A Digital Voice on Social Care - Elders Council
Digital Voice have a well-established reputation for supporting communities and enabling individuals to express themselves and raise awareness of issues through digital story telling. Recently we have been using our skills in communications to explore creative ways share key information on a broader scale. With our recent DigitalMe with Elders Council of Newcastle, Digital Voice was able to summarise the findings of a recent report into home care in an accessible way, told by older people for older people.
With this work, and the recent Newbiggin Hall creative consultation (article link: https://www.digitalvoice.org.uk/news/newbiggin-hall-creative-consultation) Digital Voice have been adding to our portfolio of digital research and inclusive community development and professional reporting in an accessible way.
'Managing the Home Care Circus' was an investigation undertaken by the Elders Council to capture and explore older people's experiences of home care in Newcastle. The project was completed as a partnership between service users, the Elder’s Council and Digital Voice so it was essential that the voices of those affected by home care were heard. Digital Voice were able to use our skills and experience to present key messages about how best we can prepare, seek and manage home care support in a short, animated film.
With this work, and the recent Newbiggin Hall creative consultation (article link: https://www.digitalvoice.org.uk/news/newbiggin-hall-creative-consultation) Digital Voice have been adding to our portfolio of digital research and inclusive community development and professional reporting in an accessible way.
'Managing the Home Care Circus' was an investigation undertaken by the Elders Council to capture and explore older people's experiences of home care in Newcastle. The project was completed as a partnership between service users, the Elder’s Council and Digital Voice so it was essential that the voices of those affected by home care were heard. Digital Voice were able to use our skills and experience to present key messages about how best we can prepare, seek and manage home care support in a short, animated film.
The film was created using our innovative DigitalMe approach; using digital avatars of beautiful pen and ink drawings by local artist Jenny Purrett to empower, create and share messages, information and experiences in an eye-catching, clear and expressive way. It received its premiere at the Elder Council AGM in September, to enthusiastic applause from all those who had gathered for the event. Digital Voice development manager Victoria was present for the event and had this to say about the positive reactions:
“The whole room went silent while they listened to their peers sharing their experiences and words of advice. There wasn’t a person in the room who didn’t seem touched by the video, the use of film clearly drew the eye and brought out empathy and understanding for can be a challenging and complex time of life to navigate. Reports can be a challenge to share in a way that reaches their target audiences, so having the main points summarised in a way people could understand and engage with was really important to getting the message out and having a real impact and longevity.”
The Elder’s Council AGM was followed by a special day of activity at Newcastle Central Library in celebration of the international day of the Older Person on 30 September. As part of their ongoing collaboration with Digital Voice the team were present at the event to discuss our digital inclusion and digital storytelling work, including the opportunity for free digital reminiscence sessions. They were also on hand for the first public screening of the DigitalMe 'Managing the Home Care Circus' film. Both events were a huge success, despite being the first in person gatherings many attendees had been to since the Covid-19 pandemic. Digital Voice is certainly looking forward with a hopeful eye to more in person networking and participant engagement, but we accept that for maximum accessibility and opportunity, a blended approach maybe necessary.
Learn more about DigitalMe (available both as an in person and online programme) and how you, your organisation and your community could benefit too, whether its raising awareness, having a voice or sharing the results of your research here: https://www.digitalvoice.org.uk/digitalme
You can read more about the Elders Council of Newcastle and view their full report 'Managing the Home Care Circus' on their website.
