Forum 2017: preliminary programme released!
Get ready for three fantastic days at the AAL Forum 2017!
Every year, the European community of Active and Assisted Living gathers during the AAL Forum to discuss about how to design, use and commercialize information and communication technology solutions to help older adults to live well and independently.
This year’s event marks the eighth edition of the conference, and it will take place in the historical and beautiful town of Coimbra, in Portugal, between 2 and 4 October 2017. The organizing committee designed yet another great programme to stimulate discussion and foster collaboration among the different stakeholders and individuals, which we are very proud to present to you in this article.
Read the Programme here
The event will kick off on Monday 1st October with an Opening Ceremony that will blend the welcome message of prominent Portuguese personalities and an extraordinary key note speech with a passion for disruptive…failures. We will reveal more about this intriguing speaker and his topic on the next issue of the newsletter.
During the other two days, 24 parallel workshops will animate the Forum, with a clear focus on interactivity: researchers, entrepreneurs, designers, health and social professionals will bring cutting edge new thinking about present and future challenges.
On Tuesday, the first plenary “AAL solutions’ perceived value by suppliers, buyers and users” will aim at demonstrating the value of AAL solutions to the different stakeholders and to position AAL for current and future business. This session will focus on a discussion about the perceived value of AAL solutions by the different stakeholders (suppliers, buyers and users).
If you are eager to understand which direction your business should take in the future, then the plenary of the third day is tailor-made for you. Titled “Active and Healthy Ageing Policies in Action at regional, national & EU level”, this session will highlight and compare current and future AAL/demographic change related policy actions & funding initiatives at regional, national and European level. Such session aims to bring together regional, national and EU policymakers/funders, in order to understand current and future initiatives with regard to AAL and demographic change address the different stakeholder needs (older adults, care organisations, R&D institutions, SMEs).
The programme is organized around four narrative pillars:
- The AAL contribution to the European strategy on active ageing;
- The deployment of AAL solutions: innovative financial models
- Increasing the adoption of AAL solutions
- Enhancing impact of AAL projects.
All the interactive workshops and sessions are specifically thought to fall onto these topics and were designed to think on the steps needed to overcome the gap between care providers and technological solutions for active ageing.
The forum will also be the place to meet possible collaborators and partners, with matchmaking sessions taking place throughout the event (very soon we will launch the online platform to allow this), and to showcase posters about your latest research or investigation (see here how to apply) providing opportunities to discuss research face-to-face.
Finally, throughout the duration of the forum there will be an exhibition where you will get the chance to touch with your hands the latest solutions that our world has to offer to users and social care organizations in Europe.
Expect a time of lively debates and interactions: not only in Coimbra, but also on social media, where you will be able to join all the conversations following the hashtag #AALForum2017.
We look forward to meeting you in Coimbra!