Category: News

How an Ordinary "Schoon" Story Can Inspire and Touch How do you write a good story? Easier said than done. What is the ideal length? Which writing style is most appealing? How do you encapsulate life experience in your story while still maintaining a positive note? At the end of 2023, we sought advice from some bookworms and language enthusiasts among our Neos members, who provided us with the necessary tips and tricks. Meanwhile, some stories have already found their way to the platform, including the story of Danny Schoon, chairman of Neos Ninove... I've been thinking... Life... Life can be beautiful... First, you're a young pup or a young colt. You think you know it all. Just out of school, delightfully stubborn. Bragging a bit with your hard-earned money.…

A year ago, the European project CREATE was launched. The aim: to offer seniors a digital platform where they can share their personal knowledge and expertise, but above all their life experience, with each other and with others. Through surveys and workshops, we gained insight into senior citizens' Internet use and what the Neos members think the platform should look like. Are you also curious about the results? Surf to learn or share? It appears, for instance, that the vast majority of the Neos members do find their way to the world wide web but their use is rather limited. They mainly surf to gather information, check facts, and look for inspiration. And occasionally to book a restaurant or hotel. But intensive online shopping or banking, writing blogs, or maintaining…

In the December issue of Neos Magazine, we already gave a sneak preview of the European research project CREATE, in which Neos, together with several European partners, wants to ensure that seniors have the opportunity to share their stories, knowledge, and skills with each other and society. Our research showed that our seniors are sufficiently digitally active, familiar with online knowledge platforms, and more than willing to share their knowledge and experiences. But how exactly should that platform look like? How should such a digital platform be designed? What knowledge and stories do people want to share? What functions and support are indispensable? Both in Belgium and Switzerland, we polled several senior citizens. Their wishes are our ambitions. A personal touch We live in a time when we are inundated…

A survey of seniors in Belgium, Poland and Switzerland shows that no less than 90% of the seniors are digitally active. We were pleasantly surprised when it turned out that the Flemish seniors didn’t miss the digital boat: only 2% of them indicated little experience with computers, tablets or smartphones, while in the global survey this came to 10%. Also concerning digital platforms it turned out that our seniors had more knowledge than the Swiss and Polish seniors (80% vs. 59% in the total survey). Furthermore, it is also clear that more than 76% of the participants in the study are not only willing, but really enthusiastic and is asking to share their knowledge and life experiences. CREATE workshop with users "In the past, my active contribution to society and…

Share the past, CREATE the future. Looking forward to tomorrow! Brainstorming about the CREATE project at Gdansk with ASM Research Solutions Strategy, Neos vzw, OPTECS, Docmatic, Yumytech, Terzstiftung and UNIGE. 2nd Consortium Meeting

On 14-16 September in Brussels, under the supervision of trainers from the Lean Start-up Academy, as part of the AAL program, we were able to test some proven and practical tools for creating a business strategy. Lean Business Canvas or Eco-system Scheme allow, especially for young companies, to verify the plan to enter the market, discover new opportunities for cooperation with entities that may facilitate this entry, identify competitive advantages, and finally formulate an offer that is difficult to resist. We would like to thank AAL Program for substantive workshops that will result in new products on the international market, facilitating the functioning of older people and preventing social isolation.

The kick-off meeting of the European research project CREATE - a platform to share the past, to CREATE the future. This was an opportunity to meet the different partners of the consortium in person and to organise the collaboration for this meaningful project. Consortium meeting The CREATE platform is being built around 3 main pillars: It helps older adults to create their own digital product by offering them easy-to-follow courses and instructions. It provides self-publishing assistance and a marketplace so that they can commercialize their products. It also assists them by initiating joint commercialisations activities and offering platform API to interested institutions, organizations and companies.It creates an environment for older adults to connect not only to others of a similar age but also to other generations in order to learn from each other,…