Despite the project only beginning in February, Laurel has already had an impact at a number of major international conferences.
As part of our goal to advance long-term care, our consortium has sought out opportunities to engage with established organisations and events working towards the same end.
Through this networking, our project will be able to draw upon more knowledge and experience, better disseminate our results, and synergise with similar projects.
International Conference on Integrated Care (ICIC24)
In April, Laurel attended the International Conference on Integrated Care (ICIC24) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, organised by our communications partners at IFIC. This was Laurel’s first appearance at a major conference, and the team hosted a workshop to seek early insights from experts in integrated care.
Hosted by Prof. Anne Hendry, participants at the workshop were introduced to the aims of Laurel, and surveyed on their opinions about and experiences of long-term care. This was followed by round table discussions to further explore their ideas.
This workshop contributed to Laurel’s pool of knowledge as our partners made early decisions on the scope and specifics of the research to be undertaken.
IFIC was joined by team members from AGE Platform, FRCB-IDIBAPS, Panaxea, and EUROCARERS.
Carer Aware Conference
In July, EUROCARERS presented to the Cynhadledd Ymwybyddiaeth o Ofalwyr / Carer Aware Conference, held in Wales.
Carer Aware is a joint project, funded by Welsh Government, between Carers Trust Wales and Carers Wales to work collaboratively with unpaid carers, social care and health professionals to better empower unpaid carers to be actively involved in decisions and services for the people they care for and themselves.
Guilia Landredi from Eurocarers attended remotely to deliver a presentation introducing Laurel and discussing the value of approaching care collaboration through an integrated care persepective.
This conference was a valuable opportunity to build links with existing projects, learn from their work, and set the stage for future collaboration.
European Social Services Conference (ESSC)
In June, Laurel was represented at the European Social Services Conference (ESSC) in Antwerp, Belgium.
Organised by our partners at the European Social Network, they were joined by Pilar Gangas and Alejandro Gil Salmeron from IFIC, to take part in the Project Forum. Laurel was introduced using an ‘elevator pitch’ alongside related projects exploring the care workforce, digital inequalities, and supporting family carers.
To learn more about the conference, download the conference report by clicking here.
ILPN Conference
In September, Laurel took part in the International Long-term Care Policy Network’s annual conference in Bilbao, Spain.
This was another opportunity to build links with other projects and establish Laurel among peers in the field of long-term care.
Bert Vrijhoef from Panaxea delivered a presentation on mapping and characterising regional long-term care practices in Europe, while Niamh Lennox-Chhugani and Edelweiss Aldasaro from IFIC delivered presentations on integrated long-term care in Ireland and the Basque region.