EU funding news from Welcomeurope

15 calls for proposals launched under FP7 have been launched

These calls for proposals are launched under the 2008 and 2009 work programmes of the FP7 and under the 2009 work programme of the 7th Euratom Framework Programme for Nuclear Research and
Training Activities

Notice is hereby given of the launch of calls for proposals under the 2008 People work programme and
under the 2009 Cooperation and Ideas work programmes of the 7th EC Framework Programme of the
European Community for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities (2007
to 2013) and under the 2009 work programme of the 7th Framework Programme of the European Atomic
Energy Community (Euratom) for Nuclear Research and Training Activities (2007 to 2011).

Posted in Local development | No Comments »

3rd European Days for Development: Making up

The European Days for Development were the opportunity to gather Heads of States, NGOs, Experts.. to debate on the actual issues from the global to the local level. This is a way too to increase people awareness on the development questions.

ARTICLE AVAILABLE ONLY IN FRENCH

Posted in Co-op & Development, Economy - Finances, Health, Humanitarian, research | No Comments »

European Fisheries Fund : Investments in Belgium

European Fisheries Fund Programme 2007/2013 aims to promote a sustainable fishery, economically viable and competitive. The amount for Belgium given under the EFP Programme is 26.3 million euro. A lot sof investments are expected, notably the restructurion of the fleet.

Priority axes

Priority 1: Adaptation of the EU fishing fleet

This priority axis aims to adjust fishing capacities to fishing possibilities and to develop a viable, efficient and environmentally-friendly fishing fleet. Among the EFF measures foreseen are the permanent cessation of fishing activities, investments in modernization on board vessels, including engine replacement to improve energy efficiency and introduction of more selective fishing methods. Socio-economic measures can be used to facilitate young fishers’ entry into the sector and, to develop professional skills of fishers as well as vocational training for fishers wishing to find work outside the fisheries sector.

Priority 2: Aquaculture, inland fishing, processing and marketing of fishery and aquaculture products.

The objective of this axis is a further development of sustainable aquaculture and fish processing by means of product and market diversification and modernization of existing enterprises, with the focus on the product quality and value added as well as farming of new and prospective species. The main EFF measures envisaged to meet these priorities are support for productive investments in aquaculture, processing and marketing, aqua-environmental measures.

Priority 3: Measures of common interest

This axis supports measures of common interest with a broader scope than measures normally undertaken by private enterprises and which help to meet the objectives of the common fisheries policy. Special focus is given to the protection of aquatic fauna and flora, development of fishing ports and landing sites, promotion of marketing measures and pilot projects, as well as different collective actions.

Priority 4: Sustainable development of fisheries areas

This axis aims to facilitate sustainable development of fisheries areas and communities facing socio-economic difficulties and to maintain jobs, welfare and the quality of life on the initiative of local fisheries groups. To achieve the objective, diversification of activities, development of tourism, in particular eco-tourism, increasing added value to the fisheries products, dissemination of innovation, as well as training the employees of the fisheries sector will be encouraged within local development strategies.

Priority 5: Technical assistance

The support under this axis ensures that the management, control and monitoring systems of the operational program function efficiently and that the program and aid are implemented in an appropriate manner.

Posted in Agriculture - Fisheries | No Comments »

European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture 2009

This prize is one of four European Union prizes highlighting excellence in the field of European culture under the EU Culture Programme.The 2009 Award is currently being organised by the Mies van der Rohe Foundation. They have received 335 projects, 5 finalist will be selected in February 2009

335 projects have been entered for the biennial European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture 2009. This prize is one of four European Union prizes highlighting excellence in the field of European culture under the EU Culture Programme (the others are the European Union Border Breakers Awards (for debuting pop musicians), the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage and the European Union Literary Prize).

The Mies van der Rohe Foundation is based in Barcelona and is supported by a network of 15 architecture institutes and a committee of experts from 31 countries.

From the 335 entered projects, the jury will select 5 finalist works in February 2009. These finalists will present their work during lectures in April 2009. This will be followed by the announcement of the prize winner in May 2009.

The bi-annual awards (the EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture and the Special Mention for an Emerging Architect) are given for contemporary works (which must be less than two years old) developed in countries participating in the Culture Programme.

Their objective is to highlight architects’ recent, excellent creativity. The prizes also underline that modern architecture is socially and culturally rooted in European cities and is important in everyday life.

Posted in Culture - Media | No Comments »

November 17 to 23 - Global Entrepreneurship Week in Luxembourg

This week will be the opportunity for millions of young entrepreneurs from 75 countries to exchange ideas. Innovation, imagination and creativity will be the keys elements during this week. The aim is to promote innovation and cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit.

Global Entrepreneurship Week will encourage youth to think big, to turn their ideas into reality, and to make their mark. Participating countries include Australia, UK, Brazil, China, France, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan and Uganda. Organizations, ranging from large non-governmental to small community-based groups, are also making their contribution.

‘We’re using Global Entrepreneurship Week to share the results of our first entrepreneurship education assessment in the countries of North Africa, Egypt and the Middle East,’ says Tony Gribben, who leads the ETF’s entrepreneurship team. At a high-level symposium hosted by the European Investment Bank in Luxembourg on 18-19 November, Mr. Gribben will put the case for more open learning systems which create the environment for youngsters to generate ideas, promote innovation and which can cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit. The symposium will involve political decision-makers, academic experts, and representatives of the private sector and international financing institutions from the Southern Mediterranean region. ETF will share the outcomes of its first policy assessment of entrepreneurship education in 8 countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia. The assessment was undertaken between January and April 2008 and culminated in a report with recommendations to bring forward more strategic developments in entrepreneurship education in all countries.

ETF Director, Dr. Muriel Dunbar, will also participate at the Luxembourg seminar where she will provide a key-note speech on the education and employment challenges in the southern Mediterranean region.

Posted in Employment, Information | No Comments »

10th anniversary of euro: Participate to the Eurocompetition!

This competition is an initiative from the European Commission for the 10 th anniversary oh the Economic and Monetary Union. Students from 10 to 14 of the euro area and from Slovakia are invited to participate until the 31st of December 2008 to conceive a poster and participate to the Eurocompetition(www.eurocompetition.net).

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the euro, the European Commission launches a Eurocompetition, an online poster competition among Europe’s youth! The Eurocompetition invites pupils from the euro area and Slovakia to express their views and thoughts on the “10 years of the euro” in a creative way in the form of a poster.

So, if you have a creative mind and if you have a heart for the euro, get to your drawing boards and subscribe to this unique European poster competition!

A special award for the winner: Trip to Brussels to meet Commissioner Joaquín Almunia

The overall winner selected among the 16 national winners will be invited to Brussels where his/her poster will be presented in a press event in the presence of Mr Joaquín Almunia, the European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs. During the three-day trip the winner will have the opportunity to meet officials from European Commission’s Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs and European Schoolnet, and to explore the capital of Europe with two accompanying persons of his/her choice.

The competition is organised by the DG Economical and Financial Affairs of the European Commission and is coordinated by European Schoolnet.

Posted in Citizenship | No Comments »

Health in Europe: hypertension in the heart of the IMMIDIET project

Hypertension is a main health problem for Europeans. It is the subject of this demographical study financed by the EU under the programme “Quality of life and Living Resources Management” from FP5. The current study was carried out by researchers in Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and the UK.

The IMMIDIET project (’Dietary habit profile in European communities with different risk of myocardial infarction: the impact of migration as a model of gene/environment interaction’) was funded by the European Union.

The IMMIDIET researchers, working closely with general practitioners in southwest London in England, Limburg in Belgium and Abruzzo in Italy, examined 1,604 patients. The patients underwent a comprehensive medical examination that included blood pressure measurement, and were asked to fill in a questionnaire about their lifestyle and perception of health status. They defined ‘hypertension’ as systolic blood pressure of at least 140mmHg or diastolic blood pressure of at least 90mmHg, or ‘current antihypertensive treatment’.

The researchers were mindful of the effects of both genetic and lifestyle factors on cardiovascular disease, and recruited both married couples formed by people from the same area (Italians married with Italians in the Abruzzo region, and so forth) and mixed-nationality couples in different phases of the project.

Their findings showed, surprisingly, that high blood pressure was less common in England than in Belgium or Italy. This regional difference represents a reversal of the so-called north-south ‘cardiovascular gradient’.

Overall, the study found that awareness of hypertension was poor: 24% of study participants were hypertensive and 56% of these were unaware of their condition (one third was receiving treatment). Among those who had been diagnosed with high blood pressure, less than half had managed to bring down their blood pressure to acceptable levels.

According to Professor Francesco Cappuccio of the University of Warwick in the UK, ‘All national healthcare systems should do more to help control hypertension. Although in England the management of high blood pressure is better as compared to some other countries, in part due to the incentives that general practitioners receive to achieve blood pressure targets, we still have too many patients not adequately treated and the incidence of hypertension is rising still.’

The IMMIDIET study also found that awareness of cardiovascular disease, hypertension in particular, is higher in women than in men. Also, women were more likely to be under treatment for hypertension, and were more successful in bringing down their blood pressure to internationally accepted ‘desirable’ levels. The researchers attributed this ‘more successful management’ to the increased willingness of women to participate in the healthcare system.

Posted in Health, research | No Comments »

Youths always hesitate to make their way to scientific careers

The European Commissioner Janez Potočnik meets today youth europeans in Paris who will propose how to get young people more involved in research and innovation

Science tops the table of young Europeans’ interests, but that does not seem to be enough to make them consider a scientific career, indicates a new ‘Eurobarometer’, published today. Young people’s recommendations will be given to Commissioner Janez Potočnik and French Minister for Higher Education and Research Valérie Pécresse during the “European City of Science”, a public exhibition of 70 research projects, including 20 funded by the EU.

The recommendations given today conclude 6 months of work undertaken by some 150 young Europeans from the 27 Member States. They include a proposal to organise an event called “European Capital of Science” which would be held annually and rotate through every European Union country, and a suggestion that the EU should increase interest in science & technology by making links between science education and recent scientific work.

The latest Eurobarometer data show that young Europeans (aged 15-25) have mixed attitudes towards science and technology (S&T). On the one hand, they have positive feelings about S&T, with 82% agreeing that S&T bring more benefits than harm. More than half of them believe that S&T will help eliminate poverty and hunger around the world and 49% think that advances in technology will create more jobs than they eliminate.

EU young people are mostly interested in news related to culture and entertainment (nine out of ten). About two thirds (67%) claim to be interested in science and technology (67%) and the same proportion is attracted by sport news. Young men are more likely to be interested in news about science and technology (75% versus 59% of women).

On the other hand, more than half of the young people interviewed said they are not themselves thinking about studying in science or engineering. A slim majority explain that they have already chosen their profession (56%). Half of the respondents (52%) said that they are also not interested in this kind of profession. In addition, 69% of all interviewees agree that science classes at school are not appealing enough. However, in New Member States, young people were slightly more open to scientific studies.

Young Europeans are aware of the European dimension of research: they strongly agree that there should be more coordination between EU Member States (92%) and that the EU, as well as their own government, should spend more money on research (83% and 79% respectively).

Posted in Education / training | No Comments »

EU supports refugees in Kosovo

A project, co-funded by the European Commission, to support the sustainable return of refugees and internally displaced persons has been launched in Kosovo

The European Commission Liaison Office to Kosovo contributed €3.3 million and €1.1 million came from the Ministry for Communities and Return. The project will be providing a comprehensive return package for some 180 displaced families and will include assistance on return, housing reconstruction, necessary infrastructure connections, income generation and inter-ethnic dialogue activities.

Posted in Co-op & Development, Human Rights, innovation | No Comments »

Golden Stars of active European citizenship 2008

12 civic participation projects have been selected. The ceremony will also officially launch the Europe for Citizens Forum 2008, which is an opportunity to debate the issue of civic participation and the difference it can make in Europe

The Golden Stars are the official annual recognition of projects funded under the Europe for Citizens programme, which aims at engaging citizens in the construction of Europe. For the year 2008 alone, this programme is planning to mobilise close to one million direct participants, giving them a chance to discover cultural differences and similarities with citizens from other places in Europe. In more than 1 200 exchanges, people from almost 4 000 towns across Europe will meet and discuss how common European values affect their everyday lives. And by granting financial support to remembrance projects, the programme succeeds in making the Europeans aware of their common history.

The Forum will be opened today by Ján Figel’, European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, French State Secretary for the European Affairs, Marek Mora, Deputy Vice-Prime Minister for European Affairs of the Czech Republic and Hannu Takkula, MEP and chairman of the Golden Stars selection jury.

Plenary sessions and workshops during the Europe for Citizens Forum on November 14 will provide insights into the different forms of civic engagement and the tools to actively exercise it. Close attention will be given to the forthcoming European Parliamentary elections and to the new, innovative forms of civic participation.

Key note speakers include Sandra Kalniete, Member of the Latvian Parliament and former member of the European Commission, who played an active role in the independence movement in her country, as well as Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, considered to be the “founding father” and the “intellectual impetus” behind the euro, will provide their own testimonies on the difference that civic participation can make in Europe.

Posted in Citizenship, Information | No Comments »