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UTDesignLabKris Pals | Project manager DesignLab

Senior Maker Movement

senior maker movement | helping the elderly with maker technology 

INTRODUCED BY...

Project overview

The Senior Maker Movement is a project focused on helping the elderly to live more independently through maker technology. The goal is to invite these people to DesignLab to brainstorm and create things that will improve their day-to-day living. 

In short
  • Full name: The Senior Maker Movement
  • Duration: Beginning of 2021 until end of 2022
  • Funding: External (through ActiZ)
  • Status: Project Closed
How it started

The healthcare system in The Netherlands is under great pressure if nothing changes. Actiz, the industry association for elderly care believes that fundamental changes are necessary, such as connecting the elderly with 'maker technology' to create and design to let them live on their own more comfortably. 

Objectives
  • Trigger elderly people to think about how they can improve their day-to-day life through creating and designing technology that works for them. 
  • Connect elderly people with 'maker technology'
  • Positively influence the healthcare system in The Netherlands by relieving pressure off of the elderly to move out through improving their living comfort. 
From process to realisation

The team hosted gatherings with the targetgroup and introduced them to the technology whilst including research and education. Through the results and recognising what kind of organisation it needed to really make it land in society, the team partnered with organisations who could do that. They partnered with the regional libraries and Tetem, who already work together to let other target groups learn how to work with maker technology. That way they created a situation where the threshold to join was low (library profile) and they transferred our knowledge about the process to them.

Results
Interactive PDF - Senior Maker Movement

This is an interactive PDF outlines the project and the steps that were made, as well as the motivation behind these steps.

This PDF is only available in Dutch.

Bonus content
What do you see?

Grabbing an item from the (kitchen) cupboard seems to be a normal activity for most people. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for Henk’s wife. His prototype made of wood enables her to pick up items like boxes, by holding a stick and move the tool towards her. Herman built upon that challenge and wondered: ‘Can I find a way to make shelves come to me when I need the items?’ And so, the second solution, made of cardboard, became reality.


Collaboration partners


ActiZANBORijnbrinkTetemRegional LibrariesDreamTeam

Meaningful impact

Kris is proud of the fact that elderly people actually worked on this project and used maker technology to improve their individual living. It is very important for the healthcare system to collaborate with different stakeholders in order to improve healthcare. By combining different perspectives and approaches, different steps can be taken to solve societal challenges.  

Looking ahead: What you can do

We should use our knowledge to better understand eachother as a society everyday. If we understand where we’re coming from, then it’s easier to keep the magic middle and to keep letting things burst into society that could benefit.

Contact

Would you like to know more, join, collaborate, or receive more inspiration? Please contact Project Leader Kris Pals. 

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