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Description
According to our research, both younger and older inhabitants of Lublin do not engage socially to a large extent. At the same time, both groups are willing to involve in such activities.We will address these problems by organising a host of meetings aiming at engaging participants (40 seniors aged 55+ and 20 young people aged 16-29) in social initiatives and at integrating the group. Participants will have a chance to improve their intergenerational communication skills, but they will also learn how to take photos, write articles or promote their activity on websites. We will help them prepare their own social initiatives and fundraising campaigns to support Lublin organisations with the use of skills acquired during the workshops.Our partner is the Instytut Aktywizacji i Rozwoju Społecznego Foundation which has experience in running voluntary initiatives for youths. The partner will help us contact young people and will provide us with equipment needed for the project.
Summary of project results
Our research showed that in city of Lublin, the citizens of all ages rarely engage in the life of their community, even though they declared desire and readiness to get more involved. We also observed very little understanding between the generations, young people and senior citizens don’t understand their respective needs and struggles, which adds to natural challenges in communication between generations.
We recruited 40 senior citizens and 20 have targeted 40 elderly and 20 young ones, and organized training trips where participants took part in activities, visited local places of interest and had the opportunity to meet and spend time together. We conducted educational workshops on variety of topics, as health, intergenerational communication and journalistic skills. We organized debates to promote dialogue and understanding between different age groups, and made short films in which participants shared their views on intergenerational relations.
The participants planned and conducted their own small projects, each of which aimed at promoting social activity and intergenerational integration in the community. Participants carried out four initiatives:
1) May games - 2 intergenerational meetings where young and senior participants played the games most typical for their generation;
2) Walks through Lublin''s industry, including guided walks and the use of so-called quests;
3) Lublin Yesterday and Today - the participants prepared presentations of the changes the most iconic places in the city have undergone over the years;
4) Investing in Health - a series of meetings on different health issues for all ages.
All initiatives resulted in articles and photo reports published on the senioralnylublin.pl portal. We also conducted an information campaign about the social activities of intergenerational groups, which reached an audience of more than 20,000.
The project significantly improved understanding and communication between two age groups and increased social engagement of 60 participants. By participating in debates, discussions and making the film, participants from both age groups had the opportunity to better understand each other and improve communication.