What an incredible joy! We are kicking off the EU project "SHAPES"! Will you ask us “what is this you guys?"

Hmmm… How can we describe in a few words a huge European 21 million euros project, in which 36 partners from 14 countries will work for 4 years to make it a reality? What has united us all (universities, companies, research centers, NGOs) under this umbrella?

Imagine a world where the elderly are not "parked" in a nursing home, they are not "burdens" in the health system, they are not treated by experts who see their problem individually, but…

• they are active members of the community: they engage in community activities (active ageing)

• their community provides as much care as possible in their home, not in the hospital

• healthcare professionals focus on the patient (integrated care), instead of everyone acting independently

• technology (Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Mental Exercises, Robotic Systems ...) is specifically designed for them, their caregivers and healthcare professionals.

• the elderly can to focus on what they can achieve with technology, instead of worrying about how it works

• healthcare professionals and caregivers have at their disposal publicly available tools that they can use

• all information, tools, and a support ecosystem are available online

Well, we want to make this world a reality. And with this work we begin the first big step.

How large is the target group? If we only talk about the elderly, numbers show that in 2017, almost one-fifth (19%) of the EU population was +65 years old. And that by 2060 there will be 151 million.

But we see it differently: They are not numbers; they are our grandparents, our parents, it will soon be us.

Let’s do this!