Griekenland en Roemenië staan stil bij de Europese Oudere werknemers dag (en)

Greece celebrated a Seniorforce Day on October 24th in Athens. During the event, teenagers, university students and older people cooperated in the framework of interactive creative workshops and discussions with the aim to stress the importance of youth volunteer work for dialogue and intergenerational solidarity.

During the first workshop one teenager and one university student interviewed an elder person that wanted to share one story from his/her life in front of a camera. The small groups will edit together the videos afterwards choosing the music or any other additional material that should be included in the video. The final versions of the videos will be presented at the closing ceremony of the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations 2012 in Greece.

In the second workshop participants created different art crafts made of recycled materials. Pillows from old t-shirts, lamps made of buttons and chairs made of palettes were the impressive results of the 2 hours workshop.

The workshops were followed by a panel discussion on the topic of intergenerational dialogue. The conclusion of the Seniorforce Day in Greece discussion was that this cooperation and this dialogue should continue after the end while all the participants were broadly enthusiastic about the opportunity to share ideas with those who were not their age peers and felt that the event was refreshing and inspiring.

The event was organised by the ESF Actions Coordination and Monitoring Authority, in cooperation with the University of Athens Department of Communication and Mass Media, the NGO 50+, the Youth NGO AEGEE-Athina (European Students Forum) and with the support of the Representation of the European Commission in Greece and the European Parliament Information Office.

In Romania, a Seniorforce Day event was held in Bucharest on October 25th under the title “Workshops to encourage volunteering among senior citizens".

During the first part of the event, which took place in the Bucharest City Hall of the 6th District, representatives from local authorities, NGO’s and senior volunteers presented case studies emphasizing several initiatives that involve old citizens but also young people. In the second part the audience participated in separate creative workshops and discussions in order to share experiences and best practice tools.

The Seniorforce Day event was organized by the Romanian Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Protection and the City Hall of Bucharest 6th District, with the support of the European Commission and of the Bucharest 6th district Mayor’s Office, together with an important contribution of the National Council of Elderly People, Caritas Romania Confederation, Pro Vobis Association -4TH Chance Organisation, Romanian Association for Pensioners’ Rights, General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection from the 6th District of Bucharest.