Elblag Educators for Seniors Erasmus Project

Project Title

Elblag Educators for Seniors

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 : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; Access for disadvantaged

Project Summary

The project named “Elbląg educators for seniors” was addressed to seniors and to instructors developing and implementing a cultural and educational offer.
Our goal was to broaden the program which was directed to senior citizens with original, innovative proposals and activities as part of the Active Senior Citizens Club. The intention was to create a network of senior volunteering in Elbląg, gradually extending it to the entire region. We planned activities to be implemented on the level of exchange of good practices in cooperation with institutions from three partner countries – Spain, Italy and Germany.
The first phase of the project involved a group of instructors and senior citizens as well as the management of the institutions from the partner countries.
The result of the project activities was to encourage older people to participate in activities offered by local institutions and maximize their involvement in activities for their own community using their knowledge and skills. By reaching out, in particular, to people who have not yet taken advantage of out-of-home forms of spending their time, we wanted to motivate seniors to act and thus prevent their defavorization, marginalization and exclusion.
To achieve the intended goals, we addressed some of the project activities to educators who prepare offers for seniors. We broadened the skills and knowledge of the animators, enabling them to work in an international team and introduced them to new trends in senior education.
Instructors from CSE Światowid also took part in a language course to facilitate their cooperation with educators from other countries and access to English-language materials on topics covered by the project.
As a part of the project, we planned to hold several days of workshops in each partner country. Educators from the institutions involved were to share their experience and knowledge in organizing senior volunteering and selecting and conducting non-standard activities with the use of original work techniques, referring to the culture and tradition of a given country.
The last day of the workshop the guest instructors were to conduct demonstration activities for a group of seniors, which would be observed by animators from the host institution. That helped them to learn how to apply the discussed forms of work in practice.
We were able to implement some of these activities in 2019. In September, October and November 2019 we were visited by instructors from partner countries (details are described in sections C4, C5 and C6), who shared their methods of working with seniors with instructors from CSE Światowid and other organisations working for the benefit of senior people in Elbląg. They also conducted demonstration workshops for seniors.
The next stage of the project, i.e. implementation of training activities by instructors from CSE Światowid for educators from partner countries due to the pandemic, we had to carry out in online form (details are described in sections C1, C 2 and C3). Due to the closure of organizations working for the benefit of seniors, it was impossible to conduct demonstration classes with their participation.
A total of fifty four educators and hundred and thirty seniors participated in all learning/teaching/training activities, including fifty four with special needs.
The steering team from Poland was also involved in the project, which involved study visits to partner countries in order to learn about the functioning of the host institution and (if possible) other organisations working for the benefit of seniors from the partner country.
The activities also included two meetings of the international project team. The first meeting, held in February 2019, was attended by representatives of all partner organizations. The next meeting, implemented in August 2021, was held in a hybrid fashion.
Despite adversities related to the coronavirus covid-19 pandemic, the group shared experiences, developed the most effective opportunities for joint long-term activities, and summarized the project so far.
The most important long-term results of the project will be raising the level of cultural and educational activities in the participating countries, and thus systematically improving the quality of life of seniors and the competence of educators.
The CSE ‘Światowid’ has established a network of senior volunteers and a senior activity club – innovative forms of activity on a Polish scale – which will gradually extend their activities throughout the region. We estimate that so far about five hundred people have been involved in their activities. The effects of the project were achieved thanks to cooperation in an international, friendly and dynamic work environment, which enabled us to draw on the experience of European leaders in senior education.

Project Website

https://www.swiatowid.elblag.pl/pl/projekty10585,elblascy-edukatorzy-dla-seniorowelblag-educators-for-seniors

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 42432,2 Eur

Project Coordinator

CENTRUM SPOTKAN EUROPEJSKICH SWIATOWID W ELBLAGU & Country: PL

Project Partners

• ASOCIACION DE INNOVACION FORMACIONY EMPLEO PARA EL DESARROLLO SOSTENIBLE
• MOLINARI, FRANCESCO UND BENEDETTI,CLAUDIA GBR (INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES BERLIN)
• EURO-NET
• EBB Europass Berlin Beratungsbüro GmbH