Help My Grandma Day Contest Asks BC Students and Seniors to Connect Through Digital Storytelling
Digital Health Circle launches a student video contest to promote intergenerational connections
October 1, 2019 - Surrey, BC - Students in BC can partner with a senior and submit a video to the Help My Grandma Day contest for a chance to win $6000 in tuition and build a more caring community.
The contest, which closes January 6, 2020, is open to all students at accredited post-secondary schools in BC. Videos must be co-created with a senior, be under two minutes in length, and show how intergenerational connections can make BC a stronger and more caring community.
“Making a video together is beneficial and meaningful for both the student and the older adult,” says Jim Mann, dementia and Alzheimers’ advocate and director at Digital Health Circle.
“Think about the role you are playing for the older adult. Think about the many discussions you will have with that person. Digital storytelling is powerful because it gives older adults a voice and a sense of accomplishment.”
A panel of older adult judges will select finalists for prizes to be awarded at an event in February 2020.
The contest launched at Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus on September 30th. “This contest is named in honour of my own grandmother,” says Dr. Sylvain Moreno, CEO at Digital Health Circle as he introduced the contest. Dr. Moreno told a personal story about learning to dance with his grandmother as a young man in France.
Kwantlen First Nation Elder Kevin Kelly and his son Saamoqua spoke to the importance of intergenerational connections as they welcomed the contest to their territory. Participants took part in the iSpace Research Lab’s Body RemiXer virtual reality demonstration, an experiential installation that mixing movement and bodies through playful interactions.
Interviews with students, seniors, and Digital Health Circle are available upon request.
ABOUT HELP MY GRANDMA DAY
Help My Grandma Day is a digital video storytelling contest for BC students and seniors. The contest invites young people to connect with a senior, make a video together, and submit for big prizes including tuition at BC universities and colleges. The contest runs from September 2019 to January 2020 with an award event planned for February 2020.
For more information about Help My Grandma Day, please visit www.helpmygrandmaday.ca.
ABOUT DIGITAL HEALTH CIRCLE
Digital Health Circle is the BC-focused National Innovation Hub of the AGE-WELL Network of Centres of Excellence, Canada’s premiere leader in technologies for healthy aging. Based at Simon Fraser University in Surrey, Digital Health Circle helps create and deploy new technologies that improve senior care in hospitals, care facilities, and private homes.
For more information about Digital Health Circle, please visit www.digitalhealthcircle.ca.
Contact:
Mike Soron, Operations Manager, Digital Health Circle
mike@digitalhealthcircle.ca, 778-389-1028
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