+++ The European Silver Economy Newsletter, Issue 6, December 2007. ++ Contents. ++ Editorial: The Sofia municipality strategy views ageing as an opportunity and not threat. ++ Seasons Greetings. ++ Section One: The Silver Economy on the European Commission Policy Agenda. +01: SEN@ER on the European agenda. +02: More information: 'Study on "Measuring progress of eAccessibility in Europe" (MeAC): eAccessibility progress in Europe is limited. +03: 'Commission calls for an all-inclusive digital society. ++ Section Two: Third European Conference "Silver Economy in Europe 2007". +04: 'Large Success of the Third European Conference "Silver Economy in Europe 2007", Seville with a good practice award for the Limousin region in France. ++Section Three: Fourth European Silver Economy Conference 2008. +05: The Fourth European Silver Economy Conference 2008 will take place in Glasgow (Scotland). ++ Section Four: Reports from the SEN@ER Network, the Regions and the Secretariat. +06: 6th meeting of SIG Ageing and Culture on 27 and 28 November in Wolfenbttel, Lower Saxony. +07: New members in age-culture.net. +08: Strengthening North Rhine-Westphalia's position as a financial centre - Innovative financial services - The demographic changes throw up a wide range of opportunities in North Rhine-Westphalia. +09: New "Culture and Ageing" Projects in SEN@ER Regions. +10: "CommonWell: Common Platform Services for Ageing Well in Europe" proposal with partners from the SEN@ER network submitted to the European Commission for funding. +11: SOPRANO: partners from three SEN@ER regions cooperating in the development of independent living systems and services with European funding. +12: MobilAlarm - a location-independent mobile alarm service: example of a successful European project with SEN@ER participation which is now available as a product in the market. +13: Lower Saxony Forum Age and Future. Consumer Protection in an Ageing Market. +14: Senior Services Office (Seniorenservicebro). +15: Interregional Cooperation Programme "INTERREG IVC" now online: www.interreg4c.net. ++ Section Five: Conferences, Projects, Miscellaneous. +16: The 50+ in 2050. +17: Launch of a new European Age Management Network. +18: Older Masters: How Older People experience and develop competences through arts education. +19: Unlock your Talent: The Colours of Age. +20: web4seniors - 5th LiLL-conference on October 4-5, 2007 in Ulm. +21: European Medical Congress on Active and Healthy Longevity, and Senior Demographic Growth", Yuste, 25 - 27 October 2007. +22: Create.NRW. +23: Report on Ageing and Diversity. +24: Long-term population projections at regional level: Ageing will affect EU regions to differing degrees. +25: Japan: the Silver Market Phenomenon: Business Opportunities and Responsibilities in an Era of Demographic Change. +26: Japan - Challenges for demographic change. ++ End Notes. +27: Contact. +28: Disclaimer. +29: Copyright notice. [Contents ends]. ++ Editorial: The Sofia municipality strategy views ageing as an opportunity and not threat. Ladies and Gentlemen, Older population in Bulgaria has been increasing in the last decade and this tendency could be ascertained also in Sofia. With the membership of Sofia Municipality in "SEN@ER" and with the country's EU accession we, the representatives of Sofia Municipality, have started to approach the demographic change as an opportunity rather than a threat. Older people should be treated with respect and they deserve a life of dignity. Furthermore - many of them are still able and willing to work and their potential and long-term professional experience should be used. It would be an advantage to them but it will also be an advantage of the country. The well-being of older people depends also on the quality of social services, provided to them. Sofia Municipality has started preparing a strategy for the development of social services for older people on its territory. The main aim of this strategy is an improvement of life conditions for these people and increase of community based services. Other aims are to guarantee equality between the older people and the rest of the society, overcoming the social isolation through creating conditions for better social integration in compliance with desires and abilities of older people, consolidation of their psychical state and health condition, making the services more accessible, establishment of new community based services aiming at institutionalization prevention and possibility for reintegration as well as stimulating life long learning and longer employment. We plan to reach these aims through making an assessment and analyses of needs for providing different community based services; to continue the de-instutionalization process through the establishment of new community based services; to create and maintain an information system of older people who use social services and who have not used them yet but would like to; to create and implement a programme for qualification increase of the staff working with older people; to encourage and stimulate the employment of pensioners; to implement the principles of life-long learning through enabling older people participation in computer and language courses; to establish day centres for older people and to work in close cooperation with the NGO sector. We believe that these actions will bring us closer to our vision; a society in which older people feel and live as full and respected citizens of their city and country. Irina Papancheva Former Deputy Mayor for "Health Care, Social Activities and Integration of People with Disabilities", Sofia Municipality [Editorial ends]. ++ Seasons Greetings. We would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and to thank you all for the very good and trustworthy cooperation we had so far in the Silver Economy Network of European Regions. Dr. Claus Eppe, Ministry of Health, Equalities, Care and Ageing of NRW Werner B. Korte, empirica GmbH [Seasons greetings ends]. ++ Section One: The Silver Economy on the European Commission Policy Agenda. +01: SEN@ER on the European agenda. SEN@ER is now fully recognised at the European Policy level by DG INFSO and Media, DG EMPL and DG REGIO. The following are the most recent relevant documents published by the EC and are provided on the partner area of the SEN@ER website: COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT "EUROPES DEMOGRAPHIC FUTURE: FACTS AND FIGURES" Volume I + II, SEC (2007) 638 (includes a chapter on "Ageing consumers and the 'silver economy" and explicit mentioning and description of SEN@ER) (Brussels, 11.05.2007) COMMUNICATION and Staff Working Paper FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS "Ageing well in the Information Society - An i2010 Initiative" Action Plan on Information and Communication Technologies and Ageing, COM (2007) 332 final, {SEC (2007)) 811} (Brussels, 14th June 2007). In this Communication direct reference is made to the SEN@ER network. Further details can be obtained from here: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/einclusion/policy/ageing/launch/index_en.htm . Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the participation by the Community in a research and development programme aimed at enhancing the quality of life of older people through the use of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), undertaken by several Member States, COM (2007) 329 final, 2007/0116 (COD) (Brussels, 14.6.2007). The objective of this proposal is the adoption of a decision by the Council and Parliament, on the basis of Article 169 of the EC Treaty, concerning the participation by the Community in the Ambient Assisted Living joint research and development programme undertaken by several Member States (AAL joint programme). +02: eAccessibility progress in Europe is limited. A new report, issued on 8th November 2007, shows that there is only limited progress towards eAccessibility targets in Europe, and further EU-level measures needs to be considered to stimulate progress in eAccessibility The "Measuring progress of eAccessibility in Europe" (MeAC) study was launched as part of the follow-up to the European Commissions Communication on eAccessibility of 2005 which highlighted the need for improving access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by people with disabilities. It also announced that a follow-up on the eAccessibility situation would be made two years after the Communication, at which time the Commission may consider additional measures. The MeAC report provides the results of an extensive benchmarking exercise and analysis on the status and progress of eAccessibility in Europe. The study was conducted by empirica GmbH, Bonn (Germany) and the Work Research Centre, Dublin (Ireland) in cooperation with The Royal National Institute for Deaf People, The Royal National Institute for Blind People (United Kingdom) and eWORX S.A. (Greece) More information is available here: http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/einclusion/library/studies/meac_study/index_en.htm . +03: 'Commission calls for an all-inclusive digital society. "In today's society, access to information by all citizens is a right as well as a condition for prosperity. It is neither morally acceptable nor economically sustainable to leave millions of people behind, unable to use Information and Communications Technologies to their advantage" said Viviane Reding EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media. "With today's initiative, the Commission reinforces its commitment to overcoming digital exclusion in Europe. Progress has been only half as fast as it should be. The Commission is sending today a clear signal to all parties concerned: industry, regulators and governments that we must act together now to ensure a barrier-free information society for all." Despite technological progress and enhanced competition, more than one in three Europeans are still excluded from fully benefiting from the digital society. Benefits of EUR 35-85 billion over five years could be generated if society would be made more inclusive, websites more accessible and broadband Internet made available to all EU citizens. On 29 November, the Commission presents its e-Inclusion initiative to Council, calling on Member States to support a number of key actions, including an awareness campaign for 2008 "e-Inclusion, be part of it!" e-Accessibility legislation, similar to that of the USA, is also under consideration. Further details can be obtained from here: http://www.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/07/1804&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en . http://www.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/07/527&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en . [Section One ends]. ++ Section Two: Third European Conference "Silver Economy in Europe 2007". +04: 'Large Success of the Third European Conference "Silver Economy in Europe 2007", Seville with a good practice award for the Limousin region in France. The topic "Silver Economy in Europe" was addressed at the 3rd European Silver Economy conference which attracted around 500 participants from all over Europe. Following the previous conferences in Bonn (North Rhine-Westphalia) and Maastricht (Limburg) the event was the third annual conference of a SEN@ER (Silver Economy Network of European Regions) partner region which - supported by the other network partner regions - which addressed important topics of ageing societies and the challenges and opportunities related to this. The approx. 50 presentations from all over Europe provided the participants with a very good and detailed overview of ongoing activities, innovative projects and practical examples of the Silver Economy. During the second conference day the award of the good practice competition "Silver Economy in Europe 2007" was handed over to an undertaking located in Limousin, one of the SEN@ER partner regions. It is called Ple Domotique et Sant de Guret St-Vaury ('House automation and health of Guret). Guret is the main city in Creuse, which is one out of three departments in Limousin. The project consists of a consortium including 14 different stakeholders, such as for instance the public authority itself (namely the District of Guret), the University in Limousin that is going to open its doors in 2008, local companies, and local associations working in the field of services for older and disabled people. The objectives of the "Ple Domotique et Sant de Guret" project are to improve the living conditions of its older and disabled inhabitants by meeting their needs for comfort, safety, communication and autonomy, support the development of house automation companies and associated services and to be engaged in University courses and in continuous training. Starting in February 2005 with 10 European regions the "Silver Economy Network of European Regions (SEN@ER)" has now reached the number of 17 partner regions from all over Europe representing more than 14% of the European population. Further regions are about to join the network. At the third European Conference "Silver Economy in Europe 2007" in Seville different topic areas which are also addressed by the SEN@ER network in their Special Interest Groups have been addressed. The issues presented and discussed at the conference and their implications for the work in SEN@ER are briefly described below. Ageing well and independent living. The presentations referring to the topic of "Ageing well" and "independent living" centred on teleassistance services, ICT-based home-based services as well as smart homes and "domotics" (ICT supported "smart" home environments) which in the past only rarely (if at all) have been successful. It became apparent that there is the strong need for a new and improved generation of smart home technologies and related services supporting an independent living of the older generation in their own homes. A key message was that one should not duplicate the mistakes of the past but thoroughly capture the requirements of the target groups, 'translate these into highly useable and useful system and services designs and test and pilot these with the seniors themselves in real-life and realistic environments and ideally fully implemented in their homes. The presentations at the conference gave an impression of where we currently stand in this respect and to where things are moving. SEN@ER has become part of this development. One of the visible signs for this is the SOPRANO project with a funding of 7 million Euros through the European Commission with active participation of partners from the SEN@Er regions like the industry partner Tunstall Group from Yorkshire and different organisations acting as test beds of software developers from further SEN@ER regions (Andalucia, North Rhine-Westphalia and Scotland). Financial services. In 2004/5 and when preparing for the first European Silver Economy conference, SEN@ER had difficulties in convincing banks and other financial service providers to present their strategies addressed to the senior market. The reason for this was simple: such strategies did not exist or were still under development. Prior to that time banks did not see the seniors as a market or an areas worthwhile to be addressed but just the opposite. This has changed over the past 3 years as could be seen by the presentations at this years conference. Many banks and financial service providers were present, things are moving and we have started to learn about their offers and services but also to critically review the new products such as the "reverse mortgage" which is already popular in some European countries but not in others. In the meantime it has become apparent that in its present format and today this is only a suitable product for very specific customers and circumstances. The market of products and services addressed to the older end customer is moving ahead but there still is the need to consider and address other types of financial services related issues which only indirectly address the seniors but are addressed to investors investing in facilities for seniors such as innovative housing and related service offerings which are likely to have a huge impact on the quality of life of many seniors in the future. This includes the need for new risk assessment mechanism in banks when it comes to providing financial support to groups of investors aiming at the establishment of innovative schemes for shared and cross-generation housing, fully equipped with the latest ICT supporting an independent living and related services which are often seen as high risk investments. Today many banks shy away from such investments. However, and in order to fully reach the stage of an independent living of a significantly higher number of seniors in the future, this areas seems to be in need of being addressed in the coming years. Entrepreneurship 50+ and 60+. At the first European Silver Economy Conference in 2005 in Bonn, PRIME from the United Kingdom (http://www.primeinitative.org.uk) was an example presented. PRIME is a project which works with Age Concern, JobCentre Plus, Information Advice and Guidance services (IAGs), education and other organisations who engage older people or who have a focus on work and training. PRIME is the only national organisation in the UK that helps people aged 50 and over to set up in business. Local events to stimulate interest in self-employment, business and social enterprise and encourage contact with business support are run across the country. In the meantime many more such examples exist but most if not all of them are struggling to successfully motivate seniors to become entrepreneurs. There is the strong need to learn from each others experiences, the successes but also pitfalls to avoid making the same mistakes again and again. We should probably not only look at the age group 50 - 65 but may also want to address even older citizens at the age of 70+ with many of whom having an interest in continuing an active working life. However, and at that age it is unlikely that the financial aspects and the need for earning an income are the major concern. Rather the desire of passing on ones own working life experiences and helping others in need will gain in importance. Here we are talking about the large area of voluntary work, not only for the younger generation to gain an insight in working life but also for the active very old citizens who want to add (more) meaning to their lives and continue to be an active part of society. Culture and Ageing. Culture is a central element of life for many older people especially those with some more advanced levels of education. This also is an activity were a large number of activities tale place at local and regional level as could be seen by the different presentations at the conference. The SEN@ER network is also actively addressing this topic and has established a network of such players in many regions and across Europe. What is desperately needed is an exchange of information and experiences to learn from each other and for policy to support initiatives in a more focussed way and especially those with a European dimension which can help Europe to grow together and more rapidly. (Werner B. Korte, SEN@ER Secretariat) More information: www.silvereconomy-europe.org . [Section Two ends]. ++Section Three: Fourth European Silver Economy Conference 2008. +05: The Fourth European Silver Economy Conference 2008 will take place in Glasgow (Scotland). The fourth "Silver Economy in Europe 2008" conference will take place in Glasgow from 13 - 14 November 2008 and organised by the Scottish Government and the Senior Studies Institute at the University of Strathclyde. It will take place in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow [ http://www.glasgowconcerthalls.com/grch ] with a conference dinner and civic reception at Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, to be held evening of Thursday 13th November 2008 [ http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/index.cfm?venueid=4 ]. Organiser: University of Strathclyde, Senior Studies Institute, 40 George Street, Glasgow G1 1QE, Scotland, UK, Fax: 0044 (0)141 553 1270 Contacts: Brian McKechnie, Tel: 0044 (0)141 548 2492 Email: brian.mckechnie@strath.ac.uk . Alice Morton, Tel: 0044 (0)141 548 4706 Email: alice.morton@strath.ac.uk . [Section Three ends]. ++ Section Four: Reports from the SEN@ER Network, the Regions and the Secretariat. +06: 6th meeting of SIG Ageing and Culture on 27 and 28 November in Wolfenbttel, Lower Saxony. The 6th meeting of SIG Ageing & Culture and its European Network age-culture.net was held in the SEN@ER-region of Lower Saxony. SIG member "Federal Academy for Cultural Education" invited all partners and parties interested in the topic of ageing and culture. For more information about the meeting agenda and results, please contact the SIG coordinator Almuth Fricke [ fricke@ibk-kultur.de ] or see under [ www.age-culture.net ]. +07: New members in age-culture.net. We are happy to welcome new members to our European network: Age & Opportunity, Dublin, Ireland www.olderinireland.ie and www.bealtaine.com . Entrges, Brussels, Belgium www.entrages.be . +08: Strengthening North Rhine-Westphalia's position as a financial centre - Innovative financial services - The demographic changes throw up a wide range of opportunities in North Rhine-Westphalia. The banks and banking associations in North Rhine-Westphalia, including the Westflisch-Lippischer Sparkassen- und Giroverband, Rheinischer Sparkassen- und Giroverband, NRW.BANK, Bank fr Sozialwirtschaft AG, Rheinisch-Westflischer Genossenschaftsverband e.V., Bankenvereinigung Nordrhein-Westfalen e.V., and the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Health, Equalities, Care and Ageing jointly adopted a resolution on this topic on 10 July 2007. The associations, banks and savings banks mentioned above, and the North Rhine-Westphalia Minister for Intergenerational Affairs, Family, Women and Integration, Mr Armin Laschet, by their joint resolution affirm their commitment to take advantage of the opportunities thrown up by the demographic changes, to improve the provision for older people - especially regarding the financial services industry and the housing and services sectors - and to promote the overall development of the "silver economy". North Rhine-Westphalia-based banks and savings banks will contribute towards enabling the region to cope with and take advantage of the challenges of the demographic changes in an innovative way and with the aim of improving the quality of life of older people, creating new jobs and strengthening North Rhine-Westphalia's position as a location for business and, last not least, as a leading financial centre. The banks and savings banks welcome the State Government's commitment to integrating the silver economy into the EU promotional programmes for the period 2007 - 2013, thus opening up additional funding opportunities for a highly innovative sector of industry. The North Rhine-Westphalia Government and the undersigned have reached an understanding that they will jointly endeavour to consistently implement a series of agreed innovations. More information: www.silvereconomy-europe.org . +09: New "Culture and Ageing" Projects in SEN@ER Regions. TraVel AGEnts. The "TraVeL AGEnts" project aims at promoting active participation of older people in society and facilitating their mobility across the European Union through the establishment of the "over 55s without frontiers" networks. It is implemented in 10 EU countries (Greece, Italy, Finland, Germany, Portugal, Cyprus, Estonia, Slovakia, Poland and Czech Republic) with the co-funding of the European Commissions in the framework of the ENEA Preparatory Action. "TraVeL AGEnts" will give the opportunity to older people to travel in the European Union, learn about other cultures, learn other languages, exchange ideas-experiences-practices, participate in volunteer activities and also supplement their income (by taking part in the project activities). Older citizens from the 10 participating countries will be trained in responsible tour planning, participate in test-travel cultural exchange programs and publish an elderly-friendly low-cost guide with the objective to facilitate older peoples mobility in the European Union and promote their social inclusion. More information is available here: www.travelagentsproject.org . Sites and Signs of Remembrance. Sites and Signs of Remembrance is a two-year project of the European Reminiscence Network with partners in Berlin, Dresden and Poznan (Poland). It started in November 2006 and is a life-long learning partnership project 2006-2007 supported by the European Union Socrates programme. It involves mapping and documenting older peoples responses to the changes they have seen, made and lived through in their different communities. Partners will learn through running their own inter-generational projects at a local level and through a series of international exchanges and visits. In year two of the project an on-line version will be produced, bringing together the international projects findings. More information is available here: www.europeanreminiscencenetwork.org . +10: "CommonWell: Common Platform Services for Ageing Well in Europe" proposal with partners from the SEN@ER network submitted to the European Commission for funding. The proposal called "CommonWell: Common Platform Services for Ageing Well in Europe" was successfully developed and submitted to the CIP programme of the EC. It involves partners from three of the SEN@ER regions including Andalucia, Yorkshire and North Rhine-Westphalia. The project will deliver ICT-enabled healthcare and social care services, based on common functional specifications and platform, capable of significantly improving the quality of life of older people and their families. The services integrate on common open platforms services previously provided by multiple organisations on separate proprietary platforms, exploit recent research into the needs of older Europeans and replicate services available in one Member State into other regions of the EU. The owners and providers of the integrated services will be Local Authorities, public, charity and not-for-profit social care and healthcare service providers in EU regions. The service infrastructure will be maintained by Europe's leading provider of home service platforms, Tunstall, supported by a new entrant into European eHealth provision, HomMed. While meeting the needs of older people and public policy objectives, these organisations have the capability to build and sustain service infrastructure across Europe. The service will be sustained by existing providers of social alarm and other social services, and by existing healthcare providers. Costs will be met by enabling greater numbers of older people to be served using the same time and resources, by increases in service quality and improved outcomes and by savings through multiple uses of common platforms. For more information, please contact the SEN@ER Secretariat at [SenWiNet@empirica.com]. +11: SOPRANO: partners from three SEN@ER regions cooperating in the development of independent living systems and services with European funding. The European Commission is funding the SOPRANO project through the IST Programme which is part of the Framework Programme 6. Several partners from SEN@ER regions are involved in the project. SOPRANO is the acronym for "Service Oriented PRogrammable smArt enviroNments for Older Europeans". SOPRANO will design and develop highly innovative, context-aware, smart services with natural and comfortable interfaces for older people at affordable cost, meeting requirements of users, family and care providers and significantly extending the time we can live independently in our homes when older. User friendliness and acceptability is top priority for the project - a zero-slope learning curve is to be achieved and inter-faces are to "vanish" into domestic settings. Large-scale viability in real homes will be demonstrated with 600 users to raise public awareness and accelerate AAL (Ambient Assisted Living) exploitation. The project will run for 40 months and its budget is around 12 million Euros of which 7 million are funded by the Commission. The major industry partner is the Tunstall Group Ltd (United Kingdom) with its headquarters located in the SEN@ER partner region of Yorkshire. Partners from four SEN@ER regions take part in this project: Andalucia (FASS Fundacin Andaluza de Servicios Sociales), North Rhine-Westphalia (PROSYST SOFTWARE GMBH, empirica GmbH) North West (University of Liverpool) and Scotland (West Lothian Council). In three SEN@ER regions SOPRANO fields trials will be carried out and demonstrators installed. More information is available here: http://www.soprano-ip.org/ . +12: MobilAlarm - a location-independent mobile alarm service: example of a successful European project with SEN@ER participation which is now available as a product in the market. The market validation of the MobilAlarm product and alarm and telecare service for older and disabled people was carried out as a European project and funded by the eTEN programme of the European Commission. MobilAlarm was coordinated by empirica from North Rhine-Westphalia operating the SEN@ER European Secretariat for the Ministry for Generation, Family, Women and Integration of North Rhine-Westphalia. Further MobilAlarm partners from the SEN@ER network included FASS Fundacin Andaluza de Servicios Sociales (the SEN@ER partner from Andalucia) and the IT industry partner Attendo (now Tunstall Group) with its headquarters in the SEN@ER region Yorkshire and the Humber. The product has now been made available to the market and is told by the German-based Vitaris GmbH belonging to the Tunstall Group (http://www.vitaris-gmbh.de/) under the name of "Vitaris MobilAlarm". More information is available here: http://www.vitaris-gmbh.de/main.aspx?PageID=80 . +13: Lower Saxony Forum Age and Future. Consumer Protection in an Ageing Market. An event on this topic took place on 8 November 2007 in Lneburg. The focus was on consumer protection and it included speeches and presentations on: - Consumer protection in an ageing society - An appropriate product for everybody - products fair and suitable for all generations - Consumer rights concerning financial services and - Capital assets - Reverse Mortgage - a product for the German market? These were followed by working groups focussing on specific issues: - Products suitable for all generations - a future market - Protection against discrimination, exploitation and fraud in transactions at older age - Health market and increasing own health responsibility - Banking and insurance services for '60plus: age discrimination of new opportunity? The large response on this event by seniors and the experts demonstrated the increasing importance of this topic. More information is available here: http://www.wolfsburg-ag.com/sixcms/detail.php?template=linga_index&nav1=36405 . +14: Senior Services Office (Seniorenservicebro). Starting in 2008, Senior Services Offices will be established in Lower Saxony. The aim is to develop a region-wide neighbourhood-type network of volunteers and professional service providers supporting a modern senior policy with the Senior Services Offices acting as contact, consulting and coordination instances. In order to offer the widest possible spectrum of services, these offices will be networking with a larger number of service providers. It will be compulsory to coordinate and employ seniors as part of the voluntary year of seniors (Freiwillige Jahr fr Senioren (FJS)) as well as the participation in the new qualification programme called DUO which has been established to train senior companions. More information is available here: http://www.wolfsburg-ag.com/sixcms/detail.php?template=linga_index&nav1=36405 . +15: Interregional Cooperation Programme "INTERREG IVC" now online: www.interreg4c.net . The new website dedicated to INTERREG IVC is now online! It contains the essential information for applicants to the INTERREG IVC programme. Further functions and updates will be added over the coming months. The INTERREG IVC Programme is part of the European Territorial Cooperation Objective. It is a EU programme that helps regions of Europe work together to share their knowledge and experience. Launched in 2007, the programme will run until 2013. The programme provides funding for all regions of Europe plus Switzerland and Norway (regional and local public authorities) to exchange and transfer knowledge and good practice. Two main priorities are targeted: 'Innovation and Knowledge economy and 'Environment and Risk prevention. These priorities reflect the strategy of the European Union to encourage growth and jobs in line with the Lisbon and Gothenburg Strategy. INTERREG IVC finances the network element of the European Commission initiative Regions for Economic Change. The INTERREG IVC Application Pack, along with the Programme Manual is now available for download. More information is available here: http://www.interreg4c.net . [Section Four ends]. ++ Section Five: Conferences, Projects, Miscellaneous. +16: The 50+ in 2050. By 2050, the European Union (EU)'s working age population (15-64 years) will have declined by 48 million. By 2050, there will be double the number of people aged 65 years and over relative to the people of working age. By 2050, the ageing population will have contributed to a halving of the EU's economic growth rate and a 10% increase in its public spending. Reading these and other figures, there is no doubt that the age profile of EU citizens is dramatically changing! Moreover, these demographic shifts are projected to have a major and direct impact on the labour market and consequently the EU's economic and social prosperity, all within a relatively short space of time. And so it is hardly surprising that demographic change is high on the EU policy agenda. Indeed in recent years, the European Commission has published a Green Paper and a Communication, issued age-specific targets for Member States, and established a high-level Forum on "Europe's Demographic Future." The EQUAL Life Competence 50+ project sought to contribute to this EU agenda on demographic change by organising a European conference in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 18 - 20 June 2007. The subject of the conference was the situation of people aged 50+, people whose experience, skills and active employment participation will play an increasingly important role in the labour market between now and 2050. And hence the name of the conference: "Competence 50+ 2007: age as an opportunity." The overall purpose of the conference was to bring together decision-makers, researchers and practitioners, especially those from the EQUAL community, to "gain a broad picture of European developments within age management and learn about the conditions that apply for future European investment to combat discrimination against older people in the labour market." Over 480 conference participants participated in an exciting and very interactive mixture of seminars, exhibition opportunities, workshops and round-table dialogues. More information is available here: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/equal/news/200707-got_en.cfm . +17: Launch of a new European Age Management Network. A particular highlight from the conference - and one that offers clear prospects for the future - was the seminar on the idea of setting up a European Age Management Network (based on a new EQUAL publication entitled "A European Age Management Network: the way forward?"). Indeed, the seminar was so engaging that it resulted in a spontaneous workshop, several meetings of interested parties and an 'action plan' during the course of the conference! Why have a European Age Management Network? The seminar answered this question by firstly setting out current EU policies and initiatives in relation to age management and making clear that the network could help representatives at the EU, national and regional/local levels in addressing the 'age management challenge.' For example, the 2006 Joint Employment Report indicates that (overall) Member States are on the right path, but not making sufficient progress in meeting the 2010 target for the average employment rate of older workers (55 to 64 year olds), lifelong learning participation of the working age population and average exit age from the labour market. In addition, the European Commission has indicated a number of areas of concern, including: - An insufficient lifecycle approach to work; - The low participation of older workers in lifelong learning; - The low employment rates of older women; and - A general lack of emphasis on the "increasing adaptability of workers and labour markets" strategic priority of the European Employment Strategy. The network could therefore provide a forum to find solutions to these and other difficulties. More information is available here: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/equal/news/200707-got_en.cfm . +18: Older Masters: How Older People experience and develop competences through arts education. The 2nd Conference about "Older Masters" was held from 28 to 30 November 2007 in the Federal Academy for Cultural Education in Wolfenbttel. At this event several member of the SEN@ER SIG Culture and Ageing presented their work at this event. More information is available here: www.bundesakademie.de . +19: Unlock your Talent: The Colours of Age. The First International Contest "Art on Canvas" took place from October 8 and 9, 2007 in Porto, Portugal. The competition was open to professional artists, amateurs, enthusiasts and beginners over 50. The contest was part of the "Generation 50 + - International Gathering Week" to be held in Porto on October 5-10, 2007. More information is available here: Associao VIDA, Phone: +351 9341311400, vida@viver.org www.projectotio.net/week . +20: web4seniors - 5th LiLL-conference on October 4-5, 2007 in Ulm. This conference was carried out by the Centre for General Scientific Continuing Education (ZAWiW) at the University of Ulm. The dynamic developments in communication technologies present new possibilities and also new challenges for continuing education for all age groups. These are challenges for the learners, the teachers and the institutions. For the teacher it means addressing new contents and developing of new methods and didactic. For the learner it means the acquisition of new competences and new learning places and styles. For the continuing education institutions it presents the challenge of integrating new issues presented by the new technologies into their education programs and the management of change. The goal of the conference "web4seniors" was to present new technical developments with interactive applications - web 2.0"- and to inform about their benefits for strengthening communication, cooperation and participation of senior citizens. It has shown the uses of the new technical possibilities and also the challenges that they bring. Furthermore, it demonstrated how older people could be encouraged to communicate and to cooperate over the web, to play an active role in society and to form the web itself. More information is available here: www.web4seniors.eu . +21: European Medical Congress on Active and Healthy Longevity, and Senior Demographic Growth", Yuste, 25 - 27 October 2007. Specialist Doctors from Extremadura, Spain and Europe met in Badajoz in the "European Medical Congress on Active and Healthy Longevity, and Senior Demographic Growth", organised by the European Academy of Yuste Foundation. Over 40 national and international panelists of the highest scientific level participated in this congress in the SEN@ER partner region of Extremadura. Badajoz hosted the European Medical Congress on Active and Healthy Longevity, and Senior Demographic Growth, the first one in Europe to focus on ageing from a comprehensive and multidisciplinary perspective. The congress dealt with all aspects of longevity, from social to nutritional and medical perspectives. The Congress, chaired by Dr. Remigio Vela Navarrete, Urology Professor from Madrid "Universidad Autonoma", took place in the School of Medicine from 25 to 27 October 2007. It was organised by the European Academy of Yuste Foundation, with the support from the Regional Ministry of Health and Dependency of Extremadura, Extremadura University and the Medical Associations of Caceres and Badajoz. Over forty national and international panelists of the highest scientific level participated in the congress. It was an initiative which showed commitment with the elderly and with the increasing need of scientific training to treat aged populations. This European medical congress discussed issues related to information, prevention and education on a major social and health care problem, based on a non-discrimination approach as to gender. The congress was addressed to people responsible for preventive measures to preserve good health in old-age people, to general practitioners and to all those who participate in preventive and therapeutic strategies: hospital doctors, urologists, gynecologists, geriatrists, as well as staff and institutions who take care of the social needs and disabilities sometimes associated with old age. It was worth stressed the quantity and quality of invited panelists, who joined the members of the medical Faculty of Extremadura University and of the Medical Associations of Caceres and Badajoz. Ursula Lehr, an expert in the field, dealt with the sociology and the demographic aspects of longevity: "Ageing is one of the biggest problems Europe must face", she said. Doctors Fernandez Villoria and Palacio, founders of the first Menopause Unit in Spain, discussed gynaecological issues. And internationally known urologists, such as Doctors Schulman, Debruyne and Boccon Gibod, spoke about care measures of the ageing male, androgen deficiency, prostatism and prostate cancer. It was also worth mentioned the new contributions the congress made regarding metabolic and nutritional issues, the prevention of preventable diseases in old age and old womens and mens sexuality, an important topic usually ignored in this type of congresses. More information is available here: www.fundacionyuste.org . +22: Create.NRW. In North Rhine-Westphalia the EFRE-funds for sustainable urban and regional development are available now: The North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry for Economy calls for proposals for the "creative" sector. More information is available here: www.ziel2-nrw.de . +23: Report on Ageing and Diversity. The number of elderly people is also increasing among people of foreign origin in Belgium, among others as most first-generation guest workers - contrary to what they themselves thought - stayed in Belgium in their later years. The King Baudouin Foundation commissioned a survey on the present situation and challenges for the future. The (French language) publication or an extensive summary of the survey can be downloaded free of charge. http://www.kbs-frb.be/code/home.cfm?lang=EN . +24: Long-term population projections at regional level: Ageing will affect EU regions to differing degrees. Based on past trends, an analysis of components of population change and expert opinion, Eurostat has produced a set of internationally consistent population projections at national level (EUROPOP2004: EUROstatPOpulation Projections 2004-based). This exercise has been followed by a regional breakdown for those Member States that, according to the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) as of 2003, have a NUTS 2 level that is different from the national level. Owing to the unavailability of data, France and the United Kingdom were excluded from this regional exercise. Overall, the details of the population projections at NUTS 2 level cover 17 of the 27 Member States (eight countries having a NUTS 2 level which coincides with the national level), making a total of 197 regions. Eurostat population projections should not be considered as forecasts. They show possible demographic developments based upon assumptions about fertility, mortality and migration (a "what-if" scenario), relying mainly on observed trends. Regional results are available from 1 January 2005 to 1 January 2031 by sex, age, year and NUTS 2 level region for BE, BG, CZ, DE, IE, EL, ES, IT, HU, NL, AT, PL, PT, RO, SK, FI and SE. For the countries not concerned by the regional detail, and for further information on the EUROPOP2004 exercise, readers can refer to Statistics in Focus "Long-term population projections at national level" (Eurostat, 2006). Not all regions are likely to decline. Whilst it is likely that population at EU level will decline by 2030, it may well be that many regions will not experience any reduction in the population by that time. Looking at the baseline variant of the regional projections, 101 out of 197 regions will see a decrease in their population size by 2031. There might be noticeable differences among regions, although differences on such a scale usually reflect particular situations: for instance, Flevoland (NL), with its young population structure and relatively high fertility rate, is the leading region in terms of projected growth in the EU. More information is available here: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/conferences/demographicchallenge_jan07/doc/pdf/eurostat_ltpopu_en.pdf . +25: Japan: the Silver Market Phenomenon: Business Opportunities and Responsibilities in an Era of Demographic Change. One essential business implication of demographic change is the emergence and constant growth of the so-called "greying market" or "silver market", the market segment more or less broadly defined as those people aged 55 and older. Increasing in number and share of the total population while at the same time being relatively well-off, this market segment can be seen as very attractive and promising, although still very underdeveloped in terms of product and service offerings. This is both true for the B2C as well as the B2B sector as the workforce of organizations is also aging. Japan is both the most severely affected country by the demographic shift and the most advanced in terms of product development and innovation with very affluent, free-spending but also demanding customers. Japanese companies were among the first to react to the challenge of the demographic change and are constantly coming up with product as well as service innovations. Nevertheless, they have but touched the tip of the iceberg of the huge potential of this market. This research project aims at analyzing the challenges and opportunities in leveraging innovation and product development for elder consumers and employees and in developing marketing strategies and business models for the silver market. This project is conducted in joint collaboration with the Institute for Technology and Innovation Management, Hamburg University of Technology, Prof. Dr. Cornelius Herstatt [ http://www.tu-harburg.de/tim/en ]. More information: http://www.dijtokyo.org/?page=project_detail.php&p_id=68 . +26: Japan - Challenges for demographic change. Japan's population has the highest average age and the highest life expectancy of the world. The resultant "demographic time bomb" is the greatest challenge Japan faces today. Many problems arising from this situation have been identified, but only few solutions. What will be the consequences of the demographic development? Will depopulation occur to the extent of current projections? What kind of redistribution measures will be necessary as a result? How can social, economic and educational policies be co-ordinated to do justice to the changing age structure of the population? Will immigration policies come under pressure? How will the needs of an ageing population affect the relationship of state and society? How do markets adjust to satisfy these needs? How will the democratisation of longevity influence intergenerational and gender relations? What will be the impact of the growing proportion of the old and the very old on elections, political power relations and cultural production? How will declining fertility affect the social behaviour of coming generations? These are questions that are confronting several advanced industrial nations with increasing urgency. Japan is one of them. Where will it pursue its own solutions, where will it be forced to yield to structural constraints and reveal tendencies to conform or converge with other capitalist democracies? By means of individual projects and interdisciplinary co-operation the DIJ (German Institute for Japanese Studies) research focus, "Challenges of Demographic Change", seeks answers to these questions, trying thereby to contribute to the German-Japanese dialogue about problems of common concern. More information: http://www.dijtokyo.org/?page=activities.php . [Section Five ends]. ++ End Notes +27: Contact If you are interested in further information regard-ing the Silver Economy Network of European Re-gions please visit our website at http://www.silvereconomy-europe.org/ or contact us: Responsible as SEN@ER lead partner region at the regional government of North Rhine-Westphalia: Ministry of Health, Equalities, Care and Ageing of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia Dr. Claus Eppe Head of Unit Economic Issues of the Demographic Change Horionplatz 1, D-40213 Dsseldorf Phone: +49 (2 11) 8 618-3320 Fax: +49 (2 11) 8 618- 5 3320 mailto:claus.eppe@mgffi.nrw.de . European SEN@ER Secretariat: Ingo Meyer, Christiane Krupp, Werner B. Korte empirica Gesellschaft fr Kommunikations- und Technologieforschung mbH Oxfordstr. 2, D - 53111 Bonn Phone: +49 (2 28) 9 85 30-0 Fax: +49 (2 28) 9 85 30-12 mailto: SenWiNet@empirica.com http://www.empirica.com/ http://www.silvereconomy-europe.org/ . +28: Disclaimer. You receive this newsletter because you are subscribed to our mailing list. If you do not wish to receive further newsletters from us please send a message to mailto: SenWiNet@empirica.com. We apologize for any inconveniences caused by cross-postings or unsolicited mailings. +29: Copyright notice. Copyright 2007 Silver Economy Network of European Regions http://www.silvereconomy-europe.org/ mailto: SenWiNet@empirica.com . This newsletter or part of this newsletter may be reproduced as long as this copyright notice (including the website address) is included. Please also inform the editor when you are reproducing the content of the newsletter. [End Notes ends]. [Newsletter ends].