Intergeneration education as a strategy for promoting active aging: analyzing the needs of a local community as a way to develop relevant and sustainable projects of intervencion

Abstract

Population aging is happening throughout all European countries, including Portugal. This general trend brings important challenges at several levels and therefore the importance of intergeneration education programs gains relevance. Nevertheless and in order to succeed, these projects ought to be built through a realistic identification of the needs and potentialities of the local communities (Caffarrella, 2002). This assessment is essential to the real achievement of the goal of active aging. Active aging is defined by the Second United Nations Assembly on Aging (Nações Unidas, 2002) as “the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age”. Social intervention must be built according to the vital life cycle and is important during the entire life course. Intergeneration education concerns “activities or programmes that increase cooperation, interaction and exchange between people from any two generations. They share their knowledge and resources and provide mutual support in relations benefiting not only individuals but their community” (Sáez, 2002, p. 29). This kind of education promotes change and individual evolution as the result of learning with others. Several studies (MacCallum, 2006; Kaplan, 2004) show the benefits of these programs not only for the seniors but also for the younger people and for the community in general. We intend to demonstrate that relevant and sustainable programs of intergeneration education can actually be an important strategy for the promotion of active learning and a possible answer to the social problems brought up by the recent changes in population structure in developed countries.