As Europe and the world turn towards nationalism, there would be a fracture between, on the one hand, young people open to difference and exchange and, on the other hand, isolated senior citizens filled with an anti-European spirit. Society today is marked by ageism: depending on one's age (and whatever one's age), one would be inclined to, or incapable of, thinking, doing and acting. A certain view that obliges us or prevents us. And limits our power to act. The ReD Senior Inter project intends to strengthen the development of the key competences of senior citizens through the internationalisation of educational actions. Through this project of exchange of practices which brings together 3 European partners (the Clube Intercultural Europeu in Portugal, the Associazione N.E.T in Italy and the Ceméa Occitanie in France), the objectives are to strengthen the skills of senior education staff in the educational actions they can develop with their audiences, to experiment international mobility actions with senior audiences, and to identify and enhance the contributions of this European dimension in the educational path of seniors. ReD Senior Inter is complementary to the training, support, partnership work and internationalisation actions already implemented by the 3 partners. The activities set up during the 24 months of the project involve staff working in education, training and support for senior citizens, meaning the partners' teams, as well as staff in the fields of education, animation and social work who are involved in the local community and who carry out educational activities for senior citizens. With 4 joint training events, the production and dissemination of methodological and pedagogical tools, and dedicated dissemination activities, ReD Senior Inter will enable them to develop new educational projects through the use of information and communication technologies, and the knowledge and understanding of European mobility programmes. People over 60 years old, considered as senior public, are involved in 3 mixed mobility and dissemination activities, which aim to change their relationship with society and to enable them to develop key competences in a collective dynamic, and thus to reinforce their empowerment. 3 transnational meetings, a collaborative platform and remote steering tools are being set up to facilitate the organisation and implementation of the project by the partners. Dissemination activities are an integral part of the project activities, as they respond directly to the objective of enhancing the educational contributions of the international dimension in the acquisition of key competences for adults. As a result of this project, staff should have acquired new methods and an openness to new working methods that they can use in their work with senior citizens and, more generally, with people in difficulty. The project partners have a strong territorial presence and local partners (socio-educational structures, associations, institutions, public authorities, local media) with whom they work closely and who are indirectly involved in the project. Through the activities implemented, the ReD Senior Inter project promotes learning by experience for all the actors involved directly or indirectly, which helps multiplying the impact of the project on both a local and international scale, and encourages the sustainability of the project beyond the 24 months of ReD Senior Inter. Finally, the partners also have the particularity of being professional training centres. The methods and practices acquired during the project will be multiplied among our learning audiences, in particular social workers and people involved in the education of seniors.
The overall aim of the project was to strengthen the development of key skills in senior citizens through the internationalisation of educational activities. Specific objectives are defined, for which specific activities are implemented. The first objective concerns adult education staff. This project aims to strengthen their skills (professional skills, intercultural skills, psycho-social skills, social skills) and their knowledge of working with senior citizens. The second objective relates more specifically to senior citizens. The aim is to incorporate an international and intercultural dimension into educational programmes, and more specifically into social activities aimed at senior citizens. The third objective is to identify and promote the educational contributions of this international dimension in the educational pathways of senior citizens, in order to have a wider impact.
At a time when Europe and the world are turning in on themselves, there seems to be a split between, on the one hand, young people who are open to difference and to meeting new people, and on the other, older people who are isolated and anti-European. Today's society is rife with ageism: depending on your age (and whatever your age), you are either inclined to, or incapable of, thinking, doing or acting. A certain way of looking at things that forces us or prevents us. And limits our power to act. And yet, "There is only one education. It is for everyone. It is a lifelong process" (G. De Failly). What if senior citizens could also take part in European mobility schemes? The ReD Senior Inter project brought together 3 partners, the Ceméa Occitanie in France, coordinator of the project, NET in Italy, and the Clube Intercultural Europeu in Portugal, each of which implements social activities for senior citizens at a local level and has experience in the Europeanisation of educational practices, to open up the field of internationalisation to actions aimed at senior citizens, and thus strengthen knowledge and understanding of European programmes, and develop European citizenship.