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The SMARTE-project is a Grundtvig lifelong learning programme funded by the European Commission. SMARTE is the abbreviation of Strengts for Mastering Ageing by Realising Tools in Europe. The main goal of the project is to develop new learning areas for older people in order to meet and create chances for building bridges between different phases of life and between young and older people.
Success-factors for senior learning are indicated based on scientific research of education for disadvantaged groups (including older people) and combined in a model for senior learning. Based on this model every partner has developed an innovative learning-area for older people by using ICT, arts,… The used methods and experiences will be combined in the European SMARTE-toolkit and the website of active ageing. Professionals and volunteers can use this toolkit to activate older people in learning-settings to overcome problems of participation and prevent social exclusion of European society.
More information can be found on http://www.active-ageing.info/start.php?pid=11.
WeDO is a European project (2010-2012) co-financed by the European Commission. It was led by a steering group composed of 18 partners from 12 European Union (EU) Member States interested in working together to improve the quality of life of older people in need of care and assistance. The project’s aim was to set up a lasting and open European partnership of European, national and regional/ local stakeholders committed to improving the quality of services for older people in need of care and assistance and to fight elder abuse. WEDO in Belgium consists of a broad coalition of organisations : home care organisations, residential care organisations, associations for older people, informal care organisations, governments and research institutions. Together, they participated in various national and European meetings with the central questions: What is quality care? How can we ensure, promote and expand quality care in Belgium and Europe? What are good practices in Belgium? How can we learn from each other and inspire each other? With the ultimate goal to ameliorate the quality of care for older people and their caregivers and fight against abusive care. Together with other national coalitions, they worked a European quality framework for long-term care.
In 2013 the WeDO2 partnership was build, aiming to continue working on quality care. The partnership build upon both the European Charter of the rights and responsibilities of older people in need of long term care and assistance (EUSTaCEA project, 2008-2010) and the European Quality framework for long-term care services (WeDO project, 2011-2012). The WeDO2 partnership, funded by the Grundtvig programme, comprises 8 organisations from 7 different countries (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Poland, Netherlands and UK), and one European organisation (Age Platform Europe). Each partner is engaged to strengthen stakeholder’s (e.g. older people, formal and informal care providers, volunteers and professionals) ability to participate in the process of long term-care and consequently in combating elder abuse. Besides, the partnership aims to foster learning experiences between organisations in the field of formal, non-formal and informal adult education.
To meet these aims the WeDO2 partnership developed and tested an innovative train the trainer toolkit about quality care. The training is flexible, can be adapted and used for various groups (older people, formal and informal caregivers, volunteers) and in different fields. The training in different languages can be downloaded from: http://wedo.tttp.eu/quality-care-training-package
The European Literacy Policy Network ELINET was initiated to gather and analyze policy information; exchange policy approaches, good practices and initiatives and raise awareness of the importance of acting how to reduce the number of children, young people and adults with low literacy skills by 2020. ELINET is formed of 79 partner organizations from 28 countries.
More information can be found on: http://www.eli-net.eu/
Another European project is GUTS. The GUTS project contributes to one of the most important goals of the Erasmus Plus program and the Europe2020 strategy: the decrease of poverty and social exclusion as well as increase of unemployment. Concretely GUTS will realise new knowledge and innovative pathways in education and training in order to create possibilities to invest in older people and youngsters in order to improve their social inclusion and the youth employment. The GUTS consortium consist of partners out of 7 European countries (Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, and Romania) and develops 10 learning areas that aim to increase the social inclusion and employment of younsters and older people. These learning areas will be developed by the innovative methodology of co-creation between older people and youngsters. Using process and product evaluations, these innovative learning areas will be scientifically investigated in order to develop an action manual for professionals and policy makers to develop new European learning areas. Based on the developed learning areas, a toolbox for professionals will be developed in order to organise comparable learning areas.
More information: http://guts-europe.eu/
The European FORINER project aims to meet the educational needs of prisoners who are detained in a foreign European country. The ambition is to provide foreign national prisoners in European prisons with access to qualitative, low threshold, certified learning opportunities provided by home institutions but received by an inmate in a foreign prison. To this and a structure will be designed and tested which allows educational providers to reach out to their national prisoners in other European countries, at the same standard as the home offer. Both ICT-driven and non ICT-driven solutions will be desinged.
More information can be found on www.foriner.com