„Sidabrinė linija””: building the civic power of the older population by promoting social activism and volunteering“

Description

With the project „Sidabrinė linija”: building the civic power of the older population by promoting social activism and volunteering“ we are solving the problem of low civic participation among the elderly population in Lithuania.

Project target group: socially vulnerable older adults (60+ years) who, due to their age, health and socioeconomic status, belonging to minorities, loneliness and isolation, are facing a risk of social exclusion, and who lack or have lost the ability and opportunities to communicate and maintain social relations, are socially passive, lack of confidence in their civic power.

The project is aimed at building the civic power of elderly population, promoting their social activism and meaningful civic participation by engaging them in social interaction and volunteering in the framework of “Sidabrinė Linija” befriending programme.

Expected outcomes:

1. As a result of two awareness-raising campaigns, up to 400 vulnerable older persons will be involved in the project activities, and up to 200 older persons will become interested in volunteering.
2. Up to 200 seniors will be selected as volunteers, then trained and engaged in volunteering in “Sidabrinė Linija”.
3. Up to 100-120 volunteers will participate in two motivation and competence development seminars and will improve their competences in communication, cooperation and teamwork, will boost their motivation to volunteering.

The awareness-raising campaign aimed at changing negative public attitudes towards older people will cover the development and dissemination of textual and visual content on social networks, including impact stories of older persons engaged in “Sidabrinė Linija” befriending and volunteering programmes, as well as conducting sociological research on revealing the subjectively assessed physical and socio-emotional well-being of “Sidabrinė linija” participants, and the impact of communication and volunteering on their well-being and social activity.

Summary of project results

With the project „Sidabrinė linija”: building the civic power of the older population by promoting social activism and volunteering“ we aimed to address the problem of low civic participation among the elderly population in Lithuania.Project target group: socially vulnerable older adults (60 years and older) who, due to their age, health and socioeconomic status, belonging to national / ethnic / linguistic minorities, loneliness and isolation are facing a risk of social exclusion, and who partially (or completely) lack or have lost the ability and opportunities to communicate and maintain social relations, are socially passive, lack of confidence in their civic power.The project goal was building the civic power of elderly population, promoting their social activism and meaningful civic participation by engaging them in social interaction and volunteering in the framework of “Sidabrinė Linija” befriending programme.

To achieve the project goal, the following activities were implemented:
-    Awareness-raising campaign to involve seniors in the SL befriending programme;
-    Awareness-raising campaign to promote the involvement of older people in volunteering at the SL;
-    Involvement of seniors in volunteering: organisation of recruitment, induction training for selected volunteers, organisation of volunteering activities at the SL;
-    Volunteer motivation and competence development workshops; 
-    Awareness-raising campaign to change negative public attitudes towards older people, to promote recognition of their contribution to society, to improve understanding of their rights to live independently, with dignity, and to reduce negative age-related stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes:
-    a consistent social media communication campaign, including the creation and dissemination of the impact stories on seniors'' volunteering and befriending experiences at the SL;
-    a sociological survey of the SL users, aimed at revealing their physical, social and emotional well-being, as well as the impact of communication at the SL on their well-being and social activeness;
-    a conference where representatives from different fields discussed the value and impact of communication in unlocking the potential of seniors'' civic engagement.
 

The project brought about the following positive changes, each of which will have a lasting impact on the target group - socially vulnerable and civically inactive older people, as well as on the indirect beneficiaries – the relatives and the community at a large:
-    Increased motivation and opportunities for the socially vulnerable older people involved in the project to re-establish and maintain social relationships, which will have a direct positive impact on their subjectively perceived psychological well-being;
-    Increased civic engagement of seniors through involvement in sustainable volunteering at the Silver Line, enhanced skills in using digital tools for civic participation, improved competences in teamwork, learning and active citizenship;
-    Raised public awareness of prevailing negative attitudes towards older people, promoted recognition of their contribution to society, improved understanding of their rights to live independently, with dignity, and reduced negative age-related stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes; 
-    Strengthened institutional capacities of participating organisations, increased organisational development capacities, stronger partnerships.