On the second info day, eDigiStars sought answers for the needs of people, aged 50+ in Danube macro-region. Тhe participants, gathered in zoom meeting, learned more about the innovative eDigiStars system, built on three modules - POWER YOU, CAMPUS, and LABEL.

The lack of employees or self-employed entrepreneurs who can provide specific simple digital services for SMEs is one of the main issues that the Danube Macro-Region faces. The other issue is the aging of the population and the employability difficulties of the elderly population. The project eDigiStars offers innovative solutions for facing those 2 problems, a lot of them were presented before the representatives of different organizations and stakeholders.

The project encompasses 19 partners in 8 Danube countries - Austria,  Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia,  Ukraine. eDigiStars is based on real professional cooperation: vocational training and adult training organizations, labor offices,  NGOs,  local governments, chambers of commerce, industry and economic development organizations, and disadvantaged target groups are working together to ensure success and future opportunities of Gen X.

The three tools are -  POWER YOU will empower the elderly for digital self-employment,  CAMPUS will adjust relevant courses for elderly to their specific needs, and LABEL will certify those elderly, who demonstrate enough digital skills. 

More than 80 people registered and participated in the zoom meeting that took place in December. They learned how the project answers the needs of people, aged 50+ in Danube macro-region and which are the main stumbling stones for them. Presentations from different countries spoke on issues the project and system will tackle - lack of motivation for employing older workforce, lack of adapted approaches, lack of representative labels. After the break the three parts of the innovation system - three tools were presented in detail - POWER YOU, CAMPUS, and LABEL.

Participants in other projects for interconnections and cross-fertilization between projects also took part in the meeting - 1. Next-generation tourism 2. Carpe Digem 3. Digital skills. Unfortunately mainly women 50+ are left outside the labor market, they need to find new inspiration for a new career, rather than retirement. The project tries to find a way so the older workforce will be motivated to enter their next level with knowledge and inspiration. 

The participants joined the discussion and the hybrid workshop “Assumptions and concerns how the innovative system will affect the labor market and what are the next steps” with interest.

More information about the project can be found at:

• http://dtp.interreg-danube.eu/approved-projects/edigistars
• https://www.facebook.com/edigistarsinterreg
• https://www.instagram.com/edigistars/