In 2060, almost one third of the European population will be 65 years or older. Ageing is thus not only an individual but also a societal challenge. And it is a challenge we have to prepare for on time and in many ways. One very important factor is that of participation: The chance to participate in our society at various levels is crucial for an active, meaningful and healthy life in older age.Mobility is obviously a major prerequisite for participation. Being mobile means being able to go outside, take care of yourself, see friends, stay active, be visible, be involved in your community. At present, not everyone can participate adequately because he/she faces barriers and/or feels insecure. The overall objective of the project Mobility Scouts is to contribute to the creation of age-friendly environments in order to facilitate mobility and thus participation of older people. The core idea of the project Mobility Scouts is to train and empower older people to function as agents for an age-friendly environment and implement mobility projects - based on regional specificities, their own and their cooperation partners´ interests. Regarding Mobility Scouts´ role and fields of activity, different options are possible: Mobility Scouts will function as contact persons for older people and local stakeholders in their cities, dealing with issues such as better access to urban services, urban planning and assessments of public spaces. Furthermore, they will develop projects based on local needs (e.g. age-friendly parks, awareness raising activities, etc.).Furthermore, relevant organisations and stakeholders (e.g. local authorities, public transport providers) in five European cities (Vienna - AT, Frankfurt - DE, Rome - IT, Kaunas - LT and Den Haag - NL) will be prepared for involving older people as co-producers of accessible environments, services and products. The Mobility Scouts project involves the following direct target groups: 1) Older men and women who want to get involved in their communities with regard to mobility and accessibility issues. In each partner country 10-15 older people are trained as Mobility Scouts.2) Organisations and institutions (e.g. local authorities, transport companies) that are interested to open up their processes to the Mobility Scouts. In each partner countries 10-15 relevant stakeholders at local/regional level will be actively involved in the project (= total 50-75 relevant stakeholders). 3) Peers who are interested in mobility issues but may not yet be ready to take responsibility for their own projects may take part in mobility projects. As in each partner country 3-5 mobility projects will be implemented involving an estimated number of 10 people (e.g. older people, staff/volunteers of organisations functioning as cooperation partners) each (= a total of 150-250 beneficiaries).Mobility Scouts will be implemented through the following steps: EUROPEAN RESEARCH on the status-quo of active citizenship of older people in creating an age-friendly environment in partner countries and other EU countries.ELABORATING AND TESTING A TRAINING PACKAGE: The training will be based on a joint Curriculum and will focus on skills and knowledge that are relevant to Mobility Scouts (e.g. transversal skills such as social/civic responsibility or entrepreneurship, general and specific knowledge of mobility). Furthermore, the Mobility Scouts will be supported to get in contact with relevant organisations and institutions and to realise mobility projects. ELABORATING AND PRODUCTION OF PUBLICATIONS: Organisations that are interested but not directly involved in the project obtain low-threshold and non-committal information in the Sensitization Handbook for Stakeholders. The Toolkit for Practitioners is an excellent basis for organisations and persons working with older people and interested in age-friendly environments (e.g. service providers, trainers).An ONLINE TRAINING COURSE enables people interested to become active as Mobility Scouts in regions, where no Mobility Scout training is offered. The Online Training Course (available in English all partner languages) offers learning units, a guided practical implementation and descriptions of mobility projects.Mobility Scouts is future-proof, because the outcome of this project is substantially positive. As the number of older and very old people will increase in the coming decades there is a trend that policy will be more focused on themes of quality of life, collaboration, participation and co-design. As there is a need of innovative community based approaches that involve and empower older people to engage with, respond to and/or initiate design processes and spatial practices and initiatives, the Mobility Scouts project has an important role to play. On a symbolic level engagement structures like these can provide a platform and a voice for an otherwise marginalised age group.
Context We live at a time in history where the number of older people is exceeding the number of younger people. The experience of ageing depends not only on the functional capacities of a person but also to a large extent on the physical and social environment in which that person lives. The environment where older people live is crucial for their well-being and mobility is one of the prerequisites for social participation, which, in turn reduces the social and economic cost of physical inactivity. Being mobile means being able to go outside, take care of yourself, see friends, stay active, be visible and be involved in community activities. Public authorities and service providers are responsible for and profit from making their services and public spaces more accessible to all – including older citizens and customers. Older people as experts of their own life know best how services and public spaces should be designed and organised to meet their needs. Objectives & activities Given this background, the overall objective of the Mobility Scouts project was to involve older men and women in decision-making processes and enable and empower them to contribute to the creation of age-friendly environments and services. The core idea of the Mobility Scouts project was to train older men and women to initiate co-production processes. Based on a framework curriculum - developed by partners from five EU countries - the Mobility Scouts trainings provided older people with knowledge on accessibility and infrastructural issues. Through the training, older people are empowered to speak up and participate constructively in different societal, political, and economic fields and foster new types of cooperation with organisations, institutions and companies. As ‘agents of change’ Mobility Scouts brought together older citizens and local authorities and service providers to cooperate in the development of age-friendly environments and services. They implemented mobility projects based on the local specificities, their own and their cooperation partners´ interests. Mobility Scouts e.g. acted as intermediaries, collected feedback of older citizens on their living environment, possible problem areas, public buildings and senior-non-friendly offers and forwarded them to the relevant institutions (e.g. planners, companies, local authorities, municipal departments). Informal and more direct as well as anonymous possibilities for all citizens have been developed and implemented: e.g. round tables, guided walks, living room meetings, surveys. Furthermore, Mobility Scouts also organized activities to support others to stay and become active and participate in social life. Some target groups (e.g. older people with dementia) were given a special infrastructure and support to leave their homes and get involved. Detailed information on the Mobility Scouts approach, the training and mobility projects implemented are summarized in the Toolkit for Practitioners and the Handbook for stakeholders at local level. Furthermore, an Online Training Course (available in English, German, Lithuanian, Italian and Dutch) provides background information, inspirational examples and practical tools to participate in the creation of age-friendly environments. This presentation is dedicated to men and women who want to get active as Mobility Scouts and to all organisations interested in supporting them to do so. It also addresses experts, stakeholders and citizens who want to contribute to age-friendly communities. Translations of all outcomes in the national languages of the five partners are accessible on the Mobility Scouts website, www.mobility-scouts.eu. Partners Mobility Scouts was implemented by partners working in the fields of social policy and research, social gerontology and adult education in Austria (queraum. cultural and social research), Germany (ISIS Sozialforschung · Sozialberatung · Politikberatung ), Italy (Lunaria), Lithuania (Seniors Initiatives Center) and the Netherlands (OVN-NL- Oudere Vrouwen Netwerk - Nederland). Results and impact attained In total 67 men and women between 49 and 94 years attended the trainings and initiated more than 20 mobility projects. Mobility Scouts involved approx. 450 other older men and women in surveys, round tables, living room meetings, trainings and activities. Furthermore, a high number of relevant stakeholders were involved as interview partners, guest speakers at the training or cooperation partners of Mobility Scouts. 213 stakeholders took the chance to attend the National Networking Events organized by project partners in close cooperation with Mobility Scouts. On EU level, due to the cooperation with AGE Platform Europe, governmental organizations, policy makers and interest groups have been regularly informed on the project and outcomes. Sustainability is guaranteed as (cooperation) partners and Mobility Scouts in all partner countries are motivated to continue their activities.