Europe's Women - At the Centre of Life
An EU Learning Partnership (2006 – 2009), Assisted by the European Union with funds from the Lifelong Learning Programme/Grundtvig 2 Programme
The project appeals to women who become aware of their new competencies as mature women. Target of the project is to utilise this potential for projects of personal, social, economic and political nature.
Mature women in European societies are generally strongly integrated and challenged coping with both family and work. During these years of high strain and capacity they develop a strong professional and social competence.
With the second half of the “forties“ many changes ensue. Individually they may be differing substantially. A few of these changes are listed below:
- Release from family obligations
- Stabile professional life or
- Precarious situation by exclusion/unemployment
- Declining physical strength and, at the same time
- Discovery and development of new potentials
This is a time of change, of summarising achievements, and also, of realistically contemplating what is no longer possible. On the other hand, this is a time of recognising one’s potential and find new orientation.
In Europe, women in the age group of 45 to 65 years – the group we would mainly like to involve – have a long life perspective and only very few “suitable” role “models”.
There are many older people in our society who are active, who could and should assume important tasks. By now, this demographic development has become popular and stands contrary to the tendencies of the job market, where people in their forties are considered “senior” and possibly unfit for the requirements of the modern job environment.
Our learning partnership would like to work with the concepts Salutogenesis and Empowerment.
The concept of Salutogenesis researches what keeps people healthy and what contributes to their wellbeing and vitality. Research does not so much concentrate on dysfunction, errors and reductions as on creative strengths (manageability, comprehension and meaning – feeling of coherence), resulting in mental and physical balance.
The concept of Empowerment describes the basic tenor, which considers the individual as able to do things themselves and attempts to strengthen confidence in their own potential. The individual as well as social side of the self is “approached”. Empowerment thus focuses on two things: self-determination and changing the social framework.
Objective:
In the context of the project, we aim at establishing contacts, network regional initiatives and learn from each other. Target of the project is to jointly create visions of the future, “competence models” and development scenarios; together we want to develop perspectives for the second half of life. The various socio-cultural conditions in different European countries allow for an expansion of one’s own horizon as well as the development of future habitats.
Two meetings in autumn und winter will serve intercultural exchange and information; locally, engagement with the topic will be enhanced by lectures.
Our promoted project partners in the context of the EU learning partnership are:
- OWEN – Mobile Academy for Peace Democracy and Peace Development e.V., Berlin/Germany as coordinating institution. Contact: Brigitte Wörteler, Email: mail@owen-berlin.de and brigitte.woerteler@web.de, Tel. +49-3-283 22 51
- ImPuls e.V., Goettingen/Germany. Contact: Marianne Klues-Ketels
- Uniwersytetu Trzeciego Wieku (UTW) (University of the Third Part of Life), Zielona Gora/Poland.Contact: Zofia Banaszak
- NGO Preili Women’s Club (Biedrība Preiļu Sieviešu klubs), Preili/Latvia. Contact: Elita Jermolajeva
For further information on the EU programme Socrates/Grundtvig please visit the National Agency websitewww.na-bibb.de
