A particular focus of the Helsinki meeting was placed on the development of the self-assessment tool, a cornerstone of the SAFE digital platform. The self-assessment tool is a key instrument for organisations, enabling them to assess their current level of age-friendliness and receive targeted guidance and resources for improvement. Piloting will soon begin in the health and well-being sector to test the tool in real workplace settings in Estonia, Finland, and Sweden. Complementary interviews with employers will be carried out to gain additional insights into user experiences. For more information, see our recent post: What makes a workplace age friendly, and why should we evaluate it? Challenges remain—particularly balancing comprehensive data collection with user-friendliness—but the partners have already gathered insights and tools to help organisations make meaningful changes for employees of all ages.

The visual appearance and usability of the tool are being continuously developed in close collaboration with experts from Estonia and Finland. As part of this process, Project Manager Liisa Nuutinen and Senior Project Specialist Heini Maisala-McDonnell from Metropolia University of Applied Sciences presented the concept recently in Turku as the the Tree of Age-Friendliness, which forms the visual foundation of the tool. The tree illustrates different dimensions of age-friendliness – from roots (community and inclusion) to fruits (training and learning) – symbolising growth towards more sustainable and inclusive work communities.

In addition, a Delphi panel, led by the Golden League, will be conducted to gather expert feedback on pilot activities and refine the proposed solutions for age-friendly organisations followed by an outreach and awareness campaign.

Partners also agreed on plans to present the project and its developments at several established conferences in 2026, including:

• EUSBAR Annual Forum (9–10 June, Tallinn)
• European Public Health Conference (10–13 November, 2026)
• Estonia’s Annual Health Promotion Conference

Together, the partners are advancing toward one shared goal: Ensuring that age equality becomes the standard in workplaces, allowing the aim of age-friendliness to grow stronger across the Baltic region and beyond.

Project partners:

The “Solutions for Age-Friendly Employer (SAFE)” project joins four partners from Estonia, Finland, and Sweden. The cooperation aims to strengthen and improve employment opportunities for employees aged 55+ specifically focusing on the health and wellness sectors. The project is financed by the European Regional Development Fund through Interreg Central Baltic 2021-2027.