Commission awards for outstanding contributions to the European Year 2012
At a ceremony on 13 November, Social Affairs Commissioner László Andor announced the winners of the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations Awards.
Over 1,300 submissions were received from all over Europe to participate in the Awards. Winners in the six categories of the competition are:
- generations@school - Gravity Racer Project (Huolin Koulu School, Finland). 12 year old students and granddad Hannu Gustafsson worked and learned together on an exciting project to build a gravity racer car.
- Journalism –
- Written: The Generation Gap (JP/Politiken Hus, Denmark). Four journalists at Politiken focused on how younger and older generations try to function together.
- Audiovisual: The Senior at Work (Cultfiction Oy, Finland). An 18-part reality TV series on public channel Yle TV1 about people who choose not to retire.
- Individual life-time achievements - Bruno Põder (Kersti Skovgaard, Estonia). Bruno continued to work as a surgeon until the age of 80 without losing his positive attitude or his ambition to contribute to society.
- Social Entrepreneurship - Two Generations Share a House (Typhaine de Penfentenyo, France). Ensemble2générations, created by Typhaine de Penfentenyo, addresses the isolation of older people and the shortage of affordable student housing. Since 2006 there have been over 900 student/elderly partnerships and over 15 regional branches opened in France.
- Age-Friendly Environments - Life-Long Living (Fredericia, Denmark). An example of a new model for interaction between elderly citizens and the local social services, focusing on everyday rehabilitation. The programme saves €70,000 per month in assistance services requested by seniors –tangible proof of increased independence!
- Workplace for all Ages - Managing People of Different Ages (Helsingin kaupunki, Henkilöstökeskus, Finland). Helsinki seeks to be a model for promoting an age-diverse workforce by getting everyone involved: from local sports centres, to health care providers, to occupational services.
The Awards Scheme reflects the three dimensions of the active ageing approach promoted in the course of the European Year 2012: employment, social participation and independent living.
For more information: http://europa.eu/ey2012/ey2012main.jsp?catId=1026&langId=en
