Our SBRI Innovate UK project under the banner of ‘Healthy Ageing UK’, is now well underway. For a 12 month period, that started in April this year, Book of You is working with tech companies Red Ninja Labs Ltd and Cobalt Techno who, with the help of residents at Grwp Cynefin Housing Association sites in Denbigh and Bala, will be looking at the ways people over the age of 55 use the internet; finding out what they like and don’t like, how it benefits (or hinders) them and using this data from our testers, we will be expanding what we offer within our current app to make it better, simpler and more inclusive.

The fund enables us to go further than we ever have before in terms of ideas, testing and product development, bringing in brand new ideas from new tech companies to take us to the next level. Check back here on our blogs and also our social media posts to find out how we are getting on.

Book of You have just commenced an exciting new project with North East Wales Community Cohesion, along with Denbighshire County Council and the British Red Cross.

Over the next 6 weeks, we will be working with a group of Syrian and Afghan refugees who are now living in the Rhyl area. Using our popular multimedia Community Book as a platform, the participants will tell the fascinating story of their heritage, memories and culture, comparing the differences between where they lived before and now, and will also share with us their hopes and dreams for the future. This is a weekly activity for the whole family with the children telling their stories through the medium of art, supported by talented artist Fakhra, and the adults through story-telling and sharing a variety of belongings, photographs and many other things with our Book of You staff. Already we have learned about Eid and the wonderful array of food, some of which has been brought along to the sessions to be enjoyed by all.

Supported by translators, the aim is to create a vibrant and interesting book that can help foster understanding between cultures and once complete, the participants are keen to share with the wider community so there will be a celebration event to show the book publicly for the first time.

Here at Book of You we are excited to announce the publication of our new Learning Disability Demo Book. For this, we had the pleasure of working alongside Sam Barnard, an acclaimed British actor, who has worked both on stage for the Academy of Arts and on screen in productions such as EastEnders and The Inbetweeners.

Bob’s Book is about the character’s transition to independent living, as he moves into Parkfield Road. The book is available through our website here showcasing how Book of You can be used to help with the transition. We aim to help families stay connected and carers bond with and get to know the person they are supporting.

Book of You’s original demo book shows how it can be used to collect the life stories of older people including those living with dementia. To further this we created a demo book specifically for use with people with Learning Disabilities, demonstrating how versatile Book of You is in improving wellbeing and connecting people.

‘Bob’s Book’ shows how a user can add spoken word, film, photographs, text and music to capture a personal life journey, aspirations, friendships and life story. The Demo book includes an ‘About Me’ page, which is a great way for carers to learn about the person they will be supporting. In Bob’s book, his family and friends use it to keep in touch from around the world, with Bob’s friend Ben sending life updates from Australia, and his Sister Jo adding a little message wishing him luck in his new accommodation.

Sam says of his involvement in the project “I loved using Book of You. It was easy to use and fun too. I think Book of you will be a great and fun way for people with learning disabilities to stay in touch with their families and friends”.

We have lots of exciting projects currently underway including working with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, delivering Book of You in various Learning Disability environments.