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Description
Retirees in Greece usually limit their social participation to the immediate family environment, while they have little room to extend their working life. Nevertheless, while they are a valuable social resource, they are marginalized, experiencing negative stereotypes and adopting a passive lifestyle that is detrimental to their health. The challenge of retirees’ social participation was depicted during the pandemic, when many doctors in retirement were called in many countries to offer their help.
The project aims to promote the active ageing of the elderly throughout voluntary work in social benefit actions. The objectives of the project are to improve health, eliminate negative stereotypes, intergenerational solidarity and justice.
During a study of international practices and open consultation procedures with all parties involved (retirees, NGOs, State and Local Government), a new overall strategy for the voluntary work of retirees will be proposed to the State. Alongside, a nationwide campaign and environmental voluntary actions will take place to raise awareness of the target group. A mediation platform will then be created between supply (retirees) and demand (stakeholders). Also, executives of NGOs, Municipalities, Public Services will be trained in the use of the platform, while at the same time they will be trained through a webinar to improve digital skills. Retirees will be trained experientially as multipliers. The project will be completed with a large national meeting in Athens, which will include a trail of actions (open conference, press interchange, and other).
The target groups of the project are the retirees and all the organizations that are interested in using volunteers in social action plans (e.g. Municipalities, NGOs).
The coordinating body will be ELIX (project promoter and voluntary actions), who will partner with the University of Patras (studies-education), the company PROOPSIS (information campaign) and OTE-ACADEMY (platform).
Summary of project results
Retired people in Greece tend to limit their social participation to their immediate family environment, while they have little scope for extending their working life. And while they are a valuable social resource, they are marginalised, experience negative stereotypes and adopt a passive lifestyle to the detriment of their health. The challenge of community involvement was demonstrated through the pandemic, when retired doctors were called upon in many countries to help.
The aim of the project is to promote active ageing through volunteering for social benefit. The objectives of the project were to improve health, remove negative stereotypes, and to promote intergenerational solidarity and justice.
During the two/year implementation of the Aeithaleia project and within the framework of the Social Dialogue on Volunteering for the Elderly, a nationwide survey on the digital skills of retirees and their attitudes towards volunteering (sample of 379 individuals) was completed, along with a study of best practices in volunteering and active aging. A field mapping study was completed, including Social Structures, Home Care Service Programmes, Volunteer Departments and Open Care Structures of Greek municipalities, creating a previously non/existent database that was utilized for targeted dissemination of the project. Six focus groups were conducted, involving 8 officials from open social care structures, 12 representatives from NGOs, 2 Deputy Mayors, and the appointed advisor of the Attica Region for volunteering. The results were summarized in an evaluation report. Based on the data and findings, legislative proposals were drafted to remove barriers to the development of volunteer work for retirees. The proposals described Norway''s active aging model, which also shaped the legislative proposals for our country. The proposals were circulated for feedback through a closed/ended questionnaire (quantitative attitude survey) to 85 public sector officials, with 49 responding. The project team participated in the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family’s Workshop on Demographics and filed the entire research project and detailed descriptions of the project actions and legislative proposals for removing barriers to the development of volunteer work for retirees were submitted to be utilized for the National Action Plan on Demographics. 8 awareness workshops were implemented in eight municipalities across the country (Patras, Ioannina, Thessaloniki, Larissa, Kaisariani, Aigaleo, Heraklion Crete, and Agia Paraskevi) with a total of 344 participants. A sensitization campaign was completed based on the communication plan created at the beginning of the implementation (2022/2024), with the results documented in a related report (Social impact of the campaign and workshops). Official communication channels (Website, Facebook, YouTube) were created, along with informational leaflets and posters. All activities were covered by major media outlets (in.gr, NEA, VIMA, CNN, etc.). For the nationwide advertisement of the project, three radio interviews were given, and one radio/television message was broadcasted on national channels and stations (Star, MEGA channel, OPEN, etc.) after approval from the National Radio and Television Council (ESR). As a result, a pool of over 600 volunteers aged 55 and above was created, and many entities approached the organization for collaboration (municipalities, organizations, the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family, ESPA Executive Structure, etc.). A fully responsive electronic platform matching supply and demand for volunteer work was created, designed to be user/friendly for older individuals. Six one/day environmental actions were carried out in Attica, and a ten/day workcamp in Drymades, Ioannina, with 81 target group volunteers and contributions from small and large municipalities and organizations. Thirteen webinars were held in each Administrative Region on the thematic of action planning for older individuals and the use of the Worth it volunteering platform, as well as two experiential workshops with individuals aged 55+ on platform usage. A total of 530 citizens and organization representatives were trained. On Wednesday, March 27, 2024, the Conference on Volunteering and Active Aging took place at the Serafeio of the Municipality of Athens, attended by 288 individuals, marking the project''s conclusion. All of the above contributed to networking the project team with entities (public and non/public) active in the field of active aging and volunteering, as well as volunteers aged 55+. They also laid the foundations for future actions/collaborations, providing a well/designed linking tool (platform) that fills a significant gap and meets the needs of volunteers and entities.
To achieve the purpose of the call, the "ENGAGE" project team implemented:
Fifteen (15) educational activities on the topic of obligations and rights of citizenship (13 webinars and the 2 experiential workshops):
Through 13 webinars and the 2 experiential workshops, public bodies, Civil Society Organizations and volunteers of all ages were trained on the importance of strengthening volunteering in the country, on the organization of volunteer activities for older people and on the use of the coupling platform developed to achieve the above objectives, receiving very positive feedback in the relevant evaluations. At the same time, space was provided for an exchange of views and discussions on the needs of institutions and citizens for the promotion of volunteering and the development of active ageing actions. 530 representatives of municipalities, ministries, organisations, community centres, universities, hospitals and many 55+ volunteers and students participated.
Nine (9) actions promoting volunteering (7 volunteering actions, 1 awareness campaign and 1 coupling platform).
Through a successful awareness raising campaign which included 8 workshops in major cities, radio interviews, articles in major media, 1 radio message and 1 social media campaign, the project''s nationwide reach and the team''s connection with stakeholders was achieved. Links were established for a nationwide network of organisations (public and non-public) wishing to promote volunteering and active ageing and a significant pool of volunteers aged 55 and over (>600 people) who expressed interest in participating in future actions/programmes. Skills, views and needs of citizens 55+ and good practices of organisations at national level were recorded.
Fourteen (14) actions to strengthen the advocacy of NGOs to promote a more favourable framework for citizen participation in public life (2 studies, 1 quantitative attitude survey, 1 empirical survey with the target group, 6 focus groups, 3 interviews in public transport, 1 conference and 1 Legislative Proposal Booklet)
Finally, the research work, the good practice studies, the focus groups with executives of voluntary organisations, municipalities, organisations, elected representatives of local government, combined with the public open consultation on the necessity of promoting volunteering of older people formed the basis for the creation of a comprehensive set of proposals to the State for the promotion of volunteering. Given that the consultation of the project involved important decision-makers (including the Minister of Family and Social Cohesion, Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Presidents of the OCIP, the Deputy Head of Health of the Region of Epirus, the Commissioner for Volunteerism of the Region of Attica, etc. ), the necessity of the reforms proposed by the project to achieve the improvement of Health and Quality of Life of older citizens and the promotion of volunteering in this age group, so that citizens 55 + to be transformed from passive "beneficiaries" to active citizens.
The project team participated in the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family''s Working Meeting on Demography at the invitation of the Minister''s Office, Mrs. Sofia Zacharaki. All the research work of the project as well as the legislative proposals for removing obstacles to the development of voluntary work of retired people were delivered in printed and electronic form. A detailed excel of the project activities was also delivered based on a template provided by the Ministry. The steady promotion of the project through radio interviews, press articles and a very successful final conference with the participation of notable speakers sealed the achievement of the call''s objective.