Gen Z Friendly Seniors

"<< Background >>According to the research results of each project partner, the results obtained from all partner countries were as follows;- Lack of practices related to seniors, which do not support their social and civic activities,- Meager participation in education and training among seniors over 60 years of age and slow adoption of digital technologies,- Ageism and outdated social norms, isolated and marginalized seniors,- Need for new and creative methods, not only to benefit from the wisdom of seniors but also to provide opportunities for lifelong learning and meaningful participation,- Seniors need up-to-date basic skills, including social skills such as communication, empathy, active listening, ICT skills, self-presentation, persuasion, etc.- Generation Z's lack of sufficient knowledge about aging has led to many incorrect practices regarding seniors' lifestyles,- Children and youth can change their stereotypical definitions of old age from their views about seniors in line with the reality of aging,- The desire for seniors' participation in education to create the potential for children and youth to develop their skills and knowledge, and to contribute to seniors living more active and fulfilling lives. << Objectives >>Gen Z Friendly Seniors is a collaborative project of adult education institutions that provide lifelong learning for people of all ages. The awareness that seniors are disconnected from social life due to the difficulties faced by people over the age of 60 as a result of the generational divide in lifestyles led the partners to realize this project. The project aimed to build a unifying bridge over different lifestyles between Generation Z and older generations to support vulnerable groups of seniors over 60 by creating educational opportunities for active aging. In this context, we wanted to implement the social campaign 'Senior Friendly School', which establishes long-term relationships between adult education institutions and schoolchildren. Project activities would motivate seniors over 60 years old to take a positive and proactive attitude. When the seniors take a role in education with school children, there would be active learning among the generations and it would create the shape of a positive image of old age among schoolchildren.<< Implementation >>A ready-to-use model curriculum and hand guide were prepared for cooperation between adult education organizations and schools. Educators who had training skills in adult education institutions, preferably for seniors, and who teach courses as trainers in project partner institutions, created training programs consisting of three separate modules. Under the guidance of these training modules, seniors who took an active role in the project were trained for the role of ""Senior Ambassadors"" as trainers for the younger generation Gen Z. The 'Senior Friendly School' campaign, which provides senior-friendly lessons/workshops for school children in various fields, has established long-term relationships between the school and the seniors, and has transferred the knowledge or professional information or life experiences of the seniors to the new generation. The schools in the region, which have developed a common cooperation plan to organize intergenerational events facilitated for the seniors, have received the label ''Senior Friendly School''. This certification method has allowed us to unite the school community with the seniors, to make the seniors feel useful, and to motivate them to participate in social life.<< Results >>Objectives were defined as work packages (WP) to be carried out in order to achieve them and each work package was defined as an outputWP1- Development of Education Program for Seniors: This program was designed to develop seniors’ educational competencies in their own subjects and to enable them to become ambassadors of the ‘Senior Friendly School’ campaign. This program was carried out in three sub-modules.M1: Development of basic educator skillsM2: Storytelling techniques: functions of storytelling in education – provided the necessary skills to promote empathic listeningM3: Senior/trainer’s ICT tools: Different tools (ppt/canva etc.) to be used in education.The project was built on the idea of ​​campaigning to support vulnerable senior groups. For this purpose, WP2 work package models were developed:WP2- Development and Implementation of the Senior Friendly School CampaignM1: Senior Friendly School Campaign between Adult Organizations and Schools: A model cooperation plan was createdM2: Regulation of the Generation Z Friendly Senior Program was made: participation procedure, labeling, certification, and official documents.Documents: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1I7ns7lbqFsj_QzM_okEJ92gIm--aAsYD?usp=sharing"