ONLINE communities: building up a social network with iPads

Flanders focuses on care innovation and has set up regional experimental care platforms in each province, also called ‘Care Living Labs’. These are innovative spaces to support innovation in care at home. ONLINE communities focuses on building up care communities and it sets up experiments to examine the dynamics of a neighbourhood.

The project “Building up a local social network with iPads” brings together socially isolated people from the same community and teaches them IT skills, by teaching them to work with iPads in an informal setting. It helps them to build a new network and allows them to get reacquainted with their existing network. This project works together with Cubigo, which provides the online platform and features to support communication. The

project is supported by the Public Welfare Office of Bruges and the Ostend Social House. They have joined forces in a unique way.

Bert Desmet (coordinator of ONLINE communities): “local social services often find that many citizens are lonely. At the same time, they have to admit that they (currently) lack the tools to combat loneliness. This project focuses on this target group: 200 socially isolated elderly people who do not have a computer at home and are not internet-savvy take part in this project. By opening up the digital world to them, we believe that we’re handing them the tools to improve their social participation. By the end of this project, we want to group our experiences in a methodology for reinforcing social networks, which can be replicated in other regions.”

ONLINE communities: projects

Building up a local social network with iPads

“This project is aimed at building up a (local) social network among socially isolated elderly people, by strengthening the personal network and creating a new network among participants.”

Nele SmissaertProject coordinator

Method & Outcome

Phone : +32 496 165 945Email : bert.desmet@onlinebuurten.beWebsite : www.zorgproeftuinen.be/enFollow us on Twitter : @ONLINEbuurtenDocuments and presentations: www.slideshare.net/ONLINEbuurten

During 10 weekly encounters, participants learn (in small groups) how to use an iPad. After which they can attend 10 monthly (ICT) support meetings. During the project (one year) participants get an iPad on loan. The focus of the meetings (aside from e-inclusion) is on strengthening the participants’ personal network and creating a new network amongst participants.

Intervention1

Instruments2• “Cubigo”: communication and service platform (http://cubigo.us). Cubigo

is an easy-to-use way to stay connected with others in a community, with family and friends. Cubigo’s design and services is very easy to use and is set it up for ‘new’ internet-users

• Diary: assignment, as starting-point for a collective discussion about personal networks

• Tutorial: support for using basic internet tools and the central communication platform (Cubigo)

• ICT test: after 10 encounters, participants’ ICT-skills are measured

Practical

• Each participant gets an iPad on loan (paid for by the local social service) for one year

• 200 senior citizens can participate, spread across three neighbourhoods in two cities (Ostend and Bruges)

• Staff: 3.5 FTE (the training sessions are part of an activation programme for 2.5 FTEs)

• Project duration: August 2014 – May 2017

Benefits4• E-inclusions among seniors regarding access, skills and motivation• More social relations: existing network reinforced / build up new local network (digital tool as a new way for remote communication)• More societal participation: senior citizens are more informed about local activities, attend more local activities for senior citizens• Local jobs, 3 people struggling to find a job broaden their skill set as IT coaches and members of the project team

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