Euskadi Lagunkoia - Building together an environment for all

What is Euskadi Lagunkoia?

Euskadi Lagunkoia is an initiative launched by the Basque Government's Department of Employment and Social Policies and set up by Matia Instituto Gerontológico, which promotes citizen participation to improve neighbourhoods and environments in the municipalities of the Basque Country.

It is based on the "Age-friendly Environments Programme" initiative promoted by the World Health Organization.

It is a project under the Active Ageing Paradigm.  "Physical environments that take into account the elderly can make the difference between independence and dependence for all people, but they are of special importance for those who are getting older". (WHO, 2002: Active Ageing: A Policy Framework)

What is a friendly environment?

"A friendly environment encourages independent living and active ageing by optimising opportunities for health, participation and security, in order to improve people's quality of life.

 A friendly environment for older people reorganises its structures and services to make them accessible and adapted to the different needs and capabilities of individuals by encouraging their participation.

What are the objectives of the project?

• To generate processes of community participation.
• To facilitate the introduction of changes in the different areas of competence of the municipality/ territory in order to improve the quality of life of its citizens.
• To take advantage of the potential that older people represent in the life of the community as generators of well-being.
• To generate a network of friendly initiatives in the Basque Country.

How will this be done?

• The Project is developed by generating a process of participation of all the agents involved in it (public, private and social sector), where the participation and leadership of the citizens is essential. This process is governed by the principles of action research based on eight areas of intervention.
• In this way, ageing is placed at the centre of political decisions, acting in areas that go beyond social services or health, so that this process is approached from an integrating and transversal perspective.

• The working methodology is also based on the "Bottom up" approach, whereby the participation of citizens in general and older people in particular is the main basis for this project.
• This project aims to encourage the transfer of social innovation processes generated by practices associated with citizens' initiatives and public space. Promoting social participation of citizens, social cohesion, intergenerational relations and communication between citizens and the administration in order to improve the quality of life of all people.

Project phases:

1. Diagnosis

Analysis of secondary sources.
In-depth interviews with experts and agents from the public, private and social sectors.
Conferences or Wokas for dissemination and awareness among citizens.
Online questionnaires on the friendliness of the municipality or environment.

2. Friendlyness plan:

Based on the diagnosis, a "Friendship Plan for the territory" will be drawn up as a conclusion to the contributions collected and discussed in the participation sessions. This will include the objectives and lines of action together with proposals for programmes to be developed in each municipality.

3. Implementation of programmes:

Implementation of the initiatives and programmes specified in the Plan

Examples of programmes:

• "I want my neighbourhood": Work groups led by people of all ages with the aim of detecting proposals for improvement, recovering public spaces, encouraging citizen participation and strengthening the neighbourhood's social networks.
• "Friendly shops": Incorporate small and large shops and establishments in the neighbourhood into the project, creating a "Friendly Shop" label that identifies all those who commit to participating by making small improvements to their premises (e.g. having chairs where customers can rest).

"Euskadi friendly website": A website where documents generated in all areas can be incorporated, good practices shared and citizen participation encouraged through a space for proposals and satisfaction questionnaires.

In addition to information on the development of the project, the following sections are included:

• I want my neighbourhood: Citizens' forum to share ideas and proposals for improving the friendliness of municipalities. It complements the working group programme.
• Friendly places: Mapping of places according to the degree of friendliness, both establishments and friendly neighbourhood-municipality environments (parks, streets, buildings, etc.), by the citizens.
• Friendly establishment: Section that incorporates an online course on friendliness in shops and a self-evaluation for all those responsible for establishments that wish to participate in the project and get a "friendly establishment" stamp.
• Time bank: Section where people from the same municipality - neighbourhood can exchange activities and time free of charge.
• Online friendliness questionnaire.

4. Evaluation:

• Evaluation of all the initiatives and of the project in general by the Commission and working groups
• Evaluation of the initiatives through the realization of groups and discussion forums with people of all ages.
• Elaboration of a questionnaire to evaluate the impact and satisfaction with the projects, distributed through the web.
• Quantitative results: degree of participation, number of projects launched, etc.

In which municipalities is the project being developed at the moment?

• Cuadrilla de Añana (Araba)
• Ordizia (Gipuzkoa)
• Zumarraga (Gipuzkoa)
• Orio (Gipuzkoa)

In short, what are the keys to the project?

• Diversity of initiatives.
• Transversality.
• Participation from the point of view of commitment.
• Promoting the use of ICTs from a social perspective.
• The elderly, generators of well-being.