Pobierz plik - Grundtvig

the situation of elderly people.
Individual countries should quickly develop and
implement their own approaches to the issue in
question, taking into consideration the specific
circumstances and needs on the one hand and
the requirements of operating in an international
European community on the other.
European manuals for individuals training seniors
to civic activity (approx. 60 pages) and those
addressed to senior volunteers (approx. 90 pages),
which are among the results of the SEVIR project,
are quality auxiliary materials for specific activities
and initiatives.
Detailed Project-related conclusions
Creating conditions conducive to senior citizens’
civic activity constitutes a major problem. The
required conditions include:
respect and appreciation of elderly people’s
skills and competence;
reaching senior citizens willing to take advantage
of their skills and knowledge for the benefit
of their environment and to represent
the group’s interest, including senior citizens
who can play a key role as moderators, initiators,
coordinators and ombudsmen (leaders);
local and regional decision makers’ willingness
to cooperate with active senior citizens,
enabling genuine participation of the elderly
and creating space to take advantage of their
creativity. If we fail to do that, their willingness
and involvement will give way to disappointment
and frustration;
local communities’ readiness to support representations
of the elderly also by creating
and maintaining adequate infrastructure, including
financial support and other means in
need.
Our experience proves that:
people who have finished or are about to
conclude their professional careers are frequently
willing to share their knowledge and life
experience with the society and look for opportunities
to get involved. Active individuals
tend to be more eager to continue activity at
the third stage of their lives;
elderly people are motivated to get involved
not only for altruistic reasons. They want to
enhance the quality of their lives by finding
a way to avoid isolation. Public activity is also
viewed as a form of attending social meetings;
senior citizens’ involvement is the reason for
trusting one another in their environment.
Frequently it is also an opportunity to leave
the vicious circle where they cannot pursue
their aspirations.
Final comments
Experiences accumulated in the course of
the SEVIR multilateral project within Socrates-
Grundtvig 1 and the School of @ctive Seniors
project offer first-hand evidence that the senior
community seizes the opportunity of an active life
on a local and regional level. However, their social
potential tends to be frequently unappreciated
and ignored.
Owing to the SEVIR project, we have managed
to identify factors affecting effective stimulation
and promotion of elderly people’s civic activity.
Moreover, the project resulted in the emergence
of a European programme framework to educate
senior volunteers and people training senior citizens
for civic activity. An exchange of experiences
and concepts between the project participants
from various countries cannot be overestimated
for the quality of these activities. Appropriate use
129