The partners of the project “Building of digital entrepreneurial capacities of the elderly through the innovative training system - eDigiStars” and many stakeholders from 8 Danube countries gathered together in an online kick-off communication event at 29.09.2020. It was intended to publicly announce the start of the eDigiStars project, to create feeds for media for all partners transnationally and to engage potential transnational cooperative institutions.

The project is co-funded by the EU funds (ERDF, IPA, ENI) under Danube Transnational programme 2014-2020 3rd call. It includes 19 partners from 8 Danube countries – Hungary, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovenia, Ukraine.

The partnership includes different stakeholders - 4 employment offices, 3 industry representatives, 4 innovation centres, 2 public administrations, 2 education and training

centres, 1 university and 2 institutions working with elderlies from 8 countries of Danube macro-region.

“eDigiStars” project aims at developing sustainable ecosystems targeting ageing workers. 19 partners in 8 Danube countries, eDigiStars introduces, maintains and provides support for sustainable transition to new formats of working — transforming elderly workers to digital self-employed entrepreneurs.

The mission of eDigiStars project is to empower elderly workforce to become digital self-employed entrepreneurs.

The main objective of the project is to develop sustainable ecosystems, which successfully turn older workers to digital self-employed entrepreneurs. Specific objectives are to establish sustainable structures empowering elderly workforce to become digital self-employed, to innovate and adapt digital entrepreneurial training schemes for specific needs of elderly target groups and to build trust towards elderly digital self-employed among the industry and business.

eDigiStars aims at developing, piloting and assuring sustainability of an innovative system that uniquely combines tools for multiple target groups. The system consists of 3 modules - POWERYOU empowers the elderly to transition into digital self-employment; CAMPUS works to adjust existing educational courses to the needs of the elderly and LABEL provides officially recognised certificates providing the elderly with clear proof for their new competencies.

POWERYOU tool will change the mindset of elderly & employers, will guide on how to passively (if elderly comes to office) or actively (series of workshops, seminars etc.) create awareness and empower elderly workforce. POWERYOU tool will be piloted while engaging 40 elderlies per territory (320 together) to prove the concept. CAMPUS tool will adapt the courses to the needs of the elderly, will guide them how to efficiently and effectively adapt their courses to the specific needs of the elderly target group. LABEL Tool will build trust and prove elderlies‘ competences to employers.

During the event the communication manager Silvia Stumpf from BAA – Bulgaria, presented eDigiStars and eDigiStars innovative system as a tool to develop sustainable ecosystems in the Danube region which successfully turn older workers to digital self-employed entrepreneurs. Communication assistant Lia-Filipa Kirova presented all 19 partners from 8 countries - Slovenia, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, who are going to work together.

Representatives from Innoskart, DEX IC and BAA took part in a discussion panel on issues tackled by the project trying to summarise the possible change that will be achieved. The Danube macro-region is confronted with 3 common challenges - lack of workforce in digital fields, aging population and Ageing population & employability difficulties, lower competitiveness of the whole Danube region.

The project started in July and is progressing ambitiously to achieve its near objectives to start changing mindsets and approaches in Danube area on how to inspire and support elderlies and involved institutions to redesign their future to attain new professional realization in the promising digital businesses.

The EU funding is divided between IPA II (95,144.75 EUR), ERDF (1,421,343.65 EUR) and ENI (92,084.75 EUR) funds. It started at 01.07.2020 and will end at 31.12.2022.

The partnership includes Innoskart Business Development Nonprofit Ltd., Central Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency Nonprofit Ltd. and Vocational Training Center Székesfehérvár from Hungary, Foundation for Improvement of Employment Possibilities PRIZMA, Municipality of Maribor, Employment Service of Slovenia, Maribor Regional Office from Slovenia, Business Agency Association, National employment Agency and Bulgarian Industrial Association – Union of the Bulgarian Business, Bulgaria, Business Upper Austria – Plastics Cluster and WAGE-Network from Austria, The municipality of Prague 9 and Plus 50 from Chech Republic, European Center for Socio Professional Integration and Romarketing, Romania, Ivano-Frankivsk region Employment Centre and Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas from Ukraine, Development Agency of the Republic of Srpska from Bosnia and Herzegovina.