1. InterGen Project – implemented in cooperation with international partners

2. European Commission has announced with the support of AGE – Platform Europe, Brussels, Year 2012 for „International Year of Active Ageing and Intergeneration cooperation“

3. Older people feel a lack of respect and appreciation in the society, they feel that they are being excluded from the public and social life, they become useless and the society doesn´t have enough interest in their experience and knowledge. Generally we can say that the elderly are perceived as a burden for the society The positive role the elderly definitely play in the society, is not sufficiently perceived. It is very important that the elderly were more active and live full-filled life could pass their life experience on younger generation. Older people face very significant difficulties in re-entering work, after redundancy, re-training or other changes. They feel lack of possibilities in applying in their surroundings, in the society.

4. Project InterGen, where Fórum pre pomoc starším – national network is involved, is a great example of active work of the elderly and a positive impact of applying life values and experience and skills for development of younger generation in the society. 6 EU countries cooperate in this project – United Kingdom – project leader, Austria, Sweden, Spain, Slovakia, Germany. The project addresses a genuine need for support and activity-building for older people, and creates valuable new resources to support disadvantaged children. InterGen will help to promote the whole concept of intergenerational mentoring in a wide range of professional and community settings - we want to use the project to generate new awareness in the idea in general.

5. The project is based on the need to encourage older people to take a fully active role in their community and their society. It is absolutely fundamental to the project that the older people involved take ownership, build the work in the way that they want, and give us the opportunity to expand the work far beyond the immediate individuals involved over the two years. InterGen offers the elderly a pathway to improved confidence, new skills in the family/children support field, and a route way into further vocational training for those who need it. The best trainers in this field will be older people themselves - so we are creating a tool that will directly support older people into work – they are predestined for this work because they have more time, they themselves can effectively and pleasurably use the leisure time with knowing that they are helpful and needed for others. Their self-confidence is improving, so is the psychical and physical health, and position in their neighbourhood and in the society.

6. The project responds to two identified needs, and provides a significant support for both: - Older people frequently suffer from feelings of low esteem, low confidence and restricted value to their community. This leads to a higher risk of mental and physical health problems, and also removes from society a vast range of skills and life experience. Disadvantaged children, and their families, need support and encouragement to help them develop and grow. Intergenerational Mentoring provides very significant benefits to both parties, and also creates very useful additional support resources for the social and childcare sectors. However, very many communities and individuals who could benefit from it have no access to the service, which means that potentially valuable opportunities are not being taken up. Indicators for impact are relatively simple with this project. Each of the five pilot testing partners have the following hard outcome targets: - 5 people (preferably over-50s) trained to become InterGen trainers - In-depth co-operation with the local-area professionals, - 20 participants on new intergenerational mentoring activities as a direct output from the project

7. Mentoring - is individual relation between older and more experienced mentor and younger, less experienced person protected by mentor, who can through the relationship with mentor develop own personal, cognitive and social abilities.

8. Mentoring is close, individual, intergeneration relation of older, more experienced mentor who has interest in passing his/her experience and knowledge on younger, less experienced /mentee/. The older mentor passes own experience and skills to the mentee and help him/her to develop personality and orientation in given society and culture.

9. Mentoring relationship is emotional personal link of older, more experienced mentor and his/her younger mentee. There is being created a bond which is different from similar role of worker, trainer, etc. The aim of the relation is to support positive development and growing of the child or adolescent younger person. Mentoring offers to mentor an opportunity for development of long-lasting quality relation. Relation operates as natural link between two persons in any phase of life, it is live and develops naturally.

10. Mentor – older person doesn´t watch the child or tutor, but is her/his older friend and positive model. Together they develop their relation and seek the way towards each other. They provide to children different types of social support. They strengthen his/her resistance to stress and endurance situations. He/she develops his/her talent and abilities, orients him/her in positive social values, improves his/her self-confidence and feeling of meaningfulness and usefulness. Mentor is a resource from semi-formal / advice, information, Access to sources, mediation of contacts/ to non-formal social support / emotional support, empathy, closeness/. Mentor should have certain notion of preparation and implementation of the activity – programme what he/she wants to reach during the time spent with child, what he/she wants to show the mentee, explain or how to surprise him/her.

11. Mentee – child - gets close person who acts as his/her fellow, guard who has time for him/her, who can play with her/him or talk, the mentee can confide in the mentor and develop own knowledge or to gain new one The child has to know and feel that the mentor is prepared for the meeting with him/her and is prepared to devote the time only to him/her. The child must not be only the receiver of the activity or programme but should be a co-creater

12. Developing relation – is characterized by approach, where the mentor focuses in the first place on the needs and wishes of the child. Orients own effort and attention to develop the relation with the child and provide support in the form of stabile and balanced expressions. Respects the individuality and personality of the child, adapt to communication of the child. The aim is to create friendly relation with mutual confidence. There need to be emphasis on creation of reliable and confidental relation and still widen this effort.

13. Mentor cooperates with the child in decisions on common activities, his/her attitude is emphatic and sensitive towards the child. Mentor is able to change the plans and actual meetings based on wishes of the child. The interest of shared fun with adult who cares about the child is developing in children a feeling of self-acceptance and importance for other person. When the child is a part of making decisions on common activities there is a possibility of choosing educational but at the same time funny activities. Mentor should show patience and real interest in the child, trust him/her. Become acquainted with the needs of the child, with his/her interest and apply the needs in common activities. The child – should feel with mentor as equal partner. If the child trust the mentor, he/she will spontaneously seek for his/her help and advice.

14. The aim of the mentor – is to meet the expectation from the relation and the child. The attitude of mentor – mentor believes that his/her role is to guide the child so she/he accepts values, attitudes and behaviour – how to reach better results in the school

15. Matched tandem – meets once in a week – mainly in afternoon hours and attends volunteer leisure time activities. The tandem spends together about three hours in the week with doing activities based on mutual agreement and needs. Regular contact is confirmed by written agreement and lasts according to the agreement within the programme. From time to time the programme is enriched by common activities within the programme with other tandems involved in the programme

16. Meetings - mentors and children meet at some pre- defined place where their meetings take place and their relation is being formed. Interest organisation, settings for leisure time of children and youth, clubs, etc. can serve as such a place. Tandem composed of older /Mentor/ and younger - child /Metttes/ spends time together – plays different games, does sports, entertaining activities, or only walking and talking. Entertaining part allows the child to relax and free of daily stress. Big emphasis is putting on autonomy of the child. The time spent together and activities are very important – they create space for non-formal provision of social support.

17. After finishing the project can be used as an example of good practice for active involvement of the elderly within active ageing and intergeneration cooperation It can be used by various organisation within their work not only with the elderly but also with children. This project can contribute not only to better communication between generations but also to raising positive values in the life of society, improve the fellowship and cooperation. The project results also its subsequent implementation can contribute to creation of positive image of the elderly in the society, show their contribution for the society in the form of experience and skills, they gained during the whole life, which can be used especially by younger generation in applying in the life, workplace, school, etc.

18. Zapojení partneri

19. Ľubica Gálisová President of Fórum pre pomoc starším – national network Zahradnícka 24, 971 01 Prievidza www.forumseniorov.sk