Event of the D-CARE project - Challenges in the field of ageing

On September 22 2022, a meeting of stakeholders of D-CARE (Interreg Danube) project was held at Prem Castle in Ilirska Bistrica. The event, subtitled "Challenges in the field of ageing", brought together three events, namely the presentation of an innovative learning environment (WP1), a regional workshop for the preparation of an action plan (WP3) and an interregional learning seminar (WP3). The first two events were organised by the Centre for Social Informatics (CSI) FSS UL, while the third event was organised by the RDA Green Karst. The meeting, which took place in the idyllic setting of Prem Castle, was organised in cooperation with RDA Green Karst and the Municipality of Ilirska Bistrica by CSI members Lea Lebar (project leader) and Mojca Šetinc (project researcher) and external collaborator Janja Drole. In addition to representatives of the Slovenian partners of the D-CARE project, the meeting was also attended by representatives of stakeholders from the Primorsko-Notranjska region: representatives of the municipalities of Ilirska Bistrica, Pivka, Postojna, Cerknica and Domžale, the Centre for Social Work Primorsko-Notranjska, the Home for the Elderly Ilirska Bistrica, the People's University Postojna and the Social protection institute of the Republic of Slovenia (IRSSV) were present.

During the first of the three events, an interregional learning seminar, organised by RDA Green Karst, the participants learned about national and regional trends and challenges in the field of ageing. This was followed by presentations of good practices: the transnational strategy of the D-CARE project (Mojca Šetinc, CSI FSS UL), the strategy of the municipality of Domžale "Together for a better old age" (Irena Kovač, municipality of Domžale), the process of preparation of the strategy "Together for a better old age" (Andreja Črnak Meglič, IRSSV), and the results of the evaluation of the pilot projects on long-term care (Aleš Istenič, IRSSV). A short discussion was followed by a dissemination conference, where Mojca Šetinc (CSI FSS UL) presented the innovative learning environment developed in the framework of the WP1 work package. After lunch, the workshop part of the meeting took place.

At the Action Plan workshop, participants discussed in groups the ageing challenges faced in the region, potential solutions to these challenges and the key actors who hold the levers to address them. The following challenges were identified by the groups: the need to bring together all stakeholders; the issue of financing services; the difficulty of recruiting staff (formal and voluntary); the need to integrate health and social care; the problem of social exclusion of older people in remote and rural areas; the need to help beneficiaries to claim public entitlements; and improving the situation in the field of dementia. The groups also made proposals for possible solutions to these challenges. The solutions proposed were: a coordinator at municipal level to coordinate the process of bringing stakeholders together; clear funding; encouraging young people to enter professions that address a long-lived society; cooperation between health and social institutions; reducing social exclusion through empowering informal carers and intergenerational networking; helping older people to claim their rights from public funds; and a greater focus on raising awareness of dementia among the population as a whole. The following key actors were identified: social work centres, homes for the elderly, health centres, educational institutions, municipalities and responsible ministries and NGOs.