Oulu strengthens its position as a four-star Reference Site

Oulu has renewed the Four-Star Reference Site Status, which is a great recognition granted by the European Innovation Partnership in Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA). This initiative is shared by European countries, and it brings together partners meaningfully involved in digital innovation to support active and healthy ageing. Oulu remains the only applicant from Finland and enjoys the Four-Star Reference Site Status already for the second time. The official awards ceremony took place in Brussels on 10 October 2022.

Answering the challenge of an ageing population

As the European population is ageing rapidly, EIP on AHA supports the implementation of solutions that enable living a healthier, more active, and independent life. The established network consists of a hundred and four reference sites, which include regions, cities, hospitals or care organisations and their quadruple helix partners from industry, civil society, academia and government authorities. All these partners focus on developing innovations and sharing knowledge in the field of active and healthy ageing. The network also serves as a communication platform to encourage the engagement of all the partners, exchange ideas and look for potential cooperation partners.

Oulu is among the top EIP on AHA Reference Sites

Oulu has been an active participant in EIP on AHA activities and successfully contributed to developing new practices for active and healthy ageing. As a form of recognition for driving innovation to improve the quality of life of the population, the city received its first EIP-AHA Reference Site Status of four stars in 2019.  This year’s recognition not only strengthens the collaboration on the European level and plays a remarkable role in political discussions, but also brings together consortiums for European funding applications. In addition, it shows appreciation for the OuluHealth ecosystem for its continuous effort in making health and social care more accessible and stimulating economic growth in the region.

‘We truly appreciate the recognition and see this 4-Star Status as a reward for our long-term work in enabling innovation, development and co-creation among different organizations. Active and healthy ageing will continue to be one of the focus areas in our area. We are looking forward to interesting discussions and common projects among the reference sites to facilitate learning from peers and sharing good practices related to active and healthy ageing,’ said Minna Komu, Network Director at OuluHealth.

The Reference Site Status comes with greater responsibility to make steady progress by means of networking, exchanging experiences and making joint efforts to respond to global challenges. OuluHealth will remain focused on strengthening the collaboration and influencing the future activities of the EIP-AHA network.

Read more about the EIP on AHA Reference Site Collaborative Network.