ACTERLY (ACTIVE+ELDERLY)

Our Organization

CIDAD-FUNDAACREDITA

What is the name of your solution?

ACTERLY (ACTIVE+ELDERLY)

Provide a one-line summary of your solution.

ACTERLY is a virtual platform for learning, socialization and access to care services for the elderly and their caregivers.

What specific problem are you solving?

According to United Nations estimates (2010), it is expected that by 2050 the percentage of older adults will increase from the current 12% to 22% worldwide, considering this increase to be quite high; that is, from 605 million to 2 billion in the course of half a century (*); where the trends on the stabilization of the world population project that very few children will be born in developed countries, and a few more in developing countries, which projects an increase in the percentage of the elderly population in everyone. In other words, according to the World Health Organization, by the year 2050, 400 million people over the age of 80 will inhabit the planet.

In response to this projection, there is consensus in recognizing aging soon as a phenomenon of great social impact, modifying the expectations of the labor and financial market and the demand for goods and services (housing, transport, social protection...), as well as for family structure and intergenerational ties. The world accommodates itself to the new generations, but also to the changes of the old generations. 

The elderly population is demanding a paradigm shift and in its eagerness to stay and look young, has led it to demand new goods and services that reconstitute them as human beings with equal rights, with the possibility of inclusion in e world of work and education, and with a consumption potential that is worth taking advantage of. On the other hand, situations such as the confinement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the current military conflict between Russia and Ukraine; among others, it force us to maintain hyperconnected homes, but with older adults are increasingly isolated from technology and therefore from the world, generating a technological lag that makes them more vulnerable to mental and physical social situations. These world scenarios also encourage migratory movements in which the elderly often do not participate, staying at home without the help of other relatives, where they are forced to catch up with technology, at least to be able to maintain closer contact with loved ones.

 In this sense, there is today a "digital divide" worldwide that especially affects older people, which has caused, in the current circumstances, the need to catch up very quickly. Access and Use are the main factors contributing to this situation. Access is represented by the device, the platform, or the connection. In this sense, the stereotypes perpetuated by the technology industries, whose target audiences do not seem to include older adults, without making them understand that technologies can satisfy some of their needs and give way to intergenerational conjunction that boosts that. According to data extracted from Eurostat, while 68% of young people (between 16 and 24 years old) have advanced skills, only 6.5% of those over 65 have these skills. Almost half of people between 65 and 74 years old who use the internet have low digital skills. The technological lag is caused by technophobia, which then disappears as ICTs are used. The "USE" element enters into play, where "digital literacy" is facilitated and the importance of not only being trained in the use of technology but satisfying those needs in an organized, friendly and simple way through the Internet. technologies. Older adults are the most isolated age group in times of pandemic, but at the same time the most disconnected, and they are the ones who should be more connected to their support networks, hence the importance of having access to technology.

 Taking into account this reality, another equally important one is added, Women, daily, as in most countries of the world, suffer inequality and discrimination; labor vulnerability; they face situations of violence, abuse, and unequal treatment both at home and in their work environment; they are denied opportunities to learn, earn income, make their voices heard, or lead. Many of the serious situations that have been generated by the pandemic, global warming, and the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, among others, is the feminization of the head of household, as a result of its reconfiguration due to the effect of migration, limiting women to intense and overloaded domestic work, to a great extent dedicating themselves necessarily to the empirical care and protection of the elderly (86.05% of the women take care of the elderly practically 24 hours a day, with 95.81% being daughters or granddaughters ), which generates high levels of stress (89.77 of the caregivers suffer from it) remaining trapped in a cycle of poverty and continuous stress, since this occupation is not even recognized as decent work, nor is it economically remunerated, even removing the possibility of a decent quality of life.

The immigrant woman is the second group in a situation of vulnerability. The migratory flow of women is not only limited to being a complement to male immigration, but they also undertake migratory projects on their own, whose main reasons are economic, linked to the need to guarantee the meager family income. Of the 5 million Latin American migrants to the United States, 4.9% are nursing professionals, and 3.5% from the medical area, female, with high academic training, refugees throughout Latin America in search of dignified integration Into the labor market; many unable to exercise their profession due to political and regulatory limitations on the validation of health titles, which pushes them to survive under the unstable protection of the informal economy. In this sense, a UNHCR survey, in the first half of 2019, indicates that 66% of the migrant is unemployed or in the informal economy, 20% are street vendors, and, for the most part, without formalized contracts, causing governments of recipient countries, among others, increased spending on public health, increased unemployment rates, and social and fiscal burdens. This whole scenario is represented in a vicious circle of need, inequality, and minimization of these population groups.

What is your solution?

ACTERLY is a technological platform aimed at the caregiver of the elderly, the elderly, their families, and providers of goods and services for active aging to promote their products to improve the quality of life of the elderly.

The workers for the care of the elderly represent a vulnerable population as previously described, due to multiple factors: the empiricism that they are forced to exercise in the care of the elderly, due to the circumstances that surround this situation. In this sense, the migrant woman is also presented, who is also subjected to complex and hard work that is poorly paid. The satisfaction of caring for a person is always praiseworthy and reconfigures the self-esteem of the person who does it. In this case, approaching a platform that facilitates specialization, learning, and then a network of support and socialization is a relevant opportunity.
Another population that it attends directly is the elderly, which according to the health organization refers to any person, whether male or female, over 60 years of age. This stage is usually relegated socially since the development of new skills is stigmatized, as is the case of ICT. Due to technological lag, this population makes little use of technology to socialize, educate themselves, update their knowledge and open their minds to new options and information opportunities to improve their quality of life.
The ACTERLY platform will reduce the digital divide by facilitating access to training programs to maintain active and healthy ageing. Location in a single click to a window of products for use and self-care, recreation, real and virtual tourism, physical activity tutorials, platform for the purchase and sale of products, location of caregivers, systems for the condition of the elderly for family and caregivers, among many other services.
Likewise, ACTERLY also has a social network for older adults where they can exchange photos, videos, experiences and everything that a social network contains.
Promoting the autonomy and independence of the beneficiary, as well as improving the quality of the knowledge of the caregivers or relatives of the elderly, are the principles of ACTERLY.
Didactics to teach older adults to digitize themselves through manuals and instructions, and caregivers to facilitate digital literacy, are part of the challenges posed in this platform.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

ACTERLY is a technological platform aimed at the caregiver of the elderly, the elderly, their families, and providers of goods and services for active aging to promote their products to improve the quality of life of the elderly.
The workers for the care of the elderly represent a vulnerable population as previously described, due to multiple factors: the empiricism that they are forced to exercise in the care of the elderly, due to the circumstances that surround this situation. In this sense, the migrant woman is also presented, who is also subjected to complex and hard work that is poorly paid. The satisfaction of caring for a person is always praiseworthy and reconfigures the self-esteem of the person who does it. In this case, approaching a platform that facilitates specialization, learning, and then a network of support and socialization is a relevant opportunity.
Another population that it attends directly is elderly, which according to the health organization refers to any person, whether male or female, over 60 years of age. This stage is usually relegated socially since the development of new skills is stigmatized, as is the case of ICT. Due to technological lag, this population makes little use of technology to socialize, educate themselves, update their knowledge and open their minds to new options and information opportunities to improve their quality of life.
The ACTERLY platform will reduce the digital divide by facilitating access to training programs to maintain active and healthy ageing. Location in a single click to a window of products for use and self-care, recreation, real and virtual tourism, physical activity tutorials, platform for the purchase and sale of products, location of caregivers, systems for the condition of the elderly for family and caregivers, among many other services.
Likewise, ACTERLY also has a social network for older adults where they can exchange photos, videos, experiences and everything that a social network contains.
Promoting the autonomy and independence of the beneficiary, as well as improving the quality of the knowledge of the caregivers or relatives of the elderly, are the principles of ACTERLY.
Didactics to teach older adults to digitize themselves through manuals and instructions, and caregivers to facilitate digital literacy, are part of the challenges posed in this platform.

How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?

 The collaborative project team is structured by the alliance of resources and strengths between FUNDAACREDITA CIDAD, and the Allies of both organizations. We have the relevant professional, relational, organizational, and structural experience and capabilities to make the project a successful initiative based on innovation. 

We have our roles clearly established, with responsibilities and time commitments necessary to achieve the proposed goals, with the necessary management and innovation capabilities to test and expand the project in its scaling and expansion phases. Both organizations consider in their mission, educational programs as the main point for their development, visibility, and contribution to society. 

This proposal, being strengthened by the FUNDAACREDITA-CIDAD alliance, presents greater capacity and scope for the implementation, development, and accreditation of the "ACTERLY" proposal, which has the endorsement of recognized allied Venezuelan universities: the University of Carabobo and the University of Zulia, as well as, local allies according to the country of reception of the migrants to validate the international certificates for the exercise of education and training. 

 On the other hand, the human resource that makes up this alliance has extensive experience in the design and academic exercise, as well as professional, for more than 20 years of experience, which gives it decisive capacity in the planning and logistical execution of the proposal. 

Likewise, it has experience in network business entrepreneurship and its multiple benefits to those who integrate it. Likewise, we are aware of the current humanitarian emergency situation that Venezuela is going through, being the fourth country in the world with a serious crisis in the health sector, a scenario that is aggravated by the pandemic generated by Covid-19, for which we consider that by implementing the project remotely via the web, our ability to approach and meet the technical and time objectives are viable, as well as the scope and capacity is magnified; coupled with the safety of those involved and of the participants. 

 The organizational structure and description of responsibilities are as follows: 

* General Management of the project: responsible for the project. The main function lies in the proper administration and management of resources, as well as relations with allies and beneficiaries. 

* Management Control: responsible for the process of monitoring, evaluating, and control of project management indicators. 

* Educational Management: responsible for the processes related to the correct and suitable performance of the preparation of materials and transmission of knowledge in the area of health, and of the entire academic process of the project. 

* Business Management: the department responsible for the implementation of the network business model, and the incorporation of actors and strengthening criteria to the network. 

* Quality Management: the department responsible for guaranteeing the correct functioning attached to service protocols and standards, valuing user satisfaction. 

* Technological Development: responsible for monitoring the digitalization process of the project and content development for social networks and websites. This organizational approach confirms that the project team has the necessary management, operational, and evaluation capabilities to test and expand the project in all its phases.

Accountability:

The rendering of accounts of the project will be carried out as follows:

Ø Solve: As specified by the Solve initiative. Ø Beneficiaries: Accountability via web + Impact Assessment: at the end of the project. Ø Allies: Accountability personally: at the end of the project + Reports of logistical and financial activities carried out. Ø Other collaborating partners: by obtaining strategic alliances + Sustainability of the project: by Website + Emails + Contests and Grants + Personalized interviews. Ø General public: Public rendering of accounts + Sustainability of the project + Evaluation of the impact: by website + social networks: at the end of the project via the website and social networks.

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Improving access to training & certification, portable benefits, and labor organizations for care workers.

Where our solution team is headquartered or located:

Our solution's stage of development:

How many people does your solution currently serve?

Acterly currently serves 133 older adults, 54 caregivers for older adults, 34 family members, and 4 providers of goods and services.

Why are you applying to Solve?

The CIDAD – FUNDAACREDITA alliance, like any entrepreneurial team, faces numerous barriers to developing its capabilities and the challenges that arise in order to carry ACTERLY forward. The approaches are presented below: Techniques: Technology: The design of a friendly, simple, and effective technological platform for the use of the target populations is required. Web development and design, data analysis, among others, are required. It is hoped that through participation in solve, we could find an alliance with web design specialists interested in addressing these vulnerable populations and be able to dynamize the proposed solution. 

 Financial: Funding is required to complete the development phase of the proposed web platform. A true business vision to address a rapidly growing population, accessible in its needs and in the wide supply and demand that is projected. The financial aid offered by solve is really attractive to carry out the project and move up. 

 Human capital: Logistical support is required to meet the demands of the project; In this sense, the most important requirement is specialized and qualified people in the design of applications and web platforms, as well as programming to ascend to the next level. With Solve, we hope to expand our network of entrepreneurs specialized in these areas and collaborate or contribute to the development of ACTERLY. 

 Business model: We are convinced that our proposed model is successful and innovative in this area,  taking into account the growth figures of the population of older adults. It is scalable over time and in the market, and it is definitely the best to apply it to this population. For this reason, we consider the opinion of experts, mentors, coaching and assessing strategic advice, and SOLVE networks to hit this business model that makes it sustainable over time and in covering needs as well as in solving the problem posed.

In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?

Technology (e.g. software or hardware, web development/design, data analysis, etc.)

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

Mónica Chirinos. MD. MBA in Health.