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EURECO Forum 2023: Supporting older persons with long-term care needs and persons with disabilities

The 2023 EURECO Forum is taking place on March 15th in Brussels, focusing on common challenges and learning opportunities in care and support for older persons and persons with disabilities.

The 2023 EURECO Forum will take place in person at the Renaissance Hotel in Brussels, Belgium, on March 15. This year’s edition will focus on older persons with long-term care needs and persons with disabilities: common challenges and learning opportunities in care and support. The aim of the Forum is to bring research and practice together for more innovative research on inclusive community development.

Our event will discuss the following questions: 

  • What are the similarities and challenges between care and support for older persons and persons with disabilities on both individual cases and local service system levels?
  • What can they learn from one another? What promising solutions and relevant research questions exist?

The key outcomes we aim to take away from this event include (1) improved connections between both sectors, (2) identifying key items for future research agenda and (3) fostering potential cooperation for future project proposals. 

The forum will welcome representatives of European research institutions working in the fields of disability, community planning and inclusive services, as well as other stakeholders, including representatives of disability service providers and of the European institutions.

Registrations for the event are now closed.

Programme 

09h30-09h45                

Welcome

  • Renaud Scheuer and Jim Crowe (EASPD)
  • Prof. Dr. Johannes Schädler (EURECO/ ZPE Siegen University)
 

09h45-10h20

Keynote speech: “Findings and suggestions on inter-sectoral cooperation between local disability and long-term care & support systems”

  • Dr. Martin F. Reichstein (ZPE University of Siegen)
 

10h20-10h30                       

Q&A Session

10h30-11h00 

Break

11h00-12h30

3 Parallel Workshops: Sharing innovative practices and identifying next steps for research and policy agenda

  • Workshop 1: Independent Living and integrated care & support

    • Moderation: Renaud Scheuer (EASPD)
    • Eléonore Segard (Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, ATORI Project)
    • Inge Skestere (Latvian Movement for Independent Living)
    • Prof., dr.hab. Ludmila Malcoci (Keystone Moldova)
    • Tim Kind (ActiZ, Dutch association of elderly & social care providers)

 

  • Workshop 2: Assistive technologies and integrated care & support
    • Moderation: Robert Jabroer (ZonMw)
    • Jane Stugar Kolesnik (Disability Studies NL) 
    • Dr Julie Doyle, (NETWELLCASALA) 
    • Lilith Alink (EASPD/SweetHome project on accessible homes
    • John Wells (South East Technological University)

 

  • Workshop 3: Bridging local service systems for people with disabilities and for older people with long term care & support needs

    • Moderation: Prof. Dr. Johannes Schaedler, University of Siegen
    • Integrated care through integrated social planning in Siegen-Wittgenstein, Thomas Wüst (Head of Health and Social Services (District of Siegen-Wittgenstein Germany)
    • A perspective on Integrated care for people with disabilities and for older people with long-term care needs, Simone Zorzi (Director of services for people with disability, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale)
    • A perspective on integrated care for people with disabilities and for older people with long-term care needs in Plzen, Dr. Sarka Kanova (University of Plzen), Mr. Radek Rosenberger (Region of Plzen, Czech Republic, TBC /Jiri Stramek, City of Plzen) TBC
    • A perspective on integrated care for people with disabilities and for older people with long-term care needs in Tuzla, Prof. Dr. Bratovcic (University of Tuzla, Bosnia-Hercegowina)
 

12h30-14h00

Lunch

14h00-15h30

Fishbowl discussions: Interactive experience-sharing exercise

  • Alice Schippers (IASSIDD/Disability Studies NL)
  • Experts with living experience: Fionn Crombie Angus and Jonathan Angus (Ireland, IASSIDD / Fionnathan Productions)
 

15h30-16h00

Break

16h00-17h25

Policy Panel: Priorities and instruments for the structure, funding, and staff support for services for older people and persons with disabilities

  • Moderation: Konstantina Leventi (EASPD)
  • Flaviana Teodosiu (European Commission) 
  • Klaus Niederlander (Director of AAL Programme from 2017-2022) 
  • Jiří Horecký (European Ageing Network) 
  • Haydn Hammersley (European Disability Forum)
  • Sylvain Renouvel (Social Employers)
  • Martijn Da Costa (ZonMw)
 

17h25-17h30

Conclusions

  • Renaud Scheuer, EASPD
 
Networking Opportunity on the 16th March

As we encourage our participants to make the most out of the networking opportunities stemming from this event, we have booked an open working space/meeting room at Guimard Square (https://www.guimard-square.be/contact.php), near the EASPD Office and the Arts-Loi metro station.

Feel free to use this room on the 16th of March (from 9:30 to 12:30) to start working on the project and research ideas discussed during the Forum.

 

Accommodation

There are many accommodation options in Brussels and the EASPD team will be happy to support you if you need recommendations of accessible hotels. If you would like to stay at the venue of the conference, you can access here the group rate for the Renaissance Hotel: https://www.marriott.com/events/start.mi?id=1666791878673&key=GRP

 

Rationale of the forum

European societies are ageing, and with higher life expectancy, impairments and care needs become more likely among people. Older persons with long-term care needs and persons with disabilities encounter a lot of similar challenges and barriers. 

No matter what the causes for impairments are, be it congenital or due to old age, they result in risks of restricted participation and discrimination for the individual. Such an understanding is also covered by the broad concept of disability in the UN CRPD which calls for equal rights of persons with disabilities to participate and to be included in society. Furthermore, both groups often face considerable support needs and depend on affordable, reliable, and high-quality social services.

However, it can be observed that the disability service sector and the long-term care sector for older persons have developed separately with only little or no connection. Each sector has its own conceptual history, service traditions, and specificities regarding values, qualification of staff, and funding. Still, recent developments show that both in conceptual and organizational perspectives, the two sectors have more and more commonalities. Deinstitutionalisation, inclusion, self-determination, participation, community orientation, and similar concepts have become key in both fields.

Service issues are handled in separate ways, through healthcare and social provision systems. Yet, if collaboration and coordination were improved, especially on the local level, these issues might be addressed in a more effective way. 

This EURECO event will provide a forum to discuss the challenges of cooperation between the two sectors on both individual case and local service system levels. It will give room to explore promising solutions and relevant research questions. Thus, the event will encourage reflection on possible European research approaches, with the view of highlighting key items for the research and policy agenda, as well as fostering greater cooperation for research projects.

 

Registrations

Registrations are now closed.