Professor Sarah Harper has launched the forum for the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity Between Generations in Brussels on 14th February 2012.

Organiser: Forum of the Committee of the Regions
Venue: CoR, Jacques Delors Building, Belliardstraat 101, 1040 Brussels
 

Europeans today are living longer and healthier lives than ever before. Together with the low birth rates of the past decades, Europe’s population is ageing fast. Population ageing presents a number of challenges for our societies. The increasing share of older people and the decreasing share of working-age persons in the total population will have social, economic and budgetary consequences; labour supply and employment will decrease, challenging economic growth, while the request for services by the ageing population will increase. The effects of population ageing will be felt all across Europe, although not evenly affecting all regions across Europe.

Staying active as we grow older is key for tackling this challenge. This is why the European Union designated 2012 as the “European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations”. Active ageing is about creating a wide range of opportunities for older people to stay in control of their own lives. By giving them access to employment, by enabling them to make an active contribution to society through voluntary work, and by allowing them to live independently for as long as possible thanks to healthy ageing and an age-friendly environment with adapted housing, infrastructure and services.

Active ageing is also crucial to Europe’s ability to achieve its ambitious goals under the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The European Year 2012 is a huge opportunity to raise awareness, disseminate good practice and, most importantly, to launch some concrete actions at all levels.

Through their responsibilities for crucial policies and service delivery local and regional actors have a major role to play in promoting active ageing and improving the quality of life of older people.

Shortly after the official opening conference of the EY2012 (18 and 19 January in Copenhagen), the Committee of the Regions will invite local and regional stakeholders to discuss their contribution to the European Year 2012 during a one day Forum, on Tuesday 14 February 2012.

The Forum will focus on the multilevel governance approach of the policy domain and will highlight how local and regional actors improve the conditions for active ageing in the three major thematic strands of the EY, each of which closely related to the competences of the CoR: Employment, Participation in Society and Independent Living. The Forum will consist of plenary sessions, confronting European and regional policy makers, and of interactive workshops, presenting best practice from all over Europe.

By organising the Forum the CoR intends to make an important contribution to the European Year 2012. It should help to foster new initiatives at local and regional level and to build new partnerships for promoting active ageing and strengthening solidarity between generations.

Forum's programme:

Welcome speeches:

• Mercedes Bresso, President of the Committee of the Regions
• Koos Richelle, Director-General, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

Introduction:

• Sarah Harper, Director, Oxford Institute of Population Ageing

Debate: " Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations: what role for regions and cities":

• Kartika Liotard, Member of the European Parliament, Intergroup on Active Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity
• Per Bødker Andersen, Deputy Mayor of Kolding and Councilor of the Town Council, Denmark, Member of the Committee of the Regions
• Anne-Sophie Parent, Secretary-General AGE Platform Europe
• Giuseppe Porcaro, Secretary-General European Youth Forum
• Manfred Huber, Coordinator Healthy Ageing, Disability and Long-term Care, WHO Regional Office for Europe
• moderator: Ed Thorpe, Thorpe European Services

Workshop 1: Valorising the senior workers in regional employment strategies

• Moderator: Mia De Vits, Member of the Flemish Parliament, Belgium, member of the Committee of the Regions
• Dominique Pierret, Project Leader, Institut Universitaire International Luxembourg, Luxembourg, presenting a project about "Valorisation and involvement of senior workers in enterprises"
• Eva Gehltomholt, Project Manager "2. Lebenshälfte", Brandenburg State, Germany, presenting the project "Akademie 2. Lebenshälfte"
• Jackie Langley, OWEN Project Manager, East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, presenting the "Older Workers Employment Network"
• Comment: Robert Anderson, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

Workshop 2: Local integration and participation in society

• Moderator: Catarina Segersten Larsson, Member of the Assembly of Värmland County Council, Sweden, Member of the Committee of the Regions
• Angelika Gasteiner, Marketing Manager, Salzburg Public Transport Company, Austria, presenting the project "On the bus with granny: Age-friendly public transport"
• Martina Mail, Social Worker, and Dorothea Ewering, Senior Volunteer, City of Gelsenkirchen, Germany, presenting the project "Growing older in a diverse city"
• Daniela Milkova, Director EU Funds, Municipality of Dobrich, Bulgaria, presenting the project "Ageing in the information society"
• Comment: Jim Soulsby, Coordinator for the Association for Education and Ageing (AEA), United Kingdom

Workshop 3: Regional approaches for healthy and independent living

• Moderator: Irene Oldfather, Lead Consultant, Long Term Conditions Alliance Scotland, United Kingdom
• Elena Gentile, Minister for Welfare, Regional Government of Puglia, Italia, presenting the strategy on "New technologies and quality in care delivery"
• José Vargas Casas, Regional Manager and Head of R&D, Agency for Social Services and Dependency, Regional Government of Andalusia, Spain, presenting a project on "Tele-assistance"
• Rodd Bond, Director Netwell Centre, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Ireland, presenting the strategy of Netwell Centre and the Age Friendly County Initiative
• Comment: Hans Groth, Chair of the Board of the World Demographic and Ageing Forum, Sankt Gallen, Switzerland

Key note speech:

• Paola Testori Coggi, Director-General DG Health and Consumers Affairs

Closing remarks:

• Arnoldas Abramavičius, Mayor of Zarasai District Municipality, Lithuania, Chairman of the CoR Commission for Economic and Social Policy

More info:

> European Year for Active Ageing

> Forum of the Committee of the Regions, Brussels 14/02/2012

> Committee of the Regions