Eurocarers
European association working for carers
CyberCafé des Âges (Cyber Cafè for older people)
Summary
The CyberCafé des Âges (Cyber Cafè for older people) is run and privately funded by the volunteer association Vieillir c’est vivre, dites le! (i.e. Say it, Ageing is living!) to allow its beneficiaries to discuss their experiences from the comfort of their home.
The forum was set up by Jean-Michel Caudron, the national representative of Vieillir c’est vivre, dites le! and the animator of the CyberCafé des Âges , which is the result of various volunteer initiatives.
The service main aim is to increase intergenerational solidarity and tolerance. CyberCafé des Âges is intended as a place of continuous discussion among generations, via an interactive electronic forum. In this virtual place young and old people meet and discuss the challenges of family support and responsibilities.
In 2011, there were 25,667 users. The main target users are older people and their informal carers. The service is free of charge and the only requirements are the ability to use a personal computer, an internet connection and the willingness to meet people who are ageing differently.
There could be a positive outcome on the relationship between generations, as the service favours discussion and helps care recipients and their carers to have a better understanding and live their social roles.
The service could positively impact on the labour market as it helps carers to accept their condition and provides practical tolls for reconciling care and work.
Description
refers to the target users, kind of service provided, ICTs typologies and devices used
The CyberCafé des Âges aims to offer an interactive electronic forum for the various stakeholders and to foster intergenerational solidarity and tolerance.
The fundamental driver of Vieillir c’est vivre, dites le! was to synthesize and re-broadcast the findings of this cybercafè to 'real Ageing Cafès' running all over France and to various levels of local and national government. In the forum, the association intends to document the actions and initiatives that favour society’s acceptance of older people. The main motivation of CyberCafé des Âges is to allow an exchange of experience from the comfort of users’ homes by means of the 'real meetings' of CyberCafé des Âges to address the challenges of ageing.
Care Recipients
Informal carers
Paid assistants
Formal carers
Not available
Independent Living
Information and learning for carers
Personal Support and Social Integration for carer
Care coordination
The services provided are mainly to support informal carers increase their self-esteem and enhance their quality of life, as well as to stimulate constant intergenerational discussion and sharing of experiences.
Anybody can participate to the forum after a subscription at http://forums.agevillage.com/ucp.php?mode=register&sid=c0c65c8050644dc012c94e326b2eeadc.
PC, smart phone or tablet, with an internet connection, are the only required devices.
Operational Information
refers to the type of funding, budget, sustainability and organisations involved
Not applicable
Not available
Not applicable
|
The service is not expensive, because the activities are provided by volunteers. For this reason the initiative will be able to sustain itself as long as volunteers are motivated. |
Not available
Authorities
Private Care Sector
Health and Social Care Systems
Third Sector
Private Companies
Not available
Informal Carers
Health Professionals
Social Care Professionals
Privately-Hired Care Assistants (inc. Migrant Care Workers)
Volunteers
Not available
The initiative is the result of various volunteer initiatives. Volunteers also discuss the themes proposed in the forum. These sessions are then replayed during the 'real meetings' of CyberCafé des Âges to foster inter-generational solidarity and tolerance.
Not available
The initiative is mainly promoted informally and through the website.
Evaluation
refers to the impact of the service on end-users, care organisations and authorities
Even if there is no impact assessment, the users’ comments within the forum show that the service is appreciated and recognized as useful. Carers refer to better understand their role and responsibilities. They also underline that the forum is a chance for finding relief and sharing experiences in order to find together the solution to many matters they dealing with. Furthermore the service may have a positive effect on end users in terms of social inclusion, because carers feel often "trapped" at home with their disabled relatives who need constant watchfulness and the forum is a chance for “meeting” people, even if virtually only.
The discussions and thinking exchanges may also help dependent old people better understand their own role in the contemporary society, the difficulties faced by carers and younger generations’ expectations and willingness. The evidence of these effects are in the users’ testimonies, that can be read only by the forum’s members, after subscription (Cyber Cafe des Ages’ forum, 2013).
The service may positively impact on the labour market, as in the forum some participants said that it helped them finding solutions for reconciling work and care tasks, avoiding workers’ absenteeism (Cyber Cafe des Ages’ forum, 2013).
Not available
Strengths:
- Taking advantage of the Belgian Cafés Géronto, the service inspired other similar initiatives such as Hérault: Intergenerational Tea Room Cybersalon for the residents of the nursing home Le Romarin as well as the city’s inhabitants and the Parisian Tea Cybersalon, led by the association e-seniors.
- The initiative is very important as it enhances the relationship between generations. This seems to be crucial in the present economic crisis, when the lack of effective policies for work and retirement risks increasing conflict between young and old people.
- The service has an international coverage.
Weaknesses:
- There is no English language website and this did not help collect information on this experience. Even if the service targets French users it has also an international coverage and the lack of English language could be an obstacle for who would like to know more on the service and open it in other contexts.
- There is no impact assessment.
Opportunities:
- The forum could be developed through other activities that enhance interaction between generations. The main service is built on virtual exchanges, but there is the possibility of organizing face to face meetings in which generations can have a personal direct interaction.
- The service has the opportunity of increasing the number of users, as they do not need any special training and it’s easy to accommodate new beneficiaries who do not have confidence with ICTs.
Threats/Challenges:
- A challenge for forums’ administrators is identifying common words and understandable and interesting issues for both generations to be discussed in the forum in order to be always interesting and attractive and being effective in enhancing the communication between generations.
The Association Vieillir c’est vivre, dites le! is currently operatively mature. The service was created in 2005 following a request by Paulette Guinchard (former Secretary of State for older people during the Jospin Government). The first CyberCafé des Âges was approved in April 2005. On October 18, 2005 (Blue week), the first CyberCafé des Âges was organised by cyber-transmission by the city of Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle).
In 2008, there were 712 CyberCafé des Âges in 594 cities with an increase of about 10% in 2007. On February 9th, 2008, 298 CyberCafé des Âges were created, 242 sites in 55 departments, including two overseas departments (Saint Pierre and Miquelon) and communities in Freiburg, Germany, and Jette in Brussels. Since 2011 there are plans to open over 1000 other sites in 81 areas across Belgium, Italy, Romania, Portugal, Quebec, the Canadian Province of Alberta, Algeria, Morocco, Madagascar, Guinea and Congo Kinshasa.
More Information
includes contacts, publications and accompanying documents
Cyber Cafe des Ages’ forum: participation and consultation, December 2013.
http://www.agevillage.com/actualite-1397-1-les-cafes-des-ages-ont-3-ans.html
http://clicduterroir.services.officelive.com/cafe.aspx
Contacts:
Communication with moderators and Service Responsible is possible after the inscription to the forum.
The following link provides the list of forum moderators and short info about them: http://forums.agevillage.com/index.php?sid=67ab7171a7a77a37b26d296dfee1f2dd
Contact person:
Jean-Michel CAUDRON-CALLEWAERT
Mobile: 0033 06.80.96.25.69
Fax : 0033 08.20.56.88.62
webmaster@cafe-des-ages.net
Jean-Michel CAUDRON-CALLEWAERT
Mobile : 0033 06.80.96.25.69 / Fax : 0033 08.20.56.88.62
E-mail: webmaster@cafe-des-ages.net
Address:
Agevillage:
32 rue de l'Echiquier - 75010 PARIS
Telephone: 0033 01 42 46 65 00
Fax: 0033 01 42 46 07 60
-News room of Agevillage
Juliette Viatte, journalist:
e-mail: redaction@agevillage.com.
-Sales office
Lydie Muamba, partnership manager:
Telephone: 0033 01 42 46 65 00
e-mail: lydie.muamba@agevillage.com
Annie de Vivie, Promoter of Agevillage:
Telephone: 0033 01 42 46 65 00
e-mail: anniedevivie@agevillage.com
-Technical Staff
Charlotte Echardour, webmaster:
telephone: 0033 01 42 46 06 66
e-mail: charlotte.echardour@agevillage.com
Anais Khaldi, assistante webmaster :
Telephone: 0033 01 42 46 06 66
e-mail: anais.khaldi@agevillage.com
-Training Institute: IGM FRANCE ET ILE DE FRANCE
Florence Lasnon, IGM France Manager
Telephone: 0033 01 42 46 65 00
e-mail:florencelasnon@igm-formation.net
Khadijja Kribeche, Training assistant
Telephone: 0033 01 42 46 65 00
e-mail: khadija.khribeche @agevillage.com
-Administrative and accounting office
Hafida Aouragh
e-mail: hafida.aouragh@agevillage.com or facturation@agevillage.com