All European countries are facing challenges from demographic change. Due to the drop in fertility rates and the generalized increase of life expectancy, Europeans are gradually becoming older, fewer and more heterogeneous, bringing about complex consequences for local and regional authorities.

The impact of demographic ageing appears particularly severe in the field of labour market and social inclusion policies. In spite of the commitment made by the Lisbon strategy, employment and activity rates of elderly workers are still low in many European countries. Moreover, the risk of social exclusion for people losing their job in advanced age is high, due to difficult employability and skills obsolescence. On the other hand, population ageing poses obvious challenges for the provision of social services, and in particular of elderly care facilities. In this context, the quality of health and care institutions needs to be improved, along with their capacity.

Local authorities are particularly affected by these developments: they bear responsibility for providing public services (including, in many cases, employment and social services) and are the locus of civil society engagement. Each of the partners faces similar problems and challenges. All have ageing populations. The city of Rome has developed a strategy for the retention of older workers in the labour market. Prague and Thessaloniki are facing issues in relation to employment, care and social services. Edinburgh, the second largest city in Scotland, copes with ageing and depravation areas in need of regeneration as major issues and large migrant population, while Maribor faces an early leave from labour market due to health problems concerning old people. All the partners have a need to develop a more integrated approach and one that seeks to promote active ageing, along with inclusive and mixed inter-generational communities.

On the basis of the baseline analysis, the Active A.G.E. working groups has singled out three policy areas as the most compelling in the specific local realities, namely:

• Age and the economy, addressing constraints and opportunities more directly related to the labour market. It will focus on the factors affecting both the supply and the demand side of the labour market, with specific reference to the older workers’ participation: the older workers’ job retention and quality; employability, adaptability and re-entry; enterprise development.

• Age and care services, covering new demands for long-term care and home-based care services, as well as innovative ways of financing independent living.

• Age and insecurity, embracing an integrated approach to demographic ageing and social inclusion concerns such as older people in conditions of poverty, housing, the social life of the elderly and active citizenship.

Developing and implementing exchange and learning activities on sustainable urban policies, with the focus on these topics, is considered by the Active A.G.E. working group an important step towards the achievement of active ageing.

Among the experiences and the expectations which have been signalled by partners as important are more methodological issues that concern the design and implementation of tools and methodologies to better assess the impact of demographic ageing in urban landscapes, the set up of detailed databases of the main features of target groups in order improve the municipalities’ capacity to analyze and assess elderly people’s needs, define tailored policies and mobilize stakeholders.

What motivates you to be part of the URBACT adventure ?
The experiences gained so far from our City are highly inspiring. The City of Rome recognizes that the central theme of the project is linked with the economic, financial and social policies.

Who would you like to benefit from the work achieved in your project?
The joint action of cities towards policies aiming to address the common problem of the the aging will allow the promotion of partnerships in each partner city, at local and regional level and between different social sector, in order to create synergies and tables for discussion and joint working between all stakeholders.