Awards Secretariat

The European Silver Economy Awards have initially been launched by the SEED project, which has been funded under the H2020 programme of the European Commission. Since its inauguration in June 2017, a central objective of the Awards has been the promotion of European partnerships under the common vision of an age-friendly Europe. This is why the EU Covenant on Demographic Change has been alongside the awards already throughout its first edition.

Since October 2018, after the SEED project has come to an end, the European Silver Economy Awards are now run by the Covenant on Demographic Change to engage all key stakeholders in the search for and implementation of age-friendly services, products and environments using the best examples of successful solutions.

Launched in 2015, The Covenant on Demographic Change is an open network that gathers already more than 150 local, regional and national authorities, as well as non-for-profit and for-profit making stakeholders, that commit to cooperate and implement evidence-based solutions to support active and healthy ageing as a comprehensive answer to Europe’s demographic challenge. In this sense, the Covenant functions as a network enabling different European stakeholders to exchange knowledge and good practices as well as to promote the development and implementation of innovative products, services and initiatives based on the needs of older citizens. In 2018 the Covenant on Demographic Change has become an Affiliate Programme of the WHO Age-Friendly World.

The European Silver Economy is the section of our economy related to Europe’s older citizens. The over 50s are increasingly shaping our economies – affecting policy decisions and constituting a large and growing segment of the consumer market thus opening up new business opportunities.

The term includes all economic activities that concern older adults and meet their demands and requirements. This includes health and wellbeing, leisure and tourism, housing and mobility, consumer goods and services, education, civic and social participation, employment and finance. If older people are the first intended beneficiaries, let’s not forget that the Silver Economy benefits the whole society, as it creates jobs, supports family carers, health and social care professionals in their daily practice and much more.

Investing in the Silver Economy, be it socially, financially, innovation or policy-related, is a YES to a society in which everyone can participate equally and with dignity regardless of age and abilities.

Being a society for all ages requires common vision and action. This is why we, in collaboration with the Covenant on Demographic Change, and thanks to the funding support of the European Commission, have launched the European Silver Economy Awards to promote and reward innovative digital solutions that foster an age-friendly Europe and improve the quality of life older persons.

By bringing policy makers and public authorities, older persons and their representative groups, industry and investors together with innovators from both the public and private sector, the European Silver Economy Awards have initiated the first EU-wide dialogue on how to turn the numerous existing local initiatives into opportunities for other parties in the EU, and, of course, for our older citizens.

Read our narrative and join the Silver Economy movement now to contribute to the achievement of a triple-win situation whereby the quality of life of older persons will be increased, the sustainability of public welfare systems will be ensured and new opportunities for the industry will be created.

The Awards Secretariat is run by the Covenant on Demographic Change and is in charge of the management of the European Silver Economy Awards and the call for applications. The Awards Secretariat is also responsible for the eligibility check, which all submitted applications have to pass in order to enter our three-staged evaluation process.

If you have any enquiry regarding the applications process, if you want to know how you can support us, or just want to learn more about the European Silver Economy Awards, we are happy to receive your request. You can complete our contact form here.