In October 2009 the WEA Older Peoples team took part in the third international meeting of the EUBIA project.  The project entitled ‘Broadening People’s minds in Ageing’ (EUBIA) aims to respond to the educational challenges of an ageing population across Europe by strengthening and widening regional and European contacts and partnerships.

The project is funded by the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme under the Grundtvig measure and involves age sector representatives from seven European countries including Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Italy, Slovakia and England.

 

The partnership recognises the challenges facing the development of senior learning arising from the heterogeneity of at least three age cohorts of older people. It will develop a signposting guide outlining good practice in dealing with this as well as issues of gender, disability and ethnicity.  It will also give examples of good practice and strategies for engaging older people in learning.

An important element of the project is to involve learners to get their views and perspectives on the topics under discussion.  Two WEA learners, Sadie Hamill and Philomena Gallagher accompanied the Team to Gdansk Poland.  The theme under discussion was good practice - how to identify, adapt and embed. Key to the success of the partnership is the sharing of information, experience and best practice and  Sadie and Philomena made valuable contributions sharing examples of the learning being undertaken by older people in Northern Ireland.

Sadie Hamill Said:

"As a volunteer I was honoured to be asked to take part in this event. Thanks to the valuable training I received from W E A. I was able to give my opinions on best Practice.  I was amazed at how well my input was received.  It was a great learning experience and very interesting to see what older people in other counties are doing about lifelong learning. Had I been told when I retired that I would take part in such meetings I would not have believed it.  Now I have new friends and great memories of my few days in Gdansk."

Philomena Gallagher pointed out that involvement in the EUBIA project has had a number of positive outcomes for her:

"My trip to Gdansk to participate in the EUBIA Project was fantastic. I met with some marvellous people and was introduced to new ideas, new food, and the history of Poland. I got the opportunity to highlight good practices from Northern Ireland, for example: the Pharmacist in the Community Project; Actively Ageing Well project; Intergenerational projects and Reminiscence projects.

Much to my amazement I discovered that the wants and needs of all older people are similar regardless of their country of origin, that is to keep mentally, physically and socially active in order to add life to years and years to life. Life long learning is vital for older people to live healthier and happier lives.

It is never too late to reach your full potential.  In the words of G.B.Shaw: ‘man does not cease to play because he grows old - man grows old because he ceases to play.’

I thank the WEA Learning Age Team for the invitation to participate on this marvellous trip.  I learned a lot and the other participants learned a lot from my experience of working with older people for the past eleven years”.

The next international meeting of the EUBIA project takes place in Sicily in March 2010 and again WEA learners will join the team.

As a result of our involvement in the EUBIA Project  we are looking forward to the next step and are interested in applying to Grundtvig for funding for  a Senior Volunteering Project  which will give older learners the chance to take part in an exchange project with learners from another country.  Up to 3 WEA learners will have the opportunity to volunteer in another country for 4 -6 weeks. The volunteers will benefit from having the opportunity to share their expertise and be involved in a project with a useful social value whilst developing their skills. Volunteering is increasingly recognised as a very valuable informal learning experience for people of all ages and senior volunteering in particular has been recognised as a way of offering new learning opportunities to older people, promoting the process of active ageing and emphasising the contribution that older people make to our societies.

If you would like more information on the EUBIA project please contact Carolyn Hale on 9032 9718, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it