Alzheimer Bulgaria has started working on a new Erasmus+ project for older people – “Smart Against Ageism” (SAA). Alzheimer Bulgaria is a partner in a consortium involving seven organisations in six European countries, namely: SHINE2Europe, AGE PLATFORM EUROPE, ASOCIACIJA SENJORU INICIATYVU CENTRAS, Alzheimer Bulgaria, Academy on Age-Friendly Environments in Europe BV and European Association for the Education of Adults. The SAA project, which runs from January 2022 to June 2024, aims to contribute to better social inclusion of older adults, by developing an educational game that will introduce the users to the perspectives of older people concerned by or at risk of discrimination and segregation. It is hoped that this will in turn contribute to developing empathy, tolerance of diversity and civil society skills. Overall, encouraging people to reflect on their own negative biases towards old age and being protected from condescending attitudes and practices is the main objective of the project.
The SAA project will deliver an accessible online game to raise awareness of ageism and to help the players understand the perspectives of people experiencing ageism, to promote empathy, tolerance, respect, and civic skills. In this way, the SAA project hopes to contribute to restoring older adults' image as full citizens and remove barriers to their social participation. The SAA educational game will be oriented at the needs of volunteers, formal and informal carers, assistants, staff with diverse professional backgrounds (janitors, social workers, etc.), and family members of older adults. Additionally, the project will reach out to associations in the social, educational, health and care sectors, alongside research organisations and policy makers. An interactive learning platform, a high-quality learning game, and accompanying materials will be made available for informal and non-formal learning.
