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Introduction to the scope of the project

AGE together with nine national organisations and one associate network (*) launched on 15 December 2008 a two-year social inclusion project, INCLUSage. The project seeks to promote participatory debates at local and national level on the multiple aspects of poverty and social exclusion faced by older people. INCLUSage long-term goal is to set up an efficient permanent consultation process with the relevant policy makers at all levels.

The project will address in policy debates the issue of older people’s dignity, so that this notion could be effectively reflected in the implementation of social inclusion actions and measures. Indeed, the lack of due acknowledgement of older people’s dignity in social inclusion policy only fosters further their social exclusion and abuse. The project awareness raising activities should then help to drive a tangible change in attitudes towards older people.

Based on the outcome of the national work programmes, a common “civil dialogue methodology” will be developed by the partners to help AGE organisations in other Member States promote and strengthen civil dialogue on social inclusion. (*) Hospice Miloserdie Charitable Organisation (Bulgaria) ; Tulip Foundation (Bulgaria); Zivot 90 (Czech Republic); Association of Swedish-Speaking Pensioners (Finland); BAGSO (Germany); Landesvereinigung für Gesundheit Niedersachsen (Germany); Ancescao (Italy)Forum 50+ (Poland) ; Fundacja Ja Kobieta (Poland) ; Forum Pre pomoc Starsim (Slovak Republic). Additionally, the above partners will cooperate at national level with members of the European Liaison Committee for Social Housing (CECODHAS).

The project has received funding from the European Community Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity, PROGRESS.  

Implementation stages

2009

During the first implementation stage, January to June 2009, INLUSage partners organised a series of participatory workshops to gather views about older people social realities. Some partners e.g. in Slovakia, Bulgaria and Poland also collected data on specific needs of vulnerable older persons through surveys or mapping studies.
The information gathered in this way used to prepare broader public debates at the national awareness raising meeting that partners held respectively on or around the 29th of April, the first European Day of Solidarity between Generations}}. Hosted, in some cases within the national parliaments themselves (Poland), these national events involved not only civil servants or usual actors active in social inclusion, but also other stakeholders such as social partners, services providers, educational bodies, regional and local authorities, private sector, media, police etc. This was to respond to one of the project’s objectives: promotion of a broad partnership and wide-reaching debate on poverty and social exclusion of older people.
In the second half of 2009, partners will continue to collect information at the local workshops with older people in particular those experiencing poverty and social exclusion and will exchange with local authorities and other stakeholders on how best respect and defend this vulnerable and often invisible population groups. Results from this preparatory work will help partners to prepare a second awareness raising event at national level that is scheduled to take place on or around the 1st of October, United Nations Day of Seniors. 2010 Activities foreseen to take place during the second year of the project:

• Preparation and organisation of 3rd cycle of meetings with older people
• Holding the third and fourth national awareness raising events in each partner country
• Follow-up activities on policy discussion in link to 2008-2010 OMC second “light year”
• Drafting a common “civil dialogue methodology”
• Holding a final closing event in Brussels presenting project results to EU stakeholders will be organised in December 2010 in cooperation with the European Parliament Intergroup on Ageing.

For more information about INCLUSage, please contact: Maciej Kucharczyk, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Alice Sinigaglia, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

News from partners' implementation

 
For more information regarding the specific partners’ work programmes and the l atest news from the project implementation at national level, please see the following sections:

Last Updated on Friday, 27 August 2010 11:16