Download - TRAMP - Arbeit und Leben DGB/VHS

TRAMP – Transnational Mobility of Older People in Europe
paragraph below deals with the joint workshop
efforts.
Organisation
The sound organisation contributed to the
successful communication between the national
subgroups before and during the exchanges
because it had a positive influence
on the participants’ satisfaction (and thus
their motivation to successfully complete
the projects), and their sociability. In the
evaluation questionnaires, almost all senior
citizens rated the overall organisation as
a significant factor for successful communication
between the national subgroups.
The organisation comprised preparatory
work in the run-up to the exchange, the selection
of participating seniors and schools
and, in particular, including the elderly in
the organisation process itself.
Selection of participants
Organisers selected the elderly for the exchange
participation by means of already
existing contacts. The elderly were already
socially committed prior to the exchange,
however, only on a local level and not across
European borders.
Prior to their retirement most French
participants were either employed or selfemployed
craftsmen in different trades and
were at that point involved in the French
organisation l’outil en main. In the regional
or local centres of l`outil en main children
are taught the different basic skills of manual
work. A central goal of l`outil en main
is to familiarise children with the joy of ma-
24 Part 1
nual work. Some of the French participants
were from the senior citizen organisation
Seniors de Moselle. These were previously
employed in mining or other industrial
sectors and are also active today in different
social domains such as the care of very old
people who live alone.
The Czech group consisted of seniors,
who are involved in KLAS (Club of Active
Ageing), the senior citizen department of
the ASČR (Czech Samaritan Association). In
contrast to the other groups from France
and Germany, the majority of this group
were women. They particularly produced
handicraft work such as dolls. These dolls
were sold at school or town fairs and the
proceeds donated to UNICEF. That money
supported projects in Africa. The participants
were mainly employed in office jobs
in different occupational fields.
The German participants from Hamm
are involved within the scope of the AGE
(Agency for Social Commitment) in socially
meaningful projects and within the scope
of SchuB (School and Job) in projects where
they prepare adolescents for the demands of
the working world. Both are local projects
of Arbeit und Leben NW. The participants
were employed in different jobs in the industrial
sector for example, as electricians,
technicians, technical lab assistants, factory
mechanics, mechanical engineers (several),
industrial mechanics, works council, retailers,
heads of vocational training, welders,
technical power station assistants, plumbers,
chemical workers and pipe works inspectors.
The elderly from Oberhausen had participated
in advanced training courses of Arbeit
und Leben Oberhausen. These involved
younger, more active senior citizens from
different trade backgrounds. In the end a
joiner, a postman, two housewives, a fireman,
a professor, a railwayman and a machine
operator joined the project.