "the preparation, implementation and monitoring of the national recovery plans for a sustainable, resilient recovery." #RRF🤝 pic.twitter.com/koAPqyIMbq
— AER (@europeanregions) March 4, 2021

Echoing the President during Thursday’s debate, Johannes Luebking, the Principal Advisor of the European Commission’s Recovery and Resilience Task Force reiterated the need for member states “to work together and in collaboration with local and regional authorities” to achieve the RRF’s objectives.

So, while there is clearly a need and staunch support at European level for regional input, how does this compare to the real experiences of regions in dialogue with their member states?

European Solidarity – room for improvement

What we have learned is that for local and regional authorities, when it comes to cooperation, national authorities are – to extend the metaphor – walking out of step. LRAs have struggled to have their input on recovery plans taken on board by national governments – or even heard at all. A worrying consultation with subnational governments across 19 EU member states released this January found that “only a few countries” have taken on input from local and regional authorities.

.@VVaugoin, head of the Brussels Office of #LowerAustria pointed out this evening that while Austrian regions are pleased with the opportunity they have had for dialogue at national level, "there is still room for improvement". #partnership #RRF #regions 🇦🇹🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/5dqZ33moKu
— AER (@europeanregions) March 4, 2021

This experience was echoed in several contributions from AER and Committee of the Regions (CoR) Members during the debate. Robert Vugrin, Deputy Chair of Varaždin County said that collaboration between national and regional government on the RRF in Croatia has thus far been “more declarative than cooperative”. Similarly, Juanjo Martínez, Director General of the Representation of Murcia reported that “regions have not been properly involved in the preparation and design” of Spain’s national recovery plan. Even in cases like that of Lower Austria, where there have been efforts by the national government to take feedback on board, there is “room for improvement.”

Lack of input from regional authorities puts Europe’s recovery at risk. As Elisabet Nebreda, Catalonia’s Secretary General for Foreign Action and the EU put it, when it comes to achieving a truly European recovery “One size does not fit all.” Europe’s regions are diverse, and will have different needs when it comes to recovery, so national governments “must consider real recovery needs from a territorial perspective”. Chair of the Committee of the Regions’ Commission for Economy, Michael Murphy shared her concerns, emphasising that the implementation of the RRF cannot be successful “without a deep understanding of the problems on the ground.”

Representatives of local and regional authorities were not alone in sounding the alarm. In her contribution, MEP Rosa D’Amato from the European Parliament’s Committee on Regional Development said that regions have come up against “an unclear framework” for meetings with national governments, and in some cases been shut-out from discussions entirely.

This opaque consultation process is of such concern that Dragoș Pîslaru, the Parliament’s Rapporteur on the RRF announced that the Renew Group will put the question of how to fully involve local and regional authorities, social partners and civil stakeholders in national plans to the European Commission at European Parliament’s plenary on 8-11 March.

Ultimately, speakers concluded that a top-down approach, bereft of territorial perspectives will undermine the successful implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility – but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Strong involvement of LRAs, social partners and CSOs in #NRRPs can increase a member state's sustainability and effectiveness. @RenewEurope believes in the role of national stakeholders and fought hard to include them in the #RRF! https://t.co/dNPPU5Kn35
— Dragos Pislaru (@dragos_pislaru) March 4, 2021

Walking the Road Together – working in renewed Partnership with Regions

Getting input from local and regional authorities is in everyone’s interest. Local and regional authorities bring valuable insights and experience from the ground that will make the national plans more robust and resilient; driving Europe’s recovery from the bottom-up.

Several speakers gave examples highlighting the added-value of regional expertise in implementing the RRF. Michael Rijsberman, Regional Minister of Flevoland Province pointed to the synergies between Cohesion Policy and the RRF, noting that “the policy objectives are much the same and the instruments could be used in the same way” by local and regional authorities to support SMEs, for example. Michael Murphy took a similar view, and emphasised that incorporating expertise and insights from the local level into the national plans can help anchor the recovery on the ground in both rural and urban areas, thereby “ensuring maximum impact and economic recovery”.

🔴 “In moments of extreme hardship, the world can come together in a spirit of solidarity. We are currently facing two massive tasks: to fight the crisis today and build a better tomorrow. Let’s seize this opportunity. We regions are ready to do our bit”, concludes @elinebreda pic.twitter.com/wPASBGm8LC
— Exteriors Catalunya (@exteriorscat) March 4, 2021

Europe’s recovery from the pandemic will only be successful if it is felt in every village, town and city across the continent. To make the recovery a reality, member states have to ‘walk the walk’ and show real solidarity with Europe’s regions, rural and urban. An ideal start would be for member states to set out a concrete, consultative framework for local and regional authorities to provide their input into the national recovery plans. If we are to walk the road to recovery together, this would represent a much needed first step in the right direction.

***

If you missed our webinar on Regions, Recovery & Resilience last last week – you can rewatch below. If you have questions or comments, please contact AER Communications & Events Officer, Justin Sammon at [email protected]

Follow AER!

Registrations open! Ambitious Skills and Innovation Strategies: A territorial approach

8 March, 2021 By Valeria Simonte

We are pleased to invite you to the webinar “Ambitious Skills and Innovation Strategies: A territorial approach” that will take place on 25 March 2021 at 10:00 CET

Including rural areas in innovation strategies to tackle EU challenges

Rural areas, cover 44% of the EU territory, and are home to almost 1 in 4 Europeans. Education, vocational training and lifelong learning play a vital role in the economic and social strategies of the European Union (EU). The strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training is called Education and training 2020 (ET 2020). It pursues four common objectives: make lifelong learning and mobility a reality; improve the quality and efficiency of education and training; promote equity, social cohesion and active citizenship; enhance creativity and innovation, including entrepreneurship.

However, rural areas rural or sparsely populated regions often have a relatively large agricultural sector, with a low level of supply of highly-skilled employment opportunities. This in turn reinforces the existing brain drain trend, from rural areas to cities.

In this context, integrated innovation and skills strategies are needed to develop the strengths and comparative advantages of rural areas, instead of barely considering them as a source for raw material and cheaper space. For rural regions, the necessary competitive edge can be done by finding niches or mainstreaming new technology into the existing industry. Further including rural areas in innovation strategies will also help regions to reach the objectives of the Green Deal.

This webinar will look at:

Why innovation strategies aimed at developing Advanced manufacturing need to be based on territorial approaches and why it is so important to consider and involve rural areas from the start
Available EU funding opportunities and tools to boost innovation and skills in rural areas
Strategies to attract innovation and skills in rural areas
The role of VET to achieve more cohesive regional development

Agenda

Ambitious Skills and Innovation Strategies:
A territorial Approach

25 March 2021 at 10:00 CET

10.00-10.05 – Housekeeping rules, quick presentation on Skillnet, Valentina De Vico, Communication Manager, Skillman Team
10:05-10:10 – Opening remarks and introduction to the webinar, Johanna Pacevicius, Policy and Knowledge Transfer Coordinator, Assembly of European Regions
10.10-10.20 – Available EU funding and incentives, Agnese Pantaloni, EU Projects Coordinator, Assembly of European Regions
10:20-10:35 – Peer reviews and knowledge exchanges to boost innovation, Elena Ferrario, Thematic Manager, and Katharina Krell, Thematic Expert, Policy Learning Platform Interreg Europe
10.35-10.45 – Regional practice from Donegal County, Vinny McGroary, Area Training Manager, Donegal ETB
10.45-10.55 – Panel discussion and Q&A session
10.55-11.00 – Closing remarks

How to join the webinar

Click on the below “register here” button

or go to the Skillnet events page and chose:

E 419 – Ambitious skills and innovation strategies: a territorial approach; 25/03/2021 10:00 CET

Follow AER!

Territorial approaches to innovation: spotlight on rural areas

5 February, 2021 By Valeria Simonte

We are pleased to invite you to two webinars that will look at the need for territorial approaches to innovation, based on strong rural-urban links and ambitious and forward-looking skills strategies

What are the main challenges and opportunities for European regions and rural areas in particular when it comes to fostering innovation? These two events will provide an opportunity to share regional experiences and hear about support initiatives at EU level.

The events are part of the Skillnet webinar series AER is organising, which provides an opportunity for mutual learning around topics identified by AER members.

Ambitious Skills and Innovation Strategies: A territorial Approach

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. Place-based approaches call for cooperation at all levels and in particular between rural and urban territories or between disconnected territories.

The first webinar, which will take place on 25 March 2021 at 10:00 CET, will offer the opportunity to learn and exchange about regional policies and practices for ambitious skills and innovation strategies through territorial approaches.

This webinar will look at:

why innovation strategies aimed at developing Advanced manufacturing need to be based on territorial approaches and why it is so important to consider and involve rural areas from the start
strategies to attract innovation and skills in rural areas
the role of TVET to achieve more cohesive regional development

Agenda

Ambitious Skills and Innovation Strategies:
A territorial Approach

25 March 2021 at 10:00 CET

10.00-10.05 – Housekeeping rules, quick presentation on Skillnet, Valentina De Vico, Communication Manager, Skillman Team
10:05-10:10 – Opening remarks and introduction to the webinar, Johanna Pacevicius, Policy and Knowledge Transfer Coordinator, Assembly of European Regions
10.10-10.20 – Available EU funding and incentives, Agnese Pantaloni, EU Projects Coordinator, Assembly of European Regions
10:20-10:35 – Peer reviews and knowledge exchanges to boost innovation, Elena Ferrario, Thematic Manager, and Katharina Krell, Thematic Expert, Policy Learning Platform Interreg Europe
10.35-10.45 – Regional practice from Donegal County, Vinny McGroary, Area Training Manager, Donegal ETB
10.45-10.55 – Panel discussion and Q&A session
10.55-11.00 – Closing remarks

Innovation and farming: Applications of Advanced Manufacturing in the food value chain

As is the case in other industries, agriculture is currently making extensive use of data mobility, industry 4.0, and new technologies that unlock productivity and cost savings. High-tech solutions are available to both local farming families and major agricultural corporations.

The second webinar, which will take place on 26 March at 10:00 CET, will highlight the existing use of advanced manufacturing in the agro-food sector and focus on skills strategies for this particular sector.

Agenda

Innovation and farming: Applications of Advanced Manufacturing in the food value chain

26 March at 10:00 CET

10.00-10.05 – Housekeeping rules, quick presentation on Skillnet, Valentina De Vico, Communication Manager, Skillman Team
10.05-10.10 – Opening remarks and introduction to the webinar, Cornelia Carmen Madaras, Advisor at the Foreign Affairs Office of the Alba County Council
10.10-10.20 – Applications of digital technologies in the agriculture sector, Miguel de Porras, Director at the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FIBL
10.20-10.30 – Building innovation in the agri-food sector through EU projects, George Beers, Horticultural Engineer, Wageningen University and Research
10.30-10.40, Regional practice from Vojvodina, Mladen Petres, Assistant Provincial Secretary of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry, Province of Vojvodina
10.40-10.55 – Panel discussion and Q&A session
10.55-11.00 – Closing remarks

How to join the webinars

Click on the above “register here” buttons (one registration per event)

or go to the Skillnet events page and chose:

E 419 – Ambitious skills and innovation strategies: a territorial approach; 25/03/2021 10:00 CET
E 420 – Innovation and farming: application of Advanced Manufacturing in the food value chain; 26/03/2021 10:00 CET

Save the date!

The events will take place on 25 and 26 March 2021 at 10:00 CET!

Watch back!

Ambitious skills & innovation strategies: A territorial approach

Innovation & Farming: Application of Advanced Manufacturing in the food value chain

Handouts

EU opportunities & resources

Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform

Experience from Donegal ETB

Application of digital technologies in the organic agriculture sector

Building Innovation in the agri-food sector through EU projects

Experience from Vojvodina

Contacts

[email protected]

Eurodyssey Forum 2020

23 November, 2020 By Editor

The first-ever virtual Eurodyssey Forum took place on 19 & 20 of November 2020. These online sessions brought together the correspondents from Eurodyssey regions, hosting companies and youth alumni. In these sessions, participants discussed the functioning of the programme, and shared experiences and best practices to adapt learning mobility to the “new normal” of COVID-19.

An online Eurodyssey Assembly

In the afternoon of 19 November, following the AER General Assembly and Bureau meeting, the Eurodyssey Assembly gathered representatives from 20 member regions. The Assembly provided members with an opportunity to assess the state-of-play of the programme and exchange views on the regions’ prospects of hosting Eurodyssey participants in 2021, given the COVID-19 pandemic.

And we're back! 👐

The first ever virtual @eurodyssey forum kicks-off with welcoming remarks from AER President @MagnusBerntsson and Eurodyssey President, @estany_esther ! 💫 pic.twitter.com/oiaDDfFWWU
— AER (@europeanregions) November 19, 2020

In their opening remarks, AER President, Magnus Berntsson, and Eurodyssey President, Esther Estany, raised a toast to mark thirty-five years since the creation of the Eurodyssey programme. This was followed with the premiere of the anniversary video:

Eurodyssey facts & figures

The day continued with an assessment of the Eurodyssey programme by AER programmes coordinator, Andrés Muñoz, who delivered a presentation on the 2019 statistics, which underlined the significant, positive impact the programme continues to have on young trainees’ employment prospects.

The programme allowed a total of 303 young Europeans (+16% compared to 2018) to benefit from genuine professional experience and linguistic training in another European region. Other remarkable outcomes include the rise in the number of both the internship offers published (+30%) and the candidates (+33%) compared to 2018.

Looking at the employment prospects for Eurodyssey participants in 2018, regions can be proud that 40% of interns find a job within 1 month of completing their traineeship. What is more, 64% of the survey respondents declared that Eurodyssey was decisive in finding a job and 20% of them attributed such a fact to the language training received.

You can read all the 2019 statistical findings and 2018 employment results from the summary report HERE.

The numbers don't lie! 🔢📈

The positive impact of taking part in a @eurodyssey traineeship is clear. Youth mobility increases employability, and we're looking forward to getting young Europeans moving again very soon! 🛫🚉 #eurodyssey pic.twitter.com/DZIwpd2uhO
— AER (@europeanregions) November 19, 2020

Sharing on social media is caring about Eurodyssey

The last presentation by the Secretariat was conducted by Justin Sammon, AER Communications Officer, who shared with member regions guidelines to harness the potential of social media for promoting the programme and to communicate Eurodyssey’s long-term positive impact on young people, regions and society.

View HERE the presentation Sharing is caring: making the most of social media.

Break-out sessions

On Day 2 of the Forum on 20 November, the Eurodyssey online break-out sessions provided members with further opportunities to exchange experiences and good practices to keep up learning mobility through the pandemic. For these events, we were also joined by hosting organisations and Eurodyssey alumni, who had the opportunity to share their testimonials.

The day kicked-off with an introductory talk by Safi Sabuni from Eurodesk and Manel Sánchez from the European Youth Card Association (EYCA), who provided a broader overview on how youth organisations are adjusting their work “to continue to be there for young people” who face unique challenges socially, economically and personally because of the pandemic. They also made a number of recommendations from their respective organisations on how to minimise the impact on learning mobility projects. Participants then broke-off into into multilingual ‘break-out’ sessions, where they had the opportunity to brainstorm ideas for keeping the Eurodyssey programme moving despite the pause on mobility caused by COVID-19.

Manel Sánchez underlines that contrary to negative perceptions about them, young people have shown real solidarity since the pandemic started; volunteering in their regions to help vulnerable people in their communities. 🤝 #eurodyssey pic.twitter.com/y6YkDwAuz1
— AER (@europeanregions) November 20, 2020

From education and employment, to mental health and personal relationships, the impact of the pandemic on young people has been vast. Safi Sabuni says that the youth sector has adapted to this new digital reality "to be there for young people." #eurodyssey pic.twitter.com/8mp4FwJSH7
— AER (@europeanregions) November 20, 2020

Ackowledgements

Closing the Eurodyssey Forum, AER Secretary General, Christian Spahr thanked all those who had made “this visionary programme of cross-border professional learning a reality for thirty-five years”. In her speech Eurodyssey President, Esther Estany – speaking in French, Spanish and English – pointed to the spirit of optimism that fills Eurodyssey family and the “very bright future” that lies ahead. She called on regions to keep up the hard work for the decades to come and to defend mobility as an essential source of regional development.

Visit the 2020 Eurodyssey Forum event page to download all the working documents, presentations and other key takeaways.

Follow AER!

Shape the Vocational Education Training scene in Europe!

17 November, 2020 By Valeria Simonte

Skills for the industry of the future

The digital transformation, the greening of the economy, and demographic change all generate a large and structural need for employees with technical and digital skills.

The lack of adequately skilled workers is a major issue in this context, which is only partially addressed by current Vocational Education and Training systems in Europe.

In this context, the SKILLNET project – Sector Skills Network of Vocational Education and Training centres in Advanced Manufacturing-, co-funded by the Erasmus+ program, is developing a transnational and national network for Vocational Education Training providers. This network offers opportunities for mutual learning, information on funding, and fosters partnerships to improve the quality and efficiency of VET in Europe.

Opportunities for regional stakeholders

To raise the quality and attractiveness of the provision of Vocational Education and Training, SKILLNET has created 4 thematic permanent groups composed of members belonging to the VET provider networks, and invites all stakeholders from the European VET scene to join the discussion.

For regional authorities, SKILLNET is an opportunity to engage VET organisations in their territories in European activities & raise awareness on opportunities for collaboration & co-financing of activities
for VET organisations, the clubs are an easy way to connect with peers and relevant stakeholders abroad
The clubs provide mediated knowledge both general and specific on VET in Europe, and information that stakeholders can actually use (especially on funding opportunities)
The clubs provide a framework for the development of joint initiatives and projects

The Peer Learning Clubs provide speaking opportunities at events for experts as well as the possibility to receive special mentions in sector-focused research papers. They are the main way for stakeholders to contribute to shaping the main trends of the future VET.

Topics addressed

PLC1 Advanced Manufacturing Sector: This peer-learning group aims at pinpointing and analyzing challenges related to skill adaptation and anticipation as well as stakeholder relations.

PLC2 Advocacy & Policy Influencing: The Vocational Education and Training sector has its own voice in the EU, national, and regional areas. Coordinated actions ensuring that all actors’ interests are taken into account are key for policy development, and this peer-learning group will allow a deeper understanding of them.

PLC3 Work-based learning and standards: This peer-learning club tackles the assessment and the challenge of the implementation of the VET systems.

PLC4 Train the trainers: The aforementioned challenges will require a reinforced human dimension of the VET sector to build resilience and identify synergies among actors. Capacity building will have a key role in the future of VET, and this peer-learning club will allow the identification of key gaps and needs.

Join in 3 clicks!

The below illustrations shop how to join the platform in 3 easy steps (less than 30 seconds)

On the Skillman website, click on “Activities”, then “Events and Conferences” and then ” Peer Learning Clubs”

The next page will show an illustration with 4 coloured dots, showing the different Peer Learning Clubs. You can join either one or more groups by clicking on the dot of your choice.

Fill in name email and password, you’re there: join the conversation and meet peers to develop new projects!

AER’s role

AER joined the Skillnet consortium during Spring 2020 specifically because of the opportunities the project is offering for online activities relevant to both Committee 1 and Committee 3. At a time when face-to-face meetings are not possible, this project offers unparalleled opportunities for members.

Indeed the project is organising a high number of webinars and offers online platforms for the exchange of knowledge.

AER’s role is to facilitate mutual learning activities, to in fine improve the effectiveness and attractiveness of Vocationnal Education Training in Europe. AER provides information on EU funding opportunities and regional examples via a series of webinars and bulletins.

In order to make sure project activities provide value to members, the topics of SKILLNET webinars are chosen based on the AER Action Plan and further specified together with members who have expressed needs in the process of the definition of work programs at Committee meetings.

AER encourages members to engage stakeholders responsible for life long learning and vocational training across wider Europe to join one or more of the four topic-specific SKILLNET peer- learning clubs. Experts from diverse backgrounds: VET providers, companies, government representatives, and individuals are all welcome!

The SKILLNT – Sector Skills Network of VET centres in Advanced manufacturing- is a project co-financed by the Erasmus + programme. It has the objective to improve the quality of Vocational Education and Training centres systems while merging stakeholders to overcome the mismatch among education and industry’s need. It is coordinated by the Assembly of European Regions (AER) as a leading partner.

Click to join!

For more information on the SKILLNET peer learning clubs, please check the presentation below:

Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash

Follow AER!

Committee 1 Annual Report June 2019 – November 2020

3 November, 2020 By Johanna Pacevicius

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 developed and implemented within Committee 1 between the 2019 General Assembly in Larnaka (CY) and the 2020 online General Assembly.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic the AER Executive Board decided to prolong the validity of the AER Action Plan in order to allow the continuation of knowledge sharing between regions in a structured way.

AER had to define ways to maintain planned activities and offer new opportunities for mutual learning in a radically different and uncertain context, where face-to-face meetings are not possible and all regional stakeholders are focused on fighting the pandemic.

Activities are organised in 3 categories:

Projects
Good practice sharing
Advocacy/ Lobbying

Projects

In terms of knowledge sharing, the idea with projects is to provide a framework, where regions can go deeper in mutual learning and good practices exchange, while being co-financed by the EU. AER always negotiates its implication in projects in a way that will benefit all AER members. In the current situation where face to face events are cancelled, projects offer unparalleled opportunities for online knowledge and experience exchange.

SKILLNET

SKILLNET is a project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme aimed at improving Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems.

AER joined the SKILLNET project this Spring while most of Europe was in lockdown, specifically because of the opportunities the project is offering for online activities relevant to both Committee 1 and Committee 3. Indeed the project is organising a high number of webinars and offering online platforms for the exchange of knowledge. In order to make sure project activities provide value to members, the topics of SKILLNET webinars are chosen based on the AER Action Plan and further specified together with members which have expressed needs in the process of the definition of workprogrammes at Committee meetings

SKILLNET has launched a series of 18 webinars on EU funding opportunities. Each webinar is open to all interested parties and focuses on different areas of intervention upon which relevant partnerships can be launched.

As a follow-up of each SKILLNET webinar, a Partnerships in Focus bulletin is circulated and stored in the Partnerships in Focus hub on the AER website.

Additionally, the project offers the opportunity for regional stakeholders working on Vocational Education and Training to connect via the Peer Learning Clubs. Stakeholders learn from each other, and get access to relevant information and experts to be applied to develop future partnerships within EU calls.

AER members interested in sharing their experience in a webinar should contact AER Coordinator for Policy & Knowledge Transfer Johanna Pacevicius

Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite! finished

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More events organised in the context of the project can be found on the Together4Cohesion website

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

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

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

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

The experience of the CUBES project on grassroots approaches for sustainable regional development was supposed to inform the discussions at the conference “Territorial Approaches to Regional Development” in Covasna on 11 March 2020. As the plenaries were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an article was written on Culture, a pillar of sustainable regional development by the Lead partner of the CUBES project.

As the project is progressing, the Secretariat is exploring how to use the knowledge and outputs created in the project to benefit members in Committee 3.

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

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

AER will organise 5 workshops to facilitate knowledge and experience sharing as well as to support the implementation of pilot activities around the 5 key priorities of the EU action plan: post-arrival support, education, labour market integration, access to services, citizen participation & inclusion.

In the context of the pandemic, AER anticipated the organisation of the webinars, which were normally planned for later. A first webinar was organised in collaboration with the Intercultural Regions Network, The Council of Europe and the International Organisation for Migration, to share experiences on access to services, especially health services.

The second webinar will take place on 10 November and will be focused on Labour Market Inclusion, with good practices from Greece and the Netherlands and a presentation by the European Commission on upcoming changes in funding for activities on integration.

E-health in rural areas: finished

Members discussed the possibility to develop a pan-AER regional e-health rural project based on innovation and digitalisation. This idea was not followed up by the development of a project.

As the topic is still relevant for many AER members, members were invited to participate in a webinar on integrated care in remote and rural areas, an activity organised in the context of the SCIROCCO Exchange project (see above)

Project development on farming, rural planning, and infrastructure: planned

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

Regions interested in developing such a project should share their idea during the development of the 2020-2021 work programme on 12 March in order to find regions who want to cooperate on this and start developing this initiative.

Project on rural development: planned

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

Regions interested in developing such a project should share their idea during the development of the 2020-2021 work programme on 12 March in order to find regions who want to cooperate on this and start developing this initiative.

Good Practice Exchange

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

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

The topic of the thematic event of the plenaries was Cohesion & Contrasted Regional Realities. The thematic event consisted of discussions with perspectives from all of Europe, with a special focus on Ireland and Slovenia. Despite the varying experiences and realities in the regions represented, it was agreed that a holistic approach to regional development is necessary

The aim was to share experiences, especially from regions with considerable disparities within their territories to learn about different strategies and practices as well as enablers and barriers to more cohesive regional development.

2020 AER Spring Committee Plenaries – Covasna: cancelled

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

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

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

In the context of the cancellation of face to face activities, AER tried to ensure that the content, which would normally have been shared at the plenaries, was still shared via the AER website. A series of articles was therefore published, featuring the speakers on the programme of the Covasna events, both from AER regions and from external experts with examples challenges and good practices: https://aer.eu/tag/event-2020-spring-plenaries/

While reading articles about a region don’t replace actually visiting it, special visibility was given to Covasna and the good practices to be presented on the spot on the AER website.

Committee 1 Vice President for Rural development, Energy and Environment, Nicola Campitelli, Abruzzo (IT) shared the Abruzzo governance for rural areas and their vision for the post-COVID-19 recovery

The topic of smart specialisation for inclusion and wellbeing will be further developed in the context of the webinar of the Digital Health network on 18 November 2020

Organisation of the Regional Business Forum

The Regional Business Forum (RBF) is an annual international forum to exchange on support for SMEs, promote business and commerce, incentive the possibility to collaborate and share best practices between regions. The event is organised by AER Vice-President for Regional Economic Developmen Damir Zobenica.

This 3rd edition will be a hybrid-event hosted in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina on 10 November. Following the success of last year’s forum, this year’s Regional Business Forum will focus on three main sectors: Agriculture & Food; the Construction Industry; ICT and Creative industries.

Through B2B (business-to-business) meetings, participants will get the chance to find partners according to their own interests and objectives

Interested candidates can register online for the B2B matchmaking, facilitated by the European Enterprise Network matchmaking tool.

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

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

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

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

Mutual learning event on economy 4.0: Finished

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

Workshop ” connectivity vs sustainability?”: finished

On the occasion of the Autumn plenary meeting in Podčetrtek (SI), the working group on transports & mobility chaired by Martin Tollén organised a workshop on connectivity and sustainability. Speakers featured Matej Gojčič from the Regional Development Agency of the Ljubljana Urban Region and Sergi Alegre, President of the Airport Regions Conference.

New mobility services: ongoing

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

Workshop on sustainable transport and mobility: cancelled

AER member regions Gelderland (NL) and Östergötland (SE) planned a workshop on sustainable transport and mobility during the European Sustainability Energy Week on Clean Energy from 18-20 June 2019 in the House of Dutch Provinces in Brussels.

Lowering emissions in transport: cancelled

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

Waste collection in rural areas: planned

Within the working group on rural development, members would like to have an exchange of good practices on how to raise awareness of recycling and waste collection in rural areas.
This topic could be addressed either in the context of a meeting of the working group on rural development or in separate events, such as Breakfast seminars in Brussels.

Webinar on agricultural cooperatives for more sustainable and resilient supply chains: cancelled

In the context of the changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of face to face meetings, the Chair of the Working Group on rural development Olimpia Neagoe, Dolj (RO) initiated the organisation of a webinar on this topic made highly relevant in the context of lockdowns in Europe. However due to regional elections in Romania, this activity was cancelled.

AER Delegation at Smart City Expo World Congress: finished

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

Small hydropower plants: cancelled

Exchange of good practice on noise reduction with (small) hydro powerplants (finding a suitable location also from an environmental point of view). Lobbying and advocacy with NGOs and governments about the environmental point of view, partnership, and exchange of good practice. National stimulations for developing projects on national tourism strategy on a local and regional level. Members didn’t express interest about this topic anymore.

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

Several regions in AER have expressed the need to exchange experiences on how to attract more workforce to regions that are largely rural.
This action could be developed within the context of the working group on business and SMEs.

The 2020 Spring plenaries in Covasna would have specifically look at territorial approaches and the ways in which regions address challenges linked to regional development, innovation and rurality. Instead content was shared via the AER website and the article by Committee 3 President on a Regional Approach to reduce Brain Drain provides a number of proposals in that respect. Hrvoje Kovač, Chair of the Subcommittee on Youth also prepared a very clear video on the topic.

Effective legislative frameworks: cancelled

Tulcea would like to collaborate with other regions to elaborate good legislative frameworks for tourism, business, industry, research. The goal would be a simplification of administration and the reduction of red tape. No activity was developed on this topic, however, the topic of cutting red tape is the kind of topics which will be addressed by the AER civil servants exchange programme as the programme will aim at facilitating experience exchange on efficient public administrations.

Energy efficiency: planned

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

Advocacy/Lobbying

Building a Network of Intercultural Regions: ongoing

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

AER and the Council of Europe are now planning activities for the coming months, a first meeting was organised in 16 March. The Intercultural Regions Network is closely involved in activities carried out in the context of the Includ-EU project (see above)

Mobility: engagement in the EIP-SCC: ongoing

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

Protection of Romanian forests: finished

Primary forests are rare in Europe and the ones in Romania are threatened by excessive logging. AER members, therefore, agreed at the Committee 1 Spring plenary meeting in Örebro, to support Romanian regions to protect this invaluable natural heritage.
At the AER Autumn Committee Plenaries on 26 September, the AER Working Group on Rural Development hosted a Breakfast Debate on European Biodiversity: Protecting Primary Forests. AER was pleased to be joined by some external experts on this topic, among them, Shiroma Sathyapala, Forestry Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia

Joint initiatives for advocacy

AER Bureau Task Forces

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

-Task Force on Food Security

-Task Force on Cohesion Policy

-Task Force on Digitalisation

-Task Force on Migration

-Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

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

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

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

Follow AER!

Committee 2 Annual Report June 2019 – November 2020

3 November, 2020 By Johanna Pacevicius

This report is the compilation of actions developed and implemented within Committee 2 between the 2019 General Assembly in Larnaka (CY) and the 2020 online General Assembly.

Activities are organised in 3 categories:

Projects
Good practice sharing
Advocacy/ Lobbying

Projects

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

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

The lead partner is the Scottish Government. The consortium is composed of 14 organizations.

AER is leading the Working Package on knowledge transfer which started in autumn 2019, helping the regions in preparing the local environment for implementation and scaling-up integrated care.

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

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

The SCIROCCO Exchange provides the opportunity to detail the methodologies and mutual learning approaches, which have developed by AER in over 3 decades of interregional cooperation.

The SCIROCCO Exchange also allows reaching some of the objectives set within the AER Digital Health Network.

Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite! finished

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

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

More events organised in the context of the project can be found on the Together4Cohesion website

AMiD project for the inclusion of migrants with disabilities: finished

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

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

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

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

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

E-health in rural areas: finished

Members discussed the possibility to develop a pan-AER regional e-health rural project based on innovation and digitalisation. This idea was not followed up by the development of a project.

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

Good Practice Exchange

Autumn Committee Plenaries – Podčetrtek (SI): finished

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

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

2020 Spring Committee Plenaries – Covasna (RO): cancelled

Members should have discussed the state of play of smart specialization strategies in Europe, health innovation and wellbeing, as well as brain drain vs brain gain.

While reading articles about a region don’t replace actually visiting it, special visibility was given to Covasna and the good practices to be presented on the spot on the AER website.

The topic of wellbeing and smart specialisation was addressed in two articles on the natural assets in Covasna (RO) and the smart specialisation strategy of Värmland (SE).

The topic of smart specialisation for inclusion and wellbeing will be further developed in the context of the webinar of the Digital Health network on 18 November 2020

Mutual learning event on economy 4.0: finished

Workshop of the AER e-health network (now known as “Digital Health Network”): finished

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

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

Increasing collaboration on Digital Health between European Regions: ongoing

The Digital Health Network provides a platform for AER regions to share their experiences, knowledge, and resources that support the effective deployment of digital health solutions within their regional healthcare systems. The digital transformation of health and care requires further action in these areas:

citizen’s secure access to and sharing of health data across borders;
better data to advance research, disease prevention and personalised health and care;
digital tools for citizen empowerment and person-centred care.

The Digital Health Network will:

Provide knowledge exchange opportunities for AER regions working to implement digital health.
Promote relevant policies to advance the implementation of digital health for all citizens.
Share good practices in the use of digital health in response to key health and care challenges for regions.
Recognise the diversity of regions and identify key lessons from their different approaches to digital health.
Develop our shared understanding of how digital health can support increased citizen participation in and self-management of their own health and wellbeing.

Identify key events, in which members of the Digital Health Network will participate, to promote and raise awareness of the Network’s activities.

The activities planned for the Network in 2020 – 2021 are outlined in the roadmap below:

It is possible to join the Digital Health Network by filling this (

Webinar on Digital Health, Wellbeing and Smart Specialisation: ongoing

The webinar is organised by the Digital Health Network and will present the experiences of two AER regions on 18 November on :

supporting the development of digital solutions that support healthy living.
fostering collaboration between the public sector, universities; civil organisations, entrepreneurs, and businesses.
how we intend to achieve business growth and efficiency in public health services.
how digital health innovation fits with our regions’ smart specialisation strategies.

Breakfast seminar on innovation in healthcare design: finished

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

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

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

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

AER Delegation at Smart City Expo World Congress: finished

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

Elderly care homes in rural areas: planned

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

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

Advocacy/Lobbying

Building a Network of Intercultural Regions: ongoing

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

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

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

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

Joint initiatives for advocacy

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

AER Bureau Task Forces

-Task Force on Food Security

-Task Force on Cohesion Policy

-Task Force on Digitalisation

-Task Force on Migration

-Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

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

Follow AER!

Committee 3 Annual Report June 2019 – November 2020

3 November, 2020 By Johanna Pacevicius

This report is the compilation of actions developed and implemented within Committee 3 between the 2019 General Assembly in Larnaka (CY) and the 2020 online General Assembly.

Activities are organised in 3 categories:

Projects
Good practice sharing
Advocacy/ Lobbying

Projects

SKILLNET

SKILLNET is a project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme aimed at improving Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems.

As a follow-up of each SKILLNET webinar, a Partnerships in Focus bulletin is circulated and stored in the Partnerships in Focus hub on the AER website.

AER members interested in sharing their experience in a webinar should contact AER Coordinator for Policy & Knowledge Transfer Johanna Pacevicius

Road to the Future: finished

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

The lead partner was JEF Europe – Young European Federalist. AER represented local and regional authorities. The consortium was composed of 21 organizations, mainly national JEF associations.

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

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

Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite! finished

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

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

More events organised in the context of the project can be found on the Together4Cohesion website

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

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

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

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

As the project is progressing, the Secretariat is exploring how to use the knowledge and outputs created in the project to benefit members in Committee 3.

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

Good Practice Exchange

Survey on measures in education during COVID-19 lockdowns

On the initiative of Radimir Čačić (Varaždin County, Croatia), Chair of the Committee for Education, Culture and Youth, regions were invited to share their experiences and lessons learned via a survey.

The aim of this survey is to provide valuable information about the organisation of classes in the exceptional school year 2019/2020, which will provide important and hopefully valuable information for the exchange of best practice examples, which could help other regions to improve the organisation of schooling and/or apply some new methods, within the competence of each respective region.

The collected information refers mainly to primary and secondary level education. It will provide an overview of the school year 2019/2020 and plans for 2020/2021.

The online survey is still available

Training Seminar 2019 – “Cities and Regions: New Actors of Change in Europe”: finished

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

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

Training Seminar 2020 – “How can local democracy help with constructing European identity and citizenship?”: postponed

The 2020 Training Seminar in collaboration with Sciences Po is postponed due to the impact of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on public administrations.

Civil Servants Exchange Programme: ongoing

The AER Training Seminar in Cluny was also the first step for the Civil Servants Exchange program announced in September 2018 and coordinated by the President of Committee 3 Radimir Čačić, Varaždin (HR). The Civil Servants Exchange program will allow civil servants to spend a month in a partner region to learn about new processes and practices. This programme is being developed in close collaboration with the Eurodyssey network and should have started in 2020. In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, the programme is on halt until the situation improves in Europe.

Autumn Committee Plenaries – Podčetrtek (SI): finished

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

2020 AER Spring Committee Plenaries – Covasna: cancelled

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

While reading articles about a region don’t replace actually visiting it, special visibility was given to Covasna and the good practices to be presented on the spot on the AER website.

The topic of brain drain vs brain gain was given further attention in the framework of the July 2020 webinar of the Skillnet project on transnational partnerships for technical and vocational training.

The topic of smart specialisation for inclusion and wellbeing will be further developed in the context of the webinar of the Digital Health network on 18 November 2020

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

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

Workshop on youth participation: finished

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

Workshop on the future of education: finished

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

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

Mutual learning on culture and health: ongoing

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

Workshop on culture in rural communities: finished

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

Raise awareness on the Eurodyssey programme: ongoing

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

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

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

The Eurodyssey programme was presented in the September 2020 webinar of the SKILLNET project on Youth Partnerships

Mutual learning event on economy 4.0: finished

Exchanges around traditional cultures: ongoing

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

The following international folk festival planned on 25-29 June 2020 was postponed to 25-30 June 2021 This event will feature 10 ensembles from 10 countries for 5 days of festivities. This European folk festival aims to contribute to safeguarding intangible cultural heritage by bringing together folk ensembles from all over wider Europe. AER members are invited to contact Maja Zuber, the seconded officer of Committee 3 President M Čačić.

AER Delegation at Smart City Expo World Congress: finished

Mutual learning on early school leaving: planned

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

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

From brain drain to brain gain: finished

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

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

As the events in Covasna were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Radimir Čačić, President of Committee 3 wrote an article on a Regional Approach to reduce Brain Drain, and Hrvoje Kovač, Chair of the Subcommittee on Youth prepared a very clear video on the topic.

Moreover, Hrvoje Kovač also shared the experience of Varaždin County on skills development at the June 2020 SKILLNET webinar on implementing innovative TVET policies

Mutual learning on the loss of workforce: finished

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

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

Initiatives to address and mitigate brain drain and turn it into brain gain, brain regain or brain circulation are addressed in the article by Radimir Čačić, President of Committee 3

Lifelong learning for 50+ people: finished

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

In order to address the need expressed by regions to hear about examples on upskilling and reskilling especially for people 50+, it was decided that the October 2020 SKILLNET webinar would be on “Lifelong learning: Upskilling and Reskilling of 50+”. AER members shared their experience: Michael Heaney, Chief Executive Officer at Údarás na Gaeltachta (IE) and Ana Gale, Director of Uciliste Studium (Osijek-Baranja, HR)

Advocacy/Lobbying

Building a Network of Intercultural Regions: ongoing

Joint initiatives for advocacy

AER Bureau Task Forces

-Task Force on Food Security

-Task Force on Cohesion Policy

-Task Force on Digitalisation

-Task Force on Migration

-Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

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

Photo by Daniel Lorentzen on Unsplash

Follow AER!

Intercultural Regions: Improving Labour Market Inclusion

19 October, 2020 By Valeria Simonte

We are pleased to invite you to a webinar on how regions can improve labor market integration policies and practices, with examples from different regions and insights from IOM and the European Commission.

Organized in the framework of the Includ-EU project, an EU-funded project which contributes to building more inclusive societies by enhancing knowledge and stimulating cooperation between local and regional authorities in the European Union, this second webinar will focus on labour market integration.

Migrants’ labour integration is crucial not only to ensure cohesion in society but also to address skills gaps, labour shortages, and to boost economic performance overall, and regional and local authorities are at the forefront in addressing integration needs in practice.

The Covid-19 pandemic has strongly tested systems in place, revealing tremendous needs but also the resourcefulness that exists at local and regional levels. This shows how essential it is to create opportunities for structured and meaningful mutual learning on integration to enable regional and local authorities to share good practices and improve policies and practices.

The webinar will take place on November 10^th at 14:00 CET

This webinar is organized in the framework of the Includ-EU project, in close collaboration with the Intercultural Regions Network. The Intercultural Regions Network is a platform for regions to share knowledge, resources, and experiences to promote intercultural integration at regional level.

This event will be recorded. By registering for this event, you agree to allow the Includ-EU consortium to publish the recording online and use it for the promotion of the project, capacity building, and mutual learning.

Watch back	CLICK HERE
Agenda	Click here to download
Handouts	Includ-EU infosheet City of Tilburg Netherlands HELIOS project Greece
Click to discover	Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy Unioncamere Piemonte homepage MATCH project Piemonte (in Italian)
Contact	[email protected]

Includ-EU is funded by the European Union’s Asylum Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF). The project runs from January 2020 to December 2022 and involves the following partners: The International Organization for Migration, the Assembly of European Region, the Associazione Nazionale Comuni Italiani Sez. Reg. Toscana (IT), the City of Tilburg (NL), the Secretariat for Equality, Migrations and Citizenship of Catalonia (ES) and the Region of Crete (GR).

SKILLNET Opportunities I: Webinars on EU Funding Opportunities

15 October, 2020 By Birgit Sandu

Interested in knowing more about how you can be involved in the SKILLNET project and what opportunities are available to you? AER is launching an informative campaign on SKILLNET’s core activities to answer these questions and ensure that our members and broader audience can gain the most out of the project! In the first contribution, we cover the 18 webinars on EU funding opportunities and the newly established Partnership in Focus hub – Read the full article and get involved!

SKILLNET – Context and Aims

SKILLNET is a project co-financed by the Erasmus + programme and it aims to strengthen and improve the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system’s capacity to design effective and high-quality programmes that are tailored to current societal conditions and needs. Specifically, SKILLNET comes from the identification of challenges to the current VET systems – such as the globalisation and internationalisation of the economies and job markets, the transformation towards information and knowledge-based society, and the ineffectiveness of the current VET systems in adapting to these conditions leading to a widespread skills mismatch between the market needs and the workforce. As a result, a major rethinking and redesigning VET systems’ framework is a top priority for VET providers, policy and decisions makers and all the stakeholders working within VET systems. In doing so, SKILLNET attaches core importance to the establishment of enhanced transnational and cross-sectoral partnerships promoting exchanges and joint actions among experts from different regions/countries and fields.

Webinars on EU Funding Opportunities – Scope and Goals

In this framework, SKILLNET focuses on both ideas and actions. By launching a series of 18 webinars on EU funding opportunities, it offers a space for experts in various field and from different background to exchange, network, and establish relevant groups of collaboration that can be applied in the design and submission of future EU project proposals – especially having regard to the Work Program set by the European Commission for the next years that aims to address mentioned challenges through the implementation of policy activities and funding opportunities. Webinars will be a valuable occasion to set the basis for new EU projects through cooperation and strategic thinking.

In summary, the webinars aim to provide a space for :

sharing knowledge and experiences
sharing opportunities
creating connections for future partnerships within EU calls

Webinars on EU Funding Opportunities – Themes, Structure, and Room for your Involvement

Each webinar is open to all interested parties and focused on a specific theme that is relevant for VET systems, as well as for policy and decision-makers that want to improve the effectiveness of their educational and working offers and environments. Five webinars have already taken place focusing on: Capacity building in Higher Education; Skills and Education Guarantee Pilot; Knowledge Alliances in the Maritime Sector; Implementation of Innovative VET Policies through Transnational Cooperation ; and Youth policy Partnerships.

Since it joined the project in June, AER has played a major role in the organisation of the webinars being in the lead of the action’s coordination. While the project offers remarkable synergies with the activities of both Committee 1 and Committee 3, the webinars can serve as online activity for knowledge and experience sharing. Given this linkage between SKILLNET and the Committees, the topics of the upcoming webinars are selected based on the AER Action Plan and further specified together with the members that expressed needs at Committees’ meetings.

In summary, AER’s members, partners, and stakeholders are encouraged to participate to the webinars’ activity by:

Joining as participants to acquire new expertise and experiences on VET related themes that are of interest to policy/decision-makers;
Joining as speakers to share their expertise and experiences on the specific theme of the webinar (as well as to acquire new expertise through exchanging with other panelists);
Joining as participants or speakers to network and to establish relevant partnerships with other experts from different regions/countries and sectors;
Informing us about themes related to VET systems and EU funding opportunities that are important to address in dedicated webinars.

Partnerships in Focus – The Series and the Hub

Each webinar is followed by a Partnership in Focus bulletin/article summarising the main information exchanged during the online event, highlighting the relevant field of intervention identified and possible scopes and actors for partnerships.

Additionally, we have launched a dedicated hub within the AER website – the Partnerships in Focus Hub to ensure that all the information concerning the relevant fields of partnerships are well stored and available to all interested parties. The hub will be updated after the release of each Partnership in Focus bulletin/article and we encourage you to check the hub regularly as to be dully informed about the ongoing work and available opportunities for you!

– Coming Soon –

The upcoming webinar on EU funding opportunities is close! On October 21st experts will meet to discuss “Lifelong Learning: Up-skilling and Reskilling 50+”. Read the article to know more!

Stay tuned! We will continue our informative campaign on the SKILLNET’s activities and opportunities for members and stakeholders. The upcoming contribution will cover:

SKILLNET Opportunities II: Peer Learning Clubs and Youth Policy Forum
SKILLNET Opportunities III: Skillman International Forum

If you want to know more, contact AER team:

Birgit Sandu, European Projects Manager [email protected]
Johanna Pacevicius, Policy and Knowledge Sharing Coordinator [email protected]

Photo from Unsplash.

Follow AER!

Culture, a pillar of sustainable regional development

8 October, 2020 By Editor

The AER conference “Territorial Approaches to Regional Development” focusing on the ways in which regions address differences between urban and rural areas aimed to look in detail at the role of culture to create inclusive and welcoming rural areas. In the below article, Eugenijus Kaminskis from Xwhy / Agency of Understanding in Lithuania, and a lead partner in the CUBES project, shares his experience on why and how culture is the fourth pillar of sustainable development, as stated by UNESCO.

Cultural identity’s role for sustainable development

There is a new positive direction of involving cultural sector and communities while developing strategies for regional development.
Culture in relation to sustainable regional development is a horizontal priority and it plays an important role not only in promoting, but also enabling sustainable development. Therefore, creativity, creative society, and creative economy are the essential drivers of regional prosperity.

Cultural interventions aim to address not only the problems of the cultural sector, but also the problems of economic competitiveness, social cohesion and sustainable development of regions. Cultural policy and cultural initiatives are becoming much more than a specific area of public policy, but also as a strategic direction of regional development, cooperating with other sectors of public policy.

Together with economic prosperity, social justice, environmental sustainability, culture is recognized as the fourth pillar of sustainable regional development. Sustainable regional development requires to ascertain a region’s identity, values, and forces shaping its future. Identity enables values, and values define the direction of actions. This direction is only effective when applied in accordance with trends and the broader strategic framework.

Culture in this context helps to define regional identity, express its core values, and communicate the desired change. Each region is a unique territory not only as a geographic area but also as a specific historical and cultural domain.

Culture as a tool for localising the Sustainable Development Goals

Regional planning needs to encompass the identity arising from the place and has often contradictory value logics. Taking cultural dimension into account invites regional stakeholders to decide, which values to prioritize what is important and move away from crisis management towards sustainable development.

Cultural values exercised locally by stakeholders in combination with the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework by the United Nations, can be put into practice at the organizational, local, regional, national and international levels, and become a great planning tool.

Without seeking synergies between the local cultural context, the complex past, and an uncertain future of the region, development goals can remain simply declarative slogans that mean nothing to places and people. Regions now have a unique opportunity to take advantage and localize the principles of sustainable development according to their local cultural context.

Culture is also at the heart of the CUBES project, where AER is a partner. Partners are creating a bridge between cultural heritage, administrative bodies, and digitalization. Adjacent to raising awareness and emphasizing the importance of culture, one of the project’s main externalities is that of increasing competitiveness and economic growth. The actions to be implemented are targeted at local communities, public authorities, NGOs, and CSOs.

CUBES project webpage

Photo credits: Remis Scerbauskas, Cultural initiative “Cabbagge field” revitalising neighbourhood in Kaunas city, Lithuania.

Follow AER!

#EURegionsWeek – Eurodyssey35: Regions on the move

3 September, 2020 By Editor

The Assembly of European Regions is pleased to announce one more contribution to the European Week of Regions and Cities (EWRC). For the first time, the Eurodyssey programme will be featured in the #EURegionsWeek through our virtual participatory lab, Eurodyssey35: Regions on the move, which will take place on 14 October at 9:30 AM.

In this session, policy-makers, regional officials and young activists will engage one another in an open dialogue on what is at stake for youth development, and the instrumental role of youth mobility in fostering territorial cohesion and a sense of European identity.

Mobility is at the core of European integration. For over 25 years the EU has actively promoted the mobility of students, researchers and citizens to deliver in strategic policy areas: employment, education and inclusion. Since 1985, the AER has put regions at the forefront of fair mobility for young people through our Eurodyssey programme. Regional and local authorities have a key part to play in driving youth development and tackling barriers to short-term mobility and longer-term cohesion.

Through parallel discussions, the audience will not only take a deep-dive into the ins and outs of youth mobility but will also challenge the invited storytellers to reflect upon the linkages between fair mobility, quality employment, social inclusion and active European citizenship.

DEADLINE EXTENDED!

Closing date: 7 October 2020

Speakers:

Mr Hrvoje Kovač, Chair of AER Subcommittee on Youth, Assembly of European Regions (AER).
Ms Jovana Majstorovic, Board Member, European Youth Forum.
Ms Floor Van Houdt, Head of Unit for Youth policy and Volunteer Solidarity, European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture.

How COVID-19 is affecting tourism in our Member Regions

30 July, 2020 By Aurelien Godin

Due to the recent global pandemic, the tourism and hospitality sector has faced some difficulties. Europe is the world’s leading tourist destination. The tourism sector in the EU represents 9.5% of the European Union’s gross domestic product (GDP), accounts for 11.2% of jobs in the European Union and is made up of nearly three million companies, 90% of which are SMEs. There are over 22.6 million people working in tourism in the European Union.

Travel restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic have been a challenge to the tourism industry. Indeed, as a result of the various measures put in place to limit the spread of the virus, revenues are expected to fall by 50% for hotels and restaurants, 70% for travel agencies and 90% for cruise lines and airlines.

The situation is particularly difficult for European countries whose economies depend heavily on tourism, such as Spain (14,6% of the GDP), Italy (13% of the GDP), France (9,5% of the GDP) and Greece (18 % of the GDP).

On 13 May the European Commission presented a package of guidelines and recommendations to help the Member States gradually lift travel restrictions and allow tourism businesses to reopen, after months of lockdown, while respecting necessary health precautions. The package also aims to help the EU tourism sector recover from the pandemic, by supporting businesses and ensuring that Europe continues to be the number one destination for visitors.While the EU and States are doing many things to combat and mitigate the damage from this pandemic, it is important to note that many regions and local authorities, those on the frontline of the fight also have implemented measures. Take a look at what some of our regions are doing!

Relaunching tourism in Covasna county Download

Relaunching tourism in Basel (Switzerland)Download

Measures to face the economic crisis caused by coronavirus on tourism and hospitality in Abruzzo-Region Download

If you are interested in sharing your regions experiences please contact Tina Wu : [email protected]

source of the picture : unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/WksmEy5wV1s

Follow AER!

Innovation ecosystems: a complex set of relationships

Partnerships, competences and talent

The webinar will look at:

How to join the webinar

Speakers and the agenda of the event will be announced soon.

Peer feedback & insights for regional policymaking

What is a peer review?

3 reasons to apply

What do regional representatives think about it?

The Recovery & Resilience Facility – a bold new step together?

European Solidarity – room for improvement

Walking the Road Together – working in renewed Partnership with Regions

Including rural areas in innovation strategies to tackle EU challenges

This webinar will look at:

Agenda

Ambitious Skills and Innovation Strategies:A territorial Approach

25 March 2021 at 10:00 CET

How to join the webinar

Ambitious Skills and Innovation Strategies: A territorial Approach

Agenda

Ambitious Skills and Innovation Strategies: A territorial Approach

25 March 2021 at 10:00 CET

Innovation and farming: Applications of Advanced Manufacturing in the food value chain

Agenda

Innovation and farming: Applications of Advanced Manufacturing in the food value chain

26 March at 10:00 CET

How to join the webinars

Save the date!

An online Eurodyssey Assembly

Eurodyssey facts & figures

Sharing on social media is caring about Eurodyssey

Break-out sessions

Ackowledgements

Skills for the industry of the future

Opportunities for regional stakeholders

Topics addressed

Join in 3 clicks!

AER’s role

Projects

SKILLNET

Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite! finished

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

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

E-health in rural areas: finished

Project development on farming, rural planning, and infrastructure: planned

Project on rural development: planned

Good Practice Exchange

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

2020 AER Spring Committee Plenaries – Covasna: cancelled

Organisation of the Regional Business Forum

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

Mutual learning event on economy 4.0: Finished

Workshop ” connectivity vs sustainability?”: finished

New mobility services: ongoing

Workshop on sustainable transport and mobility: cancelled

Lowering emissions in transport: cancelled

Waste collection in rural areas: planned

Webinar on agricultural cooperatives for more sustainable and resilient supply chains: cancelled

AER Delegation at Smart City Expo World Congress: finished

Small hydropower plants: cancelled

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

Effective legislative frameworks: cancelled

Energy efficiency: planned

Advocacy/Lobbying

Building a Network of Intercultural Regions: ongoing

Mobility: engagement in the EIP-SCC: ongoing

Protection of Romanian forests: finished

Joint initiatives for advocacy

AER Bureau Task Forces

The Committees’ work programmes and the AER action Plan

Projects

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

Together for Cohesion: let’s rEUnite! finished

AMiD project for the inclusion of migrants with disabilities: finished

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

E-health in rural areas: finished

Good Practice Exchange

Autumn Committee Plenaries – Podčetrtek (SI): finished

2020 Spring Committee Plenaries – Covasna (RO): cancelled

Mutual learning event on economy 4.0: finished

Ambitious Skills and Innovation Strategies:
A territorial Approach

Ambitious Skills and Innovation Strategies:
A territorial Approach