The European Week of Active and Healthy Ageing (eng. The European Week of Active & Healthy Ageing) is an annual event organised as part of the AAL Programme (Active Assisted Living Programme) co-financed by the European Commission.
Past meetings have been held in, among others, Vienna (the first in 2009), Bilbao, Aarhus, Bucharest, Ghent and Eindhoven. The conference, which will mark 10 years of the AAL Programme's operation, for the first time will be held in Poland. Its host on 18–20 October is Gdańsk.
– AAL is a programme whose aim is to fund solutions designed to create a better quality of life for older people, strengthen the development of innovative technological solutions, and support research into ageing. Over the years we have funded more than 300 service and product projects for older people – says Nicola Filizola, chair of the programme committee.
Four thematic areas
The European Week of Active and Healthy Ageing aims to become a European networking and exchange platform providing support for innovation and interdisciplinary cooperation for active and healthy ageing. It brings together cooperating partners from across Europe (from industry and academia to care providers and older people themselves) who are interested in promoting and supporting healthy ageing in order to introduce innovative new service models, such as healthcare and care, lifelong learning and employment.
In Gdańsk, interactive workshops, discussions, plenary sessions, exhibitions and matchmaking activities will take place across four thematic areas:
- The impact of the AAL Programme's activity on changes in the senior services sector
- The European agenda for good ageing
- How to prepare for an ageing society
- Strengthening the outcomes of projects funded by the AAL Programme
Watch the opening ceremony:
On Tuesday, 18 October, the opening of the European Week of Active and Healthy Ageing. Appearing at the European Solidarity Centre will be: former President of the Republic of Poland, Solidarity legend and Nobel Peace Prize laureate – Lech Wałęsa, Mayor of Gdańsk Aleksandra Dulkiewicz and reporters Magdalena Grzebałkowska and Ewa Winnicka.
The conference partners are the National Centre for Research and Development and the Gdańsk Foundation.
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