Innovation: I-Motion time credits

Austria

AAI Domains:

• Independent, healthy and secure living (care giving to children and older people, lifelong learning)

• Participation in society (voluntary activities)

As societies age there are a wide range of factors that can influence how local communities adapt to demographic changes. More older people are likely to need support with the activities of daily life, such as maintaining their home or shopping, in order to continue to live independently while those in need of long-term institutional care also need further stimulation to maintain their quality of life. Although younger people are a declining proportion of the population, if they could be mobilised and appropriately motivated they could play an important role in strengthening social cohesion and make an important contribution to active ageing.

Worgl is a small town (population c.13,000) in the Tyrol region of Austria near the border with Germany. In 2005 it was recognised that an innovative system of time credits, I-Motion, could have a range of positive effects on younger people and the wider community. The I-Motion offer aims to provide young people, typically in the 16 to 18 age range, with opportunities to earn time credits from undertaking socially valuable work in the non-market (social) economy.

The local municipality established and operates I-Motion which provides young people with opportunities to develop their skills, knowledge and entrepreneurialism for their benefit and that of their ageing community. Young people register with I-Motion and buy a time card for €2.50 that they use to record their work in the community that includes assisting older people with shovelling snow in the winter, mowing the grass in the summer and help with errands and shopping at any time of the year.

Young participants can provide support through a visiting service in local nursing homes, providing assistance in local kindergartens or libraries that will earn them time credits. A maximum limit of two hours a day ensures that the time credit system is restricted to being a small part of young people’s daily lives while providing opportunities to earn time credits and learn new skills while performing socially useful and valuable work.

The credits can be redeemed with a range of regional companies with an emphasis on providing leisure and recreational experiences that may well be beyond the purchasing power of young people. The time credit system shows that even in an increasingly globalised and money driven world, there is still scope for meaningful interactions, particularly across the generations, that are socially important.

More than 500 young people have registered online with I-Motion although there is a core group of around 80 young people each year who perform most of the activities. A computer course for older people has been very popular and runs continuously with the cooperation of the computer science department in the local secondary school. This involves inter-generational learning with younger people assisting older people in learning new ICT skills that are an increasingly important part of modern life.

The project is funded by the municipality of Worgl, who provide office space and project supervisors, with support from the regional government of Tyrol along with support from corporate organisations across the region that honour the time credits.

In relation to active ageing, I-Motion provides opportunities for voluntary activities (which in this case are rewarded with time credits) that involves care giving to older adults and children. The purchase of time credit based services by older people, such as snow shovelling or help with simple household maintenance tasks, makes a contribution to independent living. There is also an element of lifelong learning through the computer course for older people run in partnership with the local secondary school.

The core of the project is to promote pro-social behaviour among younger people and this often involves greater inter-generational activity and understanding that can make an important contribution to social cohesion in an ageing society.

More information on the Komm!unity website