Fourth Learning in later life/ Grundtvig project meeting

Paris (France)

22-25 October 2008

 

 

First meeting day : Thursday 22/10/08

 

Participants :

 

France

Monique Epstein

Jean-Michel Damianthe

Martine Defosse 

 

Finland:

Marja  Toivanen

Joel (student)

Aleksi (student)

 

Czech republic:

Lenka Prikrylova

Petra Pavlasova

Lenka Rolečková

Jaroslav Žáček (student)

Michal Valenta (student)

Veronika Rákosníková (student)

Kristýna Knotková (student)

Alexander Andrejs (student)

Marek Šretr (student)

Adam Jozefy (student)

Aleš Rozínek (student)

 

Germany

Michaela Hermannsdoerfer (Germany)

 

Poland

Jurek Jedlinski

Renata

 

Spain

Abandoned the project

 

 

 

 

 

Opening of the seminar

 

The meeting was hold in the Association E-Senior residence. The meeting started with the short opening speech of Lenka Prikrylova which was followed by the presentations of young people from Finland and Czech republic and by presentation about IC of other partners.

 

Intergeneration Communication (task number 6)

Each country presents activities and experience concerning IC. The product is called "Map of activities concerning IC" and will be published on the web. It is a practical guide for partner organizations and for other adult education institutions to see possibilities in this filed.

Finland

Topic of IC presented by two 15-year old students from Helsinki. They presented:

 

1.      Motivation to teach

2.      Activities concerning IC

3.      Experience getting from teaching

4.      Experience of old people concerning IC

5.      What young people have learnt

 

Ad.1

Motivation to teach is:

  • Get new experience;

·         Help old people with modern technologies. Young people know/feel that it is useful and important to senior citizens to learn to use new technology;

 

Ad.2

Activities concearning IC:

·       Computer courses taught by young people;

·       Cell phone courses taught by young people;

·       Classes were held in Foibe centre with 6-20 students per class

·       Classes lasted 4 hours

 

Ad.3

Experience getting from teaching:

·       Because students knowledge was on a various level it was difficult to get started;

·       Students were motivated, young people had no problems with teaching;

·       The teaching results had a lot variability, some learned easily, some had difficulties;

 

Ad.4

Experience of old people concerning IC:

·       Seniors liked the idea of young people teaching; learned some important basic things about technology; enjoyed themselves.

 

Ad.5

What young people have learnt:

·       Teaching is very difficult;

·       It is important to have the right attitude and motivation;

·       Young people have something to give to senior citizens;

Maria from Finland also presented the current situation in Foibe center problems to be met.

Present situation: Autumn 2008 - two mobile courses done, two day course in elementary computer skills done, four day courses in use of internet almost fully booked.

Problems to be met: there new model of easy-to-use-cell phones. But there are no easy-to use-computers for those who makes an easy computer for those who do not see well, whose hands shake, whose memory fails. Problem of all partner countries.

Challenges: telephone companies close line phones; banks charge for serving face to face; very often those looking for information are asked to go the page www.xx.fi; young generation does not write letters, but they might contact grandparents by email

 

Czech republic:

Topic of IC presented by students of school EDUCAnet Pardubice.  They presented:

 

1.      Motivation to teach

2.      Activities concerning IC

3.      Experience getting from teaching

4.      Experience of old people concerning IC

5.      What young people have learnt

 

Ad.1

Motivation to teach is:

  • Get new experience;

·         Help old people with modern technologies. Young people feel it as useful;

·         To learn/try how to teach.

 

Ad.2

Activities concearning IC:

·       Individual computer courses taught by young people;

·       Classes are held at the school of EDUCAnet or as a homeassistance;

·       Classes once a week, from October-June;

·       Use of worksheets, course books, schemes.

 

Ad.3

Experience getting from teaching:

·       Students gained good experience;

·       Positive intergeneration impact and influence (exchange of experience, helping each other);

·       Young people were mostly afraid of getting respect and being able to explain everything well;

 

Ad.4

Experience of old people concerning IC:

·       Seniors liked the idea of young people teaching;

·       They had most problems with moving the mouse

·       No problem with turning on the computer but the problem is to turn it off.

 

Ad.5

What young people have learnt:

·       To be patient;

·       See things from different side;

·       Teaching is very difficult;

·       Share interests.

 

Lenka from Czech republic also presented the current situation in the country concerning IC:

Present situation: in Pardubicky kraj results from the national strategy that is summarized in a key governmental document "National program for Preparation for Ageing for 2007-2013.

Projects concearning IC:

  1. Pardubicky kraj became a partner of a national project „Senior“. Project „Senior“ targets secondary schools that are promoted to develop different programs and activities for seniors with the improvement of Intergenerational Communication.
  2. Project: „Quo vadis, femina?“ - Women of different ages and generations discuss private and public topics and problems and share their life experience. Topics discussed in previous years: Communication across generations, Economical idependence for women, Working at home etc.
  3. Developement of intergenerational dialogue with the help of music and poetry - Group of students prepairs short performanec for senior people in retirement houses and other different places. Their performances combine modern and older music and other arts to make it closer to the older generation.

 

Germany

Michaela from Germany presented:

 

1.      Current situation concerning the IC

2.      Survey among young people concerning IC

3.      Activities concerning IC

4.      Fundamental ideas concerning IC

 

Ad.1

Current situation concerning the IC

·         Special offers for generations in computer training;

·         Problems with loneliness and communication. Seniors are often alone at home. The children moved to other cities (to find a job). They don’t have an own computer.

·         The “generation - languages” are not the same.

·         There is no understanding between the generations.

 

Ad.2

Survey among young people concerning IC

·       Germany made a survey among young people visiting their schools about topics concerning IC and the best way how to cooperate.

·       Their opinion is : People from different generations working together to address community issues.

 

Ad.3

Activities concerning IC:  

·       Idea - Different generations working together in sports clubs, political initiatives (party etc.), Cultural initiatives, (theatre, choral etc.), Citizens’ initiatives with different aims.

·       Meeting place especially for people to get  - access to new medias, access to the world, access to other generations, access to other people

 

 

 

Ad.4

Fundamental ideas concerning IC:  

·       Students can gain: benefit from the vocational experience of elderly, training for presentation and didactics, can use elderly people as a “door-opener” in companies by looking for a new job.

·       Seniors can gain: individual computer training, catch up with new technologies, meet other seniors and make friends. That helps against social isolation.

 

Poland

Presentation of the IC by Renata:

 

1.      Amount of Inhabitants over 50 has been increasing in Europe (Highest rates Finland, Germany)

2.      The average length of life has been increasing (France, Spain)

3.      Low use of the Internet in new EU countries (Poland)

4.      growing number of seniors - problems in Poland - model of multi-generational family has disintegrated; big amount of educated, often single, seniors

5.      Intergenerational communication - Does not have an institutionalised character (no general public debate apart from school)   

6.      Obstacles for IC - no time of young people; reciprocal conviction, that different generations have no subjects to talk about in common; conviction on the lack of possibilities to communicate successfully; different language.

7.      School of @ctive Senior – S@S - the ICT methods, that form the heart of the Programme, are not the purpose for themselves, but means for self-development, all activities for seniors are organized and supervised by junior employees of the Regional Public Library and universities in Cracow, senior is not a passive recipient of  trainings, but is active in participating all proposed actions; thinks creative how to spend his/her spare time and makes use of Library’s resources.

8.      Best practices:

·                 Computer education offered to seniors by younger people, combining of seniors’ knowledge and youngsters’ enthusiasm in realisation of projects,

·                Self-organisation of seniors around the motto „Elderliness is beautiful!!”,

·                Strengthening of seniors’ conviction, that they constitute a substantial consumer and electoral group,

·                Organisation of a joint action (with junior partners) with a strong social message (work, family, ecology, culture etc.),

·                Transmition of traditions

 

LogoFrance

 

  1. Problems concerning European society - Lifespans doubled, Families divided, Increased mobility, Economic constraints (resulting in government assistance, individual assistance)
  2. Activities for Seniors:

·                Café for the ages - Citizen debates, Discussion forums,  Colloquiums to reflect on ways to: enable different generations to live together, to put forward joint projects

·                Leisure Groups ("The Internet Tea Salon": listening to music, singing...)

·                Communal Activities (Theater, storytelling, conferences...)

·                House Sharing (Students living with elders)

 

 

 

  1. At school, promote: values of solidarity and mutual respect, the pleasures of living together, peaceful existence across generations and cultures, ideas to fight against prejudice and stereotypes,
  2. Outside school, pass on: our heritage, our memories, our life experiences (for ex.,  through writing workshops to safeguard historic memories)
  3. New technologies - Internet, Email, Interactive Messaging, Interactive Games

 

Spain meeting

 

·                Spain abandoned the project in October 2009

·                Problems concerning Spain abandoning the project - Spain announced it late, Poland has already bought the ticket; all partners wrote an official letter to the Spanish agency to help it work it out. Coordinator is supposed to post it to all national agencies.

·                Another meeting will be held instead of meeting in Spain to fill the motilities

·                Meeting will be held in Munich, all partners have to announce the change to their agencies

·                Munich meeting will be organized by Lenka and Michaela (task 2,4)

 

Poland meeting

 

·                Change of the date - 15.-17.June 2009

·                All details will be discussed in Munich - preparation for the Conference

 

Applying together for a new project

 

·                New project  on a higher level - ideas: School of the active seniors (Poland as the coordinator?)

·                Study of all possibilities till Munich meeting

·                Will be discussed in Munich

 

Second meeting day : Friday 24/09/08

 

Public conference on the topic of Inter-Generation Communication held in the Town hall of the 11th Paris department. See the programme.