Launching Lifetime project to solve unsustainable pressure on nursing care
Social think tank Kennisland and Vandejong Creative Agency are launching the Life Long Life project with a grant from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS). They are calling on the Dutch public to submit radical ideas that contribute to a pleasant old age and stimulate change in nursing care. This is their response to the increasing aging population in the Netherlands. A professional jury consisting of Prof. Dr. Annet de Lange (extraordinary professor ‘Successful ageing’) and Mohammed Benzakour (author of the prize-winning book ‘Yemma – still life from a Moroccan mother’), among others, will judge the entries based on innovation and feasibility. The ten parties with the best ideas will receive professional guidance and a budget for further development.
Nora van der Linden, Director of Kennisland: “It is estimated that by 2040 over a quarter of the Dutch population will be 65+. This will reduce the proportion of the potential working population. As the number of older people rises, so will the demand for care. This means that we must look for new, innovative ideas to provide the right care to all elderly people, both now and in the future, so that they can spend the last part of their lives in a meaningful way. To make this happen, we need to take action now by thinking and acting differently. We believe that the most innovative ideas arise in society. That is what we are looking for with Lifelong Living.’
First entries
One of the first submissions is Tintel sentences. These are intimate audio stories to stimulate the imagination of older people. Tintelzinnen is the final result of Myrthe Krepel’s (Msc. Design for Interaction, TU Delft) graduation project, in which she discovered that many older people (70+) hold on to the meaning of sexuality from when they were young. By (re)introducing the elderly to the broad spectrum of intimacy and sexuality in their imagination, they can rediscover the role it can play in their lives now.
The social enterprise Regie op Dementie, run by experience expert Hilma van
Slooten, also participates. To support more children of parents with dementia practically and emotionally, she wants to scale up her platform. To relieve the search stress they experience. It’s about living with dementia.
Lifelong living program
All ideas, large or small, can be submitted until March 20, 2020 at www.levenlangleven.nu. The entries can relate to, for example, new forms of living, mobility or physical support, but also ideas that contribute to a more autonomous, social or meaningful life. The professional jury will choose 10 innovative ideas for the Lifelong Living Pioneer Program. During this program, participants will receive coaching from experts in the fields of nursing care, social innovation, policy, regulation and entrepreneurship. The finale will take place during the Lifetime event on October 6, 2020. There, participants will present the tested prototypes to a wide audience. Care organizations can adopt a prototype and engage in a discussion with participants.
Prof. Dr. Annet de Lange: “In my opinion, an initiative such as Lifelong Learning is essential for finding solutions for successful aging and innovation in nursing care. We know from research that developing and maintaining mental and physical resilience determines how a person experiences the last part of their life. With the pioneering program, we hope to learn from innovative insights from society and find out what is needed for this in later life.’
Effective method: a movement from the bottom up
In 2015, together with the municipality of Amsterdam, Kennisland launched Our New School, a search for new school makers who could accommodate the expected student growth in Amsterdam. The project resulted in several new schools in Amsterdam, such as the Alan Turings School and Klein Amsterdam. Van der Linden: ‘From the experience we have gained around the school innovators, we know how valuable it is to realize a movement that starts from the bottom up, where answers are provided from within society and not imposed from above.’
Leven Lang Leven is an initiative of Kennisland and Vandejong Creative Agency, subsidized by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.