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click.... here for the list of PACE 2000 Board Members here to read about Intergenerational Themes and PACE 2000's Videoconferencing Network the Intergenerational Virtual Vilage, IVV |
![]() Founder PACE 2000 International Foundation |
PACE 2000 International Foundation is
a registered
Canadian charitable organization (Reg.# 892857962 RR 0001).
The name PACE is an acronym for Programs for Autonomy and Communication for the Elderly.
The overall objectives of the PACE 2000 Foundation are to foster on-going communication between seniors and students, to create opportunities for both generations to share knowledge and experience and to provide mutual support. The interaction allows seniors to live longer in their own homes and provides support for their autonomy.
These objectives are being achieved through the use of new and customized communications technologies, and the development since 1996 of the Intergenerational Virtual Village.
PACE 2000 customized videoconferencing interfaces and developed applications to meet the needs of seniors.
The applications include:
Videoconferencing between
Seniors and Youth
PACE 2000's Intergenerational Virtual Village,
IVV
For seniors residing in long term
care facilities as well as for those who live alone, PACE
2000's Intergenerational Virtual Village videoconferencing provides a window on the world. They communicate
by way of their television screens, without the help of a technician,
from one centre to another, to recent immigrants to Canada
and to students in a French Immersion Sociology class.....even
to a physiotherapist at the hospital.
The communication of sound and image was specially adapted by
PACE 2000 to meet the needs of seniors and young people. The interface
is easy to use, the characters and icons are large and the transmission
of movement is improved through broadband internet communicatgions. Now little stands in
the way of grandparents sharing with their young protégées
(students, immigrants or little children) the jigs they danced
when they were younger, the pictures of their old school houses,
the beginnings of the sport of basketball etc.
Three types of programs
are provided by Videoconference:
- in-home medical support
- recreation and intercultural sessions
- education and linguistic programs.
Ongoing programs include;
The PACE 2000's Intergenerational Virtual Village, IVV,
is a solution to many of the problems encountered by these two
groups of people:
Lastly, in congratulating the organizers (PACE 2000) on their
special Videoconference event held on June 23, 1999 Dr. Sidorenko
(APE, United Nations) said of PACE 2000 "The
organization responds to the priorities announced by the International
Year of the Aged."
View a transcript of
the address delivered by Dr. Siderenko on the Newsletter page.
Evelyn Shore, (President) Community Care Access Center Board Director, Accounting Consultant | Douglas Angus (Honourary Member ) Vice Dean, Faculty of Health Administration University of Ottawa |
Michael Sherwood |
Agnes Fennell (Treasuror) |
Jean Vautour, P.Eng. (past president)Civil Engineer, retired President PACE 2000 |
Yvan Morin (Honourary Member) Co-Founder of PACE 2000 |
Dr. Marie-Madeleine Bernard (VP R&D) PACE 2000, Health Canada |
Liane Meunier, Physiotheratist |
Xuemei Wang (nominated) |
Karim Ouechni (Secretary) |
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WHAT IS INTERGENERATIONAL COMMUNICATION?
Over the past centuries, the links between young people and the elderly were always recognized in the context of the family in which three generations of children, parents and grandparents lived side by side. These close family relationships were captured for posterity by various artists over time. One of the best examples of art portraying these family links was painted in landers by Jordaens toward the end of the 17th century. Entitled ; Les jeunes piaillent comme chantent les vieux; (The children chirp as the elders sing), the painting demonstrates the harmony and good will of intergenerational relationships.
Emerging telecommunications technologies can help break down some of the barriers that prevent seniors and students from communicating on a daily basis.
PACE 2000 conducted a survey at the Ottawa Forum on "Friendly Technologies for seniors and Students" on June 13, 1996 (180 participants, 25 exhibitors including the Rehabilitation Center, Canadian National Institute for the Blind, National Hearing Society, ...) and drew an unusually high level of interest in emerging technologies, from seniors (average score: 87%). The students who volunteered created a pleasant experience for the seniors. The interaction between students and seniors was considered to be the main trigger of the seniors curiosity in emerging technologies.
To use the PACE 2000 Videoconferencing Network "Inter-PACE2000"
as a medium for the development of regular interactions
between seniors and students.
Seniors & students sharing interests using
new technologies
In 20 years the senior population will double in the Ottawa-Carleton
Region. How society can use this untapped resource, and how the
specific physical and emotional needs of this generation are met
while interacting with youth, is the focus of a new area of study,
known as intergenerational programming. Inter-PACE 2000 is on
the leading edge of that study with their efforts to build an
intergenerational two-way telecommunication network.
Age segregation is seen in almost every on-going activity whether
professional or recreational. Social problems such as: isolation
of seniors, depression in the young and the old, chronically ill
patients with debilitating life-styles, youth unemployment and
lack of training, increasing suicide rates... are only but a few
of the consequences of dropping out of the vital interactive social
community network.
Seniors
& youth enjoying inter-generational entertainment
Meanwhile very little attention is paid to the supportive link
that can be drawn from seniors sharing untapped human resources
with the young (Drama features traditional conflicts of generations
with parents; less than 5% of plays show conflicts with grandparents).
A strength can be drawn from this lack of conflict when building
a network of students and seniors.
Regular and frequent intergenerational contact is a means to overcome
the age segregation and its determinant effects. Switching from
a yearly or monthly contact to a regular, personal and eye to
eye interaction, provides the best medium for a growing and supportive
relationship. This valuable visual contact cannot be achieved
by the traditional telephone or even recently by Internet E-mail
links.
View the paper presented at the 1999 conference on Using Broadband Community Network in Ontario discussing the results of several Videoconferencing pilot projects.
View a page describing the background of PACE 2000