CoverAGE Special Briefing July-August 2011
With the approval of the European Parliament on 7 July and of the Council on 19 July, the European Year 2012 of Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations (EY2012) has successfully gone through the different stages of the EU legislation process and is now formerly adopted by the three EU decision-making institutions (the European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament).
This European Year is a major victory for AGE and the EY2012 stakeholders’ coalition, which have been running a very active campaign to ensure a holistic approach to active ageing and asked to extend this concept beyond the objective of longer working lives to include other aspects such as active citizenship, older volunteering, support to healthy and independent ageing, informal care and solidarity between generations.
Preparation for the upcoming Year is speeding up
The European Year 2012 will be officially launched on 18-19 January 2012 in Copenhagen under the Danish Presidency. On that occasion the result of a Eurobarometer will be presented, as well as two EU Communications: one on the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) and one by Commissioner Andor on demographic change.
In addition to that, the Commission has launched a call for tender to select a communication agency which will be in charge of the EY2012 communication. In the coming weeks, the EY2012 website will be made operational by P.A.U. Education. It can already be consulted to access general information on the objectives of the Year, upload the EY2012 logo, find information about the national coordinators and the stakeholders coalition listed under “Partners”. Initiatives can also be submitted via the ‘get involved’ section of the website. They will be analysed by the Commission and posted on the website by P.A.U. Education.
When the new winning tender for the EY 2012 communication contract is awarded in October, information and communication activities will start and communication material will be developed and will be downloadable from the EY2012 website.
Others have also started to prepare the way to 2012. The Polish Presidency of the EU has included active ageing in their key priorities. They are planning to include a workshop on active ageing and intergenerational solidarity in the EU ‘Convention on Poverty and Social Inclusion’ which will place on 16-17 October 2011 in Cracow and have invited stakeholders to submit proposals. AGE, together with a group of partners submitted a joint proposal on 15 July.
The Committee of the Regions has joined forces with AGE and the European Commission to publish a brochure on ‘How to promote active ageing in Europe - EU support to local and regional actors’. The brochure, which is an update of a previous joint brochure published in 2009, presents examples of EU funded projects which support the EY 2012 objectives and provides an overview of possible EU funding opportunities available to local, regional and national stakeholders. Printed copies as well as the French and German versions will be available in September. The document will be officially launched at the Open Days of the Committee of the Regions on 10-13 October and at the European Parliament during a meeting organized by AGE and the Intergroup of Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity on 7 November. This joint event will bring together a wide range of stakeholders, including the Coalition for the EY2012 and representatives of the EU institutions and Member States, to discuss examples of partnerships and initiatives that could be launched during the European Year.
At this conference, the EY2012 stakeholders’ coalition led by AGE will present their joint roadmap and manifesto. The roadmap based on AGE’s members’ input will present the commitments planned by AGE and coalition’s members to promote the Year whereas the manifesto is intended to be a broader political statement highlighting what the coalition would like to achieve during the EY2012 and what other actors should do to reach these objectives.
Call for the establishment of national EY2012 coalitions
The EY2012 stakeholders’ coalition keeps on growing and has now extended to 31 partners from different sectors such as health, housing, leisure, non discrimination, corporate responsibility, etc, and brings together civil society organisations, foundations, public authorities, businesses, etc. They are encouraging their respective members to get together at national and local level and to build up synergies and coalitions with stakeholders who actively commit to address the multi dimensional aspect of active ageing and promote an age-friendly European Union, socially sustainable for all ages.
Call for individual commitments
The EY2012 stakeholders’ coalition is also encouraging everyone to play an active role in supporting the Year’s objectives. If you are a local, regional and national public authority, service provider, a large company or an SME, a trade union, an NGO, a university, etc. and are interested to support active ageing at work, active participation of older people in society, to help older people live a decent and independent life for as long as possible and/or to promote solidarity between generations, you can submit information about your initiative on the EY2012 website. This will enable others to see what you are planning to do and inspire others to launch new initiatives and to create partnerships.
For more information on the EY2012, visit AGE website
Or contact Alice Sinigaglia, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
The coalition’s leaflet introducing the European Year 2012 and providing examples of commitments and useful links can be downloaded here: EN - FR
Last Updated on Friday, 30 March 2012 12:12
