Recognizing the fact that staff with formal education in LLL do not have the competencies that would enable them to carry out educational activities among the older population (retirees), we came up with the idea to develop a program to mitigate or remedy this problem. The CrADLE project aims at developing and expanding the competencies of educators of older generation participants (54+) in specialized workshops in the field of visual expression, with an emphasis on teaching methods and tools by effectively using innovative solutions. The specificity of the program that will be developed through this project is that it will educate those persons who carry out educational programs with the elderly (54+). Various documents outlining European policy priorities highlight the importance of involving the elderly in active citizenship. The Europe 2020 document states: "Helping people of all ages manage change through investment in skills and training." and that 'Adult learning is an important part of the European Commission's lifelong learning policy, crucial for competitiveness and employability, social inclusion, active citizenship and personal development across Europe. The challenge is to provide learning opportunities for all, especially the disadvantaged who need them most. "Also, the European Adult Learning Agenda document states:" Learning is also essential for social inclusion and active citizenship. (...) Participation rates are especially disappointing for low-skilled people and the elderly. "In Croatia, as in other European countries, the number of members of the elderly population is increasing. After retirement, the elderly does not know where to channel their energy, how to release their potential creativity. The creative programs planned to be created through collaboration on this project will enable seniors to unleash their creative potential, learn some new skills, fulfil their leisure time well, fulfil the need for communication and socializing in a meaningful environment. Also, programs like this will help older people maintain their motor skills. The implementation of this project will produce more results, but we highlight key ones 1. Teaching staff who carry out workshops of fine and creative arts for the elderly will acquire competences to work with such persons through the educational program developed in the project. 2. Through the work on the project, a manual will be created that will explain the methodology of working with the elderly in the field of visual expression. 3. 11 Creative expression programs developed. The consequences of achieving the first key result are that fine arts teachers and other teachers will acquire additional competencies to work adequately with the elderly. This has the effect that they will be able to better understand older people and their problems and needs, which is especially important for younger professors. Furthermore, teachers will be able to share this newly acquired knowledge with colleagues in their schools and institutions where they work. Another key result of the project is a manual for working with the elderly in the field of fine arts intended for teachers of fine arts. In its totality, the project contributes to raising awareness of the importance of creative expression and creation in the healthy aging process. The project aims to achieve effects at multiple levels and with multiple elements: Participant level: participants in the project will become familiar with the work of partner institutions; will gain experience in implementing international projects; will get ideas for future projects; Enrich the offer of educational programs in their institutions; will improve its work in working with the elderly; Fine arts teachers and other teachers will become better trained coaches in courses with seniors and will gain additional competencies in working with seniors. Level of organizations: will provide higher quality and competent teachers to work with the elderly; will enrich the offer with new programs and reach more participants; they will have more satisfied participants; they will have teachers educated to work with the elderly; it will be available to other institutions interested in educating the elderly for mentoring and assistance Level of other relevant stakeholders: interesting programs for the elderly; a more complete local community; filled seniors' leisure time and an enriched leisure offer; nicer aging; stimulated creativity, satisfied and happy participants, and thus their families; to start thinking about options for older people that have not yet been implemented.
The main goal of the CrADLE project was development and expansion of the competencies of educators/teachers who work with participants of creative workshops over the age of 54, with an emphasis on teaching methods and tools, and the effective use of innovative solutions. Through implementation of this project, 2 intellectual outputs were realized, as was foreseen in the project application. The first project result - IO1 - 11 curricula for creative workshops for learners over 54 The second project result - IO2 - manual and accompanying program for educators/teachers who work with learners over 54 Through project implementation, we wanted to strengthen the competences of educators in order to successfully carry out creative workshops intended for seniors, provide them with materials that will be practical, concrete and relevant in working with seniors. At the same time, we wanted to contribute to the quality of life of seniors, and to encourage seniors to learn and spend their free time in socializing and developing their own skills, which is why we created 11 new curricula for creative workshops intended specifically for people over the age of 54. In cooperation with project partners, we successfully achieved all desired goals.
As an adult education centre that carries out numerous educational programs, we noticed that the number of elderly people participating in educational programs is extremely low. Wanting to find the cause of this, we came to the conclusion that the offer of interesting programs for seniors is very limited, but also that educators who have formal education for teaching do not possess the specific competencies necessary for quality work with seniors, and they need additional education. Accordingly, we decided to develop tools that will eliminate these problems. Through the implementation of the CrADLE project, we encouraged the development and expansion of educators' competencies so that they could provide high-quality education to participants of the creative programes over the age of 54. We enabled seniors who often feel lonely, isolated, unproductive and useless to get involved in the process of lifelong learning. The creative programs that we created with our partners will enable seniors to acquire new skills, have some fun in their free time, and to fulfill their need for learning, creating and socializing. These programs will help seniors in maintaining their psychophysical abilities and strengthening their self-confidence.