Italy The ageing population is causing one of the deepest social and economic transformations in Italy. Some Italian regions, Emilia-Romagna among them, have been particularly affected by the changes that have developed because of this phenomenon.

Emilia-Romagna, lies in the north of Italy, has 9 provinces and 341 municipalities. It counts about 4,600,000 inhabitants, 22 per cent of them are older than 65 years. The family structure has registered a strong fragmentation, and more than 66 per cent of mononuclear families are composed by over 60 years old people.

Well aware of the strategic importance for the entire regional community, the Regional Government of Emilia-Romagna, began thinking about how the phenomenon of an ageing population that deeply affects and changes communities throughout Europe, could be dealt with at the regional community level outlining solutions for the future evolution of Europe.

The Region has taken on the role of promoter of a deep renewal and catalyst of a wide-reaching, free and creative process based on a clear choice of methods and contents: focussing attention on the needs of the senior citizens of today and of tomorrow. Living at home, being physically active, having fun, playing sports, maintaining good health, taking care of oneself, being culturally active, travelling, living in safety, using new technologies: the proposed Plan of action is an attempt at responding to these important human needs.

A well developed elderly care services network, composed by nursing homes and day centres guarantees older people care and assistance with more than 16,500 places operating within the national health service. In addition an integrated home health and social care guarantees each year more then 80,000 allowances also thanks to the economic contribution that the Region gives to families that assist not-sufficient old people. Furthermore in 1999 it was financed and started a special dementia project, that takes care of people affected by dementia through a network of 46 specialized centres.

Emilia-Romagna Regional Government:
The active citizenship of older generations has always been one of the top priorities of Emilia-Romagna's public policies, the more so given the demographic trends of the past decades. The Region has infact developed innovative initiatives which have been often taken as model by other Italian Regions with which co-operation is permanent. Weak elderly sections of the population have been given specific attention and the attempt has been, on one side, to upgrade their economic and social situation and, on the other, to offer them opportunities to foster the unfolding of what they can contribute to society at large, based on their own life history and skills. Emilia-Romagna looks at policies for and with elderly as transversal ones, and de facto all the Regional Ministries are involved, each one with its own competences. In order to avoid ghetto-like situations also the inter-generational dimension has been developed. Lunaria, Rome:
the consultant has been co-operating with the Emilia-Romagna Regional Goverment for the past five years and is a member of the international network "Alliance of European Voluntary Service Organisations". From 1996 until 2000 has managed the Technical Assistance Office of the European Voluntary Service programme for Italy. Every year, Lunaria exchanges with partner organisations world-wide, about 1.000 short, medium and long-term volunteers in socially useful sectors. In 2001, under the Socrates programme scheme, it has started “Mobility 55”, through which 30 senior volunteers, between 55 and 70 years of age, from five different countries spent between 1 and 2 months volunteering abroad and followed with “Still Active” that set out a pre-departure training scheme devoted to senior volunteers and their hosting organisations. The municipalities of Roma, Bologna and Ferrara, with the support of the Emilia-Romagna Regional Government, have joined a follow-up project with own senior volunteers within the “Teaming up!” project, which has been supported by the ENEA programme launched by the DG “Employment and Social Affairs”.