HOPE project coordinator City of Rotterdam
Caused by the climate change we are experiencing more frequent and longer lasting #heatwaves all across the world, where the #OlderPeople are the most affected group. Not only is the morbidity increasing during the extreme heat, but unfortunately also the mortality rates. Governments, NGOs and the health sector are working on responding to the risks of the heatwaves, but we are still re-acting in stead of pro-acting.
A highly relevantquestions is: Is there still HOPE to catch up with the climate change?
Funded by European Union, a consortium of 5 partners
(#ISRAA, #SantaCasaDaMisericórdiaDaAmadora, Altera Vita, Gemeente Rotterdam, #ELISAN and Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences) are determined to tackle this issue in project HOPE Heatwaves (Responding to Heatwaves in the Older People Ecosystem).
16–17 January the team came together in Amadora, Portugal, to continue their working on 4 innovative products:
☀ An scalable e-learning for students and (in)formal caregivers
☀ A database of good practices
☀ Guidelines for health, care and social organisations
☀ Policy recommendations for local, regional and national governments.
The programme consisted of series of co-creation sessions focusing on topics:
1. What can organisations do to promote #SelfEmpowerment among the older adults?
2. How to put the topic "Preparation for heatwaves" on the local and regional agendas?
3. What type of content should mitigation guidelines for organisations include?
The programme also included interactive presentations on:
1. Self-empowerment and ICT as a service by Pedro Gamito
2. Amadora’s climate adaptation policy by Luís Carvalho
3. Impact of climate change & the role of social work by Fernando Serra from ISCSP-ULisboa / Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas - Universidade de Lisboa
4. Interviews with older adults, caregivers and professionals from #SCMA on their experiences with the heatwaves.
Besides reaching strong agreements and creating robust plans on how to move forward with the project, we also realized:
☀ that all parties in the older adult ecosystem need specific guidelines for not only acting during the urgency of heatwaves, but also for preparing and evaluating the periods of extreme heat.
☀ the importance and urgency of creating local, regional and national networks
☀ the potential of integrating health, care and social services as part of one one provider and that creating a person based approach.
Once more I would like to thank our partners from #SCMA (Adriano Fernandes, Mariana Camacho and Eva Calçada) for being great hosts and the entire team for their brilliant contributions, motivation and impeccable work.
Elena Curtopassi, Josine Van Den Bogaard, Inge Klück, Esther Wienese, Antonia Sakellariou, Henk Rosendal, Marleen Goumans, Jeannette Nijkamp, Marta Mattarucco, Davide Tuis, Oscar Zanutto, Francesca Masiero, Miltos Sakellariou
Is there HOPE❓ We sure are working hard on it! 🍀
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