Detailed reports on LTTs

Active Citizens Partnership LTT

Athens and Villia

6th and 11th September 2021

The task given to the participants before the LTT:

Selection and collection of photographs from family albums, which depict a defining person or event in their lives and are associated with stories 

6th of September 2021

  • Greeting
  • Presentation of the organization – Activities of the Active Citizens Partnership (Presenter Athanasia Defingou)

The NGO operates in North-Eastern Greece, with its headquarters in Athens. It has 5 full-time employees and more than 10 part-time employees working on various projects. Athanasia Defingou “Your Treasure – Our Treasure” project manager, studied rural development, planned and implemented more than 80 major projects. She has long-term experience in the preparation, coordination, management, implementation and evaluation of training programs. In addition, he has gained considerable expertise in adult education, including the training of instructors. He speaks Greek, English, French and Albanian.

The organization has extensive experience in the field of adult education, in the development and support of programs dealing with social needs at the national and European level. With the help of state and European Union resources, they deal with the prevention and treatment of social problems. They develop and operate innovative activities, prepare studies and carry out research in the field of non-formal education and training.

Some examples: Greek language program for refugees and immigrants. Psychosocial support and counseling for immigrants, refugees, the homeless, the long-term unemployed, people with religious or cultural characteristics. Intergenerational and intercultural programs for the elderly and schoolchildren using the medium of storytelling. ICT training for the elderly.

7th of September 2021

Storytelling and elderly good practice: mastering the basics in theory and practice with the involvement of an expert

Lecturer and leader of the exercise: Stelios Pelasgos PhD (www.storytelling.gr)

About storytelling:

During the storytelling exercise we received live feedback, and even more: we got to know the other’s story, which includes emotions, struggles, dreams and successes. We can strengthen the authenticity, the genuineness and “truth” of the content of our words by personal presence, by showing the human side, by bringing emotions to the surface.

The method is used in many areas of life, both in civil and business life, all over the world, and in Hungary as well. It can be found with different age groups and, so naturally as the topic and methodological tool of projects, programs and events dealing with the elderly. (E.g. Aladdin Storytelling program, http://www.mmszke.hu/indulo-csoport/aladdin-storytelling-program-idosek-tortenetmeselese-nehez-eletsichtsek-megoldasarol). It can be a tool for community development, skill development or just teaching in a fun and efficient way.

Cultural institutions and museums have occasionally used storytelling as an element of events, e.g. in intergenerational programs or during historical interviews, since the elderly have important knowledge from the point of view of microhistory. they are the owners of a rich tradition and have knowledge that could be used even today by all members of their community.

Active Citizens Partnership: Storytelling and theelderly good practice

Method: Interactive presentation

Stelios Pelasgos uses tales as a tool. With his own tales, he persuades individual social groups to open up and tell their own stories.The fairy-tale heroes of different societies are similar, and European peoples’ – even if they sometimes lived next to each other as enemies – fairy-tale characters brought them closer to each other. Tales form a bridge that spans political conflicts and creates a sense of community in the people living on this continent.

Folktales were used by Stelios Pelasgos and his colleagues with inmates living in prisons. In the beginning, the prisoners did not take the “storytelling activities” seriously, and it took a long time before they opened up and told their stories. Folktales are also used in the case of drug addicts to find a way out of their situation and to recover.

It was an important step when they visited the members of the network of senior citizens’ clubs, the Friendship Clubs. It was essential to find in all cases the right contact person, who helped to build a connection in order to achieve trust betweenSteliosPelasgos and the elderly. Otherwise, they did not accept the stranger who came among them. In all cases, the basis of the relationship with the elderly was mutual respect and acceptance of each other as equals.

In the Friendship Clubs, the liaison person was always the club leader. Stelios told tales to the elderly for at least two months, as they had to see that he not only wanted to receive, but also to give to them. They began to tell stories not to a stranger, but to each other. A circle of friends was formed, in which they were able to loosen up more easily, and in the end they even allowed to have their stories recorded.He invited old people to the library to tell stories to them, but they ended up telling him their stories. After that, this method was used all over Greece.

His radio show series became extremely popular in Greece, as he hosted ordinary, elderly people who talked about themselves. Their stories were also published in book form.

A calendar was also made from the stories, in which different stories were linked to the months. Local history also played a role in this. They gave the calendar to schools, where, in preparation for holidays and events, they read an everyday story in addition to songs and poems. For example, in preparation for Women’s Day, they learned the story of the woman who raised her disabled child and became an everyday hero. The calendar can be used in several subjects and can be integrated into the curriculum, e.g. in the grammar class, when it comes to the development and transformation of the language. The press and the media noticed his special work and the National Television made a documentary about him, which is shown regularly.

The Active Citizens Partnership helps with the work with school children. They play a significant role in education, creating opportunities for the transfer of knowledge to older people. They use storytelling in their work, they visit the schools of the region, and the essence of their program is that the elders pass on their knowledge to the young children during their conversations on the topic of local history, culture, traditions, wars, heroism, traditional cuisine (cooking and recipes).

  • Discussion: Presentation of international parallels by the partners. An interesting parallel is that in Granada, prisoners go to schools and present their stories to 15-16-year-old children.

The elderly and storytelling

The elderly lose their short-term memory sooner, and recount memories from long-term memory. For example, when dr. Pelasgos’ rooster started crowing at a storytelling session, an old man started to tell stories.

Telling stories has a positive effect:

  • for their self-image (their knowledge is important)
  • their lives gain meaning
  • their activity increases (in our culture, talking does not seem like activity, but in other societies you are active even if you talk)

Memory is also a muscle that needs to be developed. We often use objects, as our memory is also linked to perception. Objects, when seen or held, are often able to activate and create stories.

  • Questions

Practical sessions with Stelios Pelasgos

Method:

  1. Processing of family photos – in 6 groups

Questions:

  • Why is our own photo important to us?
  • What mood does the picture express?
  • In which historical period was the picture taken?
  • What does the image say to the next generation?
  • The role of the family?

Exchanging family photos – between members of groups – telling stories about the photo to members of the group

Swap group members

Finally, everyone had to talk about a stranger’s photo to the members of their group

(family, the role of family relationships, safety, helping each other)

Discussion at the end: during the activity dr. Pelasgos let everyone do what they wanted freely and we got feedback and correction at the end of the workshop. He tried to reflect on how hard it is to ask the right questions to get a person’s full story. How most of us forgot to ask about the background of the story and ask for basic information and only concentrated on the story.

  1. One of the big problems of today is that people often live alone. The memories of the elderly should be used because they know how to live together. TRANSFER is important, experiences and stories must be passed on. The knowledge of the often uneducated elderly living in our place of residence must not be forgotten.
  • Questions and summary of the day
  • Visit to the Anafiotika quarter – Led by Stelios Pelasgos

Anafiotika’s approximately 60 residents and approximately 45 houses are the memory of the residents who moved here from the island of Anafi . It was built in the 19th century, and the workers from there helped build the new capital of independent Greece. On the rocky terrain below the northern slope of the Acropolis, the workers built houses that reminded them of their native islands.

  • Questions, discussion on the spot

8th of September 2021

The good practice of Friendship Clubs – the Friendship Club in Vilia

Departure in the morning by shared bus to Vilia

In learning about the good practice, we saw that the Greek municipalities, civil organizations, and the people living in Greece themselves realized that we are in the 24th hour to take the first steps to create “age-friendly” cities. Active Citizens Partnership works together with the Friendship Clubs of Athens and Northern Greece in Sapes (Thracia ) and Thives (Thebes).

About a fifth of the Greek population is over 65 years old, and in Athens, which has more than 3 million inhabitants, there are at least 600,000 people over 65 years old. Many of the young people leave the country and move to Germany, Franceetc.The Athenian municipality organized recreation centers for the elderly under the name Friendship Clubs. Clubs now also operate in rural towns. Clubs provide services for the elderly. These communities receive a series of ICT tools and services that can improve cognitive (thinking and intellectual abilities) impairments, the health and physical condition of the elderly, contributing to the prevention of dementia (mental decline).

Clubs are usually open 10 hours a day. They don’t just offer a place to meet and build relationships with people of a similar age, they have their own program, which includes creative activities, physical therapy, visits to cultural sites, artistic activities, excursions, tours. Club members decide what they want to do. They are also provided with medical assistance and a physiotherapist here. The clubs have a good relationship with the schools and kindergartens they visit. The purpose of the clubs is to familiarize the elderly with the problems of old age, to help them adapt to new living conditions and to live harmoniously with the young, as well as to provide a supportive environment, especially for those who have little financial means or their family members take care of them. Many times this is also a problem, because the wealthier circles do not want to visit these clubs. They help thousands of elderly people and offer the opportunity to spend their time creatively. Members are now mixed in terms of gender, but in the past, either men or women only met at the same time.

The clubs are maintained by the municipalities, but they also receive state contributions. They are helped by volunteers, and the proceeds are raised at charity events. Specialists from hospitals also visit them voluntarily.

Their goal is simple: active and healthy old age

The Friendship Club in Vilia

The city is located about 53 kilometers from Athens, its population is close to two thousand people, and at one time mainly shepherds lived here. The settlement has a rich history, of which the residents are still proud, and their stories are passed down from father to son, mainly about the Venetian pirate attack when the residents were kidnapped and taken to Sicily. The common memory created tales and songs that can only be heard in this village.

During the military dictatorship that lasted until 1974, only men were allowed to go to cafes, so women also needed a place where they could meet. This is why the club was created. Its director works as a teacher in the small town and is the municipal representative of the area consisting of 5 smaller villages. They have medical examinations every Wednesday and Friday, and music classes every Friday. They fast together before Easter, prepare pasta and bake together at home and in the club. They prepare for the holidays and make their clothes together. Religiosity is an important part of their lives, they clean the church together and decorate it with flowers.

The club was closed from March 2021 due to the pandemic, so the club’s managers and we managed to meet and talk only with one of its members on the spot. the club has about 60 members, mostly women, between the ages of 50 and 85.

Methods of learning and processing:

  • Involvement of external professionals: a supporting teacher, club leader
  • The club manager’s presentation about the creation and life of the club – Dimitra Consta
  • Round table discussion of the participants about what they heard, what similar institutions they have in their countryled by Athanasia Defingou
  • A conversation with a male club member
  • the local “House of Memory”, guided tour to theVília ethnographic museum
  • Talking about the Wall of Heroes – stories about community heroes passed down from generation to generation. ways of preserving memories (telling stories, publishing books, joint commemorations)
  • Preserving traditions through photos and objects
  • Visiting the old fortress in Eghostena – the story of people in the light of archaeological excavations
  • Questions and summary of the day

9th of September 2021

  • An elderly-friendly museum? – Visit to the Acropolis Museum

Methods:

Meeting at the entrance to discuss aspects of the museum visit

Interactive guided tour using a role-playing game

Discussion about the exhibition

– our common European treasure,

– aspects of museum gerontology in an exhibition

Analysis of the museum and the exhibition from the point of view of the age-friendly museum: accessibility, rest areas, guided tours especially for the elderly, employment of elderly tour guides, etc.

Filling out a questionnaire about the museum visit, the summary of the questionnaire can be found in the uploaded documents.

10th of September 2021

Due to the epidemic situation, the visit to the Friendship Club in Athens was canceled and instead:

  • Visit to Stavros Niarchos Foundation facility, which is the most modern cultural and leisure center in Athens, and its building is completely environmentally friendly. This is a serious opportunity for all age groups, but especially for the elderly. You can use many services, cultural and sports opportunities here, and join all programs completely free of charge. They can dance, play music, do yoga, kayak, etc. A library, opera and theater performances await those interested.

The philosophy of the place is lifelong learning. The elderly can also learn: they can get to know architecture, various fields of science, and develop their digital competence.

11th of September 2021

  • Evaluation of the LTT as the first professional meeting

Method: round table discussion

The epidemic situation caused by COVID 19 made the meetings of the participants difficult due to the high number of participants. After a shorter summary in a public park with all the participant, 20 participants stayed behind, there was only enough space forthe project managers of the partners to visit the ACP central office safely, where we analyzed and evaluated the LTT in a round table discussion:

  • Despite the restrictions, we managed to achieve our goal and get to know the two Active Citizens Partnership good practices.
  • The 29 participants got to know each other in person and bonded over the joint work and evening programs, developing mutual respect and sympathy.
  • An active dialogue developed in the group, during which we not only got to know each other’s activities related to the elderly, but also gained knowledge and experience in many other areas (e.g. the Portuguese told the Hungarian participants who work as historians about their life experiences in the former Portuguese colonies).
  • However, the involvement of the elderly in the LTT could only be achieved to a minimal extent.
  • With all participants: discussion of the next LTT in Granada
  • Completing a satisfaction survey

Granada LTT

14th to 18th of October 2021

Organizer: AIFED ( Associacion de InnovacionFormacion y Empleo para el Desarrollo Dostenible )

 

The task given to the participants before the LTT:

Visiting one of the our local parks. Photographing 6 characteristic types of plants, then identifying the Latin and national name of the plant in the photo. Sending the images and captions to the partner in Granada.

14th of October

Location: Hotel Sabica conference room

 

  • Greeting
  • Treasures of Granada – Lecture on the city’s sights and cultural values (María José Martínez)
  • Presentation of the organization – AIFED activities

President of AIFED’s director José Luis Dessy – discussion

 

AIFED is a regional organization working in the fields of education, culture, inclusion and employment in Granada, Spain, but their experience extends to the entire Andalusian region.

 

They primarily deal with the promotion and management of training, innovation and employment in the various fields of education, culture and active ageing. The members of the organization are expert teachers who put together learning programs for other teachers, other professionals or people in general. They cooperate with the public administration and private institutions to help the work of teachers dealing with the disadvantaged and those living in difficult circumstances. European and national projects, cultural activities and employment-related programs are developed.

 

In the framework of several projects in the field of new technologies and ICT, interactive web platforms were developed in order to develop the key competencies of young people in non-formal education, and videos and teaching materials were produced. Their target groups and topics are Teachers/staff, managers and management (schools, higher vocational training, universities, institutions, other), juvenile delinquency, people with physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities and mental illnesses, immigrants, adults, seniors who need to develop key competencies.

 

  • Questions and summary of the day

_______________________________

 

15th of October

 

Location: Parque de las Cienciasand BIODOMO

 

Description of the task:

  • How does the exhibition use the objects and tools to teach and entertain the elderly?
  • Are the interactive elements also suitable for the elderly?
  • Visitors in wheelchairs?

 

Issuing a questionnaire – then filling it in and discussing it after the museum visit

 

BIODOMO:

Wildlife within easy reach – Gaining knowledge during a session (bird show), audio guide , walk among plants and animals

  • Getting to know Granada’s past – evening sightseeing ( Albaícin , Chatedral , City center)

 

________________________________

 

16th of October

Location: Hotel Sabica conference room

 

  • Treasures that the famous people of Granada left to their city – presentation

 

  • Playing with memory – Identifying the origin of typical Spanish dishes

Multiple choice questions – Spanish cuisine as an excellent example of the mixing of cultural traditions (Roman, French, Arabic, Catalan influence, as it has been occupied by many throughout history)

 

Presentation of good practices:

Seniors and Volunteering

This topic involved 3 good practices. The main focus was on the Elblag project, but we were also introduced to OFECUM and SECOT.

 

Calling on the elderly in the Elblag project

Method: Presentation of good practice, discussion

 

            The Elblag senior educators project was aimed at both the elderly and the educators, as the cultural and educational offer was expanded for the elderly.
Primarily, the programs for the elderly were increased with activities within the senior club. they started the development of an elderly volunteer network in Elbląg , which they wanted to gradually expand to the entire region. In the exchange of good practices, they cooperated with the institutions of three partner countries – Spain, Italy and Germany. The goal of “Elblag senior educators” is to involve seniors in activities for the benefit of the local community. They feel that retired people often feel a lack on usefulness and that is a very bad mindset. They can share their knowledge and skills, and resources such as time with others. The senior volunteer network aspect is quite developed in Western European countries, and this is what the Polish partners wanted to see and learn about. “The result of the project activities was to encourage older people to participate inactivities offered by local institutions, and to engage them to the maximum inactivities for their own community, with the use of possessed knowledge and skills.By reaching especially people who have not used outdoor forms of spending timebefore, we wanted to motivate seniors to act, and thus prevent theirdisadvantage, marginalization and exclusion.”[1]

In the framework of the project and in the workshops the participants learned about how to create programs for seniors and what are their needs.

Some of the main experiences and lessons learned from the educator workshops which were communicated to the “Your Treasure – Our Treasure” team during the project presentation:

  • You must have decent, good conditions adapted to senior volunteers and taking in account their age, but you should not look at them as someone who needs to be protected, rather someone who should be admired for their expertise and experience.
  • When developing programs, it helps if you have groups organized by experience, knowledge, and hobbies. Try to detect the most motivated among them, who could be natural leaders and motivate the others too. And one of the most important lessons is to be realistic of what they could achieve. Don’t set unattainable goals.
  • For seniors it is also important to have a clear schedule and a clear method of communication when organizing programs.
  • Addressing needs: They have to be the main characters, the protagonists – not just a helper but someone who’s experience, and work is valuable for the community. It is also important to have audience and recognition (media, awards, activities). This can also help to increase self-esteem.
  • Treat the senior volunteers as professionals and let them know that the program they are involved in is a priority to your organization.
  • The importance of marketing – sell the opportunity to volunteer as a product.
  • The important strategies of keeping volunteers: recognition, building a community, sharing their stories, increased responsibilities if there is a need for it, have your volunteers recruit others (word of mouth).

We also heard about the workshopthey developed for the seniors:

Photography program: in their experience it is one of the best ways for older people to spend their time. Going around and photographing things is good physical activity, doing it as a group gives you contact with other people and the need to solve both technical and aesthetic problems are ways to keep their body and mind in good shape.

https://www.aifed.es/en/proyectos/elbalg-senior-educators/https://www.aifed.es/en/proyectos/elbalg-senior-educators/

 

Gardening in Europe – Presentation of good practice, presentation, discussion

 

The project was implemented by Granada and Kavala , Greece .

The main goal was to teach the elderly about gardening and gardening techniques. Traditional and modern gardening skills were taught, and the focus was on flowers, vegetables, herbs, etc. The participants in the practice were trained in such a way that they could later pass on their knowledge to new interested parties and function as instructors. Target group: mainly seniors over 50, socially excluded and/or residents of other socially disadvantaged areas, unemployed, disabled, elderly.

The participants worked in both cities for 23 days each. those traveling abroad were joined by 15 local volunteers. In this way, 35-40 people worked at both locations. Due to the large number of staff, they worked extremely hard on the preparation of the training (accommodation, food, transport, etc.). The Greek partner deals with people with disabilities, so this also made planning and organization difficult.

The concrete activities of the project included gardening: planting flowers, buying and planting seeds, planting seeds brought from home. They helped the agricultural workers, packed fruit, and learned to grow tobacco. They created a photo gallery of the plants that can be found in both places (Granada, Kavala). They compiled a dictionary of the cultivation methods found in Granada, Kavala and throughout Europe. The digital materials were also made by the participants, as to develop their digital skills also. There are many similarities between the two settlements, as the most important cultivated plant in both places was tobacco.

The biggest result of the project was the establishment of relationships. Several of the volunteers are still working with the organization, so the activation of the elderly volunteers was also very successful. And it was of great importance to the participants that they were able to travel so far and complete tasks,

 

  • Game – Flora of Europe

Plant recognition game using our own phone using the photos requested in the Spanish homework

 

  • Questions and summary of the day

 

  • Visit to Federico García Lorca’s Park

Guided visit tothe small museum inside the park dedicated to the poet Federico García Lorca

 

Activity about parks and gardening – google form

The task for all participants: We had to photograph all the plants that cannot be found in our own country.

 

_________________________________

 

17th of October 2021

Location: Hotel Sabica conference room

 

Presentation of good practices

  • SECOT – Seniors Españoles para la CooperacionTecnica (Spanish Seniors for Technical Cooperation) – presentation of a voluntary organization ( María José Martínez)

 

SECOT is a national organization whose Granada unit was headed by María José Martínez until 2020. Its volunteers are senior professionals, managers and business people who offer their experience and knowledge to those who need it. The organization holds training sessions for its volunteers, and they teach entrepreneurship courses. Their goal is to retain and create jobs through business consulting and the promotion of entrepreneurship. On the other hand, it provides its elderly teachers with activity and the opportunity to pass on their knowledge. They search for retirees from databases and persuade them to teach at SECOT.

They mainly teach underprivileged young people. In addition to their entrepreneurship school, they consider it important to provide young people with advice so that they can start viable businesses. Their Explorer Program ensures that talented, innovative young people who want to start a business are sent to Silicon Valley (USA) as an intern for a year.

During the epidemic, the global SECOT was created, and they reach the whole world on the Internet, and they can provide advice and teaching from anywhere. They are currentlyworking on recruiting female members, as they prefer to spend their free time with family and grandchildren.

 

  • OFECUM – Offer Cultural de UniversitariosMayores

Involvement of external experts: Dori Hernandez (area of volunteering), Mari Cruz (Vice President)

About 20% of the elderly in Granada live alone. That is why the OFECUM association was founded with approx. 300 members today. In the beginning, their mission was active aging. Nowadays, intergenerational programs are mostly organized, as it is better for the elderly to work with and be with young people. The organization is supported by membership fees, donations and newspaper subscriptions. Two permanent employees and around 200 volunteers carry out the work. They also received recognition from the regional government for their work.

 

Members are provided with a variety of activities and training opportunities. They can dance, learn languages, creative writing, computer technology, excursions, cultural trips and guided walks are organized for them. Storytelling sessions are also held. Their free social programs often take place in the open space while talking. They can go to performances, competitions, and write in their own newspaper. The volunteers approx. spend one and a half hours a week with the elderly, play board games, take them out for coffee. They talk to them on the phone during the COVID epidemic. They have their own troupe, in which the elderly perform plays and perform them in theaters. Others have guided tours for children in the palaces. Immigrants are taught Spanish.

 

The majority of the association’s members are elderly, but some of them also volunteer at OFECUM. Volunteers do not need to be recruited, they come on their own. They also receive training for various tasks, e.g. to help the elderly with special needs. The membership fee is 10 euros per month.

 

OFECUM is the most important cultural organization that organizes cultural programs. It is extremely popular because it offers many programs. When e.g. a museum tour is organized, the 50 places are filled immediately. OFECUM provides help, support and shelter to many elderly people in Granada

 

  • Discussion on elderly volunteering, presentation of international parallels by the partners

 

________________________________

 

October 18

  • Museums of the Alhambra – Common memory of Moorish and Spanish culture

It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Discussion on the role of monuments in the development of local identity

 

  • Evaluation of the results of the LTT, discussion of the next LTT in Oeiras
  • Completing a satisfaction questionnaire

 

[1]file:///D:/Erasmus%20+/2022/Reports/Gabi%20besz%C3%A1mol%C3%B3i/Angol%20ford%C3%ADt%C3%A1s/Granada/CVgHxA9aaxuYeW3AOebW5hNXRk144SPMlycFJ1Qu.pdf

Oeiras LTT

21st to 25th of February 2022

Organizer: USO ( Universidade Sénior de Oeiras )

 

The task given to the participants before the LTT:

  • Each participant had to take and send photos of a toy that was important to them. If possible, we had to bring the game with us. We had to prepare to be able to talk about the significance of this game at LTT.
  • Selection of gastronomic curiosities typical of our country and taking them to Oeiras

21st of February

Location: Verney Gallery

  • Musical performance – The senior university ensemble – traditional Portuguese music
  • Playing with memory – The competition of the partner teams. The game processed the events of the previous meetings with the help of photographs and multiple-choice questions. During the excitingactivity we could feel that the participants – despite the large number – managed to form a community.
  • Tasting of food and drinks from the five participating countries

 

_________________________________

 

22nd of February

Location: USO building

 

  • Greetings – Cristina Mourão
  • Greetings, Manuela Penteado , president of the USO
  • Update on the project – Gabriella Pusztai, Csilla Czakó-Habi

 

  • Presentation of good practice – Activities of USO, Oeiras Senior University – Cristina Mourão

Before the COVID 19 epidemic, the senior university in Oeiras, the largest of the 5 in the area, had 600 students and 150 teachers . Their number halved during the epidemic. The university was founded 24 years ago. They received their building free of charge from the municipality, and it also pays for utility costs. They receive support from the municipality if they have many members, but it also depends on the person of the director, what they can achieve in the negotiations. They are not currently receiving financial assistance. The annual membership fee for members is 150 EUR, this is for the academic year, from September to June. There are no official exams at the end of the school year. The university is mainly visited by women.

The teachers are volunteers, only sports and dance instructors are paid. Members engage in many different activities. They dance, paint, learn English, sing in a choir, play sports. They regularly travel and go on excursions. They are constantly fighting to strengthen intergenerational ties, but young people are not as receptive in these endeavors. They have many joint projects with the local government. they also undertake voluntary tasks, e.g. they go to prison to tell stories to the inmates.

  • Questions

 

  • Games as tools of memory – led by Dias da Costa, one of the university’s teachers.

The participants of the training were active part of the presentation of the popular activity:

 

Dias da Costa’s lecture on the relationship between objects and memory. Without objects, there are no memories. If there are no memories, no past, then there is no future. If the process of recalling memories is damaged, it is difficult for a person to imagine their future.

 

After the lecture:

The participants talked individually about the toys they had brought with them, which helped to revive their childhood and youth memories. And we got to know each other and each other’s homeland better.

 

  • Presentation by the university choir – traditional Portuguese songs
  • Visiting the university – discussion about the senior universities, presentation of international parallels by the partners

 

  • Preparation for the next day’s museum visit
  • Cinema and philosophy – Presentation by Isabel Soares

We can learn important life lessons from movies

  • Film screening: Stories and secrets –About the life and work of Paula Rego. Her art was the main focus in the Des(re)build good practice. The good practice’s participants had time to prepare about the life and art of Paula Rego, so to understand the good practice better it was important for us to understand the artist behind the Casa das Historia Paula Rego.

The movie gave an in-dept view about the life and work of Paula Rego.

  • Questions and summary of the day
  • Getting to know the city:
  • grape, wine, olive oil production in Oeiras
  • Marquess Pombal Palace – The role of one of the most famous statesmen in the history of Portugal

_______________________________

 

23rd of February

Location: Cascais, Casa das Histórias Paula Rego

 

  • Getting to know the museum and the exhibition
  • Viewing an exhibition with a guided tour – Paula’s pictures always tell stories, this museum is a house of stories
  • Practical tasks: making a portrait (painting into the picture how we feel about someone, how we think about them), making a scratched picture on a plastic sheet

 

  • ” Des (re) build ” good practice at the Paula Rego Museum

Ars poetica of the institution: The museum is a place of dialogue, and it must be in constant contact with its audience. The museum must be ethical, it must help the lives of others, and it is important that it is a valuable place for all of us .

The projecttook place during 2018-19, from autumn to spring, and was led by museum employee Diana Silva. They could apply for it at the university, and since the school year was long, by the end there were 8 people left in the group. The program is still carried out today if there is interest.

The project was developed by José Freitas Campos, who wrote his thesis on the relationship between the museum and the elderly. He believed that most visitors could not understand the museum, so they should be given the tools to understand and possibly make them regular visitors.

The project methodology consists of three parts:

  • Discover the exhibited works of art. Since the pandemic, they have been helping this process with a lot of online content
  • Workshop, where visitors analyze the artefacts with a creative perspective
  • The members of the group made their own exhibition guide, with which the exhibition could be viewed and guided
  • The members of the group created a new approach with their own perspective reflected in it. They became mediators between the museum and the visitors because they understood art. A measurable result is that the participants brought their friends and family members.

 

  • Continuation of the presentation of the senior university
  • Portuguese poetry session presented onthe training participants – involving a teacher of the senior universtiy

Location: Parque dos Poetas

 

Getting to know the park and the greatest Portuguese poets. Reading of a poem in Portuguese at the statue of the poets (we received all the poems in Portuguese and English) – Questions, discussion about the poets

  • The flora and fauna of the park is presented in our group – the involvement of specialists, two biologists

 

  • Questions and summary of the day

___________________________

 

24th of February 2022

Location: Sao Fort Julião da Barra

 

  • Visiting the fort with the help of a guide – Issue of a task beforehand, which must be completed during the visit. – The activity was led byConceição Lopes on behalf of the Portuguese partner

 

Photos had to be taken both outside and inside the fortress, and then each group must choose two of them, which they felt represented the fortress most. The photos had to be named. At the end of the visit, each group had to explain the title of the photo.

 

  • The meaning and history of AZULEJO tiles

 

Location: Museu Nacional de Etnologia, Lisbon

 

  • Museum visit with a guided tour

 

Description of the task: How does the exhibition use the objects and tools to teach and entertain the elderly? Are the interactive elements also suitable for the elderly? Visitors in wheelchairs?

 

Issuing a questionnaire – then filling it in and discussing it after the museum visit

 

_________________________________

 

25th of February

Location: Belém

  • Visiting the pantheon of Portuguese national memory, the monastery, church and museum of Saint Jerome (Portuguese explorers exhibition, tomb of Vasco da Gama)

 

  • Round table discussion about what was learned at the LTT, preparation for the Maltese LTT
  • Completing a satisfaction questionnaire

 

________________________________

 

February 26. TPM

Location: Verney Gallery

 

  • Summary of project events so far – ppt . projection
  • Summary of what they have learned so far, which good practices they plan to use in their own activities – verbal summary per partner
  • Despite the difficulties, we have been able to implement all planned activities so far
  • The partners all rated the online professional days and the training courses as successful
  • All partners found several of the good practices useful in whole or in part
  • Difficulties experienced during the project, difficulties caused by the COVID epidemic
  • Due to the difficult financial situation caused by the epidemic, our Italian partner EURIDEA left the project
  • The team members of the Hungarian partner in Martfű have been replaced almost entirely due to family and epidemiological problems
  • The originally set goals of the project are very difficult to achieve due to the delay in the implementation period
  • Travel to LTTs is often only possible for participants if they have received the appropriate vaccinations. Because of this, the participants change more often than we originally planned
  • Problems related to the implementation of the Maltese LTT: In the case of the Hungarian partner, the Maltese entry restrictions are a problem.

Malta LTT

2nd to 6th of May 2022

Organizer: Future Focus Ltd.

(Address: 8,,Triq L-Imhazen, Il-Furjana, Floriana FRN 1119, Malta)

 

 

The task given to the participants before the LTT:

  • All participants had to take and send photos of a traditional costume that is typical of the region where we live or other regions of the country.
  • Photos of traditional dishes characteristic of our country had to be taken and sent.

13th of May – evening

Location: Saint Julian’s

 

  • Walking, getting to know the city and the members of the host organization
  • Discussion about the history of Malta, the current situation of society, the role of the state in elderly care.

Religion plays an extremely important role in the life of the country to this day. Today, 98% of the population is Roman Catholic and most of them practice their religion. It follows from this that helping the needy, the downtrodden, and the elderly is extremely important for the Maltese state and its residents. There are no beggars, no homeless people, no elderly people on the street, people without income are helped to get back on their feet.

 

_________________________________

 

14th of May

Location: Hotel Argento, conference room, Saint Julian’s

 

  • Greetings – Rosanne Galea, Managing Director Future Focus Ltd.
  • Presentation of the organization Future Focus

Future Focus is a training center in Malta that tries to provide an opportunity so that learning is fun, students gain experiences in addition to knowledge. Their lecturers are not only strong in theoretical education, but also have practical experience in the field in which the training takes place.

In addition to providing excellent instructors, the locations of the trainings are also special: the locations are either recalling the history of the island or natural environment’s beauty and values impress the participants in the trainings.

Future Focus places great emphasis on providing opportunities for lifelong learning, including adult education.

They are also active in the field of elderly care, their goal is to provide elderly caregivers with the opportunity to learn about good practices.

 

  • Our common cultural heritage is clothing and gastronomy – Competition about our cultural traditions

Summary of the task issued before the LTT

 

  • Presentation of good practice – Storytelling for Cultural and Language purposes–Diana Busuttil project manager

The coordinator of the project was Malta, 5 countries participated in it

  • Power point presentation: photographs and practical examples.

Malta is small, but due to the island’s geographical location and strategic role, its history is extremely rich. The not too distant past, e.g. the Second World War also includes many, many events that are completed by the personal stories of the people who live here. The aim of Future Focus was to try to activate Maltese elderly people by telling their memories. Credibility is also important to them, as the Maltese state even makes sure that only professional guides are allowed to tour the island with visitors, so as not to give false information to guests.

Children from 46 different nations study in their school, and the stories collected and written in the storytelling project are used in English education. For this reason, they also won a prize in a competition in Helsinki.

           

The good practice:

 

The main result of the project was the creation of a collection, a book, where the stories were told by pensioners living in homes who could not take care of themselves. The elderly were very enthusiastic about the book, and they were extremely proud of it and felt its importance. To this day, this book is used in schools for language learning in all the countries participating in the project. But it is also suitable for the participating countries to get to know each other’s history better. The elderly were connected to well-known historical events, but they told them filtered through their own feelings and point of view.

The stories recorded during the collections are still used today in a variety of ways. It is shared by acquaintances, the people who live here, as a reading book by schools, but it is used as a source by scientific researchers and by foreigners who come here to get to know the island.

On the project’s website, they have also developed activities that can be done with elderly people. The stories are accompanied by questions, which help to process the topic after reading. Elderly storytellers from different countries can read and compare each other’s stories.

The two-year project is alive and functioning better now a year after its completion than during its implementation.

            Implementation:

The project brought together three generations: the elderly, the teachers and the children. With the help of the teachers, the children went to collect stories from the elders, who mostly told stories about their childhood. Later, the children themselves translated what they heard into English. The most inspiring stories were selected and included in the volume. The children also learned about stories collected in other countries.

In Romania, when the children read the collected stories to the elders, they drew what they heard. In Malta, the elderly were invited to a reading where the children were the speakers. The children also asked questions to check if the elders were paying attention when they read other people’s stories.

Maltese stories e.g. The Bombing of the Theatre, The Queen’s Visit, The Famine, etc.

 

  • Questions, discussion about the implementation possibilities of the storytelling project
  • The history of Strait Street – Valletta’s iconic street – presentation on the history of Malta, Strait Street as a keeper of the capital’s memories

 

  • Getting to know the city:
  • Walking and guided tour of Strait Street
  • Getting to know the capital’s most important monuments
  • Arabic, Italian, English, etc. impact and the development of national identity and common national consciousness. The process of becoming Maltese

 

  • Questions and summary of the day

__________________________

 

15th of May

Location: National Archives, Rabat 

  • Guided visit to the archives – The repository of Maltese written memories
  • Viewing the archival exhibition- Excellent model project in international collaboration, with the cooperation of, among others, the National Archives of Hungary and the National Archives of Malta

The aim of the European Digital Treasures project, launched in 2018, is to present European archival materials as widely as possible, mostly based on digital content. As the most important step in this, the project’s international consortium created several exhibitions. From this, we saw The Making of Europe – History, Memory and the Thousand-Year Myth of Europeanness in the Maltese archives.

  • Viewing the medieval pharmacy exhibition with a guided tour
  • Viewing the archive (restorer workshop, warehouses, reading room). Preservation of data, Use of the archive

 

  • Evaluation of the archival exhibition sample project during discussion
  • The archive as a negative example of accessibility – discussion

 

Location: Mdina

 

  • Getting to know the former capital with the help of a tour guide

How the centuries-old presence of the Johannite (later Maltese) order in the island nation strengthens national identity

 

  • Questions and summary of the day

___________________________

 

16th of May

Location: Bugibba, db San Antonio Hotel conference room

 

Ø  Fitness for the elderly – Presentation of exercise – Joe Camilleri, Spa & Fitness Club Manager, General Secretary: Malta Exercise Health & Fitness Association and his two training partners

Ø  Joe Camilleri has been on the field for 25 years, working as a fitness trainer. In the latter period, he specialized in the elderly, and primarily in problems related to the joints.

·         Theoretical education

Elderly people often fall during their movements, and these cause the most problems. During the fall, muscles and bones can be damaged, and because of this, the elderly cannot live a full life. This process cannot be avoided, but it is possible to extend time when the problems start.

To improve the physical condition of the elderly, it is not necessary to go to the gym, it is enough to do simple activities like dancing. Dancing is the best form of exercise because it is also fun. Dancing does not make them stronger, but it improves their sense of balance and keeps them mobile.

      In addition to dance, other forms of exercise and gymnastics are also needed. To be successful, we need to explain what these exercises are for.

      There is a need for so-called supportive exercises that we can help the elderly with.

·         Practical training

involving the training partner, explaining the activity and the gymnastics exercises during the presentation of the partner

We received a 12-page senior fitness illustrated guide for the exercises, which can also help us later in our work.

·         Practical training

during which the coaches not only taught us the gymnastics exercises intended for the elderly, but also taught us the role of a helper.

 

  • Future Focus and Elderly Care – Presentation by Katya Galea

 

Future Focus continuously organizes training for elderly caregivers. On the one hand, they come to the training from nursing homes, but they also train home-based elderly care workers. They also deal with the situation and needs of the elderly who require special care. Educational video films are also prepared for the caregivers because this helps them learn and COVID also makes online learning necessary. The teaching materials are also uploaded to the internet.

With the help of the educational videos, a digital knowledge base was created. Such films can be found in this knowledge base, such as how to deal with people in wheelchairs, what needs to pay attention to when working with them.

_________________________________

 

17th of May

Location: Saint Julian’s garden area near the Allegro Hotel

 

  • Round table discussion about what was learned at the LTT, preparation for the LTT in Martfű
  • Issuance of a satisfaction questionnaire
  • Problems related to the implementation of the LTT in Martfű: In the case of the Greek partner, securing LTT participants is a problem, since not all oftheir colleagues received vaccinations during the COVID epidemic.

Martfű LTT

13th to 17th of June 2022

Organizer:Martfű Civic Center and Library, Kunszentmárton Local History Museum, Mezőtúr Túri Pottery Museum

(Address: Martfű, Mártírok útja 1., 5435; Kunszentmárton, Kerületiház u. 8.; Bajcsy Zsilinszky utca 41., 5400)

 

 The task given to the participants before the LTT:

  • Each participant had to collect the important memories that defined their life, and to give a short explanation and story. It had to be sent digitally to Martfű, and the participants had to bring the objects with them to the LTT if they were able to. We organized our joint exhibition on Martfű from the collected memories.

13th of May evening

Location: Szolnok

 

  • Walking, getting to know the city and the members of the host organization
  • Discussion about the history of Szolnok while visiting the DamjanichJános Museum. Cultural programs in Szolnok as part of the Tiszavirág festival.

_________________________________

 

14th of May

Location: MartfűCity Cultural Center and Library, conference room

 

  • Greetings – Director Gabriella SzékácsnéTálas
  • Presentation of the institution

The institution with the title of Qualified Public Cultural Institution is a cultural center, library and museum – taking advantage of its excellent location in the city and the good features of its building, as well as the knowledge of its specialists in a wide variety of cultural professions – meets the cultural needs of the settlement.

More than thirty art groups, clubs and civic communities operate within its walls, modern and folk dance, ceramics club, drawing studio, choir, folk song club, lifestyle and health care NGOs, reading, puzzle solving and children’s book clubs, etc. The exhibition hall and gallery of the building regularly provide space for the presentation of the works of amateur and professional fine and industrial artists. The professionals of the institution take a significant part in the organization of theater performances, entertainment programs and the organization of city events and holidays.

The institution offers countless opportunities for leisure activities and events for the elderly. Not only the embroidery and folk songs, etc. helps with its activities, but the target group of many of their programs is a wide range of the elderly.

 

  • Getting to know the city of Martfű – presentation – Zita Eiler

Martfű is located in the southern tip of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County, on the left bank of the Tisza. Martfű became an independent settlement from Tiszaföldvár in 1950, and on the 20th of August in 1970 it was declared a large village. The settlement received city status on the 1st of March in 1989, and it still plays an important role in the manufacturing industry of Jász – Nagykun -Szolnok County.

 

The city government places emphasis on meeting the needs of the elderly. The most important investment of the year in Martfű was the development of basic social services. Part of the investment project was that all corners of the building of the institution providing day care for the elderly were renovated.

 

  • the Martfű Local and Industrial History Collection
  1. Creating the exhibition – building an exhibition with the help of the elderly – presentation by Zita Eiler

The history of the shoe factory is the collective memory of the local people, especially the elderly, which was supplemented by the collection of contemporary documents. This is how the permanent exhibition in Martfű was created . The creation and strengthening of the huge factory in the small settlement brought about the strengthening and prosperity of the city.

The elderly, former creators, builders, workers, and managers of the factory were involved in the creation of the exhibition using different methods. They conducted historical interviews and organized the collection of objects and documents. The history of the settlement and the factory is completed by personal memories and individual destinies. The directors continuously tested the ready-made exhibition with the elderly, as the exhibition passes on their memories to the next generations.

The stories recorded during the collections are still used today in a variety of ways. It is shared by acquaintances, the people who live here, school classes regularly visit here and learn about the things that can be seen and read here, but it is used as a source by scientific researchers and strangers who come here to get to know the city.

 

  1. Viewing the exhibition

Presentation of the exhibition – Zita Eiler

 

  1. Questions:a conversation about the possibilities of implementing historical exhibitions with the involvement of the elderly

 

  • During the coffee break, there is a tasting of traditional Hungarian and regional dishes
  • Shoe design – a creative task and competition for the participants

 

  • Good and bad examples of exhibition arrangements – lecture ( ppt ) Zita Eiler

basics of exhibition organization,where we learned how to organize or not organize an exhibition with the help of photo material.

 

  • Questions

 

  • Organizing an exhibition

At the beginning of the project, in January 2020, the task for all participants was to recall and collect memories that are important to our own lives. Our final exhibition is made of these memories, both digitally and in reality.

            The arrangement took place in partner teams and was a great challenge for all of us. Everyone built their exhibition around a concept, e.g. the Kunszentmárton team worked on certain periods and important events of life in chronological order (birth, childhood, wedding, starting a family, etc.). the Greek team also made the installation and the drapery part of the story, and also displayed their nationality.

            It was a cathartic experience for us, as the lives of all of us were built from a few photos, documents, objects, and our memories so far. The exhibition developed our skills, such as self-knowledge, and prompted us to do activities such as thinking about important moments in our past, evaluating and reevaluating the things that happened to us. It gave the opportunity to get to know each other better and deeper within the team and for all project participants. With the genre of the exhibition, the Hungarian museologists of the project wanted to teach the other participants that with the exhibitions we are not only passing on the knowledge of the elderly to the community and the public, but also the extra that comes from the feelings, moods and individuality of their memories handed down to us.

            The exhibitions were presented one by one by the teams, then evaluated and awarded by a jury.

The planning, arrangement and presentation of the exhibitions became our common memory. It was a spectacular presentation and summary of what was learned about memories and memory during the project. In addition to the methods learned so far, this demonstrated how the museum and exhibitions collect, preserve and present the chapters of human memory that are important to us.

 

  • Playfully about environmental protection
  • Getting to know the flora of the region
  • Poisonous plants
  • An interactive outdoor game about the unity and fragility of nature

__________________________

 

15th of May

Location: Túri Pottery Museum, Mezőtúr 

  • Greetings – Director Zsolt Pusztai
  • Getting to know the museum with a guided tour

In addition to collection work, organizing exhibitions and publishing, the museum organizes a number of programs, some of which are related to Mezőtúr pottery. It deals with local history, visual arts, etc., organizes museum pedagogy sessions, educational lecture series, fairs, participates in the cultural events and life of the city, district and region.

Today, the museum is one of the most important living and developing centers of Mezőtúr’s cultural life. Its yard is the location of summer festivals. Its buildings are public spaces and scientific research sites, visited not only by locals but also by many tourists and professionals interested in industrial history and ceramic culture.

 

  • Presentation of the museum’s good practices – The family tree research circle – presentation by Zsolt Pusztai
  • Questions – discussion
  • Folk pottery – Hungarian folk culture is our common treasure
  • Traditional craft presentation – disc-making, the birth of ceramics
  • Trying the pottery wheel, working with clay
  • Physical exercise – participation in a traditional folk game, breaking pots
  • Preparation of traditional Hungarian food goulash soup, tasting
  • Viewing a ceramic exhibition in the City Gallery, concert ( Vivace Choir)

 

Location: Gingerbread house, Martfű

 

  • Meeting and discussion with elderly members and women of the embroidery circle
  • Furniture painting, gingerbread making
  • Questions and summary of the day
  • Traditional dance performance with live folk music

___________________________

 

16th of May

Location: Museum of Local History, Kunszentmárton

 

Ø  Mayor’s greeting – Attila Wenner – Várkonyi

 

Ø  Evaluation of the project – Why is theYour Treasure – Our treasure project important to us- Gabriella Pusztai

Because we want to do more for the elderly

Because we learn a lot from each other

We know and learn good practices:

•      Storytelling – Athen

•      Friendship clubs – Vilia

•      Gardening in Europe – Granada

•      Elderly volunteering – Granada

•      Old University – Oeiras

•      Des (re) build – Oeiras

•      Storytelling for culture and language – M alta

•      Fitness for the elderly – Malta

exchange experiences and methodologies :

·         Complex cultural professional methodology – Martfű

·         Family Tree Research Circle – Mezőtúr

·         Museum work, exhibition organization involving the elderly – Kunszentmárton

We learn about old people and from old people

We learned about the cohesive power of the common past and common memories

We experienced what an elderly-friendly museum is like

– Acropolis Museum,

– Science Park Museum,

– Ethnographic National Museum

We have seen that historic buildings and museums are not always completely barrier-free

– Local History Museum, Kunszentmárton

– Túri Pottery Museum, Mezőtúr

– Cultural Center and Library, Martfű

                        In Malta, we got to know the National Archives

We got to know each other’s cultural treasures – architecture, fine arts, literature, history, several areas of cultural heritage, natural values

We learned completely new things

                        – to travel by plane or cruise ship

                        – study in adult education

We learned to keep LTT during a COVID epidemic

We got to know each other and made friends

 

Ø  Comments, questions

 

  • Helper, visitor, volunteer? Elderly in the museum – Presentation of museum work with the elderly – presentation by Csilla Czakó-Habi

Passing on traditions, teaching

Intergenerational programs

Joint production of publications

Organization of exhibitions

Joint work with civil organizations

Museum collections

Helping events

  • Questions, conversation
  • We learned in Malta – Presentation of a documentary film made in Malta with the participants

 

Ø  Our treasure – A team game about what we learned in the project and what was seen in the museum buildings

Measuring what has been learned so far

 

Ø  Getting to know the natural values along the Körös river –canoeing on the river

 

Ø  Getting to know the city in a horse-drawn carriage

 

Ø  Meeting with the Women’sClub

·         discussion

·         baking traditional pastries from our region

 

Ø  Closing dinner, learning traditional dance

_________________________________

 

17th of May

Location: Szolnok

 

  • Final TPM discussion, Zoom meeting preparation
  • Issuance of a satisfaction questionnaire
  • Farewell