Project n°21

INTRODUCTION

The SENIOR SPACE project seeks to favour the creation of communities and territories that are friendly to the elderly, acting on DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE, making the elderly visible, both in decision-making and in the implementation of services that treat this sector of the population as a generator of employment and not as an irreversible problem, thus facilitating a new economy linked to the silver economy.

Objectives:

-Enhance the contribution of older people and social organisations in the process of territorial development.

-To create friendly and inclusive environments for all people throughout their life cycle and regardless of their circumstances.

-Establish a governance model that incorporates an ageing population perspective in local policy planning.

-Generate and propose strategies, alliances and intervention policies favourable to active ageing.

Actions:

– Awareness-raising campaigns, conferences.

– Elaboration of a Framework of Intervention with the elderly

– Computerised management tool, which measures the friendliness of each community.

– Local Action Plans in each of the municipalities.

– Promotion of volunteering. For further information, the website: https://www.espacioseniorextremadura.es/

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PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT

It is a LEADER regional cooperation project that unites 6 Development Groups: ADERCO, ARJABOR, LA SERENA, LA SIBERIA, TAGUS and ADESVAL (coordinator). A total of 105 municipalities in six rural territories with a population over 65 years of age of more than 20%. All with the common problem of ageing and population loss. It has been developed from 2021 to December 2022, considering continuity in the next Strategy 2023 – 2027.

The SENIOR SPACE project seeks to raise awareness and act on DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE, an issue that affects all areas, making the elderly visible, both in decision-making and in ensuring the implementation of services that treat this sector of the population as a generator of employment and not as an irreversible problem. The project deals with one of the most remarkable aspects of demographic change, which is the growth in number and percentage of the elderly in our society. Demographic change is experienced in all developed countries, but in rural areas (where the project is located) it is linked to ageing and depopulation, these being the two main factors that cause demographic change. This project focuses on the elderly, but also aims to facilitate a new economy linked to the silver economy, which means acting on job creation and thus tackling one of the causes of depopulation. The plan has several aspects, which are not watertight departments; in the definition of the thematic area, WORKING ON DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE was chosen, as it was understood that it was the concept that broadly included the most important aspects of the project, as beyond specific actions in the areas where the cooperation project is being developed, they are aimed at making ageing visible as a condition of social planning and opportunities for rural areas.

The analysis of the economic and demographic situation of the six territories and the current context makes it possible to act: The new model of attention and care that the Regional Government of Extremadura is promoting is largely based on proximity services in rural areas. This new model, together with the transition in the model of care at national and European Union level, means that we propose the project as a proposal to bring the elderly closer, not only as the object of the services, but also as the subject of what they should propose through their participation.

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PRINCIPAL OBJECTVES

• Align with the idea of active ageing of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the new European care model.
• Expand governance understood as the balance of all public agents and civil society in the construction of friendly communities for the elderly.
• The creation of proximity services in rural areas that allow older people to decide where they want to live.
• The creation of employment in rural areas, mainly through the creation of new local services in rural areas.
• To consider the silver economy as a powerful sector in the face of rural depopulation.
• To make the elderly visible as an actor and a driving force for development.

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ADDED VALUE OF THE PROJECT

The project proposes a change of outlook towards the elderly, making them and their environment aware that they are still active members of their community, not only as care seekers, but also as consumers of services.
It generates capacity to fight against the demographic challenge and promotes a strategic development for the territory of action for these reasons:

• A methodology based on raising the awareness of all the actors involved, giving an active presence to the elderly (social innovation and governance).
• Public (town councils) and private collaboration, a line of work that produces alliances and business dynamism through commitment to defining new types of services and generating employment.
• Creation of products or services with an important innovative component such as those linked to proximity services and other specialised services for seniors.
• The local councils and the territory will have a computerised tool to register and continuously improve the degree of friendliness towards the elderly. Coordinated planning of entities and interest groups.
• The project works to align, from the regional space, the transition in the world of care that from Europe, Spain and Extremadura is being promoted towards a new model.
  Espacio Sénior can be replicated in counties with problems of population ageing and unemployment. Actions favouring transferability have already been carried out: the project has been presented at regional and national meetings (RRN and REDR) and in France. LEADER Good Practice Sheet for RRN and the project has been included in the Social Innovation Manual. Some examples: conferences: RRN 16 June 2021, participation in RURALISONS L’EUROPE! UNIS DANS LA RURALITÉ, 16 MARS 2022, participation in the 1st Forum on the Demographic Challenge of Extremadura or in the selection of good practices of national projects.
  With the results of the project, in the Alagón Valley in particular, there is already a line of work on social entrepreneurship linked to proximity services. It is especially aimed at women and qualified young people.
  The project can be transferred to any territory and, without difficulty, to those with similarities in their administrative and population structure: small municipalities, ageing, depopulation, portfolio of dependency services.
  The transfer of the project must always be done with the participation of local actors, the hallmark of LEADER.
  The project pivots on governance (active incorporation of the elderly as object and subject), demographic challenge, generation of employment and enterprise in disadvantaged groups and planning aligned between administrations and interest groups.

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