Senior Volunteering Exchange Network Research results in 2009

Partner meeting in Vienna

30 November – 3 December 2009

Effects of trans-national exchange of senior volunteers on participating organisations

• Methodology: Qualitative interviews – Conducted at the conference in Lleida– Complemented at the conference in Vienna

• Key issues:– Impact on the management and philosophy of organisations– Impact on existing exchange offers– European dimension– Intersectional dimension– Benefits of being partner in the SEVEN network

Interview partners

Formal Educational Institution:• University Lancaster, UK

Public Institution:• Municipality of Ferrara: International Relations Office, IT

Non Governmental Organisations: • Wiener Hilfswerk, AT• Senior Initiative Center, LT• Bulgarian Red Cross• Federazione Chiese Evangeliche, IT • UNAREC, FR• Internationale Jugendgemeinschaftsdienste, DE

International Network:• Alliance of the European Voluntary Service Organisations

Impact on the philosophy and the objectives of organisations

• New work approaches: – Inter-cultural learning in youth exchange programmes is

added by inter-generational learning– Short-term exchanges for seniors are considered as an

additional offer by youth exchange organisations– Volunteering is used as a tool to promote active citizenship

in the sense of bottom-up democracy in former Soviet countries

Impacts on existing exchange offers

• Adaption of exchange offers to the needs of senior volunteers– Reduced working hours: Some organisations say working hours

depend on the job, others try to modify them according to the age of volunteers

– Accommodation: Single person or 2 persons, no groups– Social inclusion: Some organisations connect seniors with local

senior initiatives, others focus on inter-generational teams

• Additional considerations for the exchange of senior volunteers– Preparation concept: Need for a different organisation and

contents– Long-term volunteering: Pre-visit before placement

European and intersectional dimension

• The SEVEN network strengthened the European dimension in the work of organisations– Newcomers in the exchange of senior volunteers are now

planning or preparing trans-national exchanges– Active citizenship is considered a part of a European

strategy to strengthen democracy

• The SEVEN network contributed to bridging gaps between the sectors of youth volunteering and seniors initiatives

Benefits of being part of the SEVEN network

• The interviewed organisations- Benefit through the provision of manuals and the exchange

of experiences - Feel encouraged to start trans-national exchanges - Strenghten their networks- Consider the training of volunteers as very useful- Gain new ideas for networking on a local, national and

international level • Some organisations with long-term experience would appreciate

their expertise being more demanded