Call for papers  

AGEmap 2010

Workshop on Roadmaps towards a strategic research agenda for ICT in active ageing

22 March 2010 - Munich, Germany

The objective of the workshop is to contribute to defining a new research agenda in this area and to sharing knowledge and experiences on promising related new approaches.

There is a growing recognition that the elderly population should not be seen as a burden on the society but instead an asset that needs to be properly considered. In particular the senior professionals possess a number of skills and accumulated experience that need to be better used in value creation activities. And yet the way society is organized does not offer many opportunities to older people. The critical challenge for the society in respect to the "active ageing / ageing well" process is to identify new organizational structures, approaches, and mechanisms so that elderly citizens do not feel excluded, and have the chance to use their knowledge and expertise to contribute to the communities where they live.

ICT and particularly collaborative technologies can play an important facilitator role in this area.

Most R&D efforts regarding ICT and ageing, both past and present, have adopted a reactive strategy while trying to mitigate the problems "after" the elderly reach a critical phase in their physical and mental capabilities. More recently, initiative such as ePAL have adopted a proactive strategy, identifying measures of a more "preventive" nature. The hypothesis followed in ePAL is that collaborative networks provide an adequate framework for the implementation of effective support to active ageing. In this context and bearing in mind that one of the main goals is to keep the elderly engaged and socially active in society, an organized collaborative network is a fundamental instrument. After retirement, most of the social and professional bonds are rapidly broken. An organised Professional Virtual Community for seniors is a vital instrument for keeping their involvement in society.

The potential of ICT to support better ageing and individuals' well-being has been widely recognized, which has led to many R&D projects during the last decade. For instance, in the Framework Program 7 of the European Commission there is a research line devoted to ICT and ageing. And yet, the sensitivity of the area, the dependency on the "parallel" introduction of new organizational models and creation of a new culture in society, the lessons learned with the limited success of existing associations of senior professional, the risk of continuously developing technology that is not taken-up by target users, among others suggest the need for a careful analysis and a new approach towards what concerns new developments. It is thus clearly very important at this point in time to design a strategic R&D roadmap focused on active ageing. With this aim, various research initiatives are taking place.

Therefore, the AGEmap workshop is intended to discuss current proposals towards a strategic RTD roadmap, focused on novel collaborative solutions and ensuring a balanced post-retirement life-style.

Topics

- New organizational forms for involvement of senior professionals in socio-economic activities.

- Advanced ICT platforms for senior professionals.

- Affective computing and new behavioural models in active ageing.

- Future visions and representative scenarios for the area.

- Roadmaps for strategic research in active ageing.

- New services, new brokerage models, and new value systems for active ageing.

- New implementation mechanisms for needed actions.

- Related socio-economic and ethical issues.

- Emerging experiences and case studies.

- Collaboration ICT infrastructures for communities of intelligent agents (e.g. organizations and individuals)