• Information about current European politics;

• Implementation of strategies and measures on national and local level;

• Constructive dialogues between politicians at EU-, national- and citizens-level;

• Empowerment of leading persons in associations;

• Improvement of citizens’ communication with politicians.

After a break during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 we had an evaluation & reflection about the ten past editions, ÖSB and ESU decided to ‘re-new’ the format of the Summer Academy by organizing this years’ digital event on 2-3 July. This time not exclusively for delegates from ÖSB and ESU, but the Summer  Academy was live accessible for a broad public.

Over the years, older generations developed a new ‘self-awareness’. After ending professional life, seniors explore, with energy and creativity a new phase of life. The EU, more than ever, acknowledges the need for a comprehensive strategy on demographic change. In the EU-Commission a vice-president, Mrs. Dubravka Šuica, has been designated responsible for the development of political actions regarding age and ageing and taking into account the differences between Member States and regions. In this political context, the 2021 Summer Academy offered a unique opportunity to look ahead.  We developed a  program, aiming at:

• Presenting most recent information about EU policies relating to the EU challenges for the future and to age & ageing;

• Exchanging experiences and views on the well-being of seniors;

• Voicing the ambitions, needs and hopes of seniors for the future of societies we are living in;

• Expressing seniors’ views on the Future of Europe by participating in the digital platform of the Conference on the Future of Europe.

B. New seniors, moving into a new economic and digital world: the program on July 2

During 5 hours a dynamic program with keynote speeches, round tables, and interventions from participants was offered. Through the provided website, participants easily followed the event. The morning section was opened with a welcome speech by our ESU president An Hermans, the president of ÖSB Ingrid Korosec and Bettina Rausch, President of the Political Academy.

Subsequently, Karoline Edtstadler, Austrian Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution, addressed the audience about the challenges of an ageing population and how to cope with these, more specifically she explained the response of the EU and the Member States on this development. EU-Commission vice-president, Dubravka Šuica, shared via video-massage her perspectives on the impact of demographic developments in Europe on EU politics. She underlined the need of integrating ageing issues into all policy fields and all policy levels. “Ageing is not only an issue for older persons, ageing concerns us all during the whole life cycle” she stated.

The final keynote in the morning section was provided by Mieke De Ketelaere, who is Program Director Artificial Intelligence at Imec. She wrote the book ‘Man versus Machine’ about the story behind Artificial Intelligence. Mrs. De Ketelaere addressed our audience through this perspective. In which she made a case for putting people more at the center of digital development, whereby she advocates for motivating everyone working with Artificial Intelligence to go to the wider public to “translate” what Artificial Intelligence means, how and why it can be used.

In the afternoon section some very interesting speakers were prepared to address our audience. Professor Marketing & Relationship Management of the Salzburg University, Robert Zniva, was presenting the theme ‘How do we address age and ageing? How do older people perceive themselves?’ He focused on the stereotyping of older people and its reverberations in marketing. Following we heard Tomi Huhtanen, Executive Director of Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, about the transition of the Labour Market in line with Demographic Challenges, and the ‘Redefining the Role of elderly’.

The third speaker for the afternoon part was Patrick Penninckx, Head of ‘Information Society’ Department of the Council of Europe, who is already known to us from previous ESU meetings, he brought an eloquent presentation on the Digital Society with the corresponding challenges & opportunities for seniors. Mr. Penninckx spoke about how digitization has changed the environment we live in, not in the least in the area of information. He mentioned the opportunities and challenges and the need for media literacy for everyone to participate in the digital information society, to understand the role of the media in times of crisis, such as the current health crisis. In addition, he invited the audience to reflect on the responsibility to support and create human-centered digital societies.

After each speaker there was round table discussion with opportunity for questions, with Heinz Becker representing ESU and the previous speaker always present. Viewers could ask questions and give their remarks live online. A lively discussion followed.

In conclusion, EPP Secretary General and MEP Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White took the floor to officially close our Summer Academy. It was at all times reassuring to continually be able to count on his support, his appreciation and his help when needed during challenging times.

Our ESU President An Hermans expressed her great gratitude, both to everyone who worked on the preparation and made the exceptional 2021 Summer Academy a success: the technical teams, the interpreters, the presenters and, of course, the speakers. Expert presentations, entertaining illustrations and discussions alternated and provided insights that will serve as a basis for further policy aspirations in our senior work.

C. Follow up

Here you can re-watch our event in full format, we will soon post the Summer Academy in separate parts per speaker. In addition, we are in the process of working out a resolution titled: ‘For an active and competent participation of all in resilient digital societies: The need for media and information literacy’.

D. Background information on digitalization.

In the run-up to the Summer Academy, we were able to use this visual material to warm you up via social media and to provide some background information. We would like to share here a clear overview and let this be an invitation to enrich your knowledge:

As part of the EPP series ‘Tech a look’ (interview by Eline Chivot) the following interviews are related to the Summer Academy

• Interview with our president An Hermans

• Interview with Mieke De Ketelaere 

The following video reports are about research around digitization institutions such as Imec & the AI Experience Centre. These were made in preparation of the Summer Academy:

• Video about the Artificial Intelligence Experience Centre

• Video about Imec Gent