"La minute des aidants" France 3 and Crédit Agricole Assurances present a short TV programme offering practical solutions for family and volunteer carers

It is estimated that there are almost 4 million family and volunteer carers in France. This figure is likely to increase in the next few years as life expectancy increases and as medical science makes further progress.

Carers: major need for recognition and support

* According to the European Charter for Family Carers, drawn up by COFACE, a family or volunteer carer is defined as "a non-professional person who provides primary assistance with activities in daily life, either in part or in whole, towards a dependent person in his / her immediate circle." Dependency may be from any cause, including age, illness and accident.

Carers are experiencing increasing difficulty in managing the day-to-day needs of the people in their care. They are usually very isolated, unable to share their concerns with others in a similar situation. 75% of carers state that their care responsibilities have had a profound impact on their personal, family and professional lives.

"La minute des aidants": practical solutions

Crédit Agricole Assurances, as part of its commitment to carers, and the France 3 television network have produced a regular short programme called "La minute des aidants". The programme aims to acknowledge the importance of carers in society, and offer them practical solutions to help with their day-to-day activities.

"La minute des aidants" looks at everyday issues and problems facing carers, encouraging them to share their experiences and showing them that they are not alone. The series addresses the difficulties experienced by carers. Each programme deals with a specific problem, offering ideas and advice to resolve it. Examples are: Helping dependent people to continue living at home. Reconciling care and work. Home security. Temporary stays in a care home: a possible way for carers to take a break.

The series of 30 short programmes was broadcast on France 3 from 3 October to 25 November, at 10.45am Monday to Friday. It was produced by Dominique Clément, whose previous work includes the "Les Maternelles" series.

Crédit Agricole Assurances: committed to helping family and volunteer carers

In October 2010, Crédit Agricole Assurances announced its commitment to carers, to coincide with the first "Journée nationale des aidants" (French national carers' day).

Crédit Agricole Assurances' aim is to turn this national commitment into practical initiatives across France's regions. This corporate philanthropy initiative involves providing financial support to local carers' charities.

According to Jérôme Grivet, CEO of Crédit Agricole Assurances: "The work done by carers fits naturally with our responsibility as an insurer. Carers deal with many issues relating to healthcare in today's society, such as increasing life expectancy, solidarity and links between the generations. Carers have a dual role, i.e. providing a connection with the person under their care, and a connection with society. This is very similar to the role played by an insurer, which must provide a useful service for individuals, while addressing broad social issues. This is why we have chosen to provide carers with practical, local support that addresses their key needs."

This commitment has already resulted in 4 sets of initiatives:

A national call for projects from French carers' charities in March 2011. Crédit Agricole Assurances received almost 100 proposals for charitable projects, confirming the need for action in this area. The funding provided to selected projects will be announced in October. This call for projects will be an annual event.

Involvement in France's "journée national des aidants" (national carers' day) The "journée national des aidants" was introduced in 2010 by Nora Berra, junior minister for work, employment and health, and Marie-Anne Montchamp, junior minister for solidarity and social cohesion, as a way to highlight the work done by the millions of carers in France. The 2011 national carers' day will take place on 6 October (www.journeedesaidants.fr).

Multi-year support for French carers' charity Association Française des Aidants to develop a network of 33 "carers' cafés" across France. These cafés are places where carers can seek information, meet each other and share experiences. Each café is co-ordinated by a social worker, and enables non-professional carers to exchange advice and talk about their experiences in the presence of a psychologist with experience in these matters. (http://www.aidants.fr/).

Financial support for four carers' charities in 2010. As part of its aim to enhance on-the-ground assistance to carers, Crédit Agricole Assurances has provided support to four local charities via Fondation de France: Association "Le Pas" (Vaucluse), AMASAD (Cher), UNAFAM (Loiret) and "Le Pallium" (Yvelines), which are looking at ways to provide respite to carers.

Programme details:

Name:                                  "La minute des aidants"

Type:                                   short programme

Duration:                              52 seconds of editorial content

Number of episodes:           30

Director:                               Christophe Rivoiron

Producers:                           Balina Films, Dominique Clément and Valérie Guérin

Broadcast:                           10.45am, Monday to Friday, from 3 October to 25 November 2011

(*) COFACE: * Confederation of Family Organisations in the European Union.

Data sources: BVA-Fondation Novartis national carers' panel / TNS Sofres-Banque Postale Prévoyance-La Tribune health and dependency survey / HID-INSEE