Best Friends: In England for the Training on Intergenerational Learning

Apr 15, 2022News

The training on intergenerational learning was held in England in the frame of the project Best Friends Against Ageism!

After concluding the first Output – the BEST FRIENDS European Report which analyses the existing methods and the current needs of care operators and social workers, elderly people and educators / volunteers – the partnership of the Best Friends project has produced a training program for health professionals, social workers and volunteers who work / will work with seniors and a collection of intergenerational games useful for planning intergenerational learning activities between seniors (65+) and young children (4-5 years). These products were validated to become definitive through an organised training for staff, social workers and volunteers working with older adults, which was held in Plymouth, England on April 4th, 5th and 6th, 2022.

It was a very educational experience during which the participants became familiar with the topics of the BEST FRIENDS training course for people interested in developing intergenerational learning activities between seniors and young children. Participants discussed the concept of intergenerational learning, the benefits of collaboration between different generations, the ways in which intergenerational learning can be applied to a wide range of contexts and targets.

Participants learned many notions about the concepts of marginalization and stereotypes in relation to both young and adult age and collected information useful for planning and implementing intergenerational learning activities that mainly involve children and the elderly. All this knowledge will be useful in the subsequent project phase of Pilot testing, during which the partners will be engaged in the implementation of intergenerational learning activities and games to evaluate whether and to what extent the activities proposed in the research phase are useful for social care operators, elderly and children and to quantify the results.

Best Friends Against Ageism – Intergenerational workshops between old people and children to brake the isolation of elderly people and support their social inclusion is co-funded by the Erasmus + program (Key Action 2: Strategic Partnerships | Adult Education) and aims to combat the isolation and social exclusion of older people and to provide an innovative method for social workers, volunteers and educators who work with older people to foster intergenerational learning.

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