The New Skills for New Jobs Initiative published by the European Commission in December 2008 offered an important glimpse into the future of labour market trends in the next ten to twenty years. The Initiative, which followed intense research by the Greece-based CEDEFOP, confirmed local and regional authorities' suspicions about the future needs of the European labour force. Europe's future lies in taking the lead in new and emerging markets and providing the necessary skills base that is able to make the most of new technologies, new process methods, and the most forward-thinking research. Once again, what is clear is that Europe's socio-economic groups most at risk of economic and social exclusion will face even stronger pressures over the next decades. Existing jobs at the lowest skills-base level will continue to decline, whilst jobs at the mid-range and higher-range are expected to be the fastest growing sources of new employment. It is at these skills band that Europe's regions stand the most to gain and have the best effort to reduce the unacceptable numbers of individuals at-risk of poverty.

Our regions and local authorities are committed to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty that is so detrimental to our economies. To do so, we need to ensure that today's young people are given the necessary opportunities to ensure that their horizons are broadened. They need to be given the necessary opportunities to develop and gain the skills that will enable them to access the 21st century sustainable jobs rather than locking them in sectors already identified today as most likely to decline. Yet already indications are there that we are struggling to achieve these objectives, Europe's youth unemployment figures are higher than most age-groups, and many of our most at-risk individuals struggle in school to achieve high standards, drop-out of school before achieving even basic level qualifications, and are under-represented in activities that seek to make the most of European integration.   

Objectives

The "Raising Aspirations - A Leonardo Project Incubator Conference" seeks to encourage an increase in the number of applications made by local and regional actors under the Leonardo da Vinci sub-programme of the Lifelong Learning Programme and in particular to increase projects which target young individuals at-risk of social exclusion. We hope, in particular, to promote the mobility of our young talents, by increasing their opportunities to participate in international work placements in order to broaden their horizon, enrich their cultural awareness, and increase their abilities and appreciation of multi-cultural working environments.

The event will accomplish this objective by offering participants issued from across Europe an opportunity to receive practical information about the scope of the Leonard da Vinci project and by providing an opportunity for these participants to meet and develop concrete project proposals together.

 It is hoped that all participants will finish the conference equipped with a project proposal that suits the priorities of their organisation and also have a project consortium that is committed to submitting a bid for funding under the Leonardo da Vinci sub-programme.  

About the organisers

The event is co-hosted by the Representation of the State Saxony-Anhalt to the EU and the North East England Office in Brussels.

The event is supported by the active participation of a large number of regional offices who have an interest in the Leonardo da Vinci Conference and/or are founding members of the European Regional Skills Forum's steering group.

The following regions have expressed interest in participating and may field an expert to moderate the workshop:

Central Denmark (DK), Eszak-Alfold (HU), Flanders (BE), Brabant (NL), Venice (IT), Nitra (SK), Centre (FR), Valencia (ES), Active Group (BG), Bretagne, Pays-de-la-Loire, Poitou-Charentes (FR), West Sweden (SWE), Catalonia (ES), Mazovia (PL), Croatian Regions Office (CR), and Flevoland (NL)  

Practicalities for the Event

The event will be held on 9^th December 2009 from 9h30 to 16h30, it will be preceded by a reception on the 8^th December celebrating the launch of the European Regional Skills Forum.

The event is held at the Centre for the Regions. Home of the Representation of the State Saxony-Anhalt to the EU and North East England Office in Brussels located 80 Boulevard St Michel, 1040 Brussels. A map is provided on our website [1] (http://www.northeastengland.eu [2]). 

The nearest public transport stops include:

Thieffry (Metro Line 5)

Boileau (Tram Lines 23, 24, 25) (Bus Line 36)

Lunch is provided for all participants, as well as a reception preceding the event.

Agenda for the Event

Methodology

The event aims to be an interactive incubator for project ideas. As a result, the event will not focus a great deal on policy developments or upcoming policy initiatives but will rather focus on the practicalities linked to the submission of a project bid under the Leonard da Vinci sub-programme.

To improve interactivity, the participants will be divided throughout the day in smaller groups to increase opportunities to collaborate, share ideas and concerns. The Centre for the Regions facilities will be used to the full to enable this to take place. The main conference centre in the annex will be used for plenary, whilst the first floor meeting room will be split into two workshop rooms, and NEEO's meeting rooms on the fourth floor will also play host to two additional workshop rooms. Depending on the amount of participants that finally come, the main conference centre may also be employed for the workshops.

The event will commence by providing a short and snappy introduction to the Leonardo da Vinci Programme and will seek to provide true-to-life examples of projects undertaken in the co-host's region to provide inspiration for participants and to provide guidance in particular for first-time applicants.  Participants will also be reminded of the focus of the event on the target group of young individuals at risk of social exclusion.

One of the innovative features of the incubator event will be the focus on consortium building alongside project idea development. To accomplish the consortium building exercises, the co-organisers intend to use team-building exercises which will break the ice between participants and develop a feeling of camaraderie before the lunch break. A half-hour will be devoted to fun activities that will get participants involved and speaking to one another. The second half-hour will be devoted to a first brainstorm session about projects which can involve all the participants' organisations.

With the ice broken and some ideas on the table in time for the lunch break, the lunch will enable participants to talk over the ideas amongst themselves and to consider how best to craft the project to meet their priorities.

The second half of the day will focus on moving the ideas formulated in the morning to a point where participants feel comfortable presenting the idea and the partners to their home organisation. The second half will therefore seek to approve a manageable number of ideas that have the support of the majority of participants and will then discuss these ideas further focusing on project objectives, project methodology, likely size of budget, and other aspects. These workshops will be facilitated by Brussels-based officers whose expertise it is to link Europe to regional partners.

It is hoped that by the conclusion of the day, rapporteurs will be able to report a healthy list of viable project proposals that will be submitted to the participants' organisations for final buy-in.   

Participants' profile

The venue for the event will be the North East England Office in Brussels premises. The event will be open to approximately 100 participants. The hope is for the event's participants to come from organisations which will have a strong interest in participating in a project consortium focused on the objectives of the Leonardo da Vinci programme.

The organisations are looking for participants that are able to take these project ideas and champion them within their own organisations. The examples provided below are not intended to be exhaustive.  Examples of participants include:

• teachers within schools that are particularly keen on sending students abroad
• headmasters or international relations officers in school administrations
• representatives of businesses wishing to engage in CSR activities
• representatives of NGOs or local authorities with a remit to engage with the target group

 LLP Information Day (on 07/12, 9.30 to 18.00, Venue: Charlemagne Building, Rue de la Loi 70, 1040 Brussels - sign up immediately!)

 Up to date information on the procedures, rules, and things to watch out for

 Excellent networking opportunity, a chance to trial your ideas with Commission Officials

 Apply urgently to book your seat at: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/llp/infoday10/infoday_2010_en.htm [3]

 Launch Event of the European Regional Skills Forum (on 08/12, 15.00 to 20.00, Venue: Centre for the regions, Boulevard Saint-Michel 80, 1040 Brussels)

 Briefing on New Skills New Jobs and the link with our regions

 The European Regional Skills Forum-what it is and what will it do?

 Case studies and debates on local and regional challenges

 Raising Aspirations- A Project Incubator Event (on 09/12, 9.30 to 16.30, Venue: Centre for the Regions, Boulevard Saint-Michel 80, 1040 Brussels)

 Focus on projects for our key sectors and our most vulnerable

 Over ten participating regions

 Practical, consortium and project building workshops

Meer inlichtingen vul de fiche in attachment in en contacteer : ppkg@vleva.eu [4]

European Skills Week Flyer_0.pdf [5]

SKILLS BUILDING A PROJECT IDEA (sheet)_0.doc [6]