Evolve

VIE cares about all of our work....

... but sometimes we are inspired to keep working on a particular challenge

We think that our ageing society is a massive opportunity, but mostly it is discussed only as a problem. We know that some members of today's older generations sometimes feel ignored or "past-it", even though they have a wealth of life experience. In fact, Professor Bob Keegan of Harvard University goes further by suggesting that the fact we are living longer is a our planet's response to problems we've created. He has studied adult development and says that the chaos humans have created through low levels of conciousness might be tackled by more of us reaching higher level of consciousness, which is more likely when we are older. See https://www.thersa.org/discover/publications-and-articles/rsa-blogs/2015/01/bobs-big-idea-why-we-are-living-longer

We are working on practical initiatives to highlight the skills and life experience that older people have, particularly those who did not have high-flying careers and have experienced many difficulties in life. We seek to connect them in diverse communities and to enable them to share their knowledge and experience in order to help others. Ultimately we aim to build trust in diverse communities of older and younger people in order to better address the complex issues facing our age.

Example projects:

Learning lead for Re:Connect, a project with People Know How and The Ragged University to enable people to better use the internet to be more socially connected. The project will work with older people and others who may have reduced social connection and limited confidence with computers. The project includes a strengths-based and peer to peer working, enabling people to discover their existing skills and help each other. It also includes training and matching volunteers of all ages to support the development of skills relevant to people's spark of interest in digital technologies. See http://peopleknowhow.org
Facilitated creative session, run as part of Luminate Creative Ageing Festival 2014, with older people in Pitlochry and public sector workers. This used design-led approaches to explore journeys. With Wellderly Co-Founders, Moyra Gill and Keerthana Jayagopal. See http://wellderly.org.uk
Consultation in an older persons' day centre as part of Healthier Scotland, in order to include the views of people who might otherwise be overlooked including those with dementia. With People Know How.
Initial prototype of a an online conversation project, connecting students planning to come to the UK, who have english as a foreign language, with older people in the UK. This has the purpose of valuing older people's local knowledge and enabling the students to learn about the place they will move to and speak with someone local to get used to the accent. With People Know How and Leith Time Bank