European Week of Regions and Cities devotes special attention to youth and the active aging of the elderly

•From today Monday to Thursday 12 in Brussels

•The Basque Country shares experiences with Scotland and the Czech Republic

VG 2017 10 09

Today, the European Week of Regions and Cities begins with Brussels with direct references to youth and the elderly, a priority objective in the social policies developed by the European Commission. Tomorrow Tuesday: the debate dedicated to the "Challenge of active aging", coordinated by Donna Henderson.

The meeting to be held tomorrow in Brussels on active aging will analyze the work of several Euroregions participating in the European Innovation Partnership for Active and Healthy Aging (EIP on AHA) which brings together a wide range of regions, industries, research and end-user organizations committed to innovation for the needs of European citizenship.

EU cities and regions implement comprehensive innovation-based approaches to active and healthy aging and share information and best practices to overcome bottlenecks in innovation and resource sharing. Thanks to the close collaboration of four euro reference regions - Basque Country, Norrbotten (Sweden), Olomouc (Czech Republic) and Scotland- an online collaboration tool has been developed to evaluate their progress in providing innovative integrated care solutions.

The debate will offer a variety of visions of regional and professional policies and will share regional experience in the development and implementation of innovative approaches. Donna Henderson, director of the meeting, has already held several working days with Basque technical representation in Scotland and Basque Country.

The Basque Country signed a memorandum of understanding between these Euroregions in relation to the elderly and in the socio-health field and in the appointment of tomorrow will be commented on the Reference Sites. Euskadi got the "fourth star" for his work in this field. In this project, the departments of Employment and Social Policies and Health of the Basque Government share initiatives together with the Territorial Council of Bizkaia.

The European Week of Regions and Cities turns 15 and in the edition that begins today it addresses the challenges that the regional and urban policy of the EU must attend in the next years. The debate on the future of Europe began with the anniversary of the Rome Treaties (in March) and will continue to develop throughout 2017. The Week provides an opportunity for EU regions and cities to contribute to this debate and feed to the main political examples and contributions from the regional and urban angle to shape the future of Europe.

In addition, the European Week will discuss the EU cohesion report and the multiannual financial framework 2020-2026 and present the views of regions and cities on the budget and subsequent legislative proposals on political cohesion and rural development.

The regions and cities of Europe face great challenges. Under the main title of "Regions and cities working for a better future", the week will focus on three sub-themes: Building Resilient Regions and Cities - #LocalResilience; Regions and cities as agents of change - #TakeAction; and Knowledge Sharing for Results - #SharingKnowledge

Youth4Regions
The European Commission's Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy encourages journalism students from all Member States to communicate on real-life projects co-financed by the European Funds for Regional Development and Cohesion.

This year, and for the first time, the European Commission holds a competition among media students from across Europe. The winners will be offered the opportunity to attend Brussels as part of the media program of the European Week of Regions and Cities.