SHAFE –
Stakeholders Network on Smart, Healthy Age-Friendly Environments
A new concept was created since 2017, based on the desire to implement Smart
Healthy Age-Friendly Environments (SHAFE) across Europe, fostering happier and
healthier people in all communities. This idea took shape and became a solid
movement.
SHAFE began as a
Thematic Network, approved by the European Commission, to draw policy makers,
organisations and citizens’ attention to the need of better alignment between
health, social care, built environments and ICT, both in policy and funding and
delivered a Joint Statement and a Framing Paper in December 2018 to the
European Commission and Member States.
After this,
SHAFE evolved to a European Stakeholders Network, which currently has over 170
partner organisations and is coordinated by Carina Dantas and Willeke van
Staalduinen.
It is working to
achieve better COOPERATION and IMPLEMENTATION, as the major challenges for the
next period, as stated in the Position
Paper released in 2020, with recommendations that aim to promote healthier
environments for all citizens and make environments accessible, sustainable and
reachable for all, with the support of ICT.
The scenario
during 2021 is an opportunity for the digital revolution to be well thought and
implemented, if all the adequate challenges are well considered and tackled.
The Smart
Healthy Age-Friendly Environments Network will thus focus on the narrative,
debate, disclosure and knowledge translation of smart digital solutions and of
solutions to optimize the physical and social environments of individuals in a
concerted manner, bringing together also the domains of health and social
care. The Position Paper provides indicators to measure progress
and success on the realization of SHAFE.
European Covenant on
Demographic Change
The Covenant aims to gather all local, regional and national authorities,
and other stakeholders, that commit to cooperate and implement evidence-based
solutions to support active and healthy ageing as a comprehensive answer to
Europe’s demographic challenge.
Carina Dantas is the Vice-President since 2016.
It supports
local and regional authorities, and other stakeholders, in developing
environments for active and healthy ageing that:
To reach these
objectives, the Covenant is open to all interested parties (i.e. local,
regional and national authorities, as well as civil society organisations,
industries, research centres and universities) that voluntarily commit to
making age-friendly environments a reality in their communities and to share
their experience with other Covenant members.
Full members of the Covenant commit to develop an action plan on age-friendly
environments, i.e. one or several of the eight domains of the WHO age-friendly
environments approach: housing, transport, community services and health
services, outdoor spaces and buildings, social participation, respect and
social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and
information. Such plan has to set priorities to help the public authority
become (more) age-friendly, with the help of Ordinary and Associate members.
The Covenant is
aligned with existing initiatives such as the World Health
Organisation Global Network on Age-Friendly Cities and Communities (GNAFCC),
the WHO-European
Healthy Cities Network, the Dublin Declaration on age-friendly cities and communities
in Europe and the EIP-AHA (European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy
Ageing), in order to work in a coordinated approach. The Covenant is
established as an international non-for-profit association under the Belgian
Law.
With more
than 70 organizations officially registered as Members, the Portuguese
Network on Smart, Healthy and Age-Friendly Environments brings together
partners from all regions of Portugal, committed to promote a joint agenda for
the implementation of Inclusive Environments for all ages, with particular
incidence in the areas of Health, Social Support, ICT and
Infrastructures/Building Environments.
The Network is
boosted by a Working Group, being the Technical Coordination ensured by Carina
Dantas and the Scientific Coordination by João Apóstolo. It also has an
Advisory Board that brings together 10 national experts: https://caritascoimbra.pt/rede-portuguesa/sobre-a-rede/
From its first participatory meeting, held in
Coimbra in October 2018, the first Network Action Plan was drawn up, supported
in the following key themes: Influence on policies; Business Models /
Implementation; Collaboration and communication; Health and Well-being
throughout the life cycle. The Action Plan of the Portuguese Network is
available in Portuguese, but it also makes available a version translated to English, to consult in: https://caritascoimbra.pt/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/ActionPlan_Rede-PT_EN.pdf