In fact there are 4 types of 'care givers': public, commercial, informal and social profit. The social profit is a very diverse sector with a lot of subsectors. We met a lot of policy makers. We've got to know the differences in Europe and beyond. Representatives of various social profit organisations expressed that 'the sky is the limit' when it comes to the potential of techology in their sector! Engineers; what are you waiting for?!
What would a world without engineers look like? A whole different place! A knife can cut, but a knife can also... Assisted living allows people to live longer in their houses, but also has a backside... Yes indeed, technology makes things possible, but we also have to think about a lot of deontological issues!
Can we translate the terms of empowerment, participation and inclusion into concepts that we can take into account when we are designing? Yes! We managed to grasp the essentials thanks to VAPH, the European Community Development Network, Dr. Pascal Tuteleers (Hogent), Dr. Carmen Mathijssen (Cera), Passwerk, Dr. Machteld Verbruggen and Dr. Wilfried Bogaerts.
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AuthorInge Vervoort, Program coordinator Community Service Engineering Archives
May 2015
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