About SEN@ER
The SEN@ER - Silver Economy Network of European Regions is a joint initiative of European regions initiated by the region of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany).
This European initiative regards the ageing of our society not as a threat but rather as a challenge and an opportunity for regional economic growth and for improving Europe's competitiveness. To realise this, the Silver Economy Network of European Regions (SEN@ER) has been established as a European-wide network of regions to promote the development and marketing of innovative products and services aimed at this new market segment, thereby contributing to regional development and job creation.
The SEN@ER was founded and established on 18 February 2005 at the first European Silver Economy Conference in Bonn, Germany. During the conference, several European regions announced the foundation and establishment of the network and signed the
They also agreed on their future work programme by signing the
For a list of the current members and further information on each region please see our network regions page.
The work of the SEN@ER network is coordinated by a European Secretariat located in Bonn, Germany and run by empirica GmbH and receiving basic financing from the Ministry for Intergenerational Affairs, Family, Women and Integration of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The overriding goal of the SEN@ER network is to improve the quality of life for older citizens, stimulate economic activity for growth and job creation, and support cohesion and inclusion across European Union regions.
At a more concrete level, the SEN@ER objectives are:
- Awareness raising: Develop policy memoranda and communications, present these to, discuss them with and get them approved by policy makers at regional, national and EU-level in order to define and support European-wide Silver Economy policy development.
- Exchange of experience: Organise thematic Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and experience exchange workshops on specific Silver Economy issues, like Ageing Well, Culture and Financial Services.
- Conferences: Organise annual European conferences and good-practice competitions with the first one organised in 2005 in Bonn/Germany, the second in 2006 Kerkrade/Netherlands and the third in 2007 in Seville/Spain. The fourth European Silver Economy conference took place in Limoges/France in 2010.
- Communication: Maintain the European Silver Economy website, publish regular Silver Economy newsletters, prepare papers & presentations on Silver Economy issues.
- EU lobbying: Regular meetings and talks with representatives from the European Commission and the European Parliament, invitation to and participation in EC consultation processes and expert workshops.
- Empowerment of regions: Presentation and explanation of relevant EU funding programmes in the form of factsheets and workshops, development of project ideas and proposal outlines.
- Cooperations: Setting up international project consortia.
- Successful proposals: Supporting the partner regions in writing proposals for EU funding programmes.
