During the final weeks of September, EuropeActive participated in the numerous online EU policy conferences and events took place. Here you will find a brief overview of the most relevant sessions.
The European Research and Innovation Days, which took place between 22-24 September, and were full of interesting and exciting insights on the future of R&I in Europe.
The impact of COVID-19, as expected was a major theme of the conference, in which the level of preparedness of the EU in dealing with pandemic was discussed, as well as mechanisms to ensure that we are better equipped for the future through the exchange of health data, the resilience of health systems and facilities, the deployment of the European Health Data Space and the need to enhance research and deployment of AI, machine learning and data mining. Furthermore, the major challenges linked to the future of work in the aftermath of the pandemic were also analysed, most notably the changes in the structure of the labour market; work remuneration; teleworking; the impact of digitalization; new key competences of the future.
There was also a strong focus on the opportunities and challenges of digital transformation and Artificial Intelligence, as the EU Policy report on AI was presented and the challenges for the European strategic approach to AI, Robotics and Data in the area of research and the potential Public-Private Partnership in AI to foster both ethical adoption and competitiveness were discussed.
The International Conference on Promoting Healthy Lifestyles in Europe, an online conference took place on 24 September. The event was organised by the Directorate-Generals for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) and the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency (Chafea). The event focused on updating knowledge and discussing the current practices of health promotion in the EU, and place EU capacity building around health promotion and disease prevention in an international perspective.
The event fell under the scope of an EU-wide mapping of educational practices for different health professions, in which health promotion and disease prevention have secured a place in healthcare training, however, more there is still more to be done in terms of academic programmes and continuous professional development to help health professionals counter and manage the disease burden more effectively.
The European Week of Sport opening event
On 23 Wednesday, September, the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, who is responsible for sport, officially opened the 6th European Week of Sport. During her address, she stressed the important role sport and physical activity play during this public health crisis and applauded all the innovative solutions being developed.
Thematic Workshop on Co-mapping a strategy towards efficient Social Prescription for older adults in Europe
The European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA) organised a series of workshops, the first one focused took place on Thursday 1 October and focused on efficient social prescription strategies. During the workshop, some best practices from across Europe were presented, demonstrating the enormous potential and numerous benefits that social prescription, including exercise on referral, can have for older persons.
Colloque : Développer les activités physiques ou sportives en milieu professionnel
On 5 October, the think tank Sport and Citizenship hosted a seminar on developing physical activity and sport in a professional environment, remaining physically active for wellbeing whether working on-site or teleworking is incredibly important in improving the quality of life at work, and should be a priority. There were many insightful interventions including, Laurence BretonKueny, the Director of human resources at AFNOR, who highlighted that while a concrete framework is needed, so is individual awareness of the importance of physical activity in the workplace.