Homes4Life final conference – Available now to watch
On Thursday 28th January 2021, the EU-funded Horizon 2020 project, Homes4Life (H4L), held its final conference (online) to promote the main project outcomes and discuss upcoming perspectives for the further exploitation of the certification scheme. The event featured a presentation of the Homes4Life Vision for age-friendly living environments, which has underpinned the development of the European Homes4Life Certification Scheme that aims to stimulate inclusive homes that support ageing-in-place.
A roundtable involving MEP Kim van Sparrentak, Catherine Mc Guigan, Chief Officer at Age-friendly Ireland, and Roslyn Molloy, Research Officer at the Housing Agency Ireland, allowed for further discussion about how the latest research and results conducted in Ireland are fostering new housing policies, in particular the need for greater investments in social housing – which can be a cost-efficient solution if such schemes are supported by the state. Research in Ireland has shown that ageing-in-place solutions may in the long-run be less costly as it delays the need for institutional care. MEP Sparrentak called for an integrated approach to the renovation wave to make housing not only accessible, affordable, and age-friendly but also more sustainable from an environmental perspective. She referred to the recent European Parliament report for which Sparrentak is the Rapporteur on affordable housing for all, available here.
An award ceremony with the Homes4Life pilots and where selected housing initiatives across Europe formally received their Homes4Life pilot award. The pilots were able to showcase their specific housing initiative and elaborate on their experience with the Homes4Life certification scheme and how it could support and foster age-friendly living environments. Finally, questions from the audience were also discussed at the end of the online conference.
The whole event is accessible and can be watched again here.
To access the slides and further detailed information from the event, please visit the Homes4Life project website here.