Feedback of the Research Control Group
LaterLife Research Control Group Meetings
7th September 2010, AFOL Sudmilano, Italy (h 14.30 – 16.30)
Participants
Mrs Lucia Fontanella / Head of AFOLsudmilano (RCG Member)Miss Paola Capasso / Representative for AFOLSudmilano with Local authorities (RCG member)
Mrs Katia Di Paolo / Head of Course Management Department, AFOLsudmilano (RCG member)
Miss Rosa Lunghi / English Teacher
Mr Luciano Casè / Head of University of 3rd Age Melegnano (RCG member)
Mrs Mimma de Serio / President of AUSER Dresano (RCG member)
Mrs Borciu Maria Antonietta / Head of AUSER San Giuliano Milanese (RCG member)
Mr Sergio Giacconi / RCG member
Agenda:
1) Welcome and presentation of participants
2) Introduction of LaterLife project held by Rosa Lunghi
3) Standard Presentation held by Rosa Lunghi
4) Comments and Feedback
5) Conclusion of meeting with coffee
Report:
Most of participants already knew the content of the LaterLife project. Most of them claimed to be supportive of the idea but showed some questioning themes.
First of all, after the standard presentation members belonging to institutions dealing directly with target group (Luciano Casè, Mimma De Serio and Borciu Maria Antonietta) discussed about the terminology used to indicate target group.
Luciano Casè said he called elderly age as “age of freedom”; the other members approved but said that that would be restricted to people who have already been making the most out of their age, but this concept could not be universally acknowledged.
They most liked the idea of the different presentations but were dubitative about the fact of holding a presentation with no website ready.
Luciano Casè and Mimma De Serio objected that they could not find a “plus value” in the LaterLife project: if target group they deal with are already familiar with computing and are able to look for and find information on the Internet, which should LaterLife website be more enthralling? Sergio Giacconi and I pointed out that the LaterLife website would be easier and more immediate to consult (accessibility) and local authorities / institution would have been invited to post any initiative of their own straight on the website.
Rosa Lunghi explained also the idea and the aim of content questionnaires to be delivered through the following months. Luciano Casè suggested the idea of email questionnaires: why a paper questionnaire when target group is supposed to become familiar with ICT?
15th October 2010, AFOL Sudmilano, Italy (h 13.00 – 15.00)
Same participants, agenda based on comments and feedback about questionnaires and project:
After the first questionnaires were delivered a couple of objections were made by University of Third Age led by Luciano Casè
- raise target group to 60 / 65 years old. At the beginning the idea was of engaging over 50 aged people but Casè claimed that in our country there is an unclear range of people who don’t consider themselves “elderly” at 55 because they will have to be working until 65;
- too many “local” concepts: elderly don’t seem to like being considered “local, they want to use the net to expand their reality, to be more “national” and “international”.