EC: User centred living and living labs relevant for Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP AHA)

The first Conference of Partners of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing was headlined by European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes, Commissioner Máire Geoghegan Quinn, Kathleen Lynch, the Irish Minister of State from the Department of Health and Department of Justice, and the Spanish Secretary General of Health and Consumers, Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, María Pilar Farjas Abadia.

High level representatives and Ministers from European regions and innovative projects discussed how to implement and scale up innovations for active ageing and what contribution they can make to regions. They were joined by leading figures in the field of active and healthy ageing from across Europe, from universities and research groups, public authorities, health providers, industry and non-governmental organisations.

Six Action Groups presented Action Plans which tackle a specific challenge in this field from falls, which account for almost one third of fatal injuries amongst older people to tele-monitoring which enable chronically ill patients to live longer at home. Candidate Reference Sites from different regions ran a session highlighting the important role of regions in the Partnership by presenting some concrete examples of their work.

The European Commission provided information on horizontal issues – such as regulatory framework conditions and funding opportunities – and explain the next steps for the Partnership. An exhibition, open to all throughout the conference, displayed real life examples of innovation in this field.

Read the Commission’s full memo published at this occasion.

You can access the speakers’ presentations and view the whole day of the conference via web streaming.