CREATOR newsletter #3

4
ENSURE - A database of senior experts
Ensure wants to take advantage of elderly’s
knowledge and expertise and store it in a community
website for seniors.
Elderly people want to function as active
members of society. According to some studies,
the maturity generation (people aged 43-63)
increasingly feel that they should contribute to
social cohesion. Thus, they focus on economic
activity, and they also consider other kinds
of activity important, whether paid or not,
because various unspecified activities can be
useful for the individual and society alike.
Consequently, the project is operating in the
area of emerging businesses; business ideas
which provide opportunities for active participation
by people in this age group, in harmony
with their own needs, in aiding the orientation
of company product or service development.
This could involve substantial emphasis on the
health industry, recreation and IT.
It is important that people in this target group,
which is increasing, should help the younger
generation, actively rather than passively, while
retaining their own goals and needs.
Aim
Our “ENSURE” project is intended to map out,
collect, organize and utilize the knowledge,
expertise, experience and competence that
are unique for elderly people (aged 55+) who
have some decades of work behind them. Our
main aim is to establish a database of senior
experts that can link to the needs of companies,
authorities, training organizations and other
stakeholders who wish to use such expertise.
We also intend to represent the social and
mental needs of the elderly, giving them the
opportunity of being more active and beneficial
for the younger generation.
Results
The most important result of the project would
be a community web site for seniors, incorporating
their professional experience, which can
be viewed by companies and other stakeholders,
and also provide possibilities of creating
social networks and free-time activities.
We started our project implementation with a
mapping and needs analysis in the participating
countries. In parallel with this, a communication
plan was prepared together with a promotional
kit, because in this project, communication
plays a very important role, both in recruiting
the target group and in dissemination activities.
In all the participating countries, the partners
organize interactive forums for stakeholders,
and Focus Group meetings with senior experts
every three months. The results of the needs
analysis and the meetings and forums will help
create a well-structured online database on our
website, which will be the core result of the EN-
SURE project. After data has been collected and
the database tested operationally, an international
conference will be organized in Hungary
to conclude the project.
The ENSURE project comprises participants
from: North Hungary, Asturias, Brescia, and
Wielkopolska.
Leader of the project:
Tibor Bodnár, Project Manager
Local Enterprise Agency, North-Hungary
bodnar.tibor@hmvk.hu,
+36 36 410 724