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Description
As part of the project we want to establish a Youth Council and a Senior Council in the Lipie Commune. Youth and seniors are groups that do not have their own representatives in the municipality. They have limited knowledge about volunteering and social participation. Both groups perceive each other stereotypically. There are no entities in the neighbourhood that would train residents on these subjects, and the local government is not active, either. As part of the project we will carry out educational workshops for seniors and youth on volunteering and the functioning of the Councils of Seniors and Councils of Youth, together with a trip workshop on the development of social skills. The aim of the workshops will be to break stereotypes and establish cooperation between both groups. We will also hold workshops on intergenerational initiatives, during which drafts of 5 joint initiatives for the natural environment will be developed, and then implemented. We will create a local map of intergenerational problems and needs, and publish a publication to promote a good practice. The project will involve 25 people aged +60 and 25 people aged 12-20 – women and men from the Lipie Commune and its surroundings. It will result in the increase of social competence and representativeness of two groups (youth and seniors), and establishment of institutional cooperation between them. We will use such methods as: group workshops, intergenerational activities, volunteering, the project method, cooperation with residents and representatives of local government, individual support and evaluation activities.
Summary of project results
The Association''s own research and the analysis of local strategic documents showed that in the Lipie commune there was a low level of competence in the area of social activity and volunteering among seniors and youth of the Lipie commune and the surrounding area (district), including: low level of knowledge and skills in the area volunteering, unsatisfactory level of integration between generations of young people and seniors, insufficient level of awareness of the benefits of social activity and volunteering and motivation for changes in this area. Both youth and seniors did not have their own subjective representatives. The aim of the project was to take steps to establish a Youth Council and a Senior Council in the Lipie Commune.
In order for young people and seniors to be prepared to prepare applications for the establishment of councils and to prepare them to serve as councilors, a number of educational activities were carried out for them, such as: educational workshops on, among others, volunteering, cooperation with NGOs and local governments, field trips for exchanges and the development of social competences integrating both environments, away workshops on intergenerational initiatives allowing for the development of activities to be implemented in various local communities, as well as their implementation using mini budgets within the project funds through volunteer activities of participants/choices, implementation of research walks that diagnosed local problems, as well as the development problem map and submitting it to the local government, conducting an evaluation meeting which provided an answer about the quality of the project being implemented, and a summary conference at which the project graduates and the activities they had implemented were presented, as well as applications for the establishment of both Councils. As part of promotional activities, a publication was published describing the activity and cooperation of both generations, which encouraged readers to volunteer and break stereotypes.
As a result of the project, it was possible to change the mentality of both generations (seniors aged 60+ and young people aged 12-20) by encouraging them to change the way they spend their free time. The participants understood that volunteering gives joy and self-fulfillment. They are also convinced that much can be achieved by actively cooperating with residents and using local resources. They can prepare an application for funding and carry out a research walk in various thematic areas. The Association''s staff hopes that through the activities carried out, they will be able to convince the local government to vote on the submitted applications for the establishment of both Councils. We presented well-prepared staff to serve as councilors to the local government and the local community, and we also showed the commune''s residents that a lot depends on their motivation and awareness of the benefits of working in a team.