Biography
Myriam Leleu
Education
– Master in Sociology, Urban and Rural Sociology, Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), 1985
– Master in Management, Attended Lectures, Free University of Brussel (ULB), 1985
– Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis, Essex University, England, 1989
– Certificate in Gerontology, University of Southern California, USA, 1991
– Training to Empowerment, Laval University, Québec, 2010-2012
– Certificate in Appropriate Teaching Skills, French Community of Belgium, 2017
Professional Experience
Researcher since 1986
– Teaching and Research Assistant, Catholic University of Louvain, Political and Social Sciences Department, 1986-1994
– Research in Sociology, Free University of Brussel, Ethics Committees at the Hospitals, 1999-2000
– Coordination of a Pilot Project, Implementation of a Coordinating Function within the Hainaut Mental Health Concertation Platforms, Federal Public Service, 2003-2008
– Research about Advanced Care Project for the Elderly, Pallium, Concertation Platform in Palliative Care, 2012-2016
– Senior Researcher, Catholic University of Louvain, Faculty of Architecture, Architectural Engineering and Urban Planning, Participatory Research, Age-friendly Wallonia, Agency for Quality of Life (AViQ), 2016-2018
Professor since 1998
High Schools Louvain en Hainaut (HELHa), Léonard de Vinci (HELV), Province de Namur (HEPN) : Social Sciences and Health Care Departments
Adult Trainer since 1995
Themes : General Sociology, Family, Health, Social Gerontology, Demography, Statistics, Methodology in Social Sciences, Education, Social Change, Housing, Intergenerational Relations, Ageing of Disabled Persons, Addictions, Sexuality, Elder Abuse, Empowerment, Mourning
Volunteering for associations : Cep-âge, Accompanying Elderly ; Les Politiques Sociales, Social Sciences Journal ; AIDPA, International Association for the Empowerment of Individuals and Communities
Leleu, M.
Paper
Age-friendly developments in the Walloon Region, Belgium. Architectural and sociological visions of space and social interactions
Since end of 2015, political actors of the Walloon Region decided to sustain a new program supporting Age-Friendly Cities and Communities (AFCC) inspired by World Health Organization (WHO) vision of ageing. The main interest is about how a participatory research program may influence an active ageing agenda including the older citizen’s involvement. More specifically, the Walloon program has a twofold originality. First, next to a social-sociological perspective of AFCC, it is clearly driven by a spatial-architectural perspective. Second, while co-production is the ideal to reach, it is pragmatically translated into a strong participation of older citizens.
The methodology is developed by the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL) and by the Agency for Quality of Life (AViQ) in an Age-friendly Wallonia pilot-project located in 6 mixed case studies (rural/peri-urban/urban, smaller/larger part of older population). It consists of a complementary approach of spatial observations and qualitative interviews, led by older adults and local agents under the supervision of a sociologist and two architects. This shared work process is particularly salient at the time of data gathering and during the different phases of the AFCC project (actions selection for an action plan, actions realization, actions assessment).
Crossing spatial and social expertise gives an unexpected and relevant scale to the participatory research and presents an original perspective in the landscape of AFCC. The go-along interviews, supported by a mapping exercise, is a strong tool to bring new material by giving more space to lived knowledge of social relations, history and memory of a place. Furthermore, such tool is a strong push factor to make AFCC real in the eyes of senior participants. Thinking and creating environments truly age-friendly is not only the position of the politics but is also and mainly the choice of the older in this Age-friendly Wallonia program.
Moreover, this process is an original way to sustain the perspective of healthy ageing : being active and involved observers is a real way to enhance and dynamise the oldest abilities not only in the social and political fields but also for their physical, psychic and social health.
Conclusions will discuss the potential and the challenge for such a shared method and knowledge.
