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Working with Older Volunteers in Manual Intergenerational Projects
One section of the TRAMP project involved
a seminar with the objective to let multipliers
benefit from the experiences made
during the TRAMP exchanges. The collectively
developed curriculum aimed at providing
manuals for the execution of future
international exchange programmes for the
elderly. This seminar was conducted in Paris
from the 21 st to the 25 th of September.
Seminar Preparation
In preparation for the multiplier seminar,
the French project partner Culture et Liberté
had already compiled a work paper
in mid-July 2008. It contained a list of different
approaches regarding the goals and
organisation of international exchange programmes.
This paper formed the basis for
discussion during two meetings of the work
group “Curriculum” at the beginning of
2009. The goal of the curriculum is to raise
the multipliers’ awareness for the contents
of international exchanges with the elderly
and to support them in the implementation
process. The seminar was therefore conceptualised
as a systematic coaching procedure
regarding process accompaniment,
organisational and educational aspects of
exchanges as well as intercultural and intergenerational
learning.
Selection of Participants
In addition to contextual considerations,
criteria for the selection of participating
multipliers from work areas regarding senior
citizens, volunteers, education and intergenerational
efforts were determined in the
preparatory meeting. The criteria included
experiences, cooperation with senior citi-
Seminar for Multipliers
Paris, 21st to 25th of September 2009
zens or the interest in a future implementation,
experiences in group management in
the social and educational field as well as
sufficient English language skills for seminar
participation. In order to integrate participants’
requests in the planning process
of the seminar, a registration form was posted
beforehand which included four questions
concerning motivation, expectations
and experiences. It turned out that most of
the registered participants were committed
to working with elderly people on a national
level and were interested in an exchange
of experiences in terms of an international
and intergenerational cooperation. The results
also showed that particular interest
existed regarding a combination of intercultural
and intergenerational aspects with
manual work.
The 27 participants of the seminar in
September 2009 came from nine European
countries (Ireland, Malta, Slovenia, France,
Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, the
Netherlands and Great Britain). Working
language was English, while an interpreter
continuously provided his assistance.
Seminar Contents
Compliant with the previously compiled
work paper, the seminar was structured according
to the different approaches. That
way the approaches were components of
the multiplier seminar and at the same
time, on a meta level, could be discussed as
aspects of future exchanges. The alternation
of theoretical and practical seminar sections
made the seminar more interesting. Cultural
activities in the evenings completed the
work programme and simultaneously ser-
Final Report 49