Active Ageing –The EU’s Response To The Demographic Challenge

Europe’s demographic problem (an ageing population) is well-known and has been the object of a number of research projects in the EU. As an example of the scale of the problem, the percentage of persons 55 or older in the overall population of the EU was 30% in 2010, and is expected to rise to 37% in 2030. Raising the retirement age - the response implemented in a number of EU Member States in recent years - cannot be considered as a comprehensive solution to the problem. Older persons encounter more difficulties finding employment, even though they possess knowledge and experience which could be valuable in the conduct of economic activities. Recent years have witnessed a growth in the trend toward “active ageing”, which is considered to be ‘a process of optimization of the chances for good health, active participation, and security, in order to improve the quality of life over the passage of time’, a concept closely correlated with the idea of entrepreneurship among the elderly.It can be noted that there is no comprehensive policy supporting entrepreneurship of elderly people in the age of the Ageing Society in Europe. The aim of the paper is to present the foreseen benefits of the development of enterpreneurship of elderly people supporting policy in the EU and in PolandJednak należy zauważyć, że nie ma całościowej polityki wspierającej przedsiębiorczość osób starszych w epoce Starzejącego się Społeczeństwa w Europie. Celem artykułu jest wskazanie przewidywanych korzyści z rozwoju koncepcji przedsiębiorczości ludzi starszych w UE i w Polsce

Innovation, skills development and labour: a European perspective

LSE Enterprise was approached by Microsoft, a software developer engaged in lobbying the European Commission and Parliament, to appoint an expert team of academic consultants to research and write a series of four reports on various aspects of innovation. Working with our nominated academic director, LSE Enterprise put together a strong research team, who continue to work closely with the client to deliver each of the reports to a standard suitable for consumption by top EU policy-makers, the client's industry sector, the press and the public. The reports are designed and printed professionally to ensure maximum quality and consistency across the series

Aging in the Social Space

A publication called Aging in the Social Space is a compilation of studies, which deal with theoretical understanding and empirical solutions, learning about problem spheres, specifying content parallels of social, legal, economic, moral and ethical views on senior issues in society, which are closely related to each other and are interconnected. This publication focus on the case study of Poland. It is supposed to provide a multidimensional view of old age issues and issues related to aging and care for old people in society. We believe that it is natural also to name individual spheres, in which society has some eff ect, either direct or indirect, within issues concerning seniors. Learning about these spheres is the primary prerequisite for successful use of social help to seniors in society

Report on SHAFE policies, strategies and funding

The objective of Working Group (WG) 4 of the COST Action NET4Age-Friendly is to examine existing policies, advocacy, and funding opportunities and to build up relations with policy makers and funding organisations. Also, to synthesize and improve existing knowledge and models to develop from effective business and evaluation models, as well as to guarantee quality and education, proper dissemination and ensure the future of the Action. The Working Group further aims to enable capacity building to improve interdisciplinary participation, to promote knowledge exchange and to foster a cross-European interdisciplinary research capacity, to improve cooperation and co-creation with cross-sectors stakeholders and to introduce and educate students SHAFE implementation and sustainability (CB01, CB03, CB04, CB05). To enable the achievement of the objectives of Working Group 4, the Leader of the Working Group, the Chair and Vice-Chair, in close cooperation with the Science Communication Coordinator, developed a template (see annex 1) to map the current state of SHAFE policies, funding opportunities and networking in the COST member countries of the Action. On invitation, the Working Group lead received contributions from 37 countries, in a total of 85 Action members. The contributions provide an overview of the diversity of SHAFE policies and opportunities in Europe and beyond. These were not edited or revised and are a result of the main areas of expertise and knowledge of the contributors; thus, gaps in areas or content are possible and these shall be further explored in the following works and reports of this WG. But this preliminary mapping is of huge importance to proceed with the WG activities. In the following chapters, an introduction on the need of SHAFE policies is presented, followed by a summary of the main approaches to be pursued for the next period of work. The deliverable finishes with the opportunities of capacity building, networking and funding that will be relevant to undertake within the frame of Working Group 4 and the total COST Action. The total of country contributions is presented in the annex of this deliverable