The European Union is facing an impending demographic crisis which could spur a whole host of negative economic and social consequences in the future unless preventative steps are taken soon.  Europe’s population is ageing and low birth rates and underemployment are undermining the sustainability of programmes on which the elderly depend.  The EU must adapt to these realities in innovative and strategic ways in order to prevent this potential calamity.

One of the ways it can act is through public, private partnerships as evidenced by programmes such as Active Ageing delivered by PLAS (Promoting Lifelong Learning as an Active Ageing Strategy).  PLAS which specializes in developing projects in order to meet the demands of business, governments and society brought together diverse partners across six different countries to address how an ageing population or marginalized groups can maintain their connection to society or remain valued members of the workforce. The initiative emphasizes the need for lifelong learning by contributing to the development of the community as an advanced knowledge society, with sustainable economic development, more and better jobs, and greater social cohesion.

Meetings among partners spanned over two years as ideas and experiences were shared. The partners involved in the project of Active Ageing included FM Consulting (Czech Republic), PiscesWM and University of Woverhampton (U.K.), Institute for Human Resources Development(Poland), Municipality of Villa Castelli (Italy), Municipality of Ujszilvas (Hungary) and Thüringer Institut fur Akad. Weiterbildung (Germany).  These partners experienced successful outcomes for the participants and for the participating companies, themselves

The case studies described in the Catalogue of best Practices by the partners demonstrate that these innovations are simple yet creative ways in which to better incorporate an ageing population and marginalized groups into the labour force and society with positive outcomes overall for the individuals involved, in addition to societies, governments and businesses.

Feel free to download the Catalogue of Best Practices in HIGH and MEDIUM quality.