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The City of Lodz (Poland) is collaborating with our project in the testing phase of the Homes4Life Certification Scheme.

The city’ Multigenerational House has just been featured in the European catalogue of good practices in rehabilitating historical and cultural heritage.

By the end of this year, further details will be unveiled on our website about the pilot sites which have contributed to test the Homes4life Certification Scheme. Stay tuned !

The Homes4Life project organised a webinar on November 5. It aimed at presenting the last developments and status of the Certification Scheme, but above all, the objective was to interact as much as possible with the audience in order to collect their opinions and advice to improve the Certification.

After an introduction by the moderator of the webinar, Nhu Tram (AGE Platform Europe), Silvia Urra Uriarte (Tecnalia), coordinator of the project, reminded the scope and objectives of Homes4Life.

Hervé Duret and Christophe Gérard (Certivéa) presented then the current Certification Scheme, which has been tested in 10 pilot sites across Europe. They described into details its principles, i.e. the kind of clients or building that it targets, the building types encompassed, the buildings’ occupancy state or life-cycle phase that it can assess, etc. They explained then the certification process and structure, with in particular the 192 requirements and the ~50 questions which enable to assess respectively the characteristics of the building/household and the perceptions of residents. Finally, the scoring system for all these requirements and questions has been defined, with the associated “medals” attributed: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. 

Menno Hinkema (TNO) reviewed the feedbacks received from the pilot sites, which provided their opinion on the Certification’s procedures, content and practical use. In particular, issues were raised on the applicability of some questions, the terminology used, the level of details expected, etc. All those comments will be taken into account, in the next version of the Certification.

The main goal of this webinar, attended by 41 persons in total, was to receive the feedback from the audience in order to potentially improve the Certification. Thus, during Certivéa’s presentation, 21 precise questions have been asked through polls on different aspects of the Certification. The answers enabled to validate most of the choices made in the development of the Certification. Others tend to indicate that revisions should be considered, e.g. concerning an extension of the validity period of the certificate, an increase of the weight given to the perceptions of residents and an adjustment of the weight given to the different categories of requirements (economic, personal, physical, outdoor access, social).

In addition, the final Q&A session enabled to clarify several points raised by the audience concerning the benefits of the Certification, the variety of buildings it encompasses, some of its technical aspects, its awarding scheme and its cost.

Following these very fruitful exchanges with the audience, the Homes4Life partners will keep on developing the Certification Scheme, together with the pilot sites. This work will be presented during the project’s final event on January 28, 2021.

Watch again the recording of this video below !

On 6th November 2020, Prof. Gian Marco Revel from Università Politecnica delle Marche chaired a session at EcoMondo Key Energy in which the Homes4Life project and its certification scheme were presented.

Key Energy is an international exhibition and conference showcasing technologies, services and integrated solutions that promote and accelerate the transition towards a carbon-neutral economy – the main aim of the Green Deal, the strategic plan for sustainable growth launched by the European Union.

The director of ISRAA, Giorgio Pavan, also further explained the experience of the Homes4Life pilots in Treviso.

Further details about this session here.

Our partner AGE Platform Europe presented the Homes4Life Certification Scheme at an event organised by CNAV – the French National Pension Fund (Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Vieillesse) –  in Paris on 19 October 2020.

Many stakeholders working in the field of housing and ageing were present.

See the full programme of the event here.

 

It is still time to join us at Sustainable Places by registering here !

Homes4Life is proud to have led the organisation of the Sustainable Housing Supporting Health and Well-being Workshop.

Participating projects : Homes4Life (H2020), TeNDER (H2020), SHAFE (Thematic Network), Hands-on-SHAFE (Erasmus+), NET4AGE-FRIENDLY (COST Action), AGE’IN (Interreg 2 seas), PHArA-ON (H2020), SmartWork (H2020).

Participating European Commission representative: Irina Kalderon Libal, Policy Officer Health Innovation and Ageing, European Commission .

Read the full programme of the conference at https://www.sustainableplaces.eu

Considering the need for quality and resilient housing that can adapt with people’s evolving needs when they age, the Homes4Life project intends to promote an age-friendly approach. Addressing this challenge, a first version of a Certification Scheme has been developed and is being tested in different pilot sites in Europe. Being innovative in its approach and process, the Homes4Life Certification Scheme takes into account a large array of indicators (e.g. social, economic, architectural) and helps raising the awareness of stakeholders to implement better living environments for all.
The next webinar proposed by the Homes4Life project’s Partners will aim at reminding the scope of the Certification, where it currently stands and what the next steps are. Above all, the webinar will be as interactive as possible, so that we can collect all the opinions and advice of the audience, in order to improve the Certification. Discussions will be also based on the feedback from the pilot sites.

1. Time & date of the webinar: Thursday, 5 November 2020, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM (CEST)
2. Registrations: here (free event)

Speakers:

1. Silvia Urra Uriarte, Researcher in the Building Technologies Division, Tecnalia
2. Christophe Gérard, Scientific and technical director, Certivéa
3. Hervé Duret, Consultant on uses in buildings and cities, Certivéa
4. Menno Hinkema, Senior researcher in health care and consultant in health services, TNO

Moderators:

1. Nhu Tram, Senior Project Officer, AGE Platform Europe
2. Alexis David, Project & Policy Officer, ECTP

Programme:

1. Introduction: presentation of the project and of its outcome
2. Presentation of the general characteristics of Homes4Life certification scheme
3. Feedback from the pilot sites
4. Interactive Q&A session with the webinar’s participants

We hope to count you among us during this webinar!

We value your feedback!
For any question or comment on this webinar, on the work carried out during the project or on its future steps, you can contact us online or drop us a line on Twitter.

AGE organised a workshop on 6^th October during the European Week of Regions and Cities. This year the EWRC is held as an on-line event spread over three weeks. The workshop co-organised with Tecnalia this year addressed age-friendly housing. Different actors were invited to talk about funding schemes, tools or local initiatives supporting inclusive housing.

UPDATE : the recording of the workshop is now available here !

Irina Kalderon Libal, policy officer at DG CNECT from the “eHealth, Wellbeing and Ageing” unit, focused her presentation on existing and future European Commission policies and actions supporting active and healthy ageing, including age-friendly environments.

Silvia Urra Uriarte, architect and specialist in building represented the Homes4Life project. She explained the importance of investing in housing for all ages and how quality housing has a tremendous influence in our health. Therefore, the Homes4Life project developed a European Certification Scheme that will support all actors involved better understand what should be taken into account when developing an age-friendly home. The Certification Scheme is divided into 5 different categories considered crucial for age-friendly housing: personal, social, economics, physical and outdoor access.

The three following speakers presented their local initiatives and are taking part in the testing of the Homes4Life Certification Scheme:

• Dr Jan P. Cieśla is the co-author of the Mimo Wieku Initiative (At home despite the Age). Jan is a consulting architect specialized in safe, healthy and sustainable built environments and expert in building certifications. He presented the first model apartment in Poland for active ageing and ageing in place. The apartment is accessible to provide training to architects for example when addressing the issue of housing for all ages. Jan P. Cieśla promotes universal design, “What is good for older people is good for all ages or for people with reduced mobility.”
• Ciaran O’Brien from OBFA Architects presented the “housing with supports” project in Inchicore, Dublin. The presented project examines the potential to deliver a model of managed housing that will support older persons in life and to end of life. This is being explored against a backdrop of a housing crisis in Ireland and the dichotomy of older individuals and couples in homes that no longer meet their needs. The project would offer 52 residential apartments, respecting and interlinking private, public and semi-public spaces. The As Ciaran said, “it takes a village to provide a stimulating environment for older people”.
• Sergio Murillo Corzo, Minister of Social Action in the Government of Biscay, presented the Etxegoki initiative, the leading site to validate a new model of supported housing for people with a physical disability. The building is owned by the Bizkaia government but is managed by FEKOOR, the Physical Disability Association Federation in Biscay. The public authority of Bizkaia implemented a change in their policy approach; they now provide support to change the environment. The case of Etxegoki proved to be successful in changing the community where the building is established. Shops and medical centres in the area had to adapt to enable the residents to also access these services. Changing the law is not enough, said Sergio Murillo, changing the mind sets, culture and insight of a community proves to be much more successful.

Further information in the slides below

EWRC 2020 HOMES4LIFE FINAL

 

 

 

 

The World Health Organization engages cities and communities all over the world in becoming age-friendly. There is a need for assessing the age-friendliness of cities and communities by means of a transparently constructed and validated tool which measures the construct as a whole. The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire measuring age-friendliness, providing full transparency and reproducibility. The development and validation of the Age Friendly Cities and Communities Questionnaire (AFCCQ) followed the criteria of the COnsensus-based Standards for selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN). Four phases were followed: (1) development of the conceptual model, themes and items; (2) initial (qualitative) validation; (3) psychometric validation, and (4) translating the instrument using the forward-backward translation method. This rigorous process of development and validation resulted in a valid, psychometrically sound, comprehensive 23-item questionnaire. This questionnaire can be used to measure older people’s experiences regarding the eight domains of the WHO Age-Friendly Cities model, and an additional financial domain.

Read the full publication here.

In Europe and around the world, people are living longer than ever before. This is one of the greatest achievements of the past century, but it also brings challenges for European societies and the EU as a whole.

We must adjust to an ageing and shrinking workforce, and find financially viable ways to deliver high-quality health and social care for all.

What the report says

SAPEA’s evidence review report shows that the ageing process needs to be transformed. Europe must tackle the challenges presented by ageing in every generation.

• When it comes to predicting how people age, evidence indicates that genetic factors are relatively minor compared to lifestyle behaviours such as a healthy diet and physical activity. Policies to promote these behaviours from early childhood, and even in unborn children, contribute directly to a healthy ageing process across people’s whole lives.
• Ageing in the future will take place in a very different context from the past and will be profoundly affected by phenomena such as climate change, air pollution and antibiotic resistance, as well as ongoing social changes. Policies will only be successful if they accommodate these changes.
• Technology is already changing the experience of ageing, including wearable and assistive devices and the advent of AI. But barriers of acceptance and practicality must be overcome.
• Education improvements at a young age are vital not only to improve individual health, but also to equip our future workforce with the skills it needs to support an ageing population in a rapidly changing society.

Read the full report here

About SAPEA

SAPEA brings together outstanding expertise in engineering, humanities, medicine, natural and social sciences from over 100 academies, young academies and learned societies across Europe.

SAPEA is part of the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism. Together with the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors, we provide independent scientific advice to European Commissioners to support their decision-making. We also work to strengthen connections between Europe’s academies and Academy Networks, and to stimulate debate in Europe about the role of evidence in policy-making.

SAPEA is funded by grant 737432 from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme.

Homes4Life partner AGE Platform Europe is co-organising an online event with the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, and the German National Association of Senior Citizens’ Organisations (BAGSO).

The topic of the conference will be on the “Strengthening Older People’s Rights in Times of Digitalisation – Lessons learned from COVID-19”

The online event will take place on Monday, 28 September 2020 afternoon, 1.30 p.m. 4.00 p.m. and Tuesday, 29 September 2020 morning, 9.30 a.m. 12.30 p.m.

Representatives from all EU Member States, EU and international institutions, civil society organisations, national human rights institutes as well as all interested individuals are invited to participate in the event and exchange views and ideas on the challenges and opportunities related to digitalisation and older people.

Building on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference will put forward recommendations for EU and national policy actions, ahead of the EPSCO-Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council’s conclusions ‘Human Rights, Participation and Well-Being of Older Persons in the Era of Digitalisation’ on 13 October 2020.

The programme is available in English – German – French 
Read the invitation in English – German – French 

Register here to get the access code for the online-conference. It will be broadcasted via livestream (in the browser of your device).