The BONDING project aimed at enhancing the opportunities for young people’s civic engagement, through strengthening their competences in designing and conducting innovative volunteering services for elderly. The specific objectives of the project included: - Enhance the capacity of young people, youth and other organisations in establishing and maintaining volunteering services for the support of elderly. - Strengthen young people’s sense of initiative and active citizenship through volunteering with elderly as one of the most vulnerable groups in their communities. - Foster support for elderly in overcoming social isolation and loneliness. - Promote intergenerational learning and solidarity.
Older people in Europe tend to face multiple disadvantages, including loneliness and isolation that have been further aggravated due to the COVID-19 crisis and are expected to have a real and long-lasting impact not only on individual level, but also on the economic, social and healthcare systems.The pandemic has had serious ramification on young people as well, among other, disrupting their opportunities for active community engagement. Yet, there is an evidenced increase of young people’s ambition and interest for supporting the most vulnerable members of their communities. The BONDING project encompassed a strong intergenerational learning and solidarity aspect, it addressed the need for increasing the opportunities for youth active community engagement through volunteering, on the one hand, and the need for strengthened support for elderly in overcoming their experiences of loneliness and isolation, on the other hand. It resulted in development and piloting of resources, tools and educational activities for establishing and operating youth befriending services of benefit to elderly people. Befriending services relyed on young volunteers whose contribution can be as simple as a weekly telephone call to an isolated older person