UPGRADING THE RESILENCE AND ADAPTABILITY OF SENIORS IN THE POST-COVID ERA THROUGH A DIGITAL-DRIVEN LIFELONG LEARNING PROGRAMME PROMOTING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT OF ALL AGES

The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated mental health issues, emphasizing the need for technologies to ensure social inclusion in the digital age. The WHO predicts that the proportion of people over...

The main objectives are to ensure social inclusion, civic engagement, active participation in society, and mental wellbeing of seniors. The project aims to develop innovative tools for active ageing and to improve services provided by adult educators and related organizations. Specifically, it aims to: Promote innovative methods and pedagogies for adult educators; Develop learning materials and tools for effective ICT; Enhance access, participation, and learning performance for seniors; Foster social inclusion via integrated approaches to enhance seniors' mental health and social cohesion; Promote shared values, equality, social inclusion, diversity, and non-discrimination; Encourage sustainable links between educational, training, health organizations, and society; Facilitate intergenerational learning; Promote digital skills for seniors to integrate them into the digital era; Increase social participation, digital inclusion, and prevent loneliness and mental health issues; Enable active citizenship and civic engagement of seniors in the digital era; Address challenges from Covid-19, including social isolation and anxiety among seniors; Promote volunteering among younger generations.

The project designed and develop, pilot-test and offer an IT solution in the form of a web platform and a mobile application that address the societal challenges such as social isolation-loneliness, mobility, mental health, wellbeing, LLL and distress of seniors as well as, offer the opportunity to create a sustainable volunteering and mentoring system for the elderly with the support of younger people ensuring distance learning for digital inclusion. Toward this aim the following activities were implemented: R.1 - Map out the current programmes offered to seniors at the regional level which promote mental wellbeing through digital means during the pandemic - Develop synergies with programmes’ providers - Create the Handbook-Methodology in which the Programme is based on to guide stakeholders of the main elements of the programme R.2 - Create the Competence Framework for Active Ageing which identify the main topics and skills that seniors need to obtain and that are included in the Educational Pack – Developed the Educational and Active Ageing Activities Pack for both Seniors and Adult Educators, YP (Volunteers). - Prepared the Blended Professional Development Course for Adult Educators and Capacity-Building Training for volunteers R.3 - Partners created the e-Academy that included the project results in R2 - Developed the MOBILE APP in which the elements of recruitment – between seniors and volunteers - Developed the e-learning platform for YP and Adult Educators. R.4 - Created the Campaign at the local and regional levels by using social media and traditional media tools - Designed the STRONG2GETHER TOOL KIT for setting up the Programme in the Community. - Evaluated the Programme to adult educators, YP and seniors - Conducted an upscaling and policy recommendation pack.

R.1 - THE STRONG2GETHER INTERGENERATIONAL PROGRAMME: HANDBOOK –METHODOLOGY to guide on how the programme can be used by organisations. It included the criteria to become a volunteer, the validation methods, and the role of EXPERTS. R.2 – The STRONG2GETHER EDUCATIONAL AND ACTIVE AGEING ACTIVITIES PACK which is based on the COMPETENCE FRAMEWORK for senior’s sessions to improve mental wellbeing of seniors was developed. – The BLENDED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE FOR ADULT EDUCATORS AND CAPACITY TRAINING FOR COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS to include didactic guidelines for teaching seniors and a course for volunteers that is equipped with skills and competences to be able to teach seniors new skills through volunteering. R.3 - The MOBILE APP to integrate the recruitment tool between volunteers and seniors - The e-learning platform for volunteers and Adult Educators - The e-ACADEMY platform for SENIORS - A Manual of how these can be used R.4 - The TOOL KIT and a Policy recommendation pack will be developed to identify currents needs and gaps in the EU agenda of Active Ageing regarding digital transformation programmes for seniors in the age of Covid-19. The TOOL KIT included the following: In-service training of adult educators for professional development focusing on how digital tools can be used to advance active ageing support to seniors; e-Mapping TOOL with digital storytelling videos/written content of seniors and adult educators and providers’ names; Handbook-Methodology in which the Programme is designed (R1); Competence Framework of Seniors and Educational Pack; BLENDED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE FOR ADULT EDUCATORS AND CAPACITY-BUILDING TRAINING FOR COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS; e-Learning platform for Volunteers and Adult Educators, e-ACADEMY for seniors and a MOBILE APP; Web-Radio. Among the outcomes are: Advance the programmes offered to seniors for increasing mental wellbeing and civic engagement; Upgrade the profile of adult educators working with seniors such as physicians, social workers, trainers, gerontologists etc.; Provide information on the programmes provided at an EU level which help interested parties to find relevant information and look up for the providers; Define the topics of importance and interest included in the ACTIVE AGEING PACK, the TRAINING COURSES for Adult Educators and Young People; Improve civic engagement of seniors through intergenerational learning opportunities that had been placed through the MOBILE APP; Offer the opportunity to Young People to be professionally developed through acquiring the VOLUNTEER Open Badge, their involvement in the organisation of events, live-shows, podcasting etc. and at the same time enhance volunteering ideals.