eScouts Newsletter N. 2

Follow the WEBSTREAMING!

Europeans today are living longer and healthier lives than ever before. Together with the low birth rates of the past decades, Europe’s population is ageing fast. Population ageing presents a number of challenges for our societies. The increasing share of older people and the decreasing share of working-age persons in the total population will have social, economic and budgetary consequences; labour supply and employment will decrease, challenging economic growth, while the request for services by the ageing population will increase. The effects of population ageing will be felt all across Europe, although not evenly affecting all regions across Europe.

European Year 2012

Staying active as we grow older is key for tackling this challenge. This is why the European Union designated 2012 as the “European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations”. Active ageing is about creating a wide range of opportunities for older people to stay in control of their own lives. By giving them access to employment, by enabling them to make an active contribution to society through voluntary work, and by allowing them to live independently for as long as possible thanks to healthy ageing and an age-friendly environment with adapted housing, infrastructure and services.

Active ageing is also crucial to Europe’s ability to achieve its ambitious goals under the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The European Year 2012 is a huge opportunity to raise awareness, disseminate good practice and, most importantly, to launch some concrete actions at all levels.

Through their responsibilities for crucial policies and service delivery local and regional actors have a major role to play in promoting active ageing and improving the quality of life of older people.

Forum Committee of the Regions

Shortly after the official opening conference of the EY2012 (18 and 19 January in Copenhagen), the Committee of the Regions will invite local and regional stakeholders to discuss their contribution to the European Year 2012 during a one day Forum, on Tuesday 14 February 2012.

The Forum will focus on the multilevel governance approach of the policy domain and will highlight how local and regional actors improve the conditions for active ageing in the three major thematic strands of the EY, each of which closely related to the competences of the CoR: Employment, Participation in Society and Independent Living. The Forum will consist of plenary sessions, confronting European and regional policy makers, and of interactive workshops, presenting best practice from all over Europe.

By organising the Forum the CoR intends to make an important contribution to the European Year 2012. It should help to foster new initiatives at local and regional level and to build new partnerships for promoting active ageing and strengthening solidarity between generations.

 

     eScouts in Poland 

The Polish partner has completed the modules 2 –  Facilitator-to-Youth training (16/2 November) - and the module 3 Youth to Seniors- Adults Training (5/17 December) - in November and December.

Next Training Courses:

• Module 4: Facilitators to Seniors – Adults Training February/March 2012 
• Module 5: Seniors – Adults to Youth Training  March 2012

eScouts in Italy                                                                                                                                

In Italy the project will be developed in two different cities of Tuscany: Pisa and Pistoia.

PISA 

1. Centro Poliedro   Piazza Berlinguer 56025 Pontedera Pisa centropoliedro@gmail.com - www.centropoliedro.it

 2. Circolo Arci Il Botteghino Via Tosco-Romagnola, 455 – Lcalità La Rotta 56025 Pontedera Pisa
ilbotteghino2005@yahoo.it  – www.arcivaldera.it/

Training courses will take place on Wednesday afternoon                 (from 16 to 18)

 PISTOIA

CIRCOLO ARCI BOTTEGONE
Via Fiorentina, 697 Località Bottegone – Pistoia (PT) 
paasbottegone@yahoo.it

Training courses will take place on Tuesday afternoon (from 14 to 16).

Next Training Courses:

• Module 2: Facilitators to Youth Training January 2012
• Module 3: Youth to Seniors - Adults Training 6 – 23 February 2012
• Module 4: Facilitators to Seniors – Adults Training 1/25 March 2012
• Module 5: Seniors – Adults to Youth Training  26 March/15 April 2012

  eScouts in Bulgaria

 Next Training Courses:

• Module 2: Facilitators to Youth Training  31 January/17 February 2012
• Module 3: Youth to Seniors - Adults Training 20 February/5 March 2012
• Module 4: Facilitators to Seniors – Adults Training 15/30 March 2012
• Module 5: Seniors – Adults to Youth Training April 2012

    eScouts in Spain

The Spain Facilitators have completed the modules 2: Facilitator-to-Youth training. In Spain, the project will be implemented in two different organizations:

Fundación Balia has completed the module 2 - Facilitators to Youth Training –  in November and December 2011.

Read More about Fundación Balia: http://www.fundacionbalia.org

Next Training Courses:

• Module 3: Youth to Seniors - Adults Training January/March 2012
• Module 4: Facilitators to Seniors – Adults Training January/February 2012
• Module 5: Seniors – Adults to Youth Training March/April 2012

La Rueca Asociación will complete the module 2 – Facilitators to Youth Training - in February 2012.

Read more about La Rueca Asociación: http://www.larueca.info

Next Training Courses:

• Module 3: Youth to Seniors - Adults Training mid-February/21 March 2012
• Module 4: Facilitators to Seniors – Adults Training March 2012
• Module 5: Seniors – Adults to Youth Training April 2012

   eScouts in UK

The positive engagement of the Youth into the eScouts project : The 2 UK facilitators have successfully completed the delivery of Module 2 Facilitator-to-Youth training.

Next Training Courses:

• Module 3: Youth to Seniors - Adults Training 1 – 8 February/22 – 29 February/7 – 14 March 2012
• Module 4: Facilitators to Seniors – Adults Training February 2012
• Module 5: Seniors – Adults to Youth Training March/April 2012 

RL ITALY:

Next Training Courses:

• Module 2: Facilitators to Youth Training 31 Junuary/21 February 2012
• Module 3: Youth to Seniors - Adults Training 28 February/31 March 2012
• Module 4: Facilitators to Seniors – Adults Training 3 – 23 February 2012
• Module 5: Seniors – Adults to Youth Training 3 – 20 April 2012

   eScouts in Germany

Our training partner organisation in Germany is AWO Berlin Südost. This is part of AWO, one of the largest German welfare organistions (with about 165.000 employees). AWO Berlin Südost is a local committee of AWO and runs several Kindergardens, a youth club, a senior café, a vocational training centre etc. AWO Berlin Südost will start with the training of module 2 (facilitator to youth) by mid of January.

The AWO youth Club has a website and a facebook site that you can link to:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Judith-Auer-Club/144968562243209

Read more about AWO youth Club:

 http://www.awo-südost.de/jugendarbeit-judith-auer

Next Training Courses:

• Module 2: Facilitators to Youth Training From 16 Junuary 2012
• Module 3: Youth to Seniors - Adults Training February 2012
• Module 4: Facilitators to Seniors – Adults Training March 2012
• Module 5: Seniors – Adults to Youth Training April 2012

Organized by REIACTIS, the Réseau d’Étude International sur l’Age, la Citoyenneté et l’Intégration Socio-économique (International Network on Age, Citizenship and Socioeconomic Inclusion) and by the PGI, Pôle de Gérontologie Interrégional Bourgogne Franche Comté (Bourgogne / Franche-Comté Inter-regional Gerontology Centre), this symposium follows up on the conferences held by REIACTIS at the Sorbonne University in Paris in 2007, the UMR CNRS IDEE in Rouen in 2008, and with the Government and Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in 2010. The Chile conference was highly successful from both an academic and media viewpoint, with 80 papers presented by representatives from 17 countries and over 300 people attending the trilingual sessions (French, English and Spanish).

After Latin America, the symposium is returning to France with Dijon as the venue on occasion. Over 90 papers from researchers in 25 countries have been received for the conference, which will be attended by representatives from the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the French-speaking world.

Read more: http://www.ledroitdevieillir.org/uk/

The Forum will focus on the multilevel governance approach of the policy domain and will highlight how local and regional actors improve the conditions for active ageing in the three major thematic strands of the EY, each of which closely related to the competences of the CoR: Employment, Participation in Society and Independent Living. The Forum will consist of plenary sessions, confronting European and regional policy makers, and of interactive workshops, presenting best practice from all over Europe.

For more info and the online registration form, please visit www.cor.europa.eu/EY2012

 -          Because: Youth will be prepared under the “Community Service – Learning” approach, having practical assessment and advising, while performing their task in reality. Elderly, once learned how to manage ICT, will take benefit from it addressing their expertise and vision of reality to their young teachers, complementing this process in face to face meeting to empower the emotional links between them.

-          Because: Intergenerational practice can encourage the sharing of resources  like knowledge, time, skills and services. Helping promote work between different community groups, breaking down barriers and stereotypes about the young and old, enhancing and building culture, and providing volunteers and workers to create community facilities and activities.

- Education and Culture (DG EAC),
- Communication (DG COMM) and
- EuropeAid Development and Cooperation (DG DEVCO).

The Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) is the successor to the Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci and ICT / Open & Distance Learning (2000-2006) . It supports learning opportunities from childhood to old age in every single life situation.

> About Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013

Our Project:  

Empowerment, Social Inclusion and Participation

eScouts is aimed to develop an innovative intergenerational learning exchange between elderly and youth volunteers, centred on the development of the digital competences of the eldest and on the guidance to the youngest to better face their upcoming adult life challenges.

 This intergenerational experience will take place through a variety of local stakeholder organisations (LSO, e.g. public internet centres, youth and elderly associations, etc) with a view to produce a transversal impact over the communities they are serving.

 Our actions:    ICT Learning, Internet and Community Service

1. Train youth people (16-25) to become ICT teachers of the digital excluded elderly, while developing autonomy and active citizenship.
2. Train the elderly (retired people over 55) to become mentors for the youth (their previous teachers) to better face work and life challenges with an ethic dimension and valuing youngest “digital capital”.
3. Train Facilitators of intergenerational learning of each country of the consortium to be the key actors and mediators of those two groups.

 Our innovation:    Youth, Elderly and Intergenerational Exchange

The eScouts project aims to prove that innovative ways of communication and activism through ICT are strongly re-shaping social interaction, learning approach as well as general perspective of life’s expectations and values. Elderly facing the digital gap and assessing the youth can still feel useful and updated within the society, and youth can learn perspectives in values and can be inspired to discover their job preferences since they become teachers and get to know ICT from another point of view. In addition, the interaction itself hopes to be a great benefit for both target group and from a community vision, an important social improvement.

Our expected results:    Employability, Personal Development and e-Inclusion

Our expected results could be: Increase sense of social responsibility, increase in self-worth and confidence, provision of practical skills, school attendance and employability improvement, opportunities to keep learning, re-integration into community life, rebuilds social networks, developing community capacity and a more inclusive society, building of social cohesion, enhancing and building culture.

Our network

 Most of the partners in the consortium have a large network of centres  (cultural centres in Italy and UK, telecentres in Spain, Bulgaria and Poland, training centres in Germany).

The consortium consists of eight partners who have different but complementary expertise, work experiences and in different areas of influence nationally and internationally.