Description
This project will involve NGOs and local authorities in the promotion of citizenship, active ageing and intergenerational solidarity amongst the population of the neighbourhood of Campolide, in Lisbon. The focus will be on the elderly and employ an approach that goes beyond considering them as consumers of social and cultural products, enabling them as producers and stakeholders in decision-making processes. The creation of a theater group, using the methodology of the Theater of the Oppressed, will serve as a motto to promote reflection, discussion and action. Throughout the training sessions/rehearsals, the participants will identify the problems they would like to tackle and seek to create practical solutions that improve the quality of their daily lives. At a later stage, the implementation of meetings with other local groups, particularly children and youth, and the public performance of the theater plays will enable the participation of the community as a whole.
Summary of project results
The population in Portugal is aging rapidly, and many neighbourhoods in Portuguese cities have aging populations with specific challenges to be addressed. This project was created to promote citizenship, active ageing and intergenerational solidarity in Campolide, Lisbon, which is such a neighbourhood. 28 elderly residents were actively engaged in the project, exceeding expectations. A theatre group was created using the Theatre of the Oppressed methodology. The show created by the participants, which also created the props and the stage set, focused on the degradation of the quality of life experienced by the elderly. Weekly capacity-building sessions were thus carried out, focusing on identifying the concrete problems and on proposing practical solutions to improve the elders’ quality of life; and at a later stage, seven public presentations were held and four intervention proposals were put forward. Awareness of these issues among the younger population was also raised.
Summary of bilateral results