Better Together: Opening young minds to the positive re-branding of age. Erasmus Project

Project Title

Better Together: Opening young minds to the positive re-branding of age.

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions; Civic engagement / responsible citizenship

Project Summary

The ‘Better Together’ project has always sought to examine an inevitable and very real aspect to all of our lives: ageing and the social issues which surround ageing. And, given what the world is currently contending with, in the form of the Coronavirus pandemic, the context and significance of this project’s core objectives have never been more important, or more in demand, as we try to repair broken lives and communities in every nation in our world.
This project was born out of a genuine increase in life expectancy and the central question posed throughout was : how can we raise awareness amongst our young people that they should not only become active lifelong citizens, but also embrace meaningful and equitable engagement with a much older generation? Many of whom still hold irreplaceable skills and wisdom and wish to be at the beating heart of their community.
And now, as the Project draws to a close, its central objectives- to bridge the gap between young and old in our specific communities- have been realised. With the creation of links with two care homes (in New Milton and San Miniato) and the establishing of the Silver Surfers Digital Club we have tangible results – achieved through our planned activities. The horizontal priority of ‘open education and innovative practices in a digital era’ were tackled through the overriding success achieved by the Silver Surfer Digital Club. With students assuming the role of digital ambassadors, open access for all was achieved as students impacted positively on the lives of older people by enabling their connections to the modern world to flourish and grow. Students were also involved in the creation of training materials for the over 65 age group and not only in the efficacy of those training materials, but also of their own pedagogy! The care home visits and activities created a dialogue between young and old prompting a celebration of cultural heritage and pride in the past ( with the preservation of memories), but it also looked ahead with animated debate about society down the ages and the pace of development in the modern day world, truly identifying with the project’s intentions of creating ‘lifelong and engaged citizens’. Participants have been involved from a wide cross-section of our communities: from elderly care home residents and their dedicated staff to mayors, town councillors, charitable organisers, war veterans, parents, head teachers and other teaching staff, historians, museum curators and members of the public wishing to extend their digital know-how.
Inevitably there will be challenges, hitches and adaptations with any long term partnership project and KA229 Better Together has been no different from others in this regard. For example, the musical aspect originally planned for Activity C2 became a more diluted element and yet, its presence was still felt during the Hard Rock Cafe visit, the traditional Barn Dance at the Show-case evening and the Christmas carol concert events- used as opportunities for surveying opinion and collecting data. Art-related visits and tasks, food tastings, cookery challenges, role reversal events (with young people taking on the role of ‘expert’ in terms of their digital instruction) and archiving, achieved through student Q&A, article response, questionnaires, interviews and audits, were all events scheduled throughout the core C1, C2 and C3 Activities and they have all been undertaken as per the original plan.
In terms of the long term impact of The Better Together project, we hope that our Silver Surfers Digital Club will secure a more permanent home in the library or a coffee shop in New Milton, where it can continue to flourish and to fulfil its civic duty in meeting the digital needs of the town’s older members. It is also hoped that a lasting legacy of the Project may be in the future twinning of the towns of new Milton and San Miniato in the spirit of cultural celebration with biennial exchanges, featuring old and young delegates. Our care home link will also be secured moving forward through a wealth of other initiatives such as Duke of Edinburgh scheme and links with work placement schemes.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 31688 Eur

Project Coordinator

Ballard School Ltd & Country: UK

Project Partners

• Istituto Tecnico Statale CARLO CATTANEO