"We are witnessing a longevity revolution; in 2060, one in eight Europeans will be 80 years or older. Very old people will thus not be a small minority in our societies but a significant citizen group. General perceptions of very old age are mainly associated with limitations, loss (e.g. abilities, possibilities, autonomy) and health and care issues.The ACT80+ partnership believes that the attitude towards the very old has to be changed and the focus from inabilities shifted to opportunities and strengths. Therefore, the vision of the Active 80+ project was a) to facilitate and provide access to informal learning opportunities for old people with functional limitations or care needs and b) to combat negative stereotypes about this population group as regards being restricted to the role of consumers of services.Since the access to social and public environment of very old people is often limited, professionals and volunteers working with them belong to their most important contact persons. Their support in detecting and re-developing hidden strengths of very old people they are involved with and their encouragement of very old people to engage in meaningful activities can be crucial in providing access to learning and ensuring greater independence and enjoyment of later life. The core idea of the ACT80+ project was to develop a research-based training concept and train care staff and volunteers to function as coaches for people 80+. Coaches supported older people in developing and realizing their own ideas of learning and active citizenship (""projects""). Therefore, the ACT80+ project involved the following target groups: A) Experts and very old people as interviewees: At the beginning of the project, in all partner countries and at European level, interviews were performed with key actors, including citizens at very high age, experts, policy-makers, researchers and practitioners. Their comments and feedback have been considered in the development of the training concept (Training Package ACT80+). B) Staff and volunteers of health and social service providers (as training participants and coaches)C) Very old people with funcional restrictions or care needs (as older learners and (co-)initiators of projects)D) Organizations (health and social service providers, associations representing the needs of the older people, adult training-providers) & other relevant stakeholders at national and European levelExperiences gained in developing and realizing the research-based (see European Benchmarking Report O1) training for care staff and volunteers working with people 80+ were summarized in the Handbook for Trainers (O4). Furthermore, the partnership elaborated the Handbook for Practitioners (O5), which addresses volunteers and paid staff of health and social services providers, empowerment groups, older people’s organisations and associations willing to coach, empower and work with people 80+ interested in learning and meaningful activities. This publication is meant to inspire and provides many practical examples of projects that emerged from our Active 80+ trainings in the partner countries.In order to nudge also changes at structural level, the ACT80+ partnership elaborated policy recommendations at the EU, national, regional and local levels (O6). The Erasmus+ project was carried out from October 2014 to September 2016 and involved six partner organizations in five EU-countries: Austria (queraum. cultural and social research - EU coordinator; Austrian Red Cross), Germany (ISIS), Italy (Lunaria), Lithuania (Senior Initiatives Center) and the Netherlands (OVN-NL - Oudere Vrouwen Netwerk - Nederland). All partners involved in the ACT80+ project • are experienced in planning, realizing, managing and disseminating European projects, • are active in the fields of socio-gerontology and the promotion of active citizenship and civic competencies of older people, familiar with the issue of active citizenship and lifelong learning of very old people• are experienced in developing and implementing training concepts• are well networked at local, regional, national and European level and• share long-term collaborative relationsThe ACT80+ partnership is convinced that, the project contributed to the change of perception of older people 80+. The main outcomes, such as the Handbook for Trainers, the Handbook for Practitioners and the Policy Recommendations as well as comprehensive dissemination activities in all partner countries raised awareness for the issue and encouraged stakeholders in care homes, welfare organizations and at political level to continue their activities in this field and /or transfer the ACT80+ approach to their contexts. Additionally, experiences gained and outcomes of the ACT80+ project enriched discussions at European level."