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Working with Older Volunteers in Manual Intergenerational Projects<br />
The results of the exchange programmes proved that the chosen method<br />
was appropriate. The host group was involved in the early plans (except in<br />
France, where the geographical spreading of the participants prevented this)<br />
and was increasingly interested in active participation while planning the<br />
agenda. In cooperation with the associated schools and institutions they decided<br />
on the topics as well as on details such as material and tools. In addition,<br />
they developed ideas for the support programme and decided on its form,<br />
organized the exchanges with the help of their personal connections, gave<br />
advice concerning the logistics and much more.<br />
At the beginning of the exchange weeks the participants were divided<br />
into different intergenerational groups with creative and practical tasks. Also<br />
in this stage it was important to mind the participants’ main interest. Each<br />
group decided on one member who supervised the project’s execution, organised<br />
the single steps and checked on a balanced division of work. During the<br />
project hosts and guests could easily gather and usually agreed on the proceedings<br />
without any translation tool by demonstrating working techniques,<br />
presenting visual aids and by assisting each other in the working process. If<br />
this method wasn’t satisfying, usually the young people or participants with<br />
a command of the language in need could help or authorized interpreters<br />
solved the problem.<br />
All participants were increasingly interested in informing the others about<br />
the particular activities in their home country and in sharing their knowledge<br />
about it. Without exception all senior participants identified immediately<br />
with their tasks and thus quickly felt responsible for their particular project,<br />
which became obvious in their concern for punctual completion by the end<br />
of the week or in their creativity, when required tools were missing or problems<br />
had to be solved. This kind of initiative was a great help to the organisers,<br />
since parts of the execution could be given to volunteers.<br />
Real problems rarely occurred. One group, for example, had to cook for<br />
more than 80 people and therefore had to prepare all parts of the meal on<br />
time. When the older participants didn’t always have the patience to integrate<br />
the young people into each step of production, the problem could be solved<br />
within one day and a few conversations. This group needed more communicative<br />
support than others; one interpreter attended nearly all their meetings<br />
and supported them by fixing important words in three languages above the<br />
workplaces. Other participants were doing silk painting and had communicative<br />
problems in the beginning, because none of them spoke a foreign<br />
language and all of them (older participants) were focussed on speaking. At<br />
first this courted resentment (“interpreters are never available”, “the course is<br />
badly organised in general”), and yet they completed their salutation banner<br />
and other silk paintings as planned and already on the third day the family<br />
backgro<strong>und</strong>s of the group members had been clarified with the help of paper,<br />
pencil and drawings.<br />
Thus during the entire exchange real contact between the participants came<br />
up especially in small groups; once the beginning was made this way, making<br />
Set of Methods 93