Project "Active Senior Academy" implemented by the Solunian Brothers - Cyrill and Methodius Foundation and partners from Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It concerns the education and development of competences of the elderly and people working with them (which are often overlooked in various activities). The project provides ten activities: 1. Polish Culture and Traditions in the context of the elderly 2. Developing multilingualism in the elderly 3. Ecology in Serbia on the example of Sremska Mitrovica 4. Rijeka - monuments and traditions of the port city 5. Digital Senior 6. Boost your lifeskills - classes strengthening the competences of older people 7. How to be a European Senior? 8. About habits, effectiveness and how you can improve the aging process 9.Sports at work with seniors 10.How to look after the senior and not go crazy. The project provides five project meetings in Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine and, at the end of the project, in Brussels. The basic assumptions of the project are the exchange of good practices related to working with the elderly and the exchange of experiences of the elderly themselves, education seniors in the field of basic digital, language and cultural competences. The project is an expression of the willingness of older people to participate in activities with their peers at the international level and people working with them to exchange professional experience. The trainers will be people who not only have knowledge and experience in the discussed topics but will be practitioners who use this knowledge in everyday life. In addition to strictly educational activities, participants will learn about the culture, art and history of the host countries, thanks to which it will be possible to bring older people and staff from partner countries closer, getting to know different cultures, overthrowing many stereotypes and counteracting emerging nationalisms in Europe. This will definitely facilitate future transnational cooperation and strengthen European ties. The partners will also implement a number of local activities (e.g. promotion of the culture of project partners, language learning needed for free project communication, cultural and integration events). As part of the project, will be produced a publication presenting project activities and the planned strategy of joint coherent activities in the field of the elderly during the programming period. A particularly important role in the project of partners from partner countries, i.e. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ukraine, will be to propose their innovative practices in the field of working with the elderly which will use other partners. All activities will be promoted by the information campaign of the coordinator and partners in local and central environments. During the project implementation it is planned to achieve the following results: 1. Increased cooperation between partners and building a lasting partnership, 2. Bridging the barriers resulting from the general stereotypes, 3. Preparation of publications on project activities together with the "Strategy for educational development for the old people" in the project countries in the future programming period, 4. Interreligious dialogue 5. Increasing language and digital competence in accordance with the problem areas indicated by older people. 6. Exchange of good practices between older people from Poland, Croatia and Serbia 7. Integration of older people - making new friends, 8. International dialogue 9. Cultural exchange, 10. Exchange of experience of staff working with the elderly, 11. Building links between European Union citizens and non-EU citizens. 12. Promoting open education and innovation in the field of digital competences. At the end of the project, the following results are expected: 1. Increase in language skills among seniors and accompanying persons 2. Significant increase in historical and cultural knowledge of individual countries among seniors and accompanying persons 3. Increasing the digital competences of project participants (seniors and accompanying persons) using a computer and the Internet 4. Further joint project activities, 5. Dissemination of European values among seniors and accompanying persons 6. Development of social competences in seniors and accompanying persons 7. Increase commitment to work with the elderly in staff and volunteers 8. Increased knowledge about working with an elderly person according to specific thematic issues among seniors and accompanying persons, staff and volunteers 9. Increased knowledge of the ecology and encyclical "Laudato si" in seniors and accompanying persons 10. Increased competence on methods of educational work with the elderly among staff and volunteers. Thanks to the project activities, partner organizations will develop most of the key competences of adult learners, employees and staff.
Through the project, we wanted to support the social development of older people, improve their family relationships through active participation in society and at the same time include them in social life, improve the quality of life through educational and mental development. The results we would like to achieve are: 1. Increased language skills among senior listeners and accompanying persons 2. A significant increase in historical and cultural knowledge of individual countries among senior listeners and accompanying persons 3. Increasing the digital competences of project participants among senior listeners and accompanying persons using a computer and the Internet 4. Further joint project and non-project activities, 5. Dissemination European values among senior listeners and accompanying persons 6. Comp increase social among senior listeners and accompanying persons 7. Increased involvement of staff and volunteers in working with older people 8. Increased knowledge about working with older people according to specific thematic issues and listeners - seniors and accompanying persons, staff and volunteers 9. Increased competence in methods of educational work with older people among staff and volunteers.
We wanted to implement this project because so far we have not had the opportunity to implement activities under "Adult Education". We believed that due to the implementation of local activities with seniors by all partner organizations of the project, it would be natural to take these activities to the international level. We wanted to enrich older people with a package of competences that they need for everyday functioning. Moreover, we wanted to compare the needs of adults in Poland, Serbia, Croatia, BiH and Ukraine and show common features and differences. The project responded to the specific needs of older people participating in it, such as: the desire for social and family activity of older people, and at the same time the need to exchange experiences and skills from different countries, in order to show both the common features and the diversity that can contribute to deepening knowledge not only scientific but also cultural and social. The project also responded to the need to learn how to overcome cultural and social barriers, the need to create socially inclusive environments in each region of the country, whose task is, among other things, to support equality and justice at all ages.