Ec(h)o
Basic information
Project Title
Ec(h)o
Full project title
Ec(h)o: A documentary and event on lessons from the past
Category
Regaining a sense of belonging
Project Description
Ec(h)o is a convergence of past and future done in the present of unparalleled challenges we live. We are observing an inversion of the demographic pyramids which brings new socio-economical challenges that we propose to expose and capture in a documentary through the eyes of an ageing Portuguese population. Inclusion, circularity, and sustainability are the main keywords of this project that aims to learn from the elderly, amplifying their voices and lessons to be echoed for future generations.
Geographical Scope
National
Project Region
Portugal
Urban or rural issues
It addresses urban-rural linkages
Physical or other transformations
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
EU Programme or fund
No
Description of the project
Summary
Ec(h)o is a project that aims to address Sustainability across its three primary pillars (environmental, social, and economical) by exploring the role of an ageing population in Portugal and the World. To do so, a documentary is being produced. In three acts, we seek to portray the contemporary society, picturing not only scenarios of loneliness and exclusion often felt by the elderly but also highlighting their value to our society.
“Ageing”. Portugal’s ageing index increased >50 units since 2011, whilst a clear and visible ageing of the population is currently in process. This brings different socio-economical challenges, as exclusion, loneliness, and desertification, mainly in territories away from the coastline that represent approximately 70% of the country’s area but only comprise 30% of its population today.
“Sensing”. Data available on this topic show an exponential increase of loneliness cases with age. To better understand this and how these people live and feel, we expose the naked truth of how it is to grow old in Portugal by putting ourselves in their shoes - going directly to their homes, talk to them and walk *with* them on their day-to-day lives.
“Teaching”. Concepts as circularity or seasonality, and initiatives as repair cafés are getting more and more discussed nowadays as part of a strategy and a solution on the consumer side to tackle climate change. But are they new? Weren’t they put into practice long before by past generations?
The production of this documentary will culminate with an event where circularity will be the motto. The documentary will be premiered, alongside roundtable discussions with the participation of different stakeholders and experts, while workshops on how to repair clothes, or avoid food waste will be given by elderly.
Ec(h)o aims to address the ageing population topic as a starting point to be the epicenter of awareness and discussion, providing tools for more resilient and sustainable communities.
“Ageing”. Portugal’s ageing index increased >50 units since 2011, whilst a clear and visible ageing of the population is currently in process. This brings different socio-economical challenges, as exclusion, loneliness, and desertification, mainly in territories away from the coastline that represent approximately 70% of the country’s area but only comprise 30% of its population today.
“Sensing”. Data available on this topic show an exponential increase of loneliness cases with age. To better understand this and how these people live and feel, we expose the naked truth of how it is to grow old in Portugal by putting ourselves in their shoes - going directly to their homes, talk to them and walk *with* them on their day-to-day lives.
“Teaching”. Concepts as circularity or seasonality, and initiatives as repair cafés are getting more and more discussed nowadays as part of a strategy and a solution on the consumer side to tackle climate change. But are they new? Weren’t they put into practice long before by past generations?
The production of this documentary will culminate with an event where circularity will be the motto. The documentary will be premiered, alongside roundtable discussions with the participation of different stakeholders and experts, while workshops on how to repair clothes, or avoid food waste will be given by elderly.
Ec(h)o aims to address the ageing population topic as a starting point to be the epicenter of awareness and discussion, providing tools for more resilient and sustainable communities.
Key objectives for sustainability
As per 2021 surveys, more than 23% (!) of the Portuguese population is over 65 years old. They are an active part of our society and, therefore, we should listen to them, understand how they live, what can we offer them and what we have to learn from them as well. By doing so, in this project, we seek to address sustainability across all of its dimensions - social, environmental, and economic.
Social sustainability is the common denominator in the different components of this project. We aim to address and tackle problems such as exclusion or loneliness by promoting inter-generational exchange of knowledge and inclusion of the elderly in our society with a more active voice. Throughout the process, we also hope to stimulate the creation of opportunities in places that are currently suffering a visible desertification and ageing process (several villages in Portugal have a percentage of population over 65 years old above 50%). This will get all the sectors of society back together in places with more initiatives, and putting the elderly back into the center of the knowledge transfer matrix.
While new laws are being discussed within the EU scope on the right to repair, in an attempt to empower consumers, increase responsibility on the producer side, and reduce inefficient and intensive resource usage, we cannot forget such circularity framework can also be applied in our daily lives. Ec(h)o is all about circularity. It is about making our clothes last longer (learning how to sew and how to maintain them properly), it is about circular food systems (respecting Nature’s timings, learning about seasonality, and maximizing the potential of our products) and, therefore, it is about cutting carbon emissions, saving water, and using less resources.
With Ec(h)o we propose not only to explore the situation of the ageing population and to share experiences, but mainly to be a platform to share knowledge and generate a positive impact as a response to it.
Social sustainability is the common denominator in the different components of this project. We aim to address and tackle problems such as exclusion or loneliness by promoting inter-generational exchange of knowledge and inclusion of the elderly in our society with a more active voice. Throughout the process, we also hope to stimulate the creation of opportunities in places that are currently suffering a visible desertification and ageing process (several villages in Portugal have a percentage of population over 65 years old above 50%). This will get all the sectors of society back together in places with more initiatives, and putting the elderly back into the center of the knowledge transfer matrix.
While new laws are being discussed within the EU scope on the right to repair, in an attempt to empower consumers, increase responsibility on the producer side, and reduce inefficient and intensive resource usage, we cannot forget such circularity framework can also be applied in our daily lives. Ec(h)o is all about circularity. It is about making our clothes last longer (learning how to sew and how to maintain them properly), it is about circular food systems (respecting Nature’s timings, learning about seasonality, and maximizing the potential of our products) and, therefore, it is about cutting carbon emissions, saving water, and using less resources.
With Ec(h)o we propose not only to explore the situation of the ageing population and to share experiences, but mainly to be a platform to share knowledge and generate a positive impact as a response to it.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
We want to paint a raw portrait of stories and real people. In the documentary the three acts will play different roles, while helping the development of the storyline and the message that, in the end, we aim to spread: “Ageing” will contextualize, “Sensing” will captivate, and “Teaching” will motivate, in a call to action.
Our team will be immersed in different settings across the country, targeting diverse populations and realities. We want to leverage the urban/rural contrast in the quality of life during aging, to sensitize the general public on the need for locally-designed solutions. But, perhaps more importantly, our team’s philosophy on the production of creative pieces is sustained on the principles of loose preconceptions on storytelling. We let the images and the subjects guide our cameras and narration, in a true co-design of a communication piece.
We want to stimulate positive feelings as the sense of belonging and inclusiveness. To do so, after recording different experiences, conversations and thoughts in field, in the regions where this is more evident in Portugal, we are aiming to go back to those same regions and show the final product to those who where, nothing less than the motor that allowed the production of the documentary, and to those who are, and will always be, part of one of the most important pieces of our society.
Our team will be immersed in different settings across the country, targeting diverse populations and realities. We want to leverage the urban/rural contrast in the quality of life during aging, to sensitize the general public on the need for locally-designed solutions. But, perhaps more importantly, our team’s philosophy on the production of creative pieces is sustained on the principles of loose preconceptions on storytelling. We let the images and the subjects guide our cameras and narration, in a true co-design of a communication piece.
We want to stimulate positive feelings as the sense of belonging and inclusiveness. To do so, after recording different experiences, conversations and thoughts in field, in the regions where this is more evident in Portugal, we are aiming to go back to those same regions and show the final product to those who where, nothing less than the motor that allowed the production of the documentary, and to those who are, and will always be, part of one of the most important pieces of our society.
Key objectives for inclusion
Alongside sustainability, inclusion is one of the main pillars of this projects - both in terms of the replicability and longevity of the documentary, as in terms of the aim of the whole project.
We believe that the documentary, as the first one exploring this topic in such a deep and holistic perspective, has an immense potential for long-term impact. Therefore, we will produce the documentary in such a way that is accessible to everyone. The documentary will be made available online for free on YouTube (as it was done with the first documentary we produced in 2021 on food waste, “Sustento” - bit.ly/sustentoreboot) with subtitles both in Portuguese and in English, so language is not a barrier to anyone. Additionally, we will aim to show this documentary throughout different regions in Portugal, assuring a proper geographical coverage, and that the project and this documentary also gets to the regions, villages and towns where exclusion, lack of opportunities, and loneliness is mostly felt.
On the other hand, we strongly believe that utopias can only be achieved through an active and inclusive participation of *all* sectors of our community, with no exception, in our society. That is the main goal of our project - to link people, to raise awareness for the biggest challenges we are facing, to share knowledge and to create discussion spaces where problems can be tackled and solutions can be addressed. As to do justice to this, not only the whole concept of the documentary is focused on inclusion, but also the premiere event will help in putting that into practice. The premiere event will be a gathering point, fostering inter-generational exchanges, with the whole event planning urging as a result of a co-creation process mainly with the elderly (the main actors in this project and in the event, giving workshops, sharing experiences, teaching lessons, etc), but also involving other actors as non-governmental and non-profit organizations, or public institutions.
We believe that the documentary, as the first one exploring this topic in such a deep and holistic perspective, has an immense potential for long-term impact. Therefore, we will produce the documentary in such a way that is accessible to everyone. The documentary will be made available online for free on YouTube (as it was done with the first documentary we produced in 2021 on food waste, “Sustento” - bit.ly/sustentoreboot) with subtitles both in Portuguese and in English, so language is not a barrier to anyone. Additionally, we will aim to show this documentary throughout different regions in Portugal, assuring a proper geographical coverage, and that the project and this documentary also gets to the regions, villages and towns where exclusion, lack of opportunities, and loneliness is mostly felt.
On the other hand, we strongly believe that utopias can only be achieved through an active and inclusive participation of *all* sectors of our community, with no exception, in our society. That is the main goal of our project - to link people, to raise awareness for the biggest challenges we are facing, to share knowledge and to create discussion spaces where problems can be tackled and solutions can be addressed. As to do justice to this, not only the whole concept of the documentary is focused on inclusion, but also the premiere event will help in putting that into practice. The premiere event will be a gathering point, fostering inter-generational exchanges, with the whole event planning urging as a result of a co-creation process mainly with the elderly (the main actors in this project and in the event, giving workshops, sharing experiences, teaching lessons, etc), but also involving other actors as non-governmental and non-profit organizations, or public institutions.
How Citizens benefit
The rational behind Ec(h)o is clear: to portray the contemporary society, to show how it is to age in Portugal, in a society carved by a clear ageing process and an inversion of the demographic pyramids. We aim to do it, not only by picturing the life and the reality of the elderly, but by co-designing the whole process with them. For the documentary, we will interview real people, that will have complete freedom to share all of their experiences, talents, lessons, and insights on different topics. For the premiere event, we will gather a small group of elders (chosen with the help of organizations working on the field) with different knowledge and experience. The whole plan of the event will be discussed with them and taking their inputs into account. Beyond the premiere, our commitment also extends to taking the documentary back to the regions where the recordings occured. This serves a dual purpose - acknowledging the impactful participation of the groups of people that were interviewed and making sure that they are recognized as an integral piece that allowed the production of the documentary.
The role of civil society is also clear, we will work side by side with different NGOs and associations from the regions where the filming will be made and that work daily with the population from those regions. They know, better than anyone else, how to best picture the ageing situation, and they will guide us on the best way to capture it and showing us (and making it clear to everyone that sees the documentary), in the field, their outstanding daily work in making sure everyone has the right support, no matter what their familiar or financial situation is.
The role of civil society is also clear, we will work side by side with different NGOs and associations from the regions where the filming will be made and that work daily with the population from those regions. They know, better than anyone else, how to best picture the ageing situation, and they will guide us on the best way to capture it and showing us (and making it clear to everyone that sees the documentary), in the field, their outstanding daily work in making sure everyone has the right support, no matter what their familiar or financial situation is.
Physical or other transformations
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
Innovative character
The data from the most recent census and population surveys does not leave room for any doubt: the Portuguese population is ageing faster than the population of any other European country, and it is getting more concentrated in regions that are becoming desertified, and where the lack of opportunities is getting more evident. But even though the demographic trends might seem clear as water, no other approach is being done, and the average citizen hardly knows the implications of that to their full extent.
Ec(h)o is innovative for bringing a broader approach to address this demographic trends, by going to the field to feel and show how it is to age in Portugal, helping to raise awareness for the topic besides numbers and the data available. Furthermore, it is also innovative for the inter-disciplinarity between societal and environmental aspects that it brings. We have all stumbled across the term circularity, but do we know what it really can mean at its full potential? Circularity is more than just recycling, it is reducing consumption, it is economic growth, it is respecting and taking the most out of the resources we have available and ease the extreme consumerism era we are currently living. We aim to bring people together, stimulate knowledge sharing and remind everyone that it is possible to have a more sustainable lifestyle and to honor circularity compromises in our daily lives, as we used to do in past generations. Ec(h)o is more than showcasing the problem and the situation, it is also (and mainly) about triggering discussion across all sectors of society, and empowering citizens.
Ec(h)o is innovative for bringing a broader approach to address this demographic trends, by going to the field to feel and show how it is to age in Portugal, helping to raise awareness for the topic besides numbers and the data available. Furthermore, it is also innovative for the inter-disciplinarity between societal and environmental aspects that it brings. We have all stumbled across the term circularity, but do we know what it really can mean at its full potential? Circularity is more than just recycling, it is reducing consumption, it is economic growth, it is respecting and taking the most out of the resources we have available and ease the extreme consumerism era we are currently living. We aim to bring people together, stimulate knowledge sharing and remind everyone that it is possible to have a more sustainable lifestyle and to honor circularity compromises in our daily lives, as we used to do in past generations. Ec(h)o is more than showcasing the problem and the situation, it is also (and mainly) about triggering discussion across all sectors of society, and empowering citizens.
Disciplines/knowledge reflected
The project was initially thought as a response to the clear demographic trend that is being followed in the last decades in Portugal and, therefore, it is obviously related with different social sciences, as demography, sociology, or psychology. These three disciplines will be extremely important to better sketch our starting point, showing what are we observing, and why are we observing this trends (demography, sociology), while evaluating the consequences of this demographic changes, as loneliness, exclusion, and their impact on aspects as mental health or active participation in society of the elderly (psychology).
However, this project is much more multidisciplinary than it might seem in a first glance. Sustainability is at the core of the project, and fields as environmental sciences are brought into scene with the core circularity idea behind the project bringing a strong impact on our carbon emissions, water consumption, and the path we are following to address the climate crisis we are facing. This will urge as an inter-connection with the social disciplines aforementioned, as all this knowledge will emerge as an opportunity for the elderly to have a stronger and more effective impact on society. Fields as economics, will also be relevant to explore how the different societal and environmental aspects will bring additional challenges and opportunities when it comes to social security, retiring, or job opportunities that may arise as a result of the more circular economy we try to stimulate.
However, this project is much more multidisciplinary than it might seem in a first glance. Sustainability is at the core of the project, and fields as environmental sciences are brought into scene with the core circularity idea behind the project bringing a strong impact on our carbon emissions, water consumption, and the path we are following to address the climate crisis we are facing. This will urge as an inter-connection with the social disciplines aforementioned, as all this knowledge will emerge as an opportunity for the elderly to have a stronger and more effective impact on society. Fields as economics, will also be relevant to explore how the different societal and environmental aspects will bring additional challenges and opportunities when it comes to social security, retiring, or job opportunities that may arise as a result of the more circular economy we try to stimulate.
Methodology used
The approach used for this project was very clear: we want to generate an impact bigger than the impact the numbers can have. We wanted to produce a documentary and a project that would be truly listening of the older sectors of our society, and that would promote their inclusion and their participation in a more active way in our communities. To do so, there is nothing better than putting ourselves in the shoes of these people, understanding how they feel, how are their daily lives, and what they have to share about it. We cannot neglect, of course, the importance of the participation of different stakeholders and experts in this project which will help us leverage the knowledge and insights that we can extract to improve the outcome of this project and that emerge as a result of years of experience in their expertise area. But it is equally important, and crucial for the project to be inclusive, to gather, listen and learn directly in the field.
Furthermore, we believe this approach (which is basically the same followed on the production of our first documentary that we have produced on food systems and the food waste reality in Portugal) allows to show to the population the broadness and how multidisciplinary a concept as sustainability can be. Sustainability is circularity, cutting carbon emissions, assure a prosperous Future for everyone, and that also takes into account including all the sectors of society in our decision making processes, it is moving forward without leaving no one behind. In this way, and by making an effort to reinforce this holistic definition of Sustainability, we aim to prove that, even if we are all going in different rhythms (caused by our different levels of awareness of today’s challenges), more sustainable habits can be embodied in our daily lives and we all can (and should) have an impact and a word to say in our Future just by doing so.
Furthermore, we believe this approach (which is basically the same followed on the production of our first documentary that we have produced on food systems and the food waste reality in Portugal) allows to show to the population the broadness and how multidisciplinary a concept as sustainability can be. Sustainability is circularity, cutting carbon emissions, assure a prosperous Future for everyone, and that also takes into account including all the sectors of society in our decision making processes, it is moving forward without leaving no one behind. In this way, and by making an effort to reinforce this holistic definition of Sustainability, we aim to prove that, even if we are all going in different rhythms (caused by our different levels of awareness of today’s challenges), more sustainable habits can be embodied in our daily lives and we all can (and should) have an impact and a word to say in our Future just by doing so.
How stakeholders are engaged
In this project, we will mainly work with national and local stakeholders, that will be involved in different parts of the design and implementation process, but will play an extremely important role in adding value, insights and relevant thoughts (resulting from their experience in their expertise area) to it.
In “Ageing”, the first act of the documentary, we will reach to stakeholders on a broader national level, that will help us to better sketch the story there told. They will be researchers and experts in different fields as sociology, demographic trends, economic development, or social security.
In “Sensing” and “Teaching”, the main focus will be to explore stories from the elderly directly in-field to get a multitude of testimonies in an organic form. This will be complemented with interviews to experts on mental health, and housing and, of course, with a close collaboration with different associations and NGOs that provide daily support to this sector of society.
This project is specially unique for the wide diversity of stakeholders it can involve - city municipalities, public institutions, non-governmental organizations, public institutions, the corporate sector, or the local residents from all the regions where the recordings were done. This has the main goal of bringing even more knowledge sharing, discussion moments, and inter-generational exchange, always with one main goal: ensuring a prosperous and sustainable Future.
In “Ageing”, the first act of the documentary, we will reach to stakeholders on a broader national level, that will help us to better sketch the story there told. They will be researchers and experts in different fields as sociology, demographic trends, economic development, or social security.
In “Sensing” and “Teaching”, the main focus will be to explore stories from the elderly directly in-field to get a multitude of testimonies in an organic form. This will be complemented with interviews to experts on mental health, and housing and, of course, with a close collaboration with different associations and NGOs that provide daily support to this sector of society.
This project is specially unique for the wide diversity of stakeholders it can involve - city municipalities, public institutions, non-governmental organizations, public institutions, the corporate sector, or the local residents from all the regions where the recordings were done. This has the main goal of bringing even more knowledge sharing, discussion moments, and inter-generational exchange, always with one main goal: ensuring a prosperous and sustainable Future.
Global challenges
The holistic approach used for the development of this project, easily leverages the addressment of global challenges, while tackling some of the local fragilities we can find in different regions in Portugal.
The local fragilities urge as a result of what was described before as a consequence of the demographic trends currently felt in Portugal. We aim to tackle elderly loneliness, or desertification and lack of opportunities and initiatives in regions that are currently clearly suffering from this ageing process, by showing how impactful and important can the voice of this sector of our society can be in addressing the main challenges we face nowadays. The fast-paced transformation of our world is, unfortunately, having some negative consequences as well, as knowledge, initiatives and investment is being taken to the environment where they can prosper faster - the big cities, leaving whole regions completely abandoned or populated by an aged sector of our society.
By doing so, and aiming for a more inclusive society locally, we address the unprecedented global challenge that we are facing nowadays of climate change, by learning and spreading circularity habits, and showing how every little detail, echoed through all the population, can have a huge impact.
The local fragilities urge as a result of what was described before as a consequence of the demographic trends currently felt in Portugal. We aim to tackle elderly loneliness, or desertification and lack of opportunities and initiatives in regions that are currently clearly suffering from this ageing process, by showing how impactful and important can the voice of this sector of our society can be in addressing the main challenges we face nowadays. The fast-paced transformation of our world is, unfortunately, having some negative consequences as well, as knowledge, initiatives and investment is being taken to the environment where they can prosper faster - the big cities, leaving whole regions completely abandoned or populated by an aged sector of our society.
By doing so, and aiming for a more inclusive society locally, we address the unprecedented global challenge that we are facing nowadays of climate change, by learning and spreading circularity habits, and showing how every little detail, echoed through all the population, can have a huge impact.
Learning transferred to other parties
In terms of replicability potential, our idea is to go beyond just the production of the documentary and its corresponding premiere event. It is to make it available online, at no cost, and to use it as an educational tool to raise awareness on the demographic situation, challenges, and opportunities we are currently facing, while echoing the circularity lessons obtained in the production of the documentary. The documentary itself is the perfect starting point for further discussions on different topics: opportunities in the economic sector, desertification of the ageing regions in Portugal, loneliness, mental health issues, environmental sustainability and tackling the era of extreme consumerism we are living, etc. We aim to show the documentary in different regions in Portugal, complementing it with different actions depending on the context of the initiative: zero-waste workshops, or roundtable discussions are examples of possible complementary actions.
Furthermore, we believe it can also serve as an example that can be replicated in different countries in the EU, for example, as it proves that, more than talking and representing the underrepresented sectors of our population, we should more than ever raise their voices. We believe the replicability potential of the project is one of the major strengths of it, as we are addressing topics as circularity mantras can be easily replicated elsewhere. We mainly hope it can be, throughout the whole World, a trigger for a more active and inclusive citizenship, that leaves no one behind and takes all the sectors of society into consideration and as part of the solution to the main challenges we face nowadays.
Furthermore, we believe it can also serve as an example that can be replicated in different countries in the EU, for example, as it proves that, more than talking and representing the underrepresented sectors of our population, we should more than ever raise their voices. We believe the replicability potential of the project is one of the major strengths of it, as we are addressing topics as circularity mantras can be easily replicated elsewhere. We mainly hope it can be, throughout the whole World, a trigger for a more active and inclusive citizenship, that leaves no one behind and takes all the sectors of society into consideration and as part of the solution to the main challenges we face nowadays.
Keywords
Encouraging circularity
Recovering the sense of belonging to a fast-paced changing society
Tackling climate change
Stimulating a more inclusive society
Generating new opportunities in nearly desertified territories
