Digitally Connecting the Dots - Ageing, Music, ICT & the Climate Crisis

Within the framework of support for the 59th United Nations Commission for Social Development and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Agenda, the International Council for Caring Communities (ICCC) has organized the “Re-imagining Well-being: Digitally Connection the Dots: Ageing, Music, ICT and the Climate Crisis" session to harness creative solutions towards a Society for All Ages.

Statistics show that by 2050, there will be 1.5 billion persons over 65 years of age (the "AgeQuake"). How Information-communication Technology will be used to support healthcare during the COVID crisis and as a bridge to eliminate the isolation of seniors, and how music can serve as a catalyst to expand worldviews and point to multilateralism can lead to larger social change in urban settings. The 5th edition of the Music Compendium: Global Resource: Solutions for Cultural, Social, Health, Educational, Environmental and Economic Issues" features 109 projects illustrating the important role music plays in enhancing the SDGs from over 50 UN Member States that are digitally accessed for practical review and communication.

Presentation topics:

Robots

We introduced the concept of AI and how AI changes a simple robot into a necessary component in our everyday lives. Then, we will show you some marvelous machines that make our lives better and in some cases longer; thus proving that technology is life-changing.

AGEING: URBAN DEVELOPMENT

“Smart” City – Metz, France 

Every city is a “smart” city. The goal of the architect and urban planner is to discover its « smart » points and reinforce them. The presented fellowship project is an example of an urban regeneration concept, which could easily transform an unfriendly place into a vivid and neighborly environment for all generations. 

“Design for All” - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 

Design for All, address the complex urban sociological and environmental challenges of a novel site in Dar es Salaam, famously known as coco beach. It is, in reality, a beach on the border of the Indian Ocean. 

This project thus addressed challenges that focused on urban sociological perspectives for architectural and urban design, looking at ways to improve the social construct of space and environmental issues.

Music as a Global Resource

We are in need of creative solutions to the major challenges facing communities and societies at large. Music and the arts provide one of these solutions. This presentation gave a brief overview of the recently published, 2020 Music as a Global Resource Compendium (5th Edition). The presentation discussed the ways in which these projects have overcome such obstacles through technological innovations, and continued to play a significant role in supporting communities to survive and thrive in challenging conditions.

Information-communication Technology – ICT

We explored the short-, medium- and longer-term advancements that will improve the quality of life for older people, help extend the lifespan of independent living and improve the connectedness with family and community. “New” well-being will become part of the new post-COVID reality. This new reality should belong to us, and not vice versa.