Hands-on SHAFE Newsletter #2

Hands-on SHAFE Newsletter #2

Introduction

Welcome to the second Newsletter of the Hands-on SHAFE Erasmus+ project!

We are happy to inform you about the progress of the project and the results we have already produced.

If you have questions, suggestions for cooperation or any further comments, please let us know (Javier Ganzarain and Willeke van Staalduinen, info@afedemy.eu).

SHAFE introduced

Hands-on SHAFE partner TU Dublin created a short introduction video on the background and aims of Smart Healthy Age-Friendly Environments. What facilitators such as volunteers, community workers, (in)formal caregivers, business persons are and can do to implement SHAFE, to assist people and to improve their neighbourhoods is further explained at hand of practical examples.  

You can watch the video here.

SHAFE e-learning modules online

At the moment, the Hands-on SHAFE team is busy developing the e-learning modules on Smart Healthy Age-Friendly Environments (SHAFE). They develop modules on

• SMART environments (Information and Communications Technology – ICT indoor and outdoor),
• HEALTHY environments (Healthy lifestyle and therapies, how to recognize and deal with (chronic) diseases or impairments),
• BUILT environments (housing, mobility, outdoor spaces and buildings),
• BUSINESS (how to set up a SHAFE business), and
• GENERAL (what is SHAFE, communication and end-users)

The first introductory module that is available online is: SHAFE and me. In this module the learner will get an introduction on what SHAFE aims and is in concrete examples. The learner can do exercises and the learner can also assess if SHAFE fits to him or her or not.

Personal stories

The use of personal stories is key to the learning experience and hands-on tools of Hands-on SHAFE. Get to know Maria and other persons that will help the learners navigate the training modules!

Maria, 84, likes cooking and being in charge of her daughter June and grandson Jon. She enjoys watching soap operas on TV and feeding pigeons in the park.

She is currently struggling to live healthy on a budget (her pension is small and her family is having serious financial difficulties), be mobile (she lives in a flat on the 3rd floor with no lift) and comfortable in her home (her house has no central heating). 

What does this lead to? She is less able to manage her household (e.g. cleaning, groceries), she doesn’t go out as much as she would like to and she needs support to continue to learn, grow and be active in society. Unfortunately, she has no one to rely on for help, so that is when the facilitator comes in.

Maria is one of the personas from Blueprint (a project in the frame of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing) that will help the learners in Hands-on SHAFE to become future facilitators.  They will get to know her and others and help to create smart healthy age-friendly environments in their communities.  

Maria and other personal stories will become available on the e-learning platform of Hands-on SHAFE along with other training modules. The personal stories will help the learners navigate the training and give voice to the real needs of older people.

The first half of the training content will become available on the e-learning platform Hands-on SHAFE in September 2021. Stay tuned and be the change (agent) you want to see in the world and your community!

Learning, Teaching and Training Activities in Dublin

“Very needed”, “take care of diversity”, “use short sentences” and “make it visual”, were some of the comments we received from partners and Irish guests on the draft learning modules of the Hands-on SHAFE project.

On 22-24 June, the Hands-on SHAFE project partners and Irish guests from the Age-friendly Ireland network met each other remotely to present and discuss SHAFE e-learning modules. The following modules were presented: text communication with smartphones (SMART), healthy lifestyles (HEALTHY), mobility outside (BUILT) and human-business coherence (BUSINESS). Transversal modules, introduction to SHAFE and communication techniques (GENERAL) completed the first set of Learning, Teaching and Training Activity that partners undertook.

You can watch the video here.

The aims of the collaborative learning activity were: 1. To learn more about each other’s domains so partners are able to present the other’s modules at the national multiplier events; 2. To test and receive comments from a multidisciplinary team on the developed modules; and 3. To enable the partners to review their own and others’ modules with the lessons learned. In the closing evaluation partners commented: “I really enjoyed the meetings, although they were virtual”, “very interesting to get an overview of the whole of modules we developed”, “we should evaluate every module in the same way and name ambassadors on different actions”. The partnership appointed ambassadors on the harmonisation of the use of personas, images, sentences, length of the texts and the references. Partners also agreed to meet biweekly during and after the Summer to get the modules done before September.

During the past year, based on the national reports on SHAFE, the partners of the Hands-on SHAFE project created an educational framework. The framework is the base of the e-learning modules that the project partners are developing in the domains SMART, HEALTHY, BUILT and BUSINESS. Transversal themes were also identified (GENERAL). The modules are meant for facilitators who assist others (such as older adults, people with impairments) in smart healthy age-friendly settings. Facilitators can be volunteers, (informal) caregivers, business people or service and product providers such as hair dressers and providers of accessible transport services.

The pdfs of the learning modules are visible here. Please do not hesitate to send your comments on the current drafts. We would like to receive them before July 5^th via online survey (link) or you can ask Willeke van Staalduinen (willeke@afedemy.eu) for a pdf questionnaire.

You can also watch below the videos of the respective presentations:

During September and October 2021, the project partners will organise national partner events in Ireland, France, Germany, Portugal, Poland and The Netherlands to present a medley of SMART, HEALTHY, BUILT, BUSINESS and GENERAL. Besides presentation and collecting feedback, the participants will be invited to jointly do the quizzes and activities. 

Next newsletter

The next newsletter of the Hands-on SHAFE project will appear in October 2021 after the national partner events.

Notification

You receive this newsletter because you are involved in Hands-on SHAFE project as associated partner, or in COST Action 19136 NET4Age-Friendly or in the SHAFE Stakeholders Network.

Hands-on SHAFE is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, Key Action 204 Adult Education programme.

The European Commission's support for this project and the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.