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Technology for helping older people remaining active and fully integrated into society.
Start date: Oct 1, 2016, End date: Sep 30, 2018 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Populations around the world are rapidly ageing. Economic development and the improvement in some environmental conditions have resulted in a continuous increase in life expectancy across Europe during the last century and places the EU-28 among the world leaders for life expectancy, reaching 83.3 years for women and 77.8 years for men (Eurostat). Technology has the potential to enable older people to engage actively in all aspects of community life and stay independent longer. Active living (active ageing) creates wellbeing in everyday life; it supports rehabilitation and gives autonomy.In spite of the importance of this aspect, it is not present in the education and training programs for care workers. Professional caregivers and volunteers are in direct contact with the elderly and should be able to support them in making use of the opportunities offered by technology. This could for instance be ordering food and other goods online, access to many government services, which are moving online, being familiar with using tele-medicine and tele-assistance, communicating with friends or their family via e-mail, skype, social networks.The partnership behind the TECHSenior project will develop a training program in the form of blended learning that will make more old people able to live a more autonomous life. The program will be used in VET education and training, by volunteers, and in adult lifelong learning. Its target groups are trainers and teachers of care workers and of old people, volunteers and the old people themselves.The partnership consists of different types of organisations: public and private VET institutions, public employers of professional caregivers, NGOs and SMSs from Denmark, Spain, UK and Greece and a European-wide professional association with its base in Brussels, Belgium. This provides a unique opportunity to find creative solutions together.The target groups for this project are VET teachers, trainers and other workers who will be trained in how to work with the elderly- and the elderly persons themselves.More than 2.000 people will benefit indirectly from or will be the target of the activities organised by the project.Following the teacher training, two courses will be developed; the first will involve the human elements of teaching and training, using methods to engage the older persons; e-learning will be developed to allow a reference, or an ‘aid memoire’, as it is recognised that ongoing support will be needed and allowances made for the way that older people learn.Older people themselves are constantly involved as co-developers in the processThe TECHSenior project is expected to bring positive and long–lasting effects on the participants, as it is intended to produce the following outcomes:• Increased level of digital competence and independent living• More active participation in society and more positive attitude towards EU valuesAt a systemic level, TECHSenior project it is expected to response in a positive way to the policies of Europe concerning:• Active citizenship• Promotion of social inclusion and non-discrimination• Lifelong learning• Upskilled teachers in the digital age
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