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Description
We target our project on seniors and youths living in the Przyrów commune, in the Częstochowski district. The Częstochowski District Development Strategy for 2016-2020 indicates that the key weakness of local NGOs is the insufficient number of volunteers. There are also too few activities aiming at intergenerational integration. Our research on the level of knowledge about voluntary work shows that seniors know little about voluntary work, as it was not talked about during times of their education, while today’s youths take little interest in this topic. We will take up activities aiming at appointing a Youth Council and a Senior Council in the Przyrów commune. We will organise educational workshops for seniors on voluntary work and functioning of the Senior and Youth Council. We will organise off-site social competence workshops aiming at overcoming stereotypes, promoting integration and establishing cooperation between groups. More off-site workshops will be an occasion for gathering knowledge on intragenerational initiatives, project methods, and inventing 5 joint initiatives for the local community. To encourage outsiders, including local authorities, to cooperate participants will prepare a local map of intragenerational problems. Finally, we will prepare a publication promoting best practices of intragenerational social activities.
Summary of project results
The project was aimed at seniors and youth from the Przyrów Municipality and its surrounding areas (Częstochowa County). The development strategy for Częstochowa County for the years 2016-2020 indicated that a weak point of local non-governmental organizations is the insufficient number of volunteers. There is also a lack of activities for intergenerational integration. Our research on knowledge about volunteering shows that seniors have limited knowledge about volunteering because it was not a part of their education, while today’s youth have little interest in this topic.
We took action to establish youth and senior councils in the Przyrów Municipality. We conducted educational workshops on volunteering and the functioning of senior and youth councils for seniors and youth. We organized off-site workshops for developing social competencies aimed at breaking stereotypes, promoting integration, and fostering cooperation between the groups.
Subsequent off-site workshops provided an opportunity to acquire knowledge about intergenerational initiatives, project-based work, and the development of five joint initiatives for the local community. To encourage external collaboration, including representatives of local authorities, participants developed a local map of intergenerational issues. Finally, we created a publication promoting good practices in intergenerational social activities and organized a conference to summarize the project.
Evaluation surveys indicate that the workshops have increased the level of knowledge about volunteering, the activities of non-governmental organizations, and social engagement among the majority of participants. Additionally, thanks to intergenerational training, both young people and seniors have improved their competencies in diagnosing their needs, formulating their goals, and achieving desired results.
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