- 09.11.2012 Best Agers - Final Conference - Registration is open!
- 09.11.2012 Best Agers - Recommendations on Labour Market and Demographic Change published
- 25.04.2012 Best Agers - Best Agers at Sennova 2012
- 08.12.2010 Best Agers - 2nd newsletter issue released
- 03.09.2010 Best Agers - Newsletter - 1st edition released
- Nov 2012 Documentary Film "Best Agers - meeting Demographic Change"
- Jul 2012 www.biiugi.eu - the virtual business incubator and matching platform
- Dec 2012
- Dec 2012
Lead Partner:
Wirtschaftsakademie Schleswig-Holstein GmbHHans-Detlev-Prien-Straße 10
24106 Kiel
DE
Annette Nißen
E-mail: annette.nissen@wak-sh.de
Phone: +49 431 30 16 158
Fax: +49 431 30 16 182
Project Manager:
Wirtschaftsakademie Schleswig-Holstein GmbHHans-Detlev-Prien-Straße 10
24106 Kiel
DE
Hartwig Wagemester
E-mail: hartwig.wagemester@wak-sh.de
Phone: +49 431 3016 138
Fax: + 49 431 3016 182
Information Manager:
REM ConsultMax-Brauer-Allee 218
22769 Hamburg
DE
Hauke Siemen
E-mail: siemen@rem-consult.eu
Phone: +49 40 657 903 78
Fax: +49 40 657 903 77
Summary description of the project:
With demographic change and the current economic crisis looming, the cities and regions of the Baltic Sea Region have to find creative ways of disclosing and utilizing unused opportunities. One of these hidden potentials are the people in the prime of their lives – the so called “Best Agers” (defined in the project as people aged 55 and older). As previous projects have shown, the BSR population will rapdily become older and the 55+ age groups will experience large growth rates until the year 2020. The result is a pool of older professionals who are healthier than ever, well educated and motivated and who can be mobilised to counteract the negative effects of demographic change – shrinking regional workforces and the so-called “brain drain”. This enormous potential is yet to be utilized.
19 Partners from 8 different countries have joined forces to form a cross-generational innovation environment, where "best agers" work together with different age groups in the fields of business and skills development to generate new ideas and share their expertise and experience. Building upon a transsectoral partner structure, capitalising on the results of earlier projects and existing advisor and experts networks, the partners analyse the present preconditions and structures regarding "best agers"’ involvement in regional labour markets as well as in innovation and entrepreneurship activities in the Baltic Sea Region. The project will show how older people can make their contribution in these fields by
- remaining in employment instead of retiring early,
- committing their time and energy to voluntary work for the benefit of SMEs, young entrepreneurs, students and pupils or
- improving their skills and realising their own business ideas.
The project surveys successful approaches and good-practice examples, develops them further and transfers them to the partner regions with low-key Best Ager involvement. In all four thematic work packages, partners will form small groups and jointly develop, implement and evaluate 14 innovative pilot initiatives. Reinforced by an ambitious communication strategy (which features a documentary film, a webbased matching service portal and a "Best Agers Projects Fair"), these pilot initiatives will help to raise awareness of the manifold capabilities and potentials of the members of the generation 55+ and to change the widespread perception that older people are a burden to society. Putting the "best agers"’ knowledge and experience to use will keep this group in the centre of society even after retirement and turn them into a valuable resource for the economy and society throughout the Baltic Sea Region.
Achievements of the project so far:
Whereas at first glance it might seem that older people – the so-called best agers – were the main beneficiaries of this project, this is only half the truth. By helping older professionals find a role for themselves at the end of their working career, the project allowed many other groups to benefit: students and start-up teams who were supported by seasoned business experts; fragile employees who received support from a qualified but non-professional mentor; NGOs in the social sphere who were consulted by best-aged citizen coaches; older inventors who learned from their peers. Whether in the labour market, in innovation activities or in social life: the project has shown that appreciation and positive attitudes play a large role in motivating older people to stay active longer. The documentary film “Best Agers – Meeting Demographic Change” tells four impressive stories of such best agers who contribute much to the economic and social life of their respective regions.
The first phase of the project was mainly dedicated to research in order to build an analytical framework for project. It tackled topics such as:
- Demographic outlook for the Baltic Sea Region (regional profiles and policy frameworks)
- Continued employability of "best agers"
- Costs and benefits of "best ager" employment
- Attitude monitoring among "best agers" and employers
- Senior entrepreneurship: motivating factors and obstacles.
The results of this research have been presented to the public at numerous conferences and workshops. Interest in the project’s findings has been strong, particularly with regard to older people’s situation on labour markets. For this reason a booklet with key messages for political decision makers and other stakeholders has been compiled and published.
The research results have also been incorporated into the development of toolboxes, curricula and fourteen pilot initiatives with the aim to raise economic activity of the "best agers".
In Latvia and Lithuania senior advisor networks were established that will continue to run after the project’s end. Older business experts teamed up with young innovation teams in business competitions in Latvia, Lithuania and Russia and passed on their know-how in three webinar series on business planning. Experienced mentors assisted family businesses in succession planning. All these pilots are described in a second booklet. Many of the mentors were qualified for their tasks in pilot trainings that were based on jointly developed curricula. The three toolboxes compiled by the project will help organisations to acquire motivated and skilled volunteers and older entrepreneurs to realise their own business ideas. Finally, the web platform www.biiugi.eu provides a meeting, matching and cooperation place for all these professionals, experts and idea owners, who can thus work in a cross-generational innovation environment to help shape the future of a competitive Baltic Sea Region.
Project Duration: | Sep 2009 - Dec 2012 |
Approximate total project budget in EUR: | 4.423.070,00 |
ERDF co-financing: | 3.440.270,00 |
ENPI co-financing: | 0,00 |
Norwegian national contribution: | 0,00 |
List of partners
Academy of Economics Schleswig-Holstein | ||||||||
24106 Kiel | GERMANY Hans-Detlev-Prien-Straße 10 Region: Schleswig-Holstein |
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Contact person: Holger Hellebrandt Phone: +49 431 3016 102 E-mail: holger.hellebrandt@wak-sh.de Web: www.wak-sh.de |
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County of Pinneberg | ||||||||
25337 Elmshorn | GERMANY Kurt-Wagener-Str. 11 Region: Schleswig-Holstein |
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Contact person: Tobias Kuckuck Phone: + 49 4101 212 327 E-mail: t.kuckuck@kreis-pinneberg.de Web: www.kreis-pinneberg.de |
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University of Rostock | ||||||||
18057 Rostock | GERMANY Ulmenstr. 69 Region: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern |
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Contact person: Prof. Dr. Thusnelda Tivig Phone: +49 381 498 4465 E-mail: tivig@rostockerzentrum.de Web: www.uni-rostock.de, www.rostockerzentrum.de and www.zdwa.de |
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Research Association Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | ||||||||
18059 Rostock | GERMANY Joachim-Jungius-Str. 9 Region: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern |
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Contact person: Frank Büttner Phone: +49 381 510 79 0 E-mail: f.buettner@fmvev.net Web: www.fmvev.net |
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The Paritätische Welfare Organisation in Schleswig-Holstein | ||||||||
24105 Kiel | GERMANY Beselerallee 57 Region: Schleswig-Holstein |
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Contact person: Holger Wittig-Koppe Phone: +49 431 5602 0 E-mail: wittig@paritaet-sh.org Web: www.paritaet-sh.org |
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Institute for European Initiatives | ||||||||
81-393 Gdynia | POLAND Swietojansk 66/11 Region: Pomorskie |
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Contact person: Aneta Grygiel-Dorszewska Phone: +48 58 664 12 10 E-mail: info@europrojects.eu Web: www.europeprojects.eu |
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Gdansk University of Technology | ||||||||
80-233 Gdansk | POLAND Narutowicza 11/ 12 Region: Pomorskie |
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Contact person: Dr. Marcin Forkiewicz Phone: +48 58 347 10 21 E-mail: mfork@zie.pg.gda.pl Web: www.pg.gda.pl |
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West Pomeranian Business School | ||||||||
71-210 Szczecin | POLAND Zolnierska 53 Region: Zachodniopomorskie |
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Contact person: Adam Cwik Phone: +48 91 814 94 83 E-mail: acwik@zpsb.szczecin.pl Web: www.business-edu.eu |
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Siauliai Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts | ||||||||
76285 Siauliai | LITHUANIA Vilnius Str. 88 Region: Lietuva |
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Contact person: Inga Medzidoviene Phone: +370 41 525504 E-mail: inga.medzidoviene@chambers.lt Web: www.rumai.lt |
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Siauliai Branch of the National Regional Development Agency | ||||||||
762875 Siauliai | LITHUANIA Vilnius Str. 88 Region: Lietuva |
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Contact person: Aida Adeikiene Phone: +370 41 55 20 61 E-mail: aida@nrda.lt Web: www.nrda.lt |
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KTU Regional Science Park | ||||||||
LT - 44156 Kaunas | LITHUANIA K. Petrausko Str. 26 Region: Lietuva |
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Contact person: Tomas Cernevicius Phone: +370 37 300 808 E-mail: ctomas@ktc.lt Web: www.ktc.lt |
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CONNECT Latvija | ||||||||
LV - 1048 Riga | LATVIA Azenes 16/20 Region: Latvija |
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Contact person: Elmar Baltins Phone: +371 67089178 E-mail: info@connectlatvia.lv Web: www.connectlatvia.lv |
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Stockholm School of Economics in Riga | ||||||||
LV - 1010 Riga | LATVIA Strelnieku iela 4a Region: Latvija |
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Contact person: Dr. Anders Paalzow Phone: +371 67015800 E-mail: andersp@sseriga.edu.lv Web: www.sseriga.edu.lv |
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County Council of Norrbotten | ||||||||
97189 Luleå | SWEDEN Robertsviksgatan 7 Region: Övre Norrland |
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Contact person: Ewa Hedkwist Petersen Phone: +46 920 28 46 43 E-mail: Ewa.hedkvist-petersen@nll.se Web: www.nll.se |
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University of Gothenburg | ||||||||
40530 Göteborg | SWEDEN Box 705 Region: Västsverige |
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Contact person: Roland Kadefors Phone: +46 317863224 E-mail: roland.kadefors@av.gu.se Web: www.av.gu.se |
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Green Network | ||||||||
7100 Vejle | DENMARK Havneparken 2 Region: Syddanmark |
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Contact person: Birgit Christiansen Phone: +45 70 25 40 70 E-mail: bic@greennetwork.dk Web: http://www.greennetwork.dk |
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University of East Anglia | ||||||||
NR4 7TJ Norwich | UNITED KINGDOM Earlham Road Region: East Anglia |
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Contact person: Louise Cutting Phone: +44 01603 591399 E-mail: louise.cutting@uea.ac.uk Web: http://www.uea.ac.uk/nbs |
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Estonian Association of SMEs EVEA | ||||||||
10118 Tallinn | ESTONIA Liivalaia 9 Region: Eesti |
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Contact person: Kersti Kraas Phone: +372 6410 920 E-mail: evea@evea.ee Web: http://www.evea.ee/ |
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University College Lillebaelt | ||||||||
7100 Vejle | DENMARK Soldalen 8 Region: Syddanmark |
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Contact person: Ulrich Storgaard Andersen Phone: +4563183018 E-mail: ulsa@ucl.dk Web: www.ucl.dk |
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