Silver Economy Network of European Regions (SEN@ER)
Newsletter overview
- NEW PROJECTS AND PROPOSALS
- REPORTS FROM THE REGIONS AND ONGOING SEN@ER PROJECTS
5050Vision - Regional Framework for Ageing in the North West Region (UK)
New Manual on Cultural Participation and Creativity in Later Life by age-culture.net
- POLICY AND LEGISLATION
European Commission Communication "Towards an accessible information society"
Authorities" - Joint Public Hearing with European Parliament, Committee of the Regions and AGE
- INITIATIVES
Establishment of the European Research Network "Active Ageing of Migrant elders across Europe"
Extra-occupational further education seminars on "Silver Economy" started in North Rhine-Westphalia
First announcement of the "AAL (Ambient Assisted Living) Forum" event
"Age Friendly Cities": new study to assess age friendliness of EU capitals
Workshop Invitation for the project InCreaSe - Intercultural Creativity of Seniors
- REPORTS AND STUDIES
Market barriers to ICT for independent living and active ageing - Preliminary Findings
First AALIANCE (Ambient Assisted Living Programme) Newsletter published
Dutch homes with ultra-high-speed broadband to top 100,000 by year's end
A hi-tech future for ageing Europe - Futuris report on Euronews
- EVENTS
Workshop on EU activities on e-Inclusion
Seminar" Volunteering of older people and the role of public policies"- 11 March 2009, Brussels
9 - 10 March 2009, Merida, Extremadura, Spain: European Congress on Personal Autonomy and Dependency
NEW PROJECTS AND PROPOSALS
As part of the EU initiative to promote better quality and more economically efficient solutions for the provision of health and social services, an innovative project with participants from five European countries has been launched, with Tunstall Healthcare Ltd from the SEN@ER partner region Yorkshire and the Humber leading the technical work. The CommonWell project aims to support independent living and improve the quality of life for older people and those with long-term conditions.
12 partners are cooperating in the project, supported financially by the European Commission and coordinated empirica GmbH from the SEN@ER region of North Rhine-Westphalia, to deliver ICT-enabled health and social care services in four Member States. The integrated services are to support the effective management of chronic disease, and to address issues which affect independence, such as reduced agility, vision or hearing, in order to significantly improve the quality of life for older people and their families. The project members are Milton Keynes Council, Stichting Smart Homes, Evangelisches Johanneswerk und Johanneswerk im Stadtteil (both from the SEN@ER region NRW), Empresa Pública de Emergencias Sanitarias, Fundación Andaluza de Servicios Sociales, Tunstall Healthcare, InterSystems, Work Research Centre and empirica Communication and Technology Research.
With the project proposed under the second call of the Interreg IV-C programme and under the leadership of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) a total of 8 regions have joined forces (Crete, Extremadura, Limousin, Mid-East Region, Niedersachsen, North West Region, Yorkshire & Humber, North Rhine-Westphalia) to concretely implement projects and policies in the regions and implement and organise an exchange of experiences with 49 good practice examples in four key policy fields:
- Active employment opportunities for older people 50+ / 60+,
- Skills development and life-long-learning for older people,
- Ageing well at home,
- Regional strategies to prepare for demographic change.
The overall budget foreseen amounts to almost 2.3 million Euro for a project duration of three years.
Progress is well underway to enable SEN@ER partner regions, together with other suitable partners from outside the network, to submit a greatly strengthened application in relation to Senior Enterprise for the next call of Interreg IV-B NWE which will close 17 April next.
The original application was well received as its objectives and approach addressed the economic and social imperatives of the demographic challenge posed by an aging population. The partners, however, have been asked to further strengthening the application by addressing specific issues before it is resubmitted.
It is intended that the initiative will be designed and developed in the second half of 2009, implemented through a variety of initiatives over the next three years, before being evaluated in the first half of 2013. At that time the intention is to have the initiative fully tested, ready for transfer to other regions and poised to attract further funding.
Contact: John Byrne
Tel.: 0035340466058
Email: mera@eircom.ne
REPORTS FROM THE REGIONS AND ONGOING SEN@ER PROJECTS
Acting on behalf of Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) as the lead organisation for the region, 5050vision (the North West Forum on Ageing) has commissioned the development of a Regional Framework for Ageing for the North West through an independent Manchester based consultancy, Organisational Development Services (ODS).
Developed with partners, NWDA, 4NW (NW Regional Leaders Forum), Government Office NW (GONW), NHS NW (Strategic Health Authority) and Department of Health, NW (Regional Public Health), the Regional Framework for Ageing provides the necessary response to the challenges and signposts the opportunities of an ageing population. Through broad and effective engagement with partners and stakeholders, the Framework defines the outcomes that the North West must achieve and provides recommendations and priorities to support the implementation and delivery.
The Framework has been developed around 4 policy areas or 'pillars', Economic, Housing, Transport, Health & Wellbeing and each pillar is supported by 4 building blocks - key areas identified to inform and support the pillars from which priorities, actions and outcomes have been developed. This work is underpinned by the driving principles of equality and diversity, sustainable communities, information, intelligence & advice and choice.
For further information about the Framework please contact Liz North, Project Manager, 5050vision by email to liz.north@nwda.co.uk or by telephone on 0781 649 4633
InCreaSe means "Intercultural Creativity of Seniors" and is a travelling training academy for cultural learning and participation of older people in Europe. The two-year Grundtvig learning-partnership that is funded by the EC is a result of the co-operation in the SIG Ageing and Culture and its associated European network "age-culture.net".
The workshop held in Brussels from February 10 to 12 focused on Intergenerational Creativity". It was hosted by the Belgium association Entr'âges, with the support of the Department of Culture of the Ministry of the French Community and the Service for Continuing Education and Creativity (Socio-Cultural Affairs). During three days more than 80 persons and twelve institutions from eight European countries have been working together. An intensive and very diverse programme provided a platform to share good experiences and practices from Belgium on how to promote intergenerational activities through art. The participants were invited to get a practical insight into the artistic work with intergenerational groups, e.g., by participating in a theatre workshop that demonstrated how to develop a play with young students and seniors from Brussels. The theatre performance "Pills, suitcase and hats" with eight seniors from two homes for elderly people in Brussels and 20 students from the Athenée d'Auderghem was a full success. Versatile projects that stimulate the intergenerational dialogue through cultural activities, such as poetry, rap, music, painting and theatre, were presented during the workshop sessions.
The next InCreaSe-Workshop on "Key-work in Museums" will take place on June 3 to 5, 2009 in Vienna, Austria.
More information:
TOPwww.age-culture.net and www.increase-project.eu
With the European manual "Cultural Participation and Creativity in Later Life" the age-culture.net partners want to demonstrate a panorama of the diversity and richness of cultural activity for, with and by older people in Europe. In eighteen articles the partners from tem European countries analyse the impact of culture activity on well-being and learning in later life. The articles highlight cultural programmes that involve through innovative approaches different ethnic or culturally excluded groups, stimulate intergenerational dialogue and encourage volunteering for culture. Versatile examples of artistic experiences on European level illustrate the Almuth Fricke / Sylvia Dow (eds.): Cultural Participation and Creativity in Later Life. A European Manual. Kopaed Verlag: Series Kulturelle Bildung, Vol.14, München 2009, 184 p., 16,80 Euro, ISBN 978-3-86736-314-3
More information:
TOPwww.age-culture.net and www.kopaed.de
POLICY AND LEGISLATION
This Communication makes suggestions for improving both web accessibility in particular and e-accessibility in general, notably to: Pursue and make full use of instruments at European level, in particular: standardisation efforts, financial support for research and deployment of technology solutions in favour of people with disabilities and for elderly persons, and possibilities under current and proposed legislation ;Reinforce cooperation with Member States and other stakeholders towards a common European approach for e-Accessibility, and in particular to accelerate web accessibility, including through a new EU high-level e-accessibility expert group to provide strategic guidance. This Communication is accompanied by two other Commission documents: a staff working paper on e-accessibility, and a report from an online public consultation on the same topic. The Communication also builds on two independent studies on the situation of e-accessibility in Europe, conducted for the Commission.
Representatives of regional and local authorities, MEPs, and older people's associations participated together in a Public Hearing organised by the Committee of Regions together with Ms Magda Kosane Kovacs, co-President of the European Parliament's Intergroup on Ageing, and with the support of AGE on better meeting the needs of older people. This public hearing took place on Tuesday 9 December 2008 in the Committee of Regions in Brussels. It highlighted the important role that local and regional authorities play in meeting the needs of their ageing population.
At the opening session of the Second European Demography Forum of the European Commission DG EMPL on 24 November 2008, Commissioner Spidla proposed several policy directions including the
- Facilitation of the reconciliation of work and family life, including for older workers, mainly women, faced with caring duties;
- Promotion of the integration of migrants including older/retired migrants;
- Ensuring that older workers have better access to training to update their skills;
- Looking at new forms of working arrangements that better accommodate the needs and expectations of our ageing workforce and those with caring duties;
- Supporting a better transition between paid work and active retirement;
- Promoting active ageing and volunteering among older people;
- Promoting the development of urban and rural communities for all ages, intergenerational housing, more inclusive social and health services, policies that improve quality of life and save energy, etc.
At this event Commissioner Spidla also proposed to hold a European Year on Active Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity in 2012.
The policy directions presented are in line with the activities of the SEN@ER network, especially those outlined under 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7.
INITIATIVES
On 05 and 06 February 2009 the constituent workshop of the European Research Network "Active Ageing of Migrant Elders across Europe" took place at the Ministry of Health, Equalities, Care and Ageing of the State of North Rhine Westphalia (MGFFI NRW) in Düsseldorf, Germany.
The focus of the interdisciplinary, practice and application oriented work of this network will be on the competences and potentials of migrant elders across Europe and the identification and development of strategies how these competences and potentials can be supported and put to use. The heterogeneity of migrant elders within Europe and gender specific issues will be explicitly considered.
The set-up of the network is part of the "Active Ageing of Migrant Elders across Europe" (AAMEE) project initiated by the MGFFI NRW and co-funded by the European Commission's DG EMPL. The activities of the European Research Network are planned until the year 2012. Therefore the network will be a sustainable result of the AAMEE project which will terminate at the end of November 2009.
Up to now the MGFFI NRW has received 24 expressions of interest for cooperation within the European Research Network "Active Ageing of Migrant Elders across Europe" from Great Britain, Bulgaria, Romania, Spain, Hungary, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Switzerland and Germany. A further geographical expansion of the network to other EU member states and central emigration countries such as e.g. Turkey are possible and welcome.
16 of the 24 members of the network attended the constituent workshop in Düsseldorf. They agreed upon a common concept, the network's aims and goals as well as a program of research activities and guidelines for their cooperation. Another important topic discussed were funding possibilities for the future work of the European Research Network "Active Ageing of Migrant Elders across Europe".
More information is available via:
Dr. Claus Eppe, Horionplatz 1, D - 40213 Düsseldorf (project leader)
info@aamee.eu
www.aamee.eu
contact person concerning the Exchange Programme of Voluntary Organisations:
Ms Claudia Förster, Tel.: + 49 (0) 211 8618 4574
contact person concerning the European Research Network:
Ms Martine Krause, Tel.: + 49 (0) 211 8618 4494
The "Active Ageing of Migrant Elders across Europe" (AAMEE) project, run by the SEN@ER partner region North Rhine-Westphalia and financially supported by the European Commission DG EMPL, has been launched in response to the impact of the demographic change as one of the greatest challenges facing the European Union and its member states. Migrant elders have achieved a great life performance and have contributed significantly to the development of the host societies. Recognising that migrant elders have a great potential and competence, the AAMEE project aims at active ageing and improving the quality of life of migrant elders through better economic, social and cultural inclusion.
It is against this background that AAMEE has set up a Good-Practice Exchange Programme. The objective of the AAMEE Good-Practice Exchange Programme is to initiate and to promote the work of voluntary organisations from and for migrant elders in the fields of, for instance, culture and leisure, life long learning, care and housing.
More information can be obtained from the AAMEE project website: www.aamee.eu
The IAT - Institut für Arbeit und Technik in Gelsenkirchen, together with the Ruhr University Bochum and Technical University Dortmund in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Mercator Foundation have started to offer the above further training.
The seminar is addressed to employees and managers in the area of economic and regional development, chambers of commerce, industry, trade and craft associations, municipalities and further actors. The seminar runs for four days in May and June including a one-day site visit
In case of interest please visit:
Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) aims at extending the time older people can live in their preferred home environment by increasing their autonomy, assisting them in carrying out activities of daily living. The aim is to contribute to enhance the quality of their lives by the use of ICT products and the provision of remote services including care services that will assist them to achieve the autonomy, independence and dignity appropriate to their needs and determinations. AAL has to compensate for (age-related) deficiencies.
The AAL Joint Programme (AAL JP) is a new joint research and development (R&D) funding activity implemented by actual 20 European Member States and 3 Associated States with the financial support of the European Community based on article 169 of the EC treaty. Its most important activity is the regular publication of Calls for Proposals for R&D projects. AAL Partner States commit own funding on the basis of their respective national funding programmes. Thus, partners in AAL projects are administered under the specific national funding rules and by the respective national funding agency.
The "AAL forum" will serve as a platform and meeting place for the AAL Joint Programme. Beyond this, the forum will present, discuss and communicate the AAL field in a holistic view including national, regional, European and international aspects.
More information: www.aal-europe.eu/news-and-events/aal-forum-2009
The Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) - FORUM '09 Vienna will take place from 29 September - 1 October 2009, at the Hofburg Vienna.
TOPMore information: www.bmvit.gv.at/en/innovation/aalforum
One of the themes of this initiative is "meeting the demographic challenge". The emphasis is placed on restructuring social services and care services for older people, and the intergenerational balance.
AGE announced that it will include information about funding opportunities in its brochure that will be published jointly with the CoR on "Ageing Well in Europe". If you have good examples of initiatives in support of demographic challenge that are funded by EU funds, please send them to Karen Vandeweghe, Information and Parliament Officer at AGE, at
TOPKaren.vandeweghe@age-platform.org
ERIK ACTION is an INTERREG IVC Capitalisation project and also a Fast Track project supported by the European Commission under the Regions for Economic Change initiative running from 1st July 2008 until 30 June 2010. ERIK ACTION aims to improve the effectiveness of regional development policies on innovation and the knowledge economy and, specifically, in upgrading the innovation capacity of existing enterprises. It will result in the development of actions plans for the transfer of good practices between the 11 partners regions. These transfer actions will support and be financed by the Regional Operational Programmes.
By mid September 2008, all partners had chosen the good practices to transfer into their region and had developed an initial plan for involving their key regional stakeholders.
At the Department of Gerontology of the Brussels University, a research project on Age-Friendly-Cities will be carried out in collaboration with the European Parliament and with the support of AGE. The objective of the project is to assess the age-friendliness of the EU-capitals from the perspective of its older citizens. In this respect, local older persons' organisations are invited to collaborate in the study.
For more information on the related activities of Brussels University, please contact Sophie Rosseels by e-mail Sophie.Rosseels@vub.ac.be or by phone (+32 476 895 843).
The SEN@ER partner North Rhine-Westphalia is already active in this WHO initiative for several years with the region "Metropole Ruhr", an urban area with around 5 million citizens. In June 2007 the partners organised an international conference. The main objective of the international conference was to establish and build a dialogue board for the regional partners of the WHO-project "Age Friendly Cities" (AFC). The conference offered the participants a chance to exchange their experiences and best practice and to get into dialogue with partners from other regions of the WHO-Initiative.
InCrease, a project involving partner from the SEN@ERSpecial Interest Group on "Culture and Ageing" and financed by Grundtvig, is a travelling training academy for cultural learning and participation of older people in Europe. The project organised a second workshop about the theme "intergenerational cooperation in theatre and arts", which took place from 11-12 February 2009 in Brussels.
More info about the programme: Website
TOPContact Isabelle Parentani: i.parentani@gmail.com
REPORTS AND STUDIES
An ICT & Ageing study, launched by the European Commission in the beginning of 2008, has issued its preliminary findings. The main goal of the study is to identify and understand the market barriers which currently hinder uptake of ICT for independent living and active ageing in Europe. For the first time, the study looks into the situation prevailing in 14 representative EU Member States as well as the USA and Japan with regard to the deployment situation of relevant ICTs and policy/market response respectively. It will identify and analyse good practice and show how Europe can learn from the experience in individual countries. This research endeavour will continue until the end of 2009.
The Coordination Action AALIANCE -funded by the European Commission, DG Information Society and Media, within the 7th Framework Programme - focuses on Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) solutions based on advanced ICT technologies for the areas of aging at work, aging at home and aging in the society. The AALIANCE newsletter is part of the projects dissemination activities.
TOPFor more information follow this link: Website
The Netherlands has moved to the second stage in its efforts to extend ultra high-speed broadband to all residents in Amsterdam, with an additional 57,000 being wired by the end of 2009. That would mean 100,000 homes are equipped with next-generation broadband service by year's end, according to city officials. The city of Amsterdam first approved the point-to-point fibre-to-the-home network in January 2006. Local politicians have since touted the importance of going ultra-fast with broadband. Standard broadband is 1 megabit per second (Mbps) to 10 Mbps per second; ultra-fast tops 100 Mbps. "Fast networks are important for the future of the city of Amsterdam," city Alderman Maarten Van Poelgeest said. "We want our citizens to be offered the best in telecare, e-Health, distance learning and teleworking."
Europe's population is ageing rapidly: ICTs can be an excellent tool to keep the elderly active and integrate them into the community. The EU-funded projects Netcarity and Eldergames are seeking to tackle this challenge.
TOPMore information on Euronews: Website
EVENTS
- EVENT REPORTS
- Workshop on EU activities on e-Inclusion
Further to Vienna e-Inclusion Conference 2008, the Commission Unit on "ICT for Inclusion" organized an information and debate session on January 27th, following the Info-Day on ICT PSP call 3. Focusing on European activities on "e-Accessibility" and "ICT & Ageing" in 2009 and beyond, the workshop provided an opportunity to discuss in details the expected goals, outcomes and characteristics of the call for proposals.
TOPFor information on the Commission's e-Inclusion policy, tools and actions: Website
- EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
- Seminar" Volunteering of older people and the role of public policies"- 11 March 2009, Brussels
The European Commission DG EMPL Jérôme Vignon, Director social protection and integration in the European Commisson) is inviting experts to attend a seminar on 11 March 2009 on "Volunteering of older people and the role of public policies".
TOPDetails on the seminar and a reply form can be obtained from the SEN@ER Secretariat: info@empirica.com.
- EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
- 9 - 10 March 2009, Merida, Extremadura, Spain: European Congress on Personal Autonomy and Dependency
The European Academy of Yuste Foundation and the Spanish Red Cross in Extremadura are organising the European Congress on Personal Autonomy and Dependency. The city of Mérida, in the region of Extremadura (Spain), will host this Congress on between March 9th and 10th, in which the participants will have the opportunity of examining the most important challenges of social policies on promotion of personal autonomy and the care of dependencies from a European point of view. The Congress will allow the exchange of information, opinions and material in order to create new approaches and synergies which contribute to a better promotion of personal autonomy, the care of people at a dependent situation, equality and the fight against discrimination based on disability and age in Europe.
TOPCongress web page: www.congresoautonomia.org
- EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
- Caring for the Arts: an international symposium on the role of art and culture in elder care and social work on April 27, 2009 in Cologne, Germany
Demographic change presents a major challenge for those involved in social work and care for the elderly. While an increasing number of people today are reaching their older years in good health and are able to participate actively in society, the share of citizens who are extremely elderly or suffering from senile dementia is likewise on the rise. Against this backdrop, it's important for us to keep in mind that quality of life in later years is not only dependent on medical and nursing care. In the future, artistic activities and cultural participation will also play a vital role in social work with the elderly, ensuring their well-being and enabling them to age in dignity.
The symposium, organised by kubia - The European Centre for Arts Education and Culture in Later Life and supported by the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry for Culture, presents new approaches to artistic and cultural education for older citizens, providing information on the latest international developments in this field.
Simultaneous interpretation will be available.
For more information and inscription: www.ibk-kubia.de
* 5 - 9 July, 2009, Paris, France: World Congress on Gerontology and Geriatrics Paris 2009
* 1 - 3 July, 2009, Paris, France: 7th International Conference on Smart homes and health Telematics (ICOST2009)
* 2 - 3 April 2009 Maastricht 'Ageing Summit'
* 27-28 January 2009, Berlin, Germany: Second German AAL-Congress, 2009
How to join the SEN@ER Network
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The SEN@ER network is open to further European regions interested in joining. New partner regions will be asked to sign the Bonn Declaration for the Silver Economy and the SEN@ER Agreement which can be downloaded here: http://silvereconomy-europe.org/network/about_en.htm. Any further information can be obtained from the SEN@ER Secretariat. Interested regions are kindly asked to contact Werner B. Korte at the SEN@ER Secretariat for further information and details (werner.korte@empirica.com, Phone: +49 (2 28) 9 85 30-0).
Additional information
- Subscription Information
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This is the SEN@ER network newsletter which is published in regular intervals.
An archive of all Newsletters is available at http://silvereconomy-europe.org/news/index.htm.
If you are interested in further information regarding the Silver Economy Network of European Regions please visit our website at http://www.silvereconomy-europe.org/ or contact us.
As of today 11 European Regions are members of the SEN@ER - Silver Economy Network of European Regions. They all signed the “Bonn Declaration” and agreed on their future work programme for the coming months and years when signing the “SEN@ER Agreement”. Regions interested in joining the network are kindly asked to contact info@empirica.com of werner.korte@empirica.com.
Responsible as SEN@ER lead partner region at the regional government of North Rhine-Westphalia:
Ministry of Health, Equalities, Care and Ageing of North Rhine-Westphalia
Dr. Claus Eppe
Horionplatz 1, D-40213 Düsseldorf
Phone: +49 (2 11) 8 618-3320
Fax: +49 (2 11) 8 618- 5 3320
mailto:claus.eppe@mgffi.nrw.deEuropean SEN@ER Secretariat
http://www.silvereconomy-europe.org/
Ingo Meyer, Christiane Krupp, Werner B. Korte
empirica Gesellschaft für 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: info@empirica.com
http://www.empirica.com/
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