<< Objectives >>The general objectives of the SEE U project are raising awareness about the importance of digital and social participation of older people and further developing innovative approaches. In line with our participatory approach and broad perspective on adult education, the project´s aim is to encourage older people to use digital tools for their interests and for contributing to their communities. The SEE U project will thus increase the visibility of older people in their neighbourhoods.<< Implementation >>Older people are trained and empowered to explore their neighbourhoods with the help of digital tools. They are supported to develop their own app-based interactive neighbourhood tours and become active in their communities, taking peers and other people to interesting spots in the neighbourhood. Our participants will not only inspire others to discover interesting places but they will also be role models for digital participation in older age and active ageing.<< Results >>All of our activities and results (e.g. Fact sheet, workshops, Handbook, Online Manual, Online-Webinars) will raise awareness on the issues of digital transformation and participation of older citizens in the digital world. The SEE U project also makes a contribution ensuring that older people take on an active and visible role in the digital transformation and their neighbourhoods – as competent users and creators.

BackgroundDue to demographic changes and a widely supported policy of ageing in place, the number of older people, who live alone will increase immensely. Thus, supportive residential neighbourhoods enabling older people to age in place successfully are required. Besides age-friendly housing, safe environments and availability of public transport possibilities to connect with other (older) adults in the neighbourhood are crucial for the well-being of older people. Research shows that people with strong social connections live longer, have better mental health, improved physical health and are happier. Especially due to the coronavirus experience we are convinced that the promotion of face-to-face contacts between older people and the establishment of supportive neighbourhoods that provide instrumental and emotional support is more essential than ever. The main idea The main idea is to establish and test neighbourhood training groups, where older and very old people meet regularly and support each other in (re-)detecting and bringing in their talents, fulfilling their dreams, facing challenges of everyday life and finding ways to actively contribute to their communities. The aim is to encourage face-to-face contacts with people who live within 5 to 10 minutes walk from each other to •build mutual supportive networks•take the control of their own life and find solutions for challenges in daily life (in the sense of entrepreneurship) •extend their individual networks•find creative ways of expressing their perspectives and ideasThe project´s approach is to provide external impulses and nudge joint activities within the neighbourhood groups. Therefore, at the beginning of the joint process participants will be supported to realise concrete activities (O3) that helps to develop a sense of community and belonging by giving them a common “goal”. The general idea is that the neighbourhood groups themselves will define their purpose, develop joint activities and ways on how to support each other. In partner countries (Austria, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Netherlands) 8-12 neighbourhood training groups will be established to be tested, involving up to 180 older people. Furthermore, events (E1-E4) and concrete activities (O3) are planned. Experience show that these are a helpful strategies to attract and involve many other older people and stakeholders. The low-threshold training setting – neighbourhood groups – support also the inclusion of older & very old people with low formal education (e.g. older migrants, women, who have never been employed) and little experience in formal trainings. Furthermore, older people are not only participants/recipients but are actively involved in the development and testing of outcomes: 1.As co-coordinators of the neighbourhood training groups and – together with the project team – they will develop the concept and establish the neighbourhood training groups in their communities (O2). In each partner country 2-3 older volunteers will be involved.2.Older participants bring in their perspectives and abilities (O3) as well as their experience gained within the project (O4 and O5). 3.Participants will actively contribute to face-to-face meetings with European project partners. ProcedureDreamlike Neighbourhood will be implemented through the following steps:RESEARCH & PREPARATIONBased on EU research on the issue of supporting neighbourhoods partner countries and at EU level and information on the project a Fact sheet (O1) is elaborated.DEVELOPING & TESTINGBased on the research partners develop a draft concept of the neighbourhood groups (including organisational and content issue) and – in close cooperation with older volunteers – will establish to test neighbourhood training groups in their settings (O2). Besides methods promoting interactions, individual reflections and mutual support also creative formats will encourage participants in dealing with the issue of supportive neighbourhood and expressing their perspectives and views (O3). SUMMARIZING EXPERIENCE & DEVELOPING RESOURCES FOR PROMOTING SUSTAINABILITYOrganisations not directly involved in the project obtain low-threshold information on the approach and experiences gained in the Handbook (O4) and the Online Resource Kit (O5). Multiplier Events at regional (E1-4) and EU (E5) level support the dissemination of project results.Keeping horizontal & specific priorities in mind, Dreamlike Neighbourhood supports the social inclusion, civic engagement and learning of older and very old people and (older) volunteers – groups considered as disadvantaged and difficult to reach learners. Innovative practices in ICT will be considered in several project activities (e.g. O3). In terms of transferability partners develop methods and tools that can easily transferred to other target groups, countries, regions & settings

"<< Objectives >>Longevity is one of the most important drivers of economic change and social welfare in the European countries, therefore stakeholders agree on the need for the definition of new VET profiles and competencies to cope with demographic change. With this in mind, the aims of the project are to propose a training curriculum of the ""professional of reference for inclusive age-friendly cities"" and to develop an educational toolkit to be implemented in VET programs in EU countries.<< Implementation >>WP2. PROPOSAL OF A TRAINING CURRICULUM FOR INCLUSIVE AGEING1.1.Key competencies on cross-cutting issues for age-friendly cities.1.2.Learning outcomes of a new professional figure in AFC.1.3.Proposal of a training curriculum. 1.4.Validation and dissemination of the results. WP3. TOOLKIT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGE-FRIENDLY CITIES2.1.Development of learning content.2.2.Creation of a set of training materials: app/course2.3.Testing the toolkit with target groups.2.4.Dissemination<< Results >>* A map of competencies, a set of learning outcomes for the profile of ""professional of reference in inclusive age-friendly cities"".* A training curriculum to be implemented in VET programs in participant countries. * A set of open educational resources (educational app and e-learning course) free available on the internet, for the development of age-friendly cities.* Piloting experiences to test results with the target groups.* A multilingual website, newsletter, booklets with the results."