Partner organisations
Aims
Main activities
Launch of the training manual
The role of BCC in carrying out the project
Outcomes
European dimension, European values

Partner organisations participated in the project:

- ContinYou (UK)
- European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research (Austria)
- Shannon Curriculum Development Centre (Ireland)
- Budapesti Mûvelõdési Központ (Hungary)
Upon the invitation of the English co-ordinator Age Concern Birmingham joined the project team as an associated partner.

Aims of the project:

In the renewal application we aimed  
- to design a five day training programme for professionals and volunteers working with older learners
- to publish and disseminate widely a training manual based on the training programme
- to try out some elements of the training programme involving the target group (professionals and volunteers working with older learners)
- to apply under Grundtvig 3 to put on a transnational training programme based on the result of this project

Main activities during the project:

Edition of the training manual:
- Members of the international team have been dealing with the target group for several years. They have participated as trainers in several courses and have professional experiences in this field.
- An older learner (Harold Jones), who was invited by the English partner, also participated in the edition and contributed significantly to the success of our work. He as an outsider but also as a member of our target group helped to revise the activities.
Main activities of the training programme:

Ice-breakers
Activities designed to help people settle in and get to know each other, and to give them the chance to get used to group work. Participants will feel relaxed, will have started to get to know each other and the trainers, and will be aware of the content and style of the course.

Understanding learning, individual learning plans
Participants will find out about their own learning style, will understand that everyone learns in different ways and will know why it is important to use a variety of teaching methods.

Barriers
Participants will be aware of the range of barriers – physical, psychological or cultural – that might deter older people from taking up learning opportunities.  

Participants’ own experiences
Participants will learn from each other. They will have the chance to make a presentation to the rest of the group.

Background research
They will understand the importance of needs analysis and will learn a variety of techniques.

Teaching methods
Participants will become familiar with interactive and inclusive teaching methods  

Skills for trainers and the external environment
Participants will identify the interpersonal skills needed for this kind of work with older people, and will have the chance to practise using these.

An inclusive learning environment
Participants will understand the importance of managing the learning environment and learn how this can be achieved.  

Planning your own work
Participants will plan what to do back at their own place of work, and will give a presentation about their plans to other group members.

Evaluation
Participants will consider how and when to begin planning for evaluation in their own work.

Course evaluation
Participants will take part in activities to evaluate the course.

Test course in Ireland
At the project meeting in Ireland we organised a test course participated by 19 Irish professionals. We chose the main themes taking into account their fields of interest and the special circumstances they have in their work and we put on a test some elements of our training activities.
This short programme facilitated the preparation of our planned Grundtvig 3 course.

Launch of the training manual

The third meeting of the project took place in Shannon 10-12 June 2004.  This meeting incorporated the formal launch of the three project publications – Intergenerational Learning – A Training Manual;  The Learning Age – Removing Barriers to Learning for Older People and the latest publication “Breaking Down Barriers to Learning for Older People – A Training Manual”.  These publications were launched by the Irish Minister of State, Síle de Valera, who has responsibility for Adult Education and who is particularly interested in learning for older people and intergenerational activities.

The role of BCC in carrying out the project:

- Participation in designing the training programme
- Taking part in writing and editing the training manual
- Organising the project meeting in Budapest.
- Active participation in the test course in Ireland as trainers
- According to the training programme writing and submitting the Grundtvig 3 application
- Facilitating the future co-operation of the team by giving advice – introduction of centralised Grundtvig project types and recommendation for the further collaboration 
 
Outcomes of the activities:

- Five day training programme („Breaking down barriers to learning for older people”)
- Training manual („Breaking down barriers to learning for older people - a training manual”)

 
European dimension, European values:

Removing barriers to learning for older people and education of senior citizens in general not perfectly solved in our country. Methods using at courses need to be improved and the education is often organised in the form of lecture. There is a need for new approaches, it is important to revise the definition of learning and how it can be realised. During the last year this international team worked on drawing up a training programme which can facilitate an improvement in trainers’ methodological background knowledge in the above mentioned fields.