When we founded the Hekate Conscious Ageing Foundation, our primary mission was clear: to create positive social change. This mission has driven our ongoing efforts to explore and create opportunities related to conscious ageing and conscious living for individuals, organizations, and communities. We are committed to making a positive impact.
In recent years, we have had significant opportunities to translate this mission into concrete actions. Through the UnfOlding project, we developed a training program and established learning communities across Europe, focusing on the personal aspects of Conscious Ageing. Simultaneously, we explored and defined the critical connection between conscious ageing and digital inclusiveness as part of the DigInclude project.
Working with communities and organizations is embedded in the DNA of the Hekate Conscious Ageing Foundation. This made us particularly excited to launch the P_AGE project two years ago. This project allowed us to further develop and expand the Conscious Ageing training program at a community level in collaboration with a diverse group of interdisciplinary experts, including professionals from civil, health, higher education, research, cultural, municipal, architectural, and equal opportunity fields.
Combining personal, professional, and community aspects of Conscious Ageing, with a strong focus on its intergenerational dimensions, we conducted a 10-module training program from January 2023 to July 2024.
At the conclusion of this inspiring and fruitful co-creative training process, we observed several key outcomes:
- A productive and inspiring exchange of intergenerational experiences and ideas took place, with participants ranging from 30 to 70 years old.
- The project revitalized participants’ creativity and enthusiasm, often depleted by the monotony of daily life and local challenges, fostering a more attractive vision for the future.
- Local and community-based solutions and experiences were identified and integrated into the Conscious Ageing eco-system.
- Experts from various fields connected, forming networks and initiating specific collaborations and projects.
- Inspirational inputs and European best practices introduced by the Hekate Conscious Ageing Foundation were adapted and incorporated into local strategies and cooperative efforts.
- Alternatives were proposed for addressing elderly care challenges at the community level.
- Concrete actions were taken to address housing challenges through intergenerational solutions.
- Dementia prevention was re-examined from a new perspective, leading to innovative ideas for intergenerational collaboration.
- Open discussions about end-of-life and death, both from personal and professional perspectives, were encouraged, with participants dedicated to de-stigmatizing these topics in their respective fields.
The Conscious Ageing training program, as part of the P_AGE project, concluded in July 2024. However, both participants and project partners saw it as a milestone—a catalyst for advancing the local Conscious Ageing eco-system and elevating cooperation between organizations to a higher level.
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Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Hekate 