News

The Region of Crete participated in the 4th meeting of the partners of the European project "FILO": "Fighting Loneliness", of the European Program ERASMUS + which took place in Marseille. The meeting was organized by the Community Center for Social Action of the Municipality of Marseille in the context of the exchange of good practices promoted by the project for the development of programs and actions to combat loneliness of the elderly. Apart from the Region of Crete, the project involves the University of Rotterdam (Netherlands) as a lead partner, the Municipality of Rotterdam (Netherlands), the Rochelare Care Company (Belgium), the Community Center of Social Action (France), ENSA - European Social Network of Social Services (Brussels based in Italy), the Social Cooperative for Training and Employment in Venice (Italy) & the Municipality of Nacka (Sweden).

The meeting presented six good practices that promote active aging and a dignified life of people 65+ in modern societies. More specifically, they concern the development of actions for the maintenance or strengthening of the social ties of the specific age group, the ways of detecting the social needs and the difficulties of its members as well as the interventions for the improvement of their daily life. The contribution of intergenerational interaction practices in the recognition of the active participation of the elderly in the community as well as in the change of the way of their reception and treatment by the society as a whole was highlighted. Special structures were introduced to support individuals and families with Alzheimer's disease and education and technology practices that support local government practices in combating loneliness. The partners had the opportunity to visit structures and get to know the good practices up close. The practices that were presented and visited on the spot are: "Home for All", "Home for the Elderly", "Alzheimer's Center", "Technologies for the Elderly", "Leisure University", "Monitoring and Recording of Social Needs". These practices were also analyzed by the partners in special workshops in order to highlight the prospects of their implementation in local government based on their innovation, sustainability and their contribution to meeting social needs.

The meeting was attended by the executives of the Region of Crete Katerina Vlasaki (Deputy Head of the Independent Department of the Regional Observatory for Social Inclusion) and Katerina Apostolaki (Director of Lifelong Learning, Employment & Trade)

More information about the project: Vlasaki Katerina (avlasaki@crete.gov.gr).