The SIforAGE Project aims at promoting Active and Healthy Ageing in society by strengthening cooperation between researchers, product and service developers, policy-makers, and civil society organisations. Among the different activities that are being developed in the framework of SIforAGE, stimulating mutual learning from complementary initiatives at EU level is a key one. For that reason, during the last SIforAGE General Meeting (21-22 May) in the Basque Culinary Centre (San Sebastian, Spain), three different European initiatives were invited to present their work and share knowledge and ideas.

​​

The morning session devoted to this mutual learning activity started with the presentation of RRI Tools. G. Santamaría, member of RRI Tools' coordination team at "la Caixa" Foundation, presented the Toolkit that is being developed and that will be available for stakeholders at the end of 2015. SIforAGE members expressed their interest in this platform as a way to learn and exchange knowledge and good practices. During the discussion, the possibility of linking SIforAGE Mutual Learning Platform and RRI Tools was suggested. In addition, due to the fact that SIforAGE Project is already generating a wide range of results, RRI Tools can be a very useful platform for disseminating these results, meet people and organizations interested in our outcomes and receive feedback from other European initiatives.

The second European initiative that was presented during this mutual learning event was CROSS Project, introduced by Javier Herrera (Tecnalia). CROSS Project aims at supporting policymaking and the distribution of the limited resources public administrations still have for coping with social problems.  Among the different topics discussed during the presentation, the importance of creating a repository of good practices in order to widen the impact was underlined by some of the SIforAGE partners. CROSS project and SIforAGE Project will work together to strengthen their collaboration in future activities. 

Montse Cruz (University of Barcelona), member of EIT Health gave the last presentation. The EIT is a EU body that enhances Europe's ability to innovate by nurturing young entrepreneurial talent and supporting new ideas through the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs). The EIT is the first EU initiative bringing together business (companies and SMEs), higher education institutions and research centres. Precisely, EIT Health is working for accelerating entrepreneurship and innovation in healthy living and active ageing, providing Europe´s top talents with new opportunities and resources to the benefit of all citizens.

All in all, this event ended up being a success in terms of sharing ideas and knowledge as well as a proof that mutual learning among EU initiatives is key in order to stimulate mutual work among projects and generate better and greater results.

SIforAGE Communication Team, SIforAGE Project