The Basque country declaration: Gerontechnology comments

At the end of ISG*ISARC2012 World Conference, Eindhoven, June 27-29, 2012, a discussion took place by video conference, between participants of the AAL summit (chaired by Olga Rivera, Basque Country’s Deputy Minister of Health Research and Innovation) and the gerontechnology conference (chaired by Alain Franco, ISG president). The Basque country declaration has been well received by the Gerontechnology community as convened in Eindhoven at the ISG*ISARC2012 conference. It was understood that the AAL Summit in Bilbao concerned R&D funding and business issues of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL). The Basque country declaration is a sturdy and welcome initiative to turn the aging society in a successful society for all. It looks for new and sustainable models for health and takes into account stakeholders from academia, industry, technological research institutes, care organisations and even users. Some remarks are presented about education, prevention and sustainability, end users, usability and building environments. The Basque country declaration is an important and needed document, which hopefully will have considerable impact. We strongly support the pronounced user orientation regarding technology development and use as clearly highlighted in the declaration. The gerontechnology community may further strengthen our move to a successful aging society by providing insights and results on the interface of gerontology and technology, including needed paradigm changes.