IntegrAGE Mid-Term Conference

Bridging Generations, Building Resilience – Fostering Age-Friendly Futures in the Danube Region- IntegrAGE Mid-Term Conference (October 8, 2025, Belgrade & Online)

We had an inspiring and thought-provoking day at the IntegrAGE Mid-Term Conference, where experts, stakeholders, and practitioners came together to explore how we can create more inclusive, age-friendly work environments across the Danube Region. The event featured three keynote presentations:

Keynote 1: Tina Weber – Eurofound

Tina Weber, Senior Research Manager in Eurofound's Working Life unit, started with a keynote on keeping older workers in the labour market. She presented comparative data across the Danube region, revealing disparities in health, employability, and job quality for workers aged 55+.

Key takeaways:

· Employment among 55+has grown, but gender and mid-career gaps persist.

· Job quality and working conditions are critical for sustainable employment.

· A multi-level policy mix is essential—national, company, and individual.

· Austria’s Fit2Work initiative stood out as a best practice in early intervention and integrated support.

Keynote 2: Jana Petersen – Deutsche Bahn AG

Jana Petersen Diversity Recruiting at Deutsche Bahn shared Deutsche Bahn’s approach to minimizing age discrimination and attracting talent over 50 and in retirement. At the company they introduced a five-pillar strategy: Awareness, Events, Marketing, Recruiting, and Data-Driven approaches.

Keynote 3: Michaela Hrdličková

Michaela Hrdličková Business Mentor emphasized the power of intergenerational mentoring to foster collaboration and knowledge transfer. She highlighted global examples and healthcare case studies demonstrating mutual learning between senior and junior professionals. She emphasized the importance of key principles like Respect, Empathy, Communication Flexibility, and Two-Way Learning. She also presented the The Finnish “House of Work Ability” model illustrates how societal and workplace factors shape our capacity to work across generations.

The conference reinforced that building age-friendly workplaces is not just a policy goal- it’s a strategic necessity. From recruitment to retention, mentoring to workplace design, embracing generational diversity is key to fostering resilience and innovation.

Thank you to all speakers, participants, and organizers for making this event a success!