The basic and most general goal that guided the development and implementation of the project idea was the improvement of the quality of educational services available to the elderly within the Universities for the Third Age in Serbia. More specifically, given the inadequate educational preparation of experts who work with the elderly, we wanted to achieve this general goal by improving their competencies for teaching the elderly, as well as their intercultural and digital competencies. Through mobility activities, in which experts had an opportunity to improve their competences, we strengthened the organizations’ capacities and networked with experts from the field of elderly education at the national and international level. By improving the competences of experts and their exchange with other experts, we strived to improve the quality of service for the elderly within the Universities for the Third Age in Serbia and thus support their inclusion and active participation in society.
Old people represent marginalized social group, which requires overcoming negative ideas about old age and their inclusion in society. A powerful tool for the inclusion of the elderly is education, which has a multiple positive role for the health, psychological, social and economic well-being of the elderly. Universities for the Third Age (U3A) play a special role in the system of elderly education, as specialized institutions for their education. The biggest challenge in the work of the U3A is the lack of educational preparation of their staff. Experts who work with the elderly are prepared for the content of the subjects they teach, they also need developed didactic competencies. As teachers are the most important factor in the quality of education, effort to improve their competencies to work with elderly was the main motivation to implement this project and thereby improve the quality of educational services available to the elderly. Working to improve the competence of teachers, our organization has positioned itself as an important and relevant actor in the elderly education system and connected with professionals at the national and international level.