Successful partner meeting and multiplier events for the SAA project
Jonas Bernitt
The Smart Against Ageism Project (SAA)
SAA (Smart Against Ageism) is a project that aims to reflect on social perceptions, giving multiple incentives to tackle assumptions against other individual based on their age. In this context, several learning materials have been developed to enable a more thorough reflection of ageism, as a specific form of discrimination. Among other things, a European Compendium has been developed including the perspective of older adults in five European countries. Based on the insights it provided, an interactive learning game has been provided with the aim for the user to playfully reflect on the topic. In addition, the project partners developed a trainer toolkit for creating workshops, and recommendations for policymakers!
In the following article, you will find information on three different events that took place within the framework of the SAA project: The transnational partner meeting, the national multiplier event and the international multiplier event.
The transnational partner meeting (Brussels; Belgium)
On the 11th of June, the last transnational partner meeting for the SAA project took place in Brussels, Belgium, at the office of AGE Platform Europe. In this context, the international project partners (ISIS – Germany, AGE Platform – Belgium, AFEdemy – The Netherlands, Seniors Centre Lithuania – Lithuania, SHINE2Europe – Portugal, Alzheimer Bulgaria – Bulgaria, Alzheimer Bulgaria Association – Bulgaria) came together to discuss the last steps of the project’s development. Points for discussion had been the finalisation of the project results, including the SAA educational game. Among other things, the sustainability of the developed project outcomes has been reconsidered with the support of a SWOT analysis, which highlights Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of a service or product. As the project results were perceived as very beneficial for the users by all partners, the consortium decided to extend the meeting beyond the planned end of the project on the 30th of June 2024 to disseminate the materials further and ensure their availability and exploitation by various organisations.
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The Dutch national multiplier event (Leiden, The Netherlands)
On the same day as the transnational partner meeting (11th of June), the national multiplier event on the results of the Smart Against Ageism (SAA) project took place in Leiden, The Netherlands. During the meeting with policymakers and staff members of local governments, health and welfare organisations, and interest groups such as the support centre Migrants Leiden, AFEdemy presented the set-up and goals of the project as well as the results archived, including the compendium, the recommendations to policymakers, the educational game and the toolkit for trainers.
Ample attention was paid to the definition of ageism or age discrimination, why it is important to know about it, learn to recognise it, and measurements of how to deal with it. This was explained through the design of the game and related policy recommendations, among other things.
Moreover, the associated partner iDb, represented by Mireille Bijnsdorp, talked about how to recognise age discrimination and how to complain about it. In this context, several cases in which age discrimination may have occurred have been presented, all based on the practical work carried out by iDb.
To summarise, all materials had been perceived as positive by the Dutch attendees: Several participants expressed their interest in playing the game and sharing it with their peers. The topic was perceived as highly interesting.
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The international multiplier event (Leuven, Belgium)
Following the transnational partner meeting and the national multiplier event, the SAA partner AGE Platform Europe organised their annual conference on the 12th of June. Right after the European elections in 2024 the event was foreseen to reiterate commitment to a society for all ages. In connection with the transnational partner meeting, the SAA consortium seized this opportunity to share the main outcomes of the SAA project, using the opportunity as the international multiplier.
The event gathered European policymakers (European Commission’s Vice-President for Democracy and Demography, DG JUSTICE, the Polish Ministry for Senior Policy, the European Belgian Presidency with the representative from the State Secretary for Gender Equality, Equal Opportunities and Diversity, UN OHCHR Regional Office for Europe, European Committee of Social Rights, the EuroCentralasian Lesbian Community), equality bodies (the European Fundamental Rights Agency, Equinet, UNIA – Belgian Interfederal Centre for Equal Opportunities) and civil society organizations (the European Disability Forum, the European Women’s Lobby, among the many organisation members of AGE Platform Europe).
Twelve eminent speakers highlighted their perspectives and strategies, sharing their work with over 80 on-site participants and over 40 online attendees during the event. Among those speakers, SAA partner Alzheimer Bulgaria introduced the SAA project and its outcomes, rooted against ageism and encouraged the wide audience to test the developed educational game during the coffee break. Attendees tested the educational offer in English and French, showing appreciation for the tool and enthusiasm about the lively graphics and game flow. Thanks to the high number of attendees, the various language versions of the game and the SAA products were widely disseminated.
To summarise, the European Multiplier Event was a great success and the feedback on the project results showed that the consortium’s efforts in the SAA project paid off. During the event, it became clear that the SAA tools and materials are sought by various realities across the EU and that they can contribute to creating a more equal Europe.
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Further Information
If the SAA project seems interesting to you, please have a look at our e-learning platform and all the developed materials on the SAA website.