Under the patronage of
Dr Barbara Hendricks, Federal Minister for the Environment,
Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety

Participants
All students of art, design, visual communications and architecture are invited to submit poster designs for the International Student Poster Design Competition - Age-friendly Living 2016.

Intentions
The competition invites contemporary artistic responses to the topic of age-appropriate and barrier-free design in the home with the aim of finding new visual approaches to communicating the issues.

Sinking birth rates, longer life expectancy and decreasing mortality rates are factors that have brought about significant demographic change. As the population grows older, the demand for housing that is able to respond to the needs of old age will increase steadily. The intention of the competition is to raise awareness and foster forward-looking, needs-oriented action in society.

Age-friendly Living

Of all the rooms in a home, the bathroom is most vital for ensuring we can continue to live at home as we grow older. It is important for personal health and hygiene, and plays a central role in enabling the provision of care and assistance at home.

The political and social goal of prioritising care at home over inpatient nursing can only succeed if homes are better able to adapt to changing personal health needs. A key factor in this context is the upgrading of bathrooms and sanitary facilities into environments that we can continue to use safely as we grow older, and in which family members and professional carers can provide assistance when needed.

The age-friendly design of living environments also encompasses other areas such as the living room, bedroom, kitchen and entrance, as well as corridors, stairs, ramps, balconies and terraces. Preventative measures improve living comfort for everyone, and promote social inclusion by making living environments usable for all age groups. Removing barriers enables people to continue living in familiar surroundings for longer, minimises the risk of accidents and falls, and makes daily life more pleasant for people with different needs and abilities - whether frail and infirm, disabled, families with children, or outside carers.

Chairman of the jury:
Prof. Heinz Jürgen Kristahn, IKD Berlin, Germany

Jury members:

• Prof. Ph.D. Akira Harada, Japan
• Rene Wanner Art Consulting, Switzerland
• Prof. Richard Doubleday, USA
• Prof. Amrollah Farhadi, Iran
• Prof. Isidro Ferrer, Spain
• Prof. Jerzy Skakun, Poland

Professional jury:

• Gunther Adler, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety
• Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Ursula Lehr, Second Vice President of the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Senioren-Organisationen e.V. (The German Association of Organisations for Seniors, BAGSO)
• Marjan Sedmak, President AGE Platform Europe
• Manfred Stather, President of the ZVSHK German Sanitation, Heating and Air Conditioning Association, Germany
• Erwin F. Reisch, Publisher, Gentner Verlag, Stuttgart
• Franz Kaldewei, GF Franz Kaldewei GmbH & Co. KG
• Detlev Kalischer, KfW Bank Group

Preliminary jury:

• Prof. Dr. Dominik Pietzcker, Germany
• Prof. Dirk van der Meulen, Germany
• Prof. Dr. Otfried Scholz, Germany
• Shuang Wu, M.A., China
• Gia Janezashvili, Georgia

Prizes and Publicity

1st Prize: 2500 Euro
2nd Prize: 1500 Euro
3rd Prize: 1000 Euro

The best 100 entries selected by the jury will be presented in an exhibition to be shown around the world, and published in an accompanying exhibition catalogue. The designers of the 100 selected posters will receive a complimentary copy of the exhibition catalogue. The organisers may at their discretion elect to award further prizes for individual posters in addition to the main prizes.

The competition is organised by the ZVSHK German Sanitation, Heating and Air Conditioning Association.

Closing date for entries
Online uploads are possible until midnight CET on 30 December 2016. The upload facility will then be deactivated.

Timeline
An exhibition of the best 100 nominated posters will take place in March-April 2017 at the German Federal Press and Information Office in Berlin.
The three prizewinners will be announced during the opening ceremony of the exhibition. The designers of all 100 selected posters will receive a certificate and a copy of the exhibition catalogue.
A list of all prizewinners will be published in March 2017 following the announcement.

Full information on the poster competition:
www.age-friendly-living.com