Cáritas Coimbra presents an app to promote active and healthy ageing
On March 19, Cáritas Coimbra was present at the commemoration of World Social Work Day at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Coimbra (FPCE-UC), organised by the Coordination Committee of the Degree in Social Work. As part of the Buen Vivir theme, the event highlighted good living in terms of human development in its relationship with the world and nature, focussing on environmental sustainability and nature’s relationship with increasing citizens’ quality of life.
Cáritas Coimbra presented the Citizeen application (app), included in the Pharaon – Pilots for Active and Healthy Ageing project. This app allows all its users to share geo-referenced photographs of species and places of interest in the city, to map (using spatial technology) places according to their thermal and vegetation index, or to suggest improvements to the places they visit, so that citizens can make the most of the green and blue spaces near them.
The technology developed concerns a digital application for use on mobile devices, which aims to promote the involvement of citizens with nature conservation in cities, stimulate physical and mental activity in older adults and provide information so that citizens can make the most of the green and blue spaces near them.
Coimbra is the pilot city for implementing this innovative idea in which Cáritas Coimbra, MARE-UC and OWL challenged the city’s older people (aged 65+) to join the Pharaon project and test the Citizeen app. As part of an ecosystem, volunteers and carers were also involved through events that bring scientific activities closer to the community (citizen science).
This project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme – Pharaon Project ‘Pilots for Healthy and Active Ageing’, under grant agreement no. 857188.
