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Working with Older Volunteers in Manual Intergenerational Projects
Based on experiences from a previous
ENEA project (Trigger), the project partners
searched for new methods for the exchange
weeks, which were suitable to facilitate
and encourage the interaction and
communication between the target group,
i.e. elderly people with little or no language
skills, and youths during their joint project
work.
Trigger focussed on sightseeing, intercultural
encounters, individual learning
processes, joint development (theory) and
contextual examination, thus all methods,
which required language as a basis for joint
communication. TRAMP, on the other
hand, added the new approach of working
together in manual projects. This approach
and its successful implementation opens
the European-wide social commitment
to new target groups who were previously
restricted or denied the access to such
projects due to the language barrier. We
then added an intergenerational approach,
which was initially planned as a method to
alleviate and facilitate the communication
between the elderly participants. However,
it rapidly developed a momentum of its
own and is now a method in its own right.
The following section describes the search
and selection process of suitable tools and
techniques/exercises, which were to help
achieve the following goals during the 4 pilot
exchanges:
•
•
Enable a different form of travel and
experience in unknown countries while
having a good time
Lasting (sustainable) international contacts
Development of a Method Set for TRAMP
•
•
•
•
•
Learning, on a functional and social level
Create a product / handiwork (productoriented
teamwork)
Generations learning from each other,
exchange of practical experience
Societal commitment, perform sensible
and meaningful work
Spark interests (e.g. learn a language in
old age) or refresh language skills
Thorough research of relevant literature,
the Internet and many personal talks with
people involved revealed that a description
of methods was unavailable for the abovementioned
target groups in this area of
operation. Therefore, by means of adapting,
testing and evaluating, a method set had to
be specifically devised for this purpose and
was published in the handbook.
Basically, this resulted in 6 operational areas
for the application of specific control tools
regarding the encounters of elderly citizens
and youths of different nations and language
groups.
Joint manual projects
The primary and, in the context of the
TRAMP exchanges, most influential method
involved the joint practical work in intergenerational
groups. All 4 exchanges revealed
the significance of this aspect. When
the project work was well prepared, adjusted
to the participating groups, adequate
for the age groups and arranged so that it
could be completed in the time available,
the participants tended to organise themselves,
because with a clearly defined goal
Final Report 41