Our target group: Experts, people 50+ with professional knowledge, working experience and competences, who are sufficiently enthusiastic, confident, motivated and interested in becoming a peer mentor, also mentees – people 50+, who are interested in receiving help from more experienced peers in various fields. Our objectives were: To enhance the competences of peer mentors for individuals aged 50+, aligning with the demands of the 21stc. through innovative solutions and digital technologies; To aid with the employment and lifelong learning of individuals aged 50+, as well as other socially beneficial activities, with the goal of attaining the highest attainable independence and quality of life. To cultivate the skills and competences required for successful aging among individuals aged 50+, fostering a dignified, active, and sustainable lifestyle in the 21stc. that is accomplished through a flexible blended-learning approach built upon contemporary peer mentoring practices; To promote and enhance international cooperation among organizations offering social, counselling, mentoring, and educational services for adults, as well as to establish partner networks.
As a result of demographic changes in the 21st c. new needs and demands have appeared, to which it is necessary to react. The project aimed to respond to the needs in the field active ageing, where modernisation of different services, integration into the digital world, promotion of social involvement is necessary. However, the pandemic has recently established unprecedented situations and caused a drastic change of lifestyle. It brought challenges and tests for the people 50+. We saw the need to specialize services older people need: an age-friendly approach in counselling, education services and working life. Based on the needs analysis implemented in the partner countries we saw that peer-mentors can have an extremely important role in the facilitation of active aging, in lifelong learning, in the promotion of maintaining employment and in the nurturing of social relationships. Taking into consideration the expectations of the 21stc. project partners aimed to demonstrate that through participation in the Peer Mentor Training based on international experience utilizing fitting methods and techniques peer-mentors can enhance their skills and transfer their experiences in a way that is suitable for the people 50+.